Nylon string guitars are used to play Classical music, Flamenco and Spanish music and other fingerstyle music forms. Today the Nylon String Classic is the world's most popular guitar design, used to play the music of many countries and cultures.

The nylon string guitar is built using the same materials as the steel string acoustic, with certain noticeable differences. The classic style guitar has a smaller, more curved body, and the mahogany neck is wider making it more suitable for playing without a pick (fingerstyle playing.) The neck is joined to the body at the 12th fret instead of the 14th like most steel string acoustics.

The strings, which on earlier guitars were made of gut, are now made of a much more consistent nylon material. The three lower-sounding strings are made of nylon strand cores with a metal wrapping, often silver. Nylon strings create less tension (75 lbs.) on the guitar neck than steel strings. They are more mellow sounding and are softer on the player's fingers - making the classic an excellent choice for many beginners.

The bracing in the classical guitar is much lighter than that of the folk (steel string) guitar, giving it more resonance and projection. Steel strings are not recommended for classical guitars because the higher tension of the steel strings may cause permanent damage.

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