Why nylon?

[John Ficken]

Although I'm new to classical/flamenco playing, I'm not new to the guitar, and I have somewhat of a confession to make--I've never owned a nylon strung or classical guitar.

This is primarily because sonically I prefer the clear, sustained, bell-like tones of a steel string guitar. In fact, I've put away my slide, re-tuned my resonator guitar, and I'm playing that for my classical studies. To me, it sounds just beautiful. :D

I have seen discussions in this Forum centered around the use of a steel string guitar for the improvement of technique, but no one will actually cop out to actually performing with one. Why is that? :?

[Todd]

I play steel and nylon.

I actually prefer the
clear, sustained bell like tone of a nylon string,
over the harsher sound of steel.

So, its totally opinion. Neither is "Better" or "worse".

Beauty is in the ear of the beholder.

As for playing steel to develop technique related to nylon.

In my opinion, that doesnt work.
To be good with nylon, you work on nylon.
Ive played both for many years, and dont see
one bit of correlation between the two.

Someone thinking they are building strength by
playing steel, in hopes it translates to nylon, is
in a losing battle.
You cannot seperate technical practice from tone production.
These two string types require different approaches.

Each requires its own touch. One has to take alot
more care in touch and tone on nylon.
Steel is more forgiving, but may require more
umph from the right hand.

I often see steel players make the move to nylon,
and they are usually quite noisy and sloppy to start off.

Classical players, making the move to steel often
lack aggresion in the right hand.

Just my opinions and observations.:)
TK

[John Ficken]

Thanks for the insight, Todd. :D I had wondered if it was an "ear" thing, with each of us hearing something different. Interesting observation on steel stringers switching to nylon--the times I have played a nylon guitar I've immediately noted the strings feeling like noodles under my fingers, and of course, I sounded like crap each time!

Maybe I should approach this from a historical standpoint:

Is classical and flamenco played on nylon (or cat gut, as back in the day!) because that's the way it's always been done, or are there technical reasons to avoid using steel? I'm not trying to be silly, or start a firestorm, nor is it my intention to insult anyone out there, I just really want to know what you all know! :)

[Todd]

I think its a good question.

This should turn into an interesting thread. :)

Good observation there too. Nylon feels a bit limp
compared to the much higher tension of steel. :)

They are very different animals for sure. :wink:

TK

[Jubilee Valence]

....I have seen discussions in this Forum centered around the use of a steel string guitar for the improvement of technique, but no one will actually cop out to actually performing with one. Why is that? :? :shock: :arrow: ...say what? :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[daniel711]

Steel strings produce a one dimensional timbre, albeit a beautiful one. The beauty of nylon is its ability to produce a myriad of tone colors (different timbres), which lends itself to greater musical expression. A nylon player with a good right hand technique can actually make the strings approach the sound of steel as well as producing a much sweeter, rounder tone.

[John Ficken]

Hey Jubi--

What I meant by that was I had yet to see anyone on the Forum say, "I played at so-and-so last night, in front of a packed house, playing my Martin D-whatever..."

So again, is this tradition? A matter of sonic preferences? Technical requirements? Daniel's post was very informative, tho! Thanks! :D

I'm so confused.... :(

[tanolonco]

todd raised a good point: playing steel strings to build strength is in a losing battle. i think there are a few reasons for this, primarily, playing the guitar requires dexterity, the ability to maintain the activity over a given period of time and muscle memory and not brute strenght per se. being able to push down a string is probably the least problematic requirement for someone who has the above attributes.

that said, there really is no reason why someone cannot play classical guitar on a steel string. doing so raises a few issues that may need to be addresssed:

1. is there adequate space betweeen strings? if not, a custom built guitar may be required. the neck width i think may be a significant factor here.
2. what will one use on one's fingers? the idea of listening to tarrega played on steel with those steel "finger nails" may be a little too much. steel strings i suspect can be brutal on natural fingernails.
3. scale length: most steel string guitars have a shorter scale which may actually be a blessing.

as to why nylon/gut for classical: i will leave that up to the historians

[guitar student 6]

I'm not sure exactly what you are getting at, John. I'm new to classical guitar too, but not new to guitar. I sound like crap and I think it's because we are used to playing much, much differently with our right hand. When my teacher plays he sounds very loud and precise just as loud and full as my accoustic. When I first started my teacher laughed because I automatically played on the flesh part of my fingers because that is what I'm used to because of steel strings. It's just going to take some getting used to. I was really impressed with the sound that he and other advanced players can produce on nylon guitars. I expected them to sound much duller and quieter than they really are.

[Rex]

You have spent years getting the best tone out of steel string. It took me awhile when I made the switch over to get good tone out of nylon strings. Also you must remember what your ear has been tuned into all these years. I think nylon strings sound better, IMHO, and with modern amplification it is all about tone for me, volume can be manufactured to suit your needs. Until you have mastered rest strokes you really have no idea what you can sound like with nylon strings. Give yourself a bit more time. :)

[Jubilee Valence]

http://www.draconian.com/artwork/clipart/cartoonhydra.gif...ahem, before I was so rudely interrupted..yeah right!..I caught the "performing" bit...but no-one'll play a classical piece fer' all the marbles-cuz' they're trainin' every day with th' nylon. Now for me, I'm an improv. guy with no Classical or Flamenco Reperatoires so I play everything on everything, but I love- "See!-There he goes aga-"Shut up! It's my tu-"Hey how about I ge-"There you go wi--"Shut up! bef- :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:.................now they'll understand the "voices"!

[John Ficken]

Jubi--

Tell me--how often do you hear the Voices? Do they try to make you do things? You know, unpleasant things? :twisted:

[Guitar Slim]

Interesting discussion here. Let me give you my perspective.

I started out playing fingerstyle on nylon strings. When I first started messing around with steel strings and flatpicking I quickly came to this realization:

Classical, steel string, and electric guitars are three very different instruments! They may all be called "guitars" but they are separate entities with very different sounds and requiring very different styles and techniques.

For example, you rarely hear anyone strum chords with a flatpick on a nylon-string guitar, it sounds awful. But it sounds beautiful on a steel-string. The kind of string-pinching staccato flatpicking that works for electric blues doesn't fly on a flatpicked acoustic lead -- you need more sustain and legato. And a flatpick in general sounds pretty crappy on nylon strings, although I've heard a couple players who could get decent tone flatpicking nylon.

Even if you're fingerpicking, the approach changes depending on the instrument. Nylon players tend to prefer natural fingernails. But steel strings will shred your nails in a short order. Electric pickers generally use no nail, only flesh. And steel-string pickers tend to use either flesh or fingerpicks. (Try fingerpicks if you want to talk about a different technique!)

Arguing over what is the "best" kind of guitar is pointless. It all depends on what style of music you want to play, and what your playing style is. You should choose the guitar that best fits your conception of the music you are playing. And if you need to change or improve your technique to better play that instrument, then that's what you need to do.

[racer_x]

I think with steel string acoustics you need more nail or pick to project any decent sound. With nylon strings a lot of players get nice volume by just using the flesh of their fingers and no nail. Taylor makes a couple of nylon string ( nylon/electric ) guitars that are setup more like their traditional steel string acoustics.
The neck width and string spacing make it easier to play on if you are more used to the standard acoustic neck. The guitar has a very dull tone when not amplified though.

[guitar student 6]

I think with steel string acoustics you need more nail or pick to project any decent sound. With nylon strings a lot of players get nice volume by just using the flesh of their fingers and no nail. Taylor makes a couple of nylon string ( nylon/electric ) guitars that are setup more like their traditional steel string acoustics.
The neck width and string spacing make it easier to play on if you are more used to the standard acoustic neck. The guitar has a very dull tone when not amplified though.

i would think it would be the opposite. you need to use your nails with the nylons to get volume, but with steel strings you can just use your flesh and you kind of have to unless you are using picks.

[Jubilee Valence]

..."THE DREAD, THE WHOLE DREAD; AND NOTHING BUT THE DREAD"!.....that's the lamentable "hinge"; "NAILS"!; nuthin's more cherry than the using your "i" nail when "cannonballin'"--but not even "salon" applications can accept such tumultuous regard; I'm toying with the idea of developing a symbiotic relationship with a more durable-make that indestructable-material, and applying it to the extreme design neccessary for cannonballin';-Right now, "J.B. Weld"(the 'more sound' 24 hr variety) is the odds-on favorite....we'll see :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[Guitar Slim]

I would respectfully disagree, Racer-X. I don't know about flamenco players, but I've never met a classical players that didn't use some nail when playing. And most of the steel-string pickers I've known either use flesh, fingerpicks, or some kind of artificial nail such as Players Nails or the old ping-pong ball trick.

Personally, if I'm fingerpicking a a steel-string for more than 10 minutes it really shreds my nails. Maybe someone with a delicate touch would use natural nail. But for country pickin' or blues, anything that requires a strong, percussive style, I just don't think natural nail would last very long on steel strings.

Of course, there are always exceptions. The most distinctive players around always bend the conventions -- that's what makes them distinctive. So, whatever it takes to realize your sound is the way you need to play...

[racer_x]

Some classical players ( Tarrega among some ) use no nails, only skin.

I don't think I have ever met a steel string player who used only skin. Picks, fingerpicks, or nails is what I see. How can you play a fast gliding run on a steel string while using only skin?

[Guitar Slim]

Racer-X

In the spirit of friendly debate:

First, I said that nylon players tend to prefer nail. And I'm not aware of many contemporary classical guitarists who use only flesh, Tarrega not withstanding. Segovia used nail (he may have been the first for all I know). Williams and Bream and Parkening and Russel and many others ... all use nail.

Second, when you ask "how can you play a fast gliding run on a steel string while using only skin?" you could just as easily ask "how can you play a fast gliding run on a NYLON string while using only skin?"

The majority of steel-string players are flatpickers, so the nail/flesh question is moot. Steel-string fingerpickers may prefer natural nail, but they all have problems maintaining them. I've read interviews with everyone from Chet Atkins to Mark Knopfler to Jeff Beck, and they've all complained about the difficulty of maintaining nails when on tour or in the studio. The may start with some nail, but they get worn down to the skin very quickly if they are playing a lot. That's why a lot of them have gone to artificial nails in recent decades.

I personally LOVE the sound of a fingerpicked steel-string played with natural nail. But I rarely do it because, as I said, it shreds my nails and then I can't get the tone I like out of my classical. If you or anyone else has any tips on how to maintain nails when fingerpicking on steel string, I'd love to hear them.

[M. Stephenson]

I play both classical and steel string. I play my classicals more than my steel strings. I have had classical training, so I have gone from nylon to steel.

I sometimes go for a week or more playing nothing but steel strings - a Martin and a roundneck Dobro. I love the way they sound with the nails. Fortunently for me I have had no issue with nails - I just have to file them a little less.

I use light guage Elixer strings on the steel string guitars and I find that this helps preserve the nails. I think that the slick coating on the Elixer strings helps preserve the nails. Non-coated strings tend to wear my nails down much faster.

When I go back to the classical guitars I find them to be much quieter and I find them to be harder to play with my right hand. I have high tension strings on my Godin and I am going to put them on my other classicals as well. I find that the high tension nylons and the light tension steels are about as close as I am going to get to consistent tension.

I find fast arpegios and tremolo much easier on the steel string guitars - on the classical guitars the bass tends to overwhelm the tremolo and I find it harder to establish "the rhythm".

I totally disagree with Todd about playing steel string not helping nylon technique. For me it has made a world of difference. Granted I am a hobbiest that only gets in about an hours worth of playing a day - but man what a difference there has been since I started playing the Dobro and Martin. I have stronger hands and my playing is much more confident and relaxed.

To each his own - we are all different in that respect.

Also, the different guitars influence the spirit of the piece. On the steel string guitars I am more likely to go to a swing beat while on teh classical I am more likely to keep an evenly spaced beat.

[M. Stephenson]

Oh, I forgot to mention...

My great uncle, now in his 90's, loves to tell of the time that he played a Vivaldi concerto on his steel string Martin because his classical guitar was not loud enough to be heard over the orchestra (this was probably in the 1950's or early 60's). So, sometimes players do perform classical music on a steel string.

[Guitar Slim]

Here's something odd that I've observed over the years. There's no doubt that steel strings (acoustic) are tougher on the left hand (or fretting hand, for you southpaws). They're harder to fret, they cut into the skin more and can definitely be more uncomfortable.

But, weird thing, my callouses seem to be thickest when I'm playing a lot of nylon. Maybe the thickness of the nylon strings strings has something to do with it. And maybe the steel strings may actually be tearing or scraping away some of the skin even as the callous is building up.

Has anyone else ever observed this or is it just me? Any other theories?

Also, I'm not going to weigh in on the question of whether playing steel strings helps improve nylon-string chops. But I do know that playing any kind of acoustic really helps improve my electric chops. It's kind of like swinging a weighted bat before stepping up to the plate.

[John Ficken]

Whew! Ask one simple question....LOL! Just wanted to mention, Slim, that I enjoyed what you've done on your Soundclick page...Very Cool! 8)

[Todd]

But, weird thing, my callouses seem to be thickest when I'm playing a lot of nylon. Maybe the thickness of the nylon strings strings has something to do with it. And maybe the steel strings may actually be tearing or scraping away some of the skin even as the callous is building up.

Has anyone else ever observed this or is it just me? Any other theories?

.

Playing correctly, you shouldnt have hardly any callouses.
I play many hours a day of nylon, and barely have
any callouses at all.
If you're callousing up from nylon, you're pressing
way to hard.
I feel this habit most likely comes from starting out
on steel with little to no formal training.

Not a bad thing, its just what it is.
It can be remedied fairly easily by begining
to teach your left hand to use only the minimum
necesary pressure.
Mr. David Russel has some great advice
on his site regarding this type of practice.:)
TK

[Guitar Slim]

I feel this habit most likely comes from starting out
on steel with little to no formal training.

Well, now I'm insulted! I've had many years of formal training, including four years with Bruce Holzman. Trust me, my classical technique is quite proper -- not brilliant, perhaps, but I've been told I have very "nice hands". Jeeze!

And who ever heard of a guitar player with no callous? I mean, sure it's relative. I don't have huge, bulby peeling callouses on my figers. But I do have some callous, and I seem to get more when I play nylon than when I play steel.

[Guitar Slim]

BTW John, thanks for the compliment!

The minute I saw this post I knew it would go on forever and drift far from the orignal topic. This one's going to grow to many pages.

[racer_x]

I think playing a fast scale/run without any nails is easier on a nylon string guitar because the string spacing is wider allowing you to use a rest stroke.
Plus the finger slips off the nylon much easier than steel. Trying the rest stroke on an acoustic or electric with a much smaller string spacing your finger would be touching the string below causing noise. It can be done ofcourse, but I just don't see many people doing it. I am not debating any issue. There are always exceptions to any style of playing.
I think you should use what works for you and not pay any attention to what others are doing. Everyone is different. I was just commenting on my way of playing and the majority of guiatrist that I have played with or watched playing over the years.

[Guitar Slim]

You're right Racer-X, I've never used rest stroke on a steel-string acoustic or electric. It just doesn't feel natural to me.

Speaking of rest stroke, a couple years ago a good flatpicker I know showed me how to do rest stroke WITH A FLATPICK. The thought had never occured to me before, but I guess it's a pretty common technique. It works and sounds great on a big hollow-body acoustic.

It's only done on the down stroke (kind of backwards from fingerstyle). It's usually used for accents in a melody line, or to accentuate a bass line.

For me, it's a very awkward technique, I don't use it much. But this guy claims a lot of country and bluegrass flatpickers use it. If you flatpick at all you should try it out.

[racer_x]

Bluegrass has some rules on what notes should be played with down or upstrokes when flatpicking, but I always felt awkward when trying to follow those rules. Notes that start on an upbeat should be played with a downstroke and notes that fall on a downbeat should be played with an upstroke. << I probably got that 100% wrong, but you get the gist.
I use my index fingernail as my guitar pick when playing bluegrass or emulating a flatpicking technique. I pinch my right index finger and thumb together as if I am holding a pick and use my index fingernail as the pick. It works great and I don't have to worry about holding a pick in my mouth when going into an arpeggiated sequence.
Luckily my nails are very tough and thick and hardly break. I use this technique while playing my electric guitar too.

[guitar student 6]

Here's something odd that I've observed over the years. There's no doubt that steel strings (acoustic) are tougher on the left hand (or fretting hand, for you southpaws). They're harder to fret, they cut into the skin more and can definitely be more uncomfortable.

But, weird thing, my callouses seem to be thickest when I'm playing a lot of nylon. Maybe the thickness of the nylon strings strings has something to do with it. And maybe the steel strings may actually be tearing or scraping away some of the skin even as the callous is building up.

Has anyone else ever observed this or is it just me? Any other theories?

Also, I'm not going to weigh in on the question of whether playing steel strings helps improve nylon-string chops. But I do know that playing any kind of acoustic really helps improve my electric chops. It's kind of like swinging a weighted bat before stepping up to the plate.

the high strings might be thicker on a classical, but they don't cut into your skin and they are really smooth. we mostly get those rough fingers from barre chords. it's tough to learn to barre on an accoustic, but once you get used to it is so easy, just like everything else. i'm hoping that i will soon get that way with classical. keep in mind that there are two types of accoustic strings: the steel kind (i guess nickel or something silver-ish...i don't really know) and bronze. most accoustic players use bronze which are more difficult to play on, but produce much better sound.

[guitar student 6]

Oh, I forgot to mention...

My great uncle, now in his 90's, loves to tell of the time that he played a Vivaldi concerto on his steel string Martin because his classical guitar was not loud enough to be heard over the orchestra (this was probably in the 1950's or early 60's). So, sometimes players do perform classical music on a steel string.

that wasn't before the time of amplification and mics was it?!

[Jubilee Valence]

I think playing a fast scale/run without any nails is easier on a nylon string guitar because the string spacing is wider allowing you to use a rest stroke.
Plus the finger slips off the nylon much easier than steel..... First before I forget, Jim, try "lites" on your flat-top("electric lites")-not too lite at first cuz it's real different-but delicate lites require a feather touch etc, and trust, odd as it sounds, that it's common practice!("pros" call 'em "nickle wrap" ;) )...on the speed thing, you may hear from "one" expert that I'm clueless or the like; Anyway when I execute my "blurs" utilizing the formerly "tip-top-secret" pivot, I'll expect the same performance from any slammed low action(mine or familiar), light-est strings nylon or steel--full set, and fingerease; When done on a scalloped neck, or to a slightly lessor extent "high" frets, the term "blur" becomes as brother Paul Gilbert sometimes says "terrifying"; And "for the money" (or label...) my best performance is with either "i" or "m"--"scrubbing" technique; or again slightly less performance using a heavy "shiner"(as opposed to Tortex for cannonballin') and "circle" method......for "playing"-fingers;-"nails" if I got 'em and slightly thickened calloused right hand...I make sure my left stays as calloused as possible, as "soft" in varying degrees is relative to "drag"; Whereas "solid" is tantamount to "no-drag"...To illustrate somewhat, just last night at a jobsite meeting where a studio is going up soon, I had the pleasure to relate an old "true story" anecdote which may fit: years back, this youngster hotshot was "showing off" in a "precipitous" location-a showroom freqented by "learned experts" of the time....when one of THE boldest of within the instructor profession that I've ever encountered, endeavored finally to approach and engage me in mid stream with the requisite "you know you could really take benefit in lessons..." and he finally blurted the additionally requisite "technique".....as I continued, and turned up the heat......he took great care in making mental note of my particular "problem area(s)"; And as I finally went over it again--slower this time-- I managed to extract his former reasonings for the interruption, his reply?-to paraphrase: "Well, people just don't do it that fast....and if you start with bad habits, blah blah....."(I always love that one!--"incoming" LOLOLOLOL!!!!!)......anyways, back to last night, the principle is a on & off gigging pro and (yep!) long time student with an accomplished instructor so he was nonplussed at the electric "doin's" so I spent considerable additional time in demonstrating "cannonballin'"---which is about as far removed from hot-roddin' as you can get!....I got the more and more imprinted comment of "right hand" something or another throughout the demo(on a "flat-top" with eq and a curious sythetic top)--You see, "eight years" going to a "studio" vs. the third 30-40 minute "Jubiduuu" and he's "replacing" his former speedpicking style(-it was fine--really!--The guy performs and produces etc!!) with something he's been working on recently.....he don't like ta' stare--so I managed to pull off some serious blurs on those "twelves" for him......repeatedly; More "...right hand..." comments, even to the extent of the additional comment that maybe my left was somehow not in sync.......but he'd try an' catch that blurring business with intense scrutiny during the fills & runs..........aaaahhhh........baby steps........I've tried to get him to perceive my intent in attempting to convince him to log online and maybe watch some of TK's videos etc...but he's reluctant,-'don't have time or whatever; It's just as well, Christ! I don't want nobody gettin' an aneurysm;.............................baby steps;.............bad habits? ;).Jubi p.s. as I left to come home, I put my brace back on....this "carpal whatever the crap" is gettin' old!......maybe I was a little out of sync.......the way he's starin'..........playin' through pain....................aneurysm...............not very responsible...................hey!--I ain't no teacher!!!!! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[Rex]

When I first made the switch to nylon strings, after 30 years of playing steel, I initially increased my callouses. I also noticed that I was playing with a lot more force in my right hand to get volume and I believe that transfered over to the left. When I played quietly with the right hand I noticed much less tension also in the left, yet with no buzzing. I was using too much force in my left hand. I had to unlearn my steel string habits. I was able to pick up my friend's steel string guitars and play just fine with no adjustments, another sign I was still using too much force. Now I have adapted to nylon and the callouses are not nearly as thick. I play with far less tension in my left hand and the music flows better. I can play pieces now that seemed impossible a couple of years ago. I'm sure somebody out there plays steel and nylon far better than I do, but I'm convinced that attempting to play both would hurt my playing on either.

[racer_x]

Were you on the TV show "ZOOM" years ago? Ub i Fub i Gub i Dub i

Are you saying someone was a pompous jerk or he was helpful ?

This technique you speak of, can you show us?

Kick his arse mate

[MegaBrawn]

I've only read up till the second page of this topic so forgive me if I'm missing out something.

Firstly, to the best of my knowledge, Tarrega DID use nails for the majority of his playing. Tarrega only stopped using nails much further into his playing, and presumably closer to the end of his life. This is somewhat expected, because when one gets more advanced in age, some have a tendency to develop ingrown nails or in some cases, the nails may stop growing altogether. Tarrega was never in good health to begin with, having developed partial blindness as a child. His poor health resulted in his reluctance to teach a young Segovia, and Tarrega passed away before he ever could. The vast majority of concert classical guitarist use nails btw.

Why nylon?Firstly, nylon has alot of practical scientific uses. The nature and cost of nylon makes it ideal for classical strings. There probably are superior materials out there, but they would definately cost more. Segovia basically spear-headed the introduction and development of nylon strings around the time of the industrial age. Tonally, steel strings do not have the complexity of nylon strings. Catgut strings are the traditionally string for the majority of string instruments. Violas and violins also used some form of animal gut in the past. However, catgut is not as uniform in its diameter as nylon, which results in inaccurate intonation. Even though catgut produces a sweeter sound, it does not stay in tune very well. If you attended any of Segovia's concerts when he was still using catgut, you would notice he spent alot of time tuning. In fact as much as 1/4 of the concert could be made up of tuning.

When it comes to comparing electric, classical and steel string guitars, it's a matter of apples, oranges and bananas IMO. I feel that the classical guitar is hands down the more techincally demanding instrument to play. The accoustic three finger style of playing can seem primitive in the face of of the highly sophisticated, refined classical hand. In 3 months, a good classical guitarist could probably learn to shred his way through the most difficult of electric pieces. Throw a good electric player Recuerdos De la Alhambra, and in 3 months, the results would definately not be as favourable.

The difficulty in electric and steel string guitars, IMO, lay in the guitarist's ability to improvise. Which is also extremely difficult to do well.

[arby]

Megbrawn got me to wondering,are there other instruments using nylon strings besides the classical guitar? I guess the lute and uke, but aren't most stringed instruments today using steel strings. I'm thinking about the violin family, mandolin, cittern, bouzouki, piano, other guitars.
Steel appears to be the material of choice for most stringed instruments.

[guitar student 6]

Megbrawn got me to wondering,are there other instruments using nylon strings besides the classical guitar? I guess the lute and uke, but aren't most stringed instruments today using steel strings. I'm thinking about the violin family, mandolin, cittern, bouzouki, piano, other guitars.
Steel appears to be the material of choice for most stringed instruments.

yes, but the instruments that are asking for steel strings are producing much louder sounds. a violin is probably going to be much louder than even a pretty good classical. correct me if i'm wrong. it's just they, with the exception of the orchestral family, are producing a different sound. also, with nylon strings you don't have to worry about, what is the correct term, fuzz or noise or something as much as with steel accoustics. nylons are easier to play than steel, not on the right hand, but definately, 100% on the left. some people find it difficult to switch over to the wider neck, but if you are a decent steel string guitarist to begin with i don't think that you should have any problems and I doubt that I will.

the accoustics of the classical guitar just make sense for nylon. the way that they are built, etc. i just don't see why anyone would really consider playing classical on a steel string guitar. it's not like you can't find a mic if you need one and secondly you should be pretty loud. not crazy loud, but loud. and that's one of the things i like about classical. i can practice in my apt and it doesn't bother anyone. you play a violin in my apt and my neighbors 5 doors down can hear.

[Rex]

Actually most violinists play on synthetic gut strings.
http://www.ifshinviolins.com/features_guide.html
Fiddle players trying to save some money or students will use steel.
Also plucked instruments and bowed instruments are very different. One gets energy all at once, the other gets energy delivered constantly.