help me choose my next guitar!
 

hey all,
i plan on buying a new guitar within the next two months. right now, i'm debating between a 12-string or a nylon string.

what are the pro's and con's of each?

what should i look for in guitars of those types?

any suggestions as to specific guitars? i'm looking in the $500 or less range for the most part.

i plan on playing rock, jam-band, reggae type music with it, and maybe do acoustic covers. right now i'm mainly a rhythm player, have a steel string acoustic and electric already, so i'm not so worried about it being able for lead use.

thanks!

I think it is more a matter of taste than anything, but given what you already play I would recommend a 12 string. A classical (nylon) string guitar has a broader neck and is a mellower sound than a 12...a 12 really sings out.

Now the problem you have is finding a good 12 for under $500. You really get what you pay for. I sold an Epiphone 12 for $150, but I had all sorts of problems with it. My next 12 will probably be a Taylor, but that is in the $1500-$2000 price range. The problem is that the extra 6 strings put a lot more stress on the body and it requires extra bracing.

Now you can get a pretty decent Classical for $500.

So there's my $0.02.

They're both ralatively specialized guitars and neither one is used too often in reggae-ish music. Between the two of them, I would say that the 12-string would be most useful in that context - nylon strings just don't lend themselves to well to that style IMO. But, as Lebell pointed out, a decent 12 string can be quite expensive.