Add a Mic to Nylon-String Guitar for Fuller Sound

The nylon-string guitar is most associated with classical music, but it is also used, often with a microphone, in bossa nova and jazz. Painting: "Cowboy Guitar" by Rick Kersten.

The nylon string guitar offers an entirely different sound and touch than the acoustic or the electric guitar. There is an entire methodology of technique for the instrument.

Although the nylon-string guitar is most associated with the classical guitar technique as championed by Andres Segovia, it has been used successfully in Brazilian bossa nova and in jazz for many years. Well-known proponents of this style were Charlie Byrd, noted for his early work playing the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, and more recently, the jazz guitarist Gene Bertoncini.

The advantage of the instrument is a beautiful, delicate tone. This is also perhaps its drawback. The percussive potential is limited except in the Flamenco styles. It is certainly not considered a powerful instrument.

Amplification, however, can be accomplished in several ways. There are pickups that can be installed in the guitar as well as pickups that straddle the center hole. In both cases, there are amplifiers made specifically for this instrument and this sound. You can also close-mic the guitar.