What's the difference between a Classical & a Flamenco guitar?

“Why are the strings buzzing on this classical guitar?”

As hard as we try at Concept Music to make sure ALL of our guitars are in perfect playing condition (and are tuned exactly to A440 something we at Concept Music are pretty anal about actually!) we sometimes have customers let us know that one of our classical guitars has some "fret rattle”. And often when we go to check the guitar in question, it is actually not a classical guitar at all but one of our flamenco models. And flamenco guitars (as distinct from “flamingo” guitars... which do not actually exist!) as strange as it may sound, are actually designed to “rattle”! So what IS the difference and why do they buzz? While Classical and flamenco guitars both have nylon strings & superficially look fairly similar, they are actually designed to produce 2 very different styles of music.

Flamenco is a particularly sensual & percussive some might even say aggressive style of music (think gorgeous girls with long, flowing dark hair, tap dancing in long swirling skirts!) & in order to produce the right sound for this style of music, a flamenco guitar is designed & constructed quite differently & is made of different timbers so that it will sound bright & louder. Standing in the shop looking at our wall of guitars, it is generally quite easy see from quite a long way off which of them are flamenco models. While the face (top) of the guitar may look similar, as it will normally be made of spruce, the back & sides are made of very light coloured & are quite yellow looking as they are usually constructed of cypress or sycamore. Classical guitars most commonly have dark back & sides made from rosewood or mahogany. Most of the real differences however are more subtle & only become obvious with closer inspection.

To get the right sound, flamenco guitars have a slightly thinner body and will have a much lower “action” (meaning the strings are closer to the fretboard) so that they will, yes, rattle or buzz on the frets when played aggressively. And to protect the face of the guitar from the fingernails banging to get the percussive sounds necessary, they also have (clear) “tap plates” on either side of the sound hole. Though it is less common these days, a really traditionally designed flamenco guitar will also often have wooden tuning pegs instead of geared machine heads.

Finally, while you CAN play flamenco style on a classical guitar, even if we lower the action for you, it will never really sound quite “right”. So if flamenco is something you want to study or play seriously, that’s one more guitar you’ll need to add to your collection!

Congratulations Zoe on Winning a brand new BT1 Baby Taylor guitar!

Congratulations to our newest winner Zoe Hayden from Abbotsford in Victoria who is now the proud owner a brand new BT1 Baby Taylor acoustic guitar!


Falling in love with the ukulele, like the rest of the world, Zoe turned to Concept Music to make that all important first purchase. Zoe originally from Melbourne, came to Perth to work in Perth’s screen industry. She quickly became connected to Perth’s music scene and met a group of aspiring ukulele enthusiasts also working in the screen industry who came together to form The Ukeladies. The Ukeladies had a passionate but short-lived existence – sadly coming to a halt as Zoe departed for Darwin leaving her much loved group. Though the idea was often flaunted The Ukeladies were never to have their performance debut – though there were even rumours of a potential drop in from the Pigrim Brothers – but unfortunately it was not to be. In Darwin, she again met an enthusiastic group of strummers and enjoyed playing her Kala uke in the tropical surrounds. Here the backpacker call beckoned and Zoe set off for a nine month adventure in South Asia and she said goodbye to her beloved uke, which is reported to be doing well and providing much enjoyment to its new owner.

Within the first month of returning to her hometown Melbourne, she received an email from Graham at Concept Music congratulating on wining a Baby Taylor guitar – well she thought it was Kizmit. After receiving her Baby Taylor a mere few days ago – the two have ne’er been apart. Zoe now looks forward to a new love affair and to extend her skills into the realm of six strings. Don’t miss your chance to Win a Yamaha Silent Guitar in our next giveaway... just like Zoe you can enter just by signing up for our eNewsletter!

Best Buy in USA is getting out of the musical instrument business

Hot on the heels of Yamaha Australia announcing that they are withdrawing availability of musical instruments from JB Hi Fi stores, I noted with interest the article (see below) in the USA Music Trades Magazine today in regards to Best Buy stores in the USA who have announced they are closing 120 of their "music stores within a store".

One of the most poigant comments in the article for me is the last sentence, that "The guys in the music store are the same ones selling dishwashers and televisions," and it makes me feel vindicated in holding onto and expressing my long held opinion that musical instruments ARE different and do not belong in "big box" supermarket stores alongside Hi Fi's and fridges or DVD's or TV's. And the kind of assistance and advice you need from the staff when buying a musical instrument is different too.

Broadly speaking, people who buy musical instruments fall into 2 categories: complete beginners, who usually have never set foot in a music store before and can therefore easily feel overwhelmed in such an unfamiliar environment... they just don't know where to start (this includes parents). And secondly, the enthusiastic amateur and professional, who may come in every few days or every weeks to get what they need and to see "What's new?" (this may be depsite the fact they have only been here yesterday!).

Personally I don't feel either of these groups can be assisted properly in a generic 'supermarket' environment. If people are going to get (good) service they need advice from musicians who are genuine in their interest in both the gear and in the person.

The opportunity to have someone with experienced to listen to you and chat to you about alternatives and let you actually try gear is paramount to the ongoing survival and profitablity of locally owned music retailers and in my opinion, in the long run, is what best for the customer. Yes, if you know what you're looking for, it can seem exciting to find a "great price" on a particular instrument in a Department Store or from an unknown source overseas, and I understand it is difficult for people to understand why prices often seem so much highter here than overseas but don't forget that part of the reason is that local Australian owned stores are employing local musicians and broadly speaking are stocking an extremely good range of gear that you can try "live" before you buy. How much is that worth I wonder? Enough it seems.

Recently a customer challenged me that he could buy a guitar the was looking at in my store for "$500 less in the USA". I joked that I could quite easily compete with their price but that they'd need to give me a few hours. "Why?" he asked. And I replied that "to compete on same basis, first I have to sack all my staff, pack up all my stock and put it in my garage and then set up my computer in my home office". Yes, I was being tongue in cheek, but the reality I was trying to convey is that if you want to chat to (real) people about (real) gear and try that gear first in a genuine environment... perhaps even while enjoying a cup of coffee, then that MUST be valued. The price cannot be the exactly the same if we going to employ local musicians (which in a very real way, subsidises the live music scene by giving them an income which allows them to develop their music and perform live despite the low returns (and as for musicians being paid what they are worth to perform, now that's a whole 'nother can of worms!).

Yes, I live the real world and I am not naive enough to think people are ignorant of overseas pricing and will therefore be happy to pay twice as here much as they can get stuff from overseas... thankfully, prices have never been so close and they are closer. And so it also seems to me from the Best Buy experience overseas, enough people (so far at least) "get" the fact that in the long term, it is worth supporting locally owned musical instruments specialists who are trying their very hardest to compete at a (now) international level so there will continue to be places to go when you need them.

Graham Hoskins

Music Trades Magazine April 2013

Best Buy Ends Music "Store Within A Store" Venture

SEVEN YEARS AFTER OPENING its first dedicated music store in Riverside, California, Best Buy is calling it quits. In late March, the top consumer electronics retailer quietly told key suppliers that it would be closing the approximately 120 "stores within a store" that stocked a wide array of musical instruments. Suppliers were given the option of buying back unsold inventory or authorizing Best Buy to resell it to other retailers. Best Buy will continue to stock portable keyboards, certain accessory products, and entry-level guitars in its main showroom, but as of June, there will probably be no trace remaining of the company's specialty music store chain.

The closing of the Best Buy Music stores marks the end of a closely watched experiment that started optimistically but never lived up to its promise. In late 2005, Best Buy framed out a 2,500-square-foot section of its Riverside store, stocked it with a selection of higher-priced guitars, amps, keyboards, and drumsets, and began quietly promoting the new music store with local newspaper supplements. At the time, Best Buy was one of the world's most successful retailers, and most thought it was destined to become a major force in the industry.

Industry suppliers initially welcomed Best Buy, viewing it as a potential counterweight to Guitar Center's market dominance. However, they quickly became frustrated as they struggled to integrate specialized music products into a high-volume, mass-market consumer environment. Numerous suppliers said that Best Buy's pledge to train a dedicated music store staff rang hollow: "The guys in the music store are the same ones selling dishwashers and televisions," was a common refrain.

The joys of technology?!

One of the risks of retail these days is the increasing incidence of credit card fraud and recently we were hit by 2 guys using stolen credit card details to buy a new black Fender American Standard Stratocaster,  a Fender Mustang amp and a Roland electronic drum kit.  If you can help identify either of these gentlemen (yes, I am being facetious!) or if you see any of these items in a hock shop or online at a price too good to be true then in a please contact Graham Hoskins at Concept Music or call Crime Stoppers.

Fortunately we have all the serial numbers & extensive CCTV footage as the customer whose card was compromised saw the unauthorised transaction online within a few days & called us to alert us... too late for us but at least it did mean that we still had the CCTV footage which would otherwise have recorded over itself after 14 days.