Author: Steven Watson

It’s really a wonderful time to be a no-nailer. There are now so many excellent, thriving players, with new recordings coming out almost by the week. And I’m sure I’ve missed plenty. But here is Enrica Savigni (no-nails) and Marco Ramelli (nails) performing some Clara Schumann: And Daniel Sardone and Joaquin Panadés playing a composition…

First up, we have a wonderful Mozart duet by Carles Trepat (no-nails) and Edin Karamazov (nails). It’s a rare opportunity to hear the two techniques side-by-side. Both are playing Torres guitars with gut and silk strings. I’ve added a page on Pepita Roca, the last student of Tarrega. Segovia’s comments about her playing are particularly…

Rob MacKillop is the godfather of modern no-nail playing, and he has a new album out: Giovanni Paolo Foscarini: the Complete Works for Baroque Guitar in the Lute Style. None of the works have been recorded before, and Rob plays them wonderfully — a must listen! Brandon Acker has made another fun no-nail video. This…

Duo Savigni (19th century guitar & fortepiano) have a new album out. It’s an absolutely blast, from beginning to end. Enrica’s playing — on a period instrument, gut strings, no nails — is extraordinary. A must listen! A recent discovery: Jan Tuláček, a luthier who is also a superb 19th century no-nail guitarist. There are…

Carles Trepat has a new video out. Just gorgeous: Thanks to Tate Harmann for alerting me to this talk on nails and the lute. The nail debate in the lute world is the inverse of the guitar world — i.e. there’s a prejudice against nails. The first half of the video gives an excellent historical…

Happy New Year to all! Brandon Acker has a new video comparing the loudness of nail and flesh techniques. As expected, he finds no significant difference in volume. It’s a common misconception that playing without nails means a reduction in volume (i.e. decibels); what it actually means is a change in frequencies (to generalize, the…

Four new historic players and new living players added to the list!

New players added to list: Foden, Dorn, Janse, Schettler, Meissonnier, Sendis & Pratten

Article in Classical Guitar Corner, new page on gut & nylgut strings, and details on changes to the Players page.

I added a page for Daniel Fortea.