i have kapok brand at my house but it already old hard to press..sakit tangan if want press the string...
should i buy acoustic guitar?

To my knowledge, kapok is just the brand, where genre of the guitar isn't the main concern of the manufacturer. I see some kapok acoustic before, and some kapok classical guitar before, some comes with electric guitar heads, even. Some comes with acoustic neck and classical heads. This lack of genre clarity is one reason why kapok have been viewed "low class" sort of.

Don't flame me, i don't hate kapok if anyone here is kapok hard core fan, i'm just telling the story from people of my point of view.

TS, definitely, get an acoustic guitar Cheap and good one just cost about Rm150 more or less.

acoustic the string soft then kapok?

not all, of course.

go and try it.

basically what primarily determines whether its painful or not when u press the string is called the action - which is the distance between the string to the fretboard. kapok's playability is always a turn off, after 15mins max u just wanna put it down.

maybe u should get a new string
dont buy cheapo one,tiger brand or what so ever,it a bit thick and hard to press.
imo,get branded set of string like fender acoustic or any brand that above rm20.

Kapok is very cheaply made... but still... it is quite good for its price... ahahaha....

sakit tangan wo main kapok..

if u lower the action... problems will occur...

if i buy string like fender acoustic and put at my kapok should be ok?
i mean soft then aero string?
coz last time i use aero string

This post has been edited by lengcaiboy: Mar 30 2010, 01:36 AM

just mod the white bar that hold ur string in place to be lower then the string feels softer as it is close to the fret...

This post has been edited by spadecrew: Mar 30 2010, 04:47 AM

How about buying a classical guitar? Classical guitar has nylon strings, the strings are softer and smoother on the fingers.

nylon also can use at kapok right

yes.. nylon strings are smoother on the fingers... but the sound and playability are different on steel stringsla... steel strings are brighter... nylon cannot get that bending sound like steel string does... Nylon strings are good if u want to play classical, jazz also can... Blues and rock not so preferable...

yes.. nylon can use on kapok also..

if you are serious in playing and learning guitar, keep the kapok away, try your hands on other better guitar, you'll feel the different. Try both classical nylon string guitar and acoustic steel string guitar in guitar shops, see which one you like and feel more comfortable.

nylon string can use on kapok guitar?

i want start playing guitar with nylon string because it soft

Never tried it. I'm not sure. The strings might not suit to the guitar bridge and tuning pegs. Maybe you could try bringing your guitar to a guitar shop and ask?

So you're saying you're just only starting to play the guitar?
What kind of genre do you like to play?
Nylon and steel strings are different in terms of sounds.

If you are just starting to play the guitar, it's normal for your hand to feel sore.
Play for a few weeks or so, and develop some callus.
It's where your fingertips are hardened from all the sores.
Then you'll be all set.

i also use nylon on my kapok for playing clasical and also use semi accoustic guitar..

if u want to learn guitar, maybe u should get a good quality guitar, and dont waste ur money anymore...ur kapok can be use to play classical music...just buy the nylon string (usually for kapok, the nylon is the black color one)

My kapok only use for strumming practicing, its damn hard to fingerpick on that ... kapok lol, plus always have to retune it, so in conclusion, go get a better brand of acoustic instead, spent more, u won't regret it.

An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only acoustic methods to project the sound produced by its strings. The term is a retronym, coined after the advent of electric guitars, which rely on electronic amplification to make their sound audible.
source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_guitar

TS your Kapok guitar is an acoustic. The instruments are either acoustic or electric. Kapok as Monsterface mentioned is just a name of a brand. As Music Mania mention after a while your fingers will develop callus. It does not matter if you use nylon or metal stings. Just keep at it. If you find that you like to continue playing guitar, then buy a better guitar. Kopok is cheap. It is a good one to start. If you lose interest in the instrument, you have not waste much money.

well actually, kapok are meant to be used with nylons. but those cheap manufacturer slap steel strings on them by default because nylons are hard to keep in tune if it's new(stretchable).

kapok brand don't have truss rod. without a truss rod, it's impossible to lower the action and thus, it'll be really hard to play with steel strings. especially soloing. get some nice nylons and put it on your kapok and it'll play better. and yes, the neck width at the nut WILL accommodate nylons because it's actually using a classical measurement(not 42-43mm like most acoustic).

kapok.. last time my brother use a fishing string.. sound also nice

most factual input
i agree
kapok is a china guitar brand
they make many different classes of guitar but those found in malaysia are the cheapest of the lot. they sell better quality ones in china

these cheap kapok guitars are actually classical guitars by design.
eg. wide neck, no truss rod, no pegs but string ties at the bridge etc
but somehow i dunno who put steel strings on them
if u use the lightest or thinnest gauge strings, it can still sound pretty ok but i think if u use thicker or medium strings on it, the neck will be bent and it will be hard to play

i have 3 guitars including the cheap kapok which i kept the light steel strings on. the kapok not easy to play bcos the action ie the strings are too high but it has the brightest and clearest sound. i am not a beginner so i can still manage but it will hard for someone trying to learn.

ideally use nylon strings to put into your kapok
it was designed as a classical guitar hence it should use nylon strings. that will make it easier to play

you can get a proper steel string acoustic guitar for rm200 over but if you are willing to spend more, yamaha f310 is the best quality guitar for the price
rm380 or so and it has a very good sound that matches expensive guitars

Kapok made is really lousy wan. Using "kayu getah" and gam gajah. Akustik is using steel string, compare to classic, using nylon string. However, some cheap akustik (i had buy 1 before dis, brand Evo) the gap between string and fretboard are too narrow. U need to press harder, and makes your finger more painfull. More stressful if u press fret num. 10 to above.

So, what i recommended to you is buy nylon string and attach it to your kapok before u buy new wan. Nylon string Olympia or D'Addario(better) is cost below RM20. Try install it by your ownself (watch youtube) so you can learn. After install, tune the guitar and goreng2 until the tune lari, and re-tune it back. Around 1 week after installation, the tune of nylon string sure lari2 wan. After that, the guitar sound will be richer, even kapok.



This post has been edited by DecorssWeismell: Dec 18 2014, 10:13 AM

The kapok I bought was only RM110.
It is a classical guitar design. But came with steel strings.
It will be hard to play because the action is high, sure tangan sakit
Change to nylon strings better esp for beginner, after all it is a classical guitar, dunno which genius decided to put steel strings on it

wow this thread is about 4 years old and late lol.

every years got newbies into guitar. that's great.

questions like this will always be asked.

hi what size the standard string size steel for normal guitar? 010 or 012?

Wonder if kapok comes from the word capo.

gitar kapok paling sedap . sumpah aku recommend

Need to send the kapok for setup supaya jari x sakit bila gitar di petik.

wow this thread one decade already still coming back

Kapok is an iconic guitar on the budget, back in my school year 1993 - 2001 almost everyone around me owned a kapok guitar, simply the best sounding guitar out of the bunch of RM200 and below brand guitars. In fact i still have it in the storeroom.