The Guitars of Rolly Waters: Córdoba Nylon Acoustic

The nylon-stringed Córdoba sat on the sofa where he’d left it. He sat down, pulled the guitar into position, finger-picked his way through a Bach fugue, one of the few classical pieces he’d memorized. The Romeros wouldn’t be threatened by his tirandos, but he wasn’t half bad for a rock-and-roll guy.

Border Field blues

A few months ago, I talked about the Gibson-ES335 guitar that’s featured in the first Rolly Waters mystery, Black’s Beach Shuffle. A very different type of guitar got the feature treatment in my second novel, Border Field Blues.

I did not go into as much detail about the Córdoba guitar as I did with the Gibson but the guitar would look something like this:

Unlike the Gibson ES-335, the Córdoba is an acoustic guitar. Rolly is primarily an electric guitar player, but I wanted him to be playing a guitar that fit with other elements of the story. An acoustic nylon-stringed instrument seemed like the right choice. Guitars such as the one above are sometime called Spanish guitars because historically they were designed, built and played in Spain. It’s used in classical music, flamenco and various Latin American musical styles, including Mariachi music. Which is why I chose to feature it in Border Field Blues, much of which takes place along the San Diego-Tijuana border. The father of one of the main characters was a mariachi musician and the character carries his father’s guitar with him when he crosses the border.

I chose a Córdoba mostly because I liked the name. It’s a fairly new company founded in Santa Monica, California, in 1997. They have a guitar under $500 which rates pretty highly (and would fit Rolly’s budget).

Nylon-stringed classical guitars differ from the steel-stringed acoustic guitars most often used for rock, pop, folk, blues, country, and bluegrass music.

• Steel-string guitars produce a bright, loud, and resonant sound. Nylon-string guitars produce a warmer, softer, and mellower tone.
• Steel-string guitars have a narrower neck, a thinner profile, and a larger body to withstand their higher string tension. Nylon-string guitars feature a wider, flatter fingerboard and a smaller, lighter body.
• Steel strings can be harder on the fingers, especially for beginners, requiring more finger pressure to fret notes while nylon strings are gentler on the fingertips.

It should also be noted that before the invention of nylon, classical guitars used “catgut” strings. It’s a bit of a misnomer as no house pets were involved. Farm animals were, however. Catgut strings are made of a fiber found in the intestines of goats and sheep. Nylon has become the preferred material for most guitarists but catgut is still being used in some specialized cases. You can read more about the process here.

As for the quote above, who are The Romeros who wouldn’t be threatened by Rolly’s tirandos? They’re the internationally famous guitar-playing Romero family whose members have lived in Del Mar since 1969. It was a no-brainer for Rolly to think of them when considering his own playing. You can hear the Los Romeros quartet performing in concert below.

As to the Bach fugue Rolly has managed to learn and play? I’m thinking it’s probably the well-known BWV 1000 played in the video below. I don’t think Rolly can play it as well Ms. Betaneli, but he can get through it. It’s a good workout that really stretches those fingers and hands!