minorkey
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My main instrument is: hurting my fingers!
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Post by minorkey on Sept 8, 2020 15:06:55 GMT
I noticed when trying to play fingerstyle on my Valencia hybrid that it was a bit cramped when fingering chords and my ring finger would cause the next string up to buzz. I had to try out different positions to get a non buzzy chord, as you can hear in the video clip. http://instagram.com/p/CE4C1nTg5fK The full size classical with the slightly lifting bridge has a wider nut width of course and I suppose I could keep playing that, albeit it has rough fret ends! I'm not sure what the nut width is on my Tanglewood Discovery but I'm guessing its similar to that of the Valencia. The Fender Dread has the widest nut, and I suppose I could put it in standard tuning and learn on that. With light strings its quite playable.
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Post by geddarby on Sept 8, 2020 15:28:36 GMT
1& 3/4” minimum, my 0021 is 1& 7/8”with a chunky neck, short scale and no truss rod, is very comfortable.
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minorkey
C.O.G.
Too many instruments, too little time
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My main instrument is: hurting my fingers!
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Post by minorkey on Sept 8, 2020 17:27:09 GMT
1& 3/4” minimum, my 0021 is 1& 7/8”with a chunky neck, short scale and no truss rod, is very comfortable. So about 45mm. I only work in mm so had a bit of head scratching...
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minorkey
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Too many instruments, too little time
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My main instrument is: hurting my fingers!
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Post by minorkey on Sept 8, 2020 17:33:35 GMT
Just had a check of my guitars. The Valencia is 43mm. The Tanglewood about 44mm. What surprised me is that the Fender dread has a nut of 43mm! Yet it doesn't feel as narrow as the others. Obviously the classical is the standard 52mm
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stringdriventhing
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Post by stringdriventhing on Sept 8, 2020 18:42:36 GMT
I like 1 3/4" minimum. The string spacing at the nut is a factor too. Maybe that's why your Fender feels less cramped?
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minorkey
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Post by minorkey on Sept 8, 2020 20:34:20 GMT
Is it normal to work in inches? My lifelong interest in photography has caused me to work in mm for practically everything.
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stringdriventhing
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Post by stringdriventhing on Sept 8, 2020 20:40:42 GMT
Is it normal to work in inches? My lifelong interest in photography has caused me to work in mm for practically everything. With guitars you tend to see inches used on makers' webpages, etc. for nut width, scale length and so on. You do see mm used too sometimes.
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Sept 8, 2020 22:01:13 GMT
Some years ago I found, when playing a friend's Taylor, that my Fingerstyle ability improved quite a bit, there being more room for some of the tighter chords, and I'm not blessed with slim fingers. The nut width on Taylors above the 200 series is 45 mm and the string spacing is a bit wider as well at the nut. It made a world of difference to me, unbelievably when you consider that the difference from standard 43 mm was small. All my 6ers are now 45mm and when Francis made my lovely Lacey for me he measured my Taylor width and spacing and mirrored that. Great job he made of it. (I also suffer from relatively short and stiff fingers so the shape and depth of the neck are important to me as well).
Overall, nut width and neck profile are probably the no 1 technical feature of a guitar for me. If they aren't right, the guitar isn't right.
FFJ
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minorkey
C.O.G.
Too many instruments, too little time
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My main instrument is: hurting my fingers!
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Post by minorkey on Sept 8, 2020 23:30:02 GMT
Is it normal to work in inches? My lifelong interest in photography has caused me to work in mm for practically everything. With guitars you tend to see inches used on makers' webpages, etc. for nut width, scale length and so on. You do see mm used too sometimes. I just can't get my head around 1 and 7/8 of an inch. Almost 2 inches to me...
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Sept 9, 2020 9:11:24 GMT
With guitars you tend to see inches used on makers' webpages, etc. for nut width, scale length and so on. You do see mm used too sometimes. I just can't get my head around 1 and 7/8 of an inch. Almost 2 inches to me... ...that's where you're going wrong, Larry. It's your hand you have to get round it. Keith
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leoroberts
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Post by leoroberts on Sept 9, 2020 9:59:19 GMT
Weird, isn't it? And it maybe explains my fumblings...but I just play whatever is there. I'm not sure I take any notice of neck width. Indeed, it wasn't until davewhite asked me what neck width I wanted on the guitar he was building for me 10 years ago that I realised there was a choice! And having decided on neck width he then asked me about profile! Profile?? "I'd like it to stick out of the left hand side, please". And don't get me started on scale length. They're deliberately trying to confuse us, you know...
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minorkey
C.O.G.
Too many instruments, too little time
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My main instrument is: hurting my fingers!
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Post by minorkey on Sept 9, 2020 10:04:14 GMT
Lol so its just me being a rubbish player then
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Post by scorpiodog on Sept 9, 2020 11:19:55 GMT
Nope. Not you being rubbish at all. It is a weird thing that a tiny difference can be so significant, but it can. But in my opinion, as stringdriventhing said, it's string spacing at the nut that matters more than the actual width of the nut. Mind you, I played several Hofner Senators when I thought I wanted one, and the strings are too close to the edge of the nut for me. There's a lot of stuff that you don't think about that makes a difference.
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minorkey
C.O.G.
Too many instruments, too little time
Posts: 2,992
My main instrument is: hurting my fingers!
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Post by minorkey on Sept 9, 2020 12:22:18 GMT
I think for me a lot of it is down to improper finger placement. I need to go straight down onto the string with my fingertip but its often more likely to be my pad that makes contact. I need to assess my hand position, and thumb placement on the neck.
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Post by andyhowell on Sept 9, 2020 13:12:52 GMT
Width at the saddle is pretty important as this gives you width as you move down the neck. The profile of the neck makes a big difference — I'm not sure how it works but two necks with the same nut width can feel very different — I swear my OM is narrower than my other guitars but measuremeents tell another story. Fan frets always seem to have more 'space' for me esepcially beyond the 5th fret. I guess if I had the timem, the inclination and the cash I could work out the ideal width and profiles for my hands but I don't so I'm happy to adopt the leoroberts philosophy!
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