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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2018 17:29:05 GMT
I've played a huge variety of different body shapes over the years. This afternoon, when I was rehearsing my little folk band at school, I was playing one of my school’s guitars, all of them dreadnaught shaped. I was suddenly thinking to myself just how perfect that body shape felt to play. My recent experience of playing a slope D Eastman was the same. My hand and arm just seemed to full into the right place. One of the most comfortable guitars I ever owned was a Bourgeois slope D.
With bigger bodied guitars, I tend to hold them very differently from OM sized guitars, like the one I am borrowing at the moment. With small bodied guitars, I find my arm has to rest right on the edge of the body. Reminds me when I used to play classical- I would always end up with a funny dent in my forearm after playing. But I think you can see from my YouTube videos that with large bodied guitars like my Tavy, the body edge would end up resting in the bend of my elbow, making it very comfortable to play.
I know several people on here have commented in the past on how you are only really comfortable with smaller bodied guitars. It would be interesting to discuss why that might be the case.
Robbie
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Wild Violet
Artist / Performer
Posts: 3,612
My main instrument is: Symonds OM-14
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Post by Wild Violet on Jun 7, 2018 18:12:39 GMT
I like to play dreads- both square and sloped shouldered but will admit that I am far more comfortable with short scale 14 fret 0s or 00s. I will probably eventually trade in my fancy D-28 for something like an 0-18. It seems to be a thing on another board that the older you get, the smaller your guitar is - possibly down to being less flexible in your shoulders?
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Post by jackorion on Jun 7, 2018 18:56:20 GMT
OM/000
Anything else is too big or too small, whereas, for me, the OM/000 is the Goldilocks guitar in terms of size and tone - enough bass but not too much, loud enough, but too too loud, delicate but not too delicate!
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Post by vikingblues on Jun 7, 2018 19:16:31 GMT
Once upon a time I would have said without reservation that the parlour guitar was the body size that suited me.
But I have noticed now that I've tried playing a lot of acoustic guitars that it's not always the case.
However - my arms (as well as fingers / hands are a bit shorter than the normal. So I find a guitar with a big body and a deep body causes too many problems with trying to get my arm over the thing right so that my fingers end up in the right place. The result with extended playing is muscle and joint strain and issues with my neck. Which is a bugger because it means missing out on the bigger sounds that a larger guitar (in general) gives.
The other however is that I discovered the Vintage Gordon Giltrap models. Much bigger than a parlour and with a lower bout that is around jumbo size. Very comfortable to play when seated - I believe because of the very pinched waist that lowers the top edge of the lower bout and allows my arm to get the sort of access that it needs. Sadly it usually needs an expensive luthier made guitar for that sort of body shape. Sadly because the fullness of sound with this sort of body shape gives a much fuller more satisfying sound than a parlour.
The pinched waist is also great for the guitars ability to sit securely on the leg. I find some OM type of guitars with slightly less of a curve than normal for that boy shape are awfully inclined to want to slide about. OMs are very hit and miss for comfort and I find very few to be comfortable in the way that a parlour is.
Lynns point about having the impression form another board that the older you get the smaller the guitar tends to need to be. I wouldn't argue with that. Quite possibly down to having less flexibility in the shoulders, but also I'd suggest down to increasing aches and pains, particularly of an arthritic nature.
Mark
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Post by oustudent on Jun 7, 2018 19:20:00 GMT
I bought a Martin Jeff Tweedy 00 in December 2016, then as per the norm went through a period of not liking it and now it is my goto instrument. Purley for comfort it sits nicely on the lap and I never get any fatigue. If you are wondering why the strings are wedged on it, it is to remind me of what strings I last put on it. Attachment Deleted
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Post by oustudent on Jun 7, 2018 19:23:50 GMT
I should also add that with the OM - 000 sizes I will begin to get right shoulder ache after about 45mins.
And I know this may sound ridiculous, I play my OM and 000 in a tee shirt, if I have a jumper/sweatshirt on the pain in my shoulder comes quicker.
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Post by scripsit on Jun 7, 2018 23:33:57 GMT
I really dislike the dread size and shape, at least for playing sitting down. I find the right arm positions in particular become uncomfortable very quickly. Dreads are also ... how can I put this politely? ... very very ugly. I think it was Somogyi who pointed out that the box shape is based almost entirely on the necessities of industrial production (small side bends, big box which overemphasizes mid-range without fine tuning to give the impression of big bass etc).
I think the 000/OM is the perfect box, for both aesthetics and comfort. I prefer long scale tension (650mm or so), but increasingly am leaning to 12 fret body join as the best in terms of reach and sound.
Kym
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Post by dreadnought28 on Jun 8, 2018 2:00:45 GMT
00 for me
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Post by andyhowell on Jun 8, 2018 6:52:38 GMT
I used to consider an OM or a 00 as the ideal for me but the Manzer wedge works wonders for larger bodied guitars, making them far more comfortable to hold and play.
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Post by lavaman on Jun 8, 2018 7:20:12 GMT
My goto most comfortable guitar is my 00-18V, closely followed by my OM and 000. I think its the shallowness from top to back that improves the comfort. Anything bigger like a dreadnought hurts my right shoulder after a while. Also, I always wear a strap even when sat down.
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leoroberts
C.O.G.
Posts: 25,623
My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Jun 8, 2018 9:07:01 GMT
We're talking guitar here, right? Cos the body shape which is most comfortable for me would be about 5 stones lighter than it currently is...
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Post by scorpiodog on Jun 8, 2018 11:20:57 GMT
For me, it depends whether I'm playing standing up or sitting down. I don't really like playing dreadnoughts sitting down, but standing (and I do carry the guitar quite high up on my chest) I have no issue with it. This is partly to do with how it alters my right arm position when seated, but also where it puts the strings (and it is only a right arm problem). I don't like sitting with a jumbo shape either, but then the string position is OK, but it still feels like my right arm is uncomfortably high.
I find that all my guitars from Jumbo to 00 are absolutely fine standing, because I take care when first adjusting the strap to get the strings in the right place. Having seen photos of myself, it always looks to me as though I carry a larger bodied guitar higher than the smaller bodied ones, but that's just because of string positioning.
When seated in an upright chair, I find OM to be the most comfortable, but if snuggling on the sofa (with a guitar!!!) then the 00 is my favourite. Anything smaller and I have to use a strap when seated.
Gosh, aren't we picky!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2018 12:41:57 GMT
I really dislike the dread size and shape, at least for playing sitting down. I find the right arm positions in particular become uncomfortable very quickly. Dreads are also ... how can I put this politely? ... very very ugly. I think it was Somogyi who pointed out that the box shape is based almost entirely on the necessities of industrial production (small side bends, big box which overemphasizes mid-range without fine tuning to give the impression of big bass etc).
I think the 000/OM is the perfect box, for both aesthetics and comfort. I prefer long scale tension (650mm or so), but increasingly am leaning to 12 fret body join as the best in terms of reach and sound.
Kym
Somogyi’s thoughts on the dreadnaught are very strange seeing as he has become synonymous with his “modified dreadnaught” shape that he and his disciples expound. Also, by the same principals, the Stratocaster (and before it the Telecaster) are probably the ultimate guitars designed for the production line, and yet, for many people these shapes define the very idea of an electric guitar. Imcertainly don’t think the dreadnaught is ugly, except when it has a cutaway, then it looks just plane wrong. In fact, I find any guitar with a cutaway a bit wonky, but I certainly appreciate the enhanced access it gives to the upper end of the fingerboard.
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Post by scripsit on Jun 8, 2018 13:31:42 GMT
I really dislike the dread size and shape, at least for playing sitting down. I find the right arm positions in particular become uncomfortable very quickly. Dreads are also ... how can I put this politely? ... very very ugly. I think it was Somogyi who pointed out that the box shape is based almost entirely on the necessities of industrial production (small side bends, big box which overemphasizes mid-range without fine tuning to give the impression of big bass etc).
I think the 000/OM is the perfect box, for both aesthetics and comfort. I prefer long scale tension (650mm or so), but increasingly am leaning to 12 fret body join as the best in terms of reach and sound.
Kym
Somogyi’s thoughts on the dreadnaught are very strange seeing as he has become synonymous with his “modified dreadnaught” shape that he and his disciples expound. Also, by the same principals, the Stratocaster (and before it the Telecaster) are probably the ultimate guitars designed for the production line, and yet, for many people these shapes define the very idea of an electric guitar. Imcertainly don’t think the dreadnaught is ugly, except when it has a cutaway, then it looks just plane wrong. In fact, I find any guitar with a cutaway a bit wonky, but I certainly appreciate the enhanced access it gives to the upper end of the fingerboard. The Stratocaster is the ultimate version of a comfortable fit (even though, yes yes it was designed for a production line), with the bevels that mould it to your own body when you have it strapped on. Especially compared with the crushing and shoulder damaging weight of a Les Paul over a three or four set night. I speak as someone that played a borrowed genuine 50s goldtop for far too long, back in the day. Yes, I came from a generation that basically had these as the two major choices (unless you were a country or, worse, Eagles fan, in which case you used a Tele and committed brain surgery on everyone in listening range with surgical trebles).
Pinching in the waist of a dread a bit further makes a surprising amount of difference to both look and ergonomics. Good old Ervin worked that out, although I'm not sure that all of the imitators do it for the same reasons. The guitar in my signature is based on a Martin 0000 shape, the box of which is about the same volume as a standard dread, but it's much more comfortable when it's sitting on my knee.
I find a well shaped cutaway to be quite beautiful.
Dreads just look like dreads.
Kym
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Wild Violet
Artist / Performer
Posts: 3,612
My main instrument is: Symonds OM-14
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Post by Wild Violet on Jun 8, 2018 14:32:18 GMT
This thread has really got me thinking. Some of you know the story behind my extremely fancy Martin - the nicest I've played and I had envisaged owning for life it as it is unlikely I would ever come up with £7000+ to replace it, and if I tried to sell it I'd be lucky to get half that amount. However... it has mainly sat in its case for well over a year, coming out every few months for a flatpicking session. Each time I play it I think "this is so big!".
I mainly play an 00 a friend made for me, and the J45. I much prefer short scale now and really love the smaller 00 body. I could sell the Martin and possibly get a vintage 0 or 00-18, or a 40's Gibson LG2, or a certain forum member's Romero banjo if he could be persuaded to part with it. I'm not sure what to do, I'm feeling a bit twitchy about it all and sense a change a-coming. I blame @robbiej!
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