I was born in the early fifties, if that makes a difference, so approaching my 7th decade, and wanted to put in a word about the V neck on my OM-18 Authentic. That neck is thicker and incorporates a fixed ebony truss rod.
After a little over a year and a half, I seem to have adjusted pretty well. I play ragtime blues, folk and classical. I do barre chords all up and down the neck, and even play notes at the 17th fret.
I do some exercises for strength and flexibility in hands and arms and there was a period of a couple of days when some kind of pain prevented me from playing, but I've found that V shape has lots of advantages once you adjust to it, and now regularly play and practice for 2 or 3 hours a day and sometimes more.
I think the thinner necks can be harder on the muscles in my hand, less support. I grip the neck sometimes and also play more classical position with the thumb fully behind the neck. I also use a Sound Seat, elevate the neck, and place the guitar on the left leg.
The hand carved neck is one of the features of the Authentic, and it seemed to me they put a lot of thought into the design, so it was a matter of learning to use it properly.
__________________
Martin OM-18 Authentic 1933 VTS (2016)
|