This is interesting. While we have gone back and forth on 1 11/16" vs 1 3/4" nut width many times, I don't remember over the last 18 months that we have discussed this exact subject -- CAN WE REALLY TELL THE DIFFERENCE?
Obviously from the posts listed above, plenty of people can tell the difference. Bob Devellis' comments are particularly interesting to me.
For me, sometimes I can tell the difference and sometimes I can't. When I started posting here, I was sure that I preferred 1 11/16" nut width, but I would have also agreed that the easiest guitar to play that I owned at that time was my Taylor 514CE, which unknown to me at the time, has a 1 3/4" nut width.
I have guitars varying from 1 5/8" to 1 7/8" nut width. Once I get used to a guitar, I don't notice the difference in nut width one way or the other -- except for the 1 5/8"! The one I have the most trouble with is my Martin 000-28VS with a big fat "V" neck and a 1 13/16" nut width. But even that is not a big deal after about 5 minutes of playing.
My fingers are of medium length but slender width, so my fingers fit on a 1 11/16" nut width just fine. But I've found that I can live with all kinds of nut widths. On a guitar I've never played before, I can play a 1 11/16" nut width very accurately, but I'll mess up on a 1 3/4" for a few minutes, probably because I've spent a lot of years playing electric guitars and the most natural feel for me is 1 11/16".
Regards, Glenn
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