Basic Nut width question

[Earwitness]

(This question is not which width you prefer.)
I've always played 1 11/16, and have no particular problem. Considering an additional guitar that is 1 3/4. When I play a 1 3/4 now, there is an initial awkwardness. I'm sure I could get used to it with no problem, and might even like it better (although I don't have great reach, and every little bit might count).

Anyway, my question is whether, if you own both widths, you can easily go back and forth on the same day between them without awkwardness.

[roylor4]

I think it will depend on the player. Both my axes are 1.75" and I never can get the feel of one w/the 1 & 11/16th's width. Feels super cramped.

I have read other posts regarding this topic. Some guys can go straight from a 1 & 5/8th's to a 1.75" to a 2" classical.

I cannot.

[Dru Edwards]

I can go back and forth no problems; however I prefer 1 3/4". I do find flatpicking a little easier on the 1 11/16" though.

Do you have the opportunity to rent a guitar, or borrow a friends? That way you'll have a week/month to play it and see if you'll like 1 3/4".

[Silly Moustache]

Hi,
According to my 1924 Martin catalogue the standard nut width for flat-tops was 1 & 7/8" with the very small model "2" having 1 & 134/16" .

The original nut widths for Dreads was 1 & 7/8" hence that 12 fret dreads of then , they '60s-'80s and the current 12 fret dreads.
This is because most guitars were intended for finger-style.

However come the later '20s and '30s jazz and dance bands become increasingly popular and the old plectrum banjo players needed to change to guitar.

They played closed chords which usually meant "killing" one or more strings and so the popularity for extra thin necks became the thing. some jazz guitars were made with 1 & 5/8" width, but somehow the standard width became 1 & 11/16" as did the elongated 14 fret neck which was created to make banjo players feel better.

This geometry was intended for closed chord rhythm - plectrum style, not flat-picking or finger-style.

Most people assuming there was no choice stuck with thin 14 fret necks.

Many people who play intricate finger styles or flat-picking find a wider neck a little better - hence the increasing preference for 1 & 3/4"

Also increasing in popularity is the 12 fret design which is normally made with 1 & 13/16" or 1 & 7/8" nutwidths which are still being viewed cautiously by many but ifno9ne really investigates them most will find them more accommodating.

Incidentally it is also often said that nut-widths vary for deferent sized hands or fingers but this actually has very little to do with it - consider the flamenco and classical guitar which has a standard nut width of 2".

[Garthman]

Yeah. I can switch without any problem. I play electric, acoustic (6 and 12 string) and classical (nut widths from 40mm through 43mm, 45mm, 48mm and 52mm) so can switch immediately between all of them.

It's just a matter of playing them all regularly - your fingers soon "remember" the different widths.

[Judson]

Personally,I don't find it particularly easy going between 1 11/16 and 1.75 ... but then again, a lot depends on the guitar(s) themselves. I've played some higher end guitars with 1 11/16 inch nut that I felt good about ... but given the choice, I will always select a guitar with a wider nut.

I think all my guitars are 1 11/16, but I honestly don't feel like the 1 3/4 width makes that big of a difference. Either one works for me.

[mercy]

I play fingerstyle most of the time and I find 1 3/4 too narrow for clean fretting. Sure talented and Pros can play clean even on 1 11/16 but I am neither so I need the wider width. Still a narrower neck is easier to fret when chording so if I am playing rhythm I like the narrower and I can go from one width to the other within a few songs.

[Jersey tuning]

I have more problem going between a short scale (24.9) and standard scale (25.4) than between a narrower and wider nut.

[handers]

There are several measurements to consider here which include

- the neck width,which is similar but not always exactly the same as
- the nut width and
- the string spacing at the nut

These will determine how much space on the outside of the 1 and 6 strings and this is important in terms of fretting and not pushing the string off the neck. The spacing between all the strings can be unique and be different from guitar to guitar.

The scale length, which also affects string tension, can make any string width feel different.

My Froggy F has a 1-3/4" nut with a 25-3/8" scale and my Froggy H12c has a 1-7/8" nut and 24.9 inch. So the F has a longer scale (higher tension) and a more narrow string spacing whereas my H12c has a shorter scale (less tension) and wider string spacing. I do have some issues going back and forth between these two. I often wonder if the longer scale had the wider string spacing would make fretting too difficult. They both feel very good, the H12c is perfect for me. But these variable all affect how the guitar feels.

hans

[scottishrogue]

I own guitars with a number of nut widths...1 11/16", 1 3/4", 1 7/8", 2", and a few classical guitars even wider (52mm).

I can tell the difference, particularly when switching from the narrow nuts to the extra wide classical guitar nuts, but I just play a few minutes and the awkwardness goes away. Switching back, I experience the same thing, in reverse. But if you limit yourself to only 1 width, I would say 1 3/4 would be a better choice. I'm glad I don't have to do that, though.

Glen

[murrmac123]

There are , of course. other factors to take into account other than the actual width of the nut, when discussing comfortable playing.

Foremost among which is ...how far in from the edge of the fretboard are the E and e strings located ?

Secondmost is ...are the string slots in the nut set for equidistant centers or equidistant spaces ?

Some players prefer equidistant centers, but the majority prefer the uncluttered feel of equidistant spaces.

[AZLiberty]

I really can't tell the difference between my guitars with a 1 3/4 and 1 11/16" nut.

The only exception is my Larrivee parlor. The 1 11/16" nut combined with the short scale is pretty cramped.

[Aldwyn]

Count me as another "not a problem". It only starts to feel awkward when it gets larger then 1 3/4.

[Johnny21]

I go back and forth between 1.650" on my electric and 1.75" on my acoustic with no problem.

I got to say, I DO prefer the 1.75" nut width now. It's a good thing I don't' play too many open chords on the electric... It only feels "smaller" playing the open D on the electric to me.