#31
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1-3/4" minimum nut is essential to me. Some people say it doesn't matter. I think those people usually have smaller hand or skinnier fingers than me. Many people use the term "nut width" because it's an easy spec to reference, but it's really the string spacing that makes the difference. That small difference in spacing is the difference between me inadvertently muting an adjacent string or not. It's still a challenge for me even with 1-3/4" but if you keep going wider there are trade-offs (comfort, being able to reach frets, etc). You might be able to fine tune your technique and not have it bother you, but 1-11/16" just feels too cramped to me.
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B.J. Currently in the Stable 1993 Martin D-28 1935 Special 1996 Taylor 914c 1996 Taylor 712-BRZ 2010 Martin Custom OM-28V 2011 Seagull S6 Cedar Top 2012 Martin Custom Shop Dread |
#32
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To take an extreme example, try curling the fingers of your left hand so that you can position them on your palm in a C-chord shape. Think of this position as corresponding to a neck of zero depth. Now, do the same thing, leaving a space between your fingertips and palm, like there was actually a guitar neck between them. When I do this, I find that at some distances, I just have somewhat greater control and comfort than at others (although I'm actually fine through a pretty wide range). If you imagine that neck as varying in both depth and width as you form your C-chord shape, you may find that you can make the position more comfortable by changing either or both. Of course, what's missing is knowing whether you'd have enough room to fret the strings cleanly without muting the adjacent strings, which is why it's best to try real necks and not rely on this little experiment. But my point is, nut width -- while important -- is only part of the total comfort and playability equation. So getting your hands on some real guitars is far preferable to assuming that a certain nut width will definitely suit you. Personally, I tend to get my fingers lapping over to adjacent strings more when I play on a very wide, very shallow neck, like most classical guitars have. The strings are obviously farther apart but the geometry of the neck and that of my hand just aren't a great match. Some of this is practice, no doubt, but the "more space" factor doesn't necessarily translate into better finger placement for me.
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Bob DeVellis |
#33
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Nut width is just one part of a small-dance that will ultimately relate to playability for an individual, and for their personal preferences. This relates to how the guitar-neck and bridge are built, and the ultimate impact on ergonomics & playability goes far beyond just the one consideration of "nut width".
The list of things to consider is not overly long, but it seems to not have filtered down fully to the guitar playing community: 1) Overall nut width. 2) E-to-E string spacing at the nut, conventionally measured from center-to-center of the E strings. 3) Overall width of the fingerboard at the 12th fret. 4) E-to-E spacing at the bridge. Beyond this there are things such as scale length, fingerboard radius neck shape, and neck thickness that can also have a significant impact on the "feel" of the guitar. Some people do not have any problem switching from one set of specifications to another. I am happy for those folks. Others may indeed find a set of preferred specs that do indeed suit them best...or are at least "better feeling" to them, if one doesn't like to use the word "best". Good luck with your search...
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Larry Pattis on Spotify and Pandora LarryPattis.com American Guitar Masters 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists Steel-string guitars by Rebecca Urlacher and Simon Fay Classical guitars by Anders Sterner Last edited by Glennwillow; 11-13-2014 at 02:20 PM. |
#34
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Dan |
#35
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I think the problem comes from playing any one particular Guitar, for a long period of time. If you have several guitars, and switch between them periodically, I think you will see that nut width, and string spacing will be MUCH LESS an issue, practically Nil. Dan |
#36
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If you feel like you need more room, then you probably do. 1 3/4 minimum. My favorite nut width is 1 13/16 on acoustic.
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#37
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I went and played some today. I definitely prefer the wider nut width. The martin performing artist series felt the best of any I played today. Taylor says the string spacing is the same on all their models but to me the 416 I played definitely felt wider than the 214. It's not a deal breaker for me as I've been learning on a 1 11/16 since I started but for a lot of chords and some picking stuff that I'm learning I'm definitely better on the 1 3/4.
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#38
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String spacing plays a greater role than nut width.
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Chupacabra OM-18 Guild OM-120 w/ aftermarket JourneyTek pickup Fender RW Flea Jazz Squier Sonic Pbass Acoustic 30 watt Bass Amp Ampeg 20watt bass amp |
#39
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It can be confusing: "string spacing" is ambiguous, so people usually say "nut width" or "string spacing at the saddle". But to further compound the issue, the nut width and the string spacing at the nut may not always be consistent. For instance, a 1-3/4" nut usually has 1-1/2" string spacing at the nut. But Seagulls with a 1.8" nut also have 1-1/2" string spacing at the nut, despite the slightly wider nut width. |
#40
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I prefer 1 11/16. I played a couple of 1 3/4 Martins at Gruhn's today and did not like them.
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#41
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So the string spacing on the 416 was probably wider than the 214? That's what I was thinking but the wording of it had me confused. |
#42
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Does that match your impression of how it played? You would probably notice more of a difference making chords than doing fingerstyle. |
#43
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I disagree. I did not care about nut width for the first 25 years and I gigged six nights a week from 82 to 87. About 15 years ago I went to 1 3/4. Now I am at 1 7/8. Recently I have developed Authritus and plan to sell everything under that. |
#44
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I started with classical guitar because I have very large hands and especially the fingers. I just stayed away from steel strings most of my life because of the narrow spacing of the strings.
I decided to try a steel string and bought a Martin HD-28 without ever having played one. Yeah it sure did have a lot of getting use to, but I managed and then I decided to buy a D-18 because of the performance neck and wider string settings - a big difference for me, but not huge. I love this old HD-28 so much I am never giving it up and the D-18 is icing on the cake. Bill G |
#45
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I think it does match. I didn't notice anything plucking strings with my strumming hand. Making chords was easier though because I didn't tend to mute a string unintentionally. On the narrower strings sometimes my fingernail will barely touch the string right above it. Never have that issue on the performing artist or the 416 i played. |