Question:
Gman, I have been blessed with short stubby fingers it is very hard for
me to finger
chords. Am I doomed or are there any tips?
Walter
Answer:
There are different acoustic guitars with different sized necks.
One dimension that is different on guitars is the nut width.
That's
the little white thing at the top end of the neck. When a
manufacturer
specifies a nut width, that lets you know something about it's
playability. I'm used to a 1 11/16" nut width because the
first
guitar I ever got was this way. After all these years, If I
play a guitar
with a narrower nut width, I have problems hitting strings where I
should
especially on the bass strings.
Fingerstyle and classical players gennerally like a wider neck or nut
width. ( 1 3/4" to 2" )
Electric guitarists that want an acoustic usually like the narrower
necks or nut
widths because they are more similar to the electric guitar necks they
are used
to. If you have smaller hands, try one of these as
well.
The profile or contour of the
neck also needs to be
considered. That's the shape of the wood on the back of the
fretboard.
Standard or also may be referred to as chubby is shaped like a D.
Low-contour or low-profile is more of an oval shape.
There's also the old vintage more of a V shape with a rounded point
that is
coming back into style again.
If you have small hands, try the low profile neck first to see if it
works for
you.
If you are fortunate enough to have a good music store handy that sells
a lot of
guitars, go try different ones to see how they feel. There
really is a
difference.
Bob, Gman ( o )==#