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| I was wondering how a difference in nut width would affect a guitar? Does it make it have a lower action, different tone, wider spacing etc? Can anyone please elucidate on this? thanks! |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | The neck is wider, the strings are farther apart, so you have more space for your fingers. |
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Location: East Tennessee | Mark,
You said it all.
I just picked a Martin OM 18V witha 1 3/4" nut and the string spacing at the bridge is 2 3/8". More room at both ends which I'm finding is a plus. |
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Location: South of most, North of few | Just depends what you get used to. Some people find the wider necks easier to play, while some find the standard (1 11/16) easier. I've had from 1 5/8 to
1 7/8 on guitars in my collection at the same time. 1/4" doesn't seem like much, but it feels like a mile on a guitar neck width. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | It affects the player, not the guitar. |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | ..and the guitar affects the player..
Vic
..no ?... |
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| Bill, I would suggest it all depends on how you define the word "It"
:cool: |
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Location: ms | I wish I could find a one size fits all but lately 1 3/4 has been working for me. I still love 1 7/8 and you can`t beat 1 11/16 for flat picking but I can`t have them all. |
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| Ask your girlfriend/wife (or both). |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | 1 3/4 does it all for me. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | The older I get the wider I like 'em. I only use the skinny ones ... on special occassions. |
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Posts: 4394
Location: East Tennessee | Originally posted by Mauvais Beal:
1 3/4 does it all for me. 1 3/4" neck is the best of both worlds. Wide enough for finger pickin',(and large hands), narrow enough so chording is still easy. :cool: |
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Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | The thinner necks are easier to play when you are still learning or when you are young and your fingers are still growing. With small hands, I was always under the impression that the wider necks were difficult. This is just not so. The 1-3/4" neclkk on the EF75 Tak is wonderful to play. The only neck I ever have a difficult time getting used to is the Hurricane. It is 1-11/16" with 12 strings, and forces you to be very precise in your fingering technique. |
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Posts: 125
Location: UK | Right now I'm favouring my Folklore [steel] and Country Artist [nylon] both with 1 7/8" because my mood is for finger picking. Next month? Some blues, flat picking and a bit of strumming and I'll be back with the Balladeer 1 11/16"
One think, spending time on a wide neck and returning to a narrow one really makes you notice the difference in speed. I like to think it makes my changes faster [I wish] but this proably just an illustion.
3/16" is not much spread over 6 strings but what a diffence to playing. |
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Location: Jet City | what's the most affordable O with 1 3/4in nut? |
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October 2002
Posts: 153
Location: Huntington Beach, CA | I elucidated last might. I'm good for a couple more days. Played them all, like them all, just need a little adjustment time. 1 3/4" is much easier for finger picking IMHO.
-Eman. |
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October 2006
Posts: 118
Location: Winter Haven, FL | Originally posted by Damon67:
what's the most affordable O with 1 3/4in nut? What models come in 1 3/4"?
I'd like just a little more room on my 2778LX. I have other guitars with the 1 11/16" nut, but the string spacing is just a tad wider. Not much, but enough to avoid the zing of the strings on my nails. I'm fine when I capo at the 2nd fret or above, but below that it gets too narrow for some chords while fingerpicking. There's actually quite a bit of material on both ends of the nut, so I have some room to spread out from where it is. I've got a couple bone nut blanks in the ditty box so I think I'll fit one for it and spread things out a bit one of these days.
And I'd really like to try a 6774 Folklore sometime. |
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Posts: 41
| Originally posted by KPaul:
And I'd really like to try a 6774 Folklore sometime. I have a 1985 Folklore 1614 in the For Sale section.
Back on topic: I find string spacing at the nut is more important than nut width. Not all guitars with 1-11/16 have the same string spacing, nor do all 1-3/4, nor do 1-13/16 etc etc |
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Posts: 2336
Location: Brighty in Blighty | I have big/wide fingers yet I prefer a narrower nut width/string separation.
One of the reasons being my first guitar was a CHEAPO Les Paul copy, boy fingering a E chord was tight but I got u. Later I moved to a CHEAPO classical guitar, boy fingering was sporadic, it was TOOOOO wide.
After many years playing many styles (and guitars) I thankfully found a type of guitar, that as least for the foreseeable future that best fits my "perfect fit" for my hand, tone, feel and look == namely my Ovations.
Play many and keeping trying, YOUR guitar IS out there. It's a personal thing of course but Os do have a voice and feel that are up their with the "names".
Back to the question : Yes and no. No, a wider nut doesn't increase anything but string width. Yes a wider nut *could* scientifically improve playabilitiy/tone/hair growth/cure for the common cold... |
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Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | TJ quote - 1/4" doesn't seem like much, but it feels like a mile on a guitar neck width. --
I had a Takamine EG561C for a month or so... I could not find a real measurable difference in the nut width, but the strings just seem way too close together!
So I guess even a 16th of an inch makes a difference. Depends on what you are used to..
But the guy who bought it from me is real happy with it... He even emailed me awhile after he bought it to tell me so! (Which was real nice of him) It just felt weird to me. |
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Location: Budd Lake, NJ | It makes a really big difference to someone who wears a size 4 1/2 ring. The wide necks can be really hard to barre, even if the string levels are low to the neck, and I'm not good on a 12-string for any amount of time at all. For those of you with "manly-man"-sized hands, it's not a big deal; but for petite folks like me, it is.
Good thing for the rest of you I do have small hands, though, or there would be one more competitor in the hunt going after some of the same gits you do! ;) :D
--Karen |
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Nut width: whats the big deal?
