anybody struggle on particular guitars?

Roland

Aside from scale length and fretboard radius there’s another big difference between a Les Paul and a Telecaster. They hang differently on a strap, which puts the neck in a different position. Both angle to body and angle to floor. Have you tried different strap lengths?

ICBM

Nut height (especially) and relief can make a big difference to how well a guitar plays even if the overall action seems about right. If the nut is too high it will always feel like a fight to play it.

The right height for the nut is surprisingly low, and even a bit too much feels like a lot.

Fret each string at the third fret and look at the gap between the string and the first fret. It should be between about 1/4 and 1/10 of the string diameter - ie *tiny*, on the thinner strings. Almost no guitars come set up like this from the factory.

hotpickups

I just can't get along with fenders, strats in particular. Not sure why, maybe it's the shape or the image / branding of them but they just don't work with me. I like what I like and that's not always been what the majority may feel. I'm not that much of a Gibson man either sometimes lol. Just like to be my own man I guess

stimpsonslostson

SGs. I've had 5. I love them, but find that everything is 2" to the left of where I want it to be- so eventually I get fed up & sell them. 

Personally I LOVE the way you have to fight telecasters, but can see how some might find them not worth th struggle. 

dangriffiths

String brands, humidity (changes to action from that) and even my mood/playing choices change how much tension there is - or maybe I think there is!  Definitely get it setup correctly can make a huge difference.

Overall if you stick with it after a while it feels normal...then if you play a Gibson scale length it feels like you are cheating a bit. 

guitars4you

I find every guitar I play is loaded with wrong notes

On a serious note - Never get on with SG's V's, Explorers, Firebirds at all - Find LP's okay but easier to play the same style/songs on a PRS S/Cut - So I tolerate an LP

victorludorum

Squier did a Gibson scaled Thinline Tele too. They're not easy to find, but they do come up every now and then.

Phil_aka_Pip

• Classical (nylon-strung guitars) - don't mind 'em when played by an expert, feels like playing on wet rubber bands to me
• I don't get on with Strats or Teles, may be something to do with the scale length. I've not tried other Fenders
• Most Gibsons I've tried seem quite comfortable
• Tried a PRS once and it played itself

ChuckManual

Anything without a belly carve... 

crunchman

ICBM said:

Nut height (especially) and relief can make a big difference to how well a guitar plays even if the overall action seems about right. If the nut is too high it will always feel like a fight to play it.

The right height for the nut is surprisingly low, and even a bit too much feels like a lot.

Fret each string at the third fret and look at the gap between the string and the first fret. It should be between about 1/4 and 1/10 of the string diameter - ie *tiny*, on the thinner strings. Almost no guitars come set up like this from the factory.

Just beginning to realise this.

The nut on my bass was cut high.  I played a borrowed short scale bass, and it seemed so easy to play compared with mine.  I've been looking around online at various short and medium scale basses.

Then I had a look at the nut on my Fender and realised it was cut very high.  I fixed that the other night, and it's now a lot easier to play.  I think the nut height was a big part of it being more difficult to play.  Might still look at a 32" scale bass long term though.

HAL9000

stimpsonslostson said:

Personally I LOVE the way you have to fight telecasters, but can see how some might find them not worth th struggle. 

Interesting. I'm a dyed in the wool Telecaster fan and don't find I have to fight them at all. Admittedly I use 9s rather than 10s but to me a Tele feels easier to play than anything else. But then, we're all different.

stimpsonslostson said:

SGs. I've had 5. I love them, but find that everything is 2" to the left of where I want it to be...

I think that also may have been part of the problem with my aforementioned Pacifica - despite it being approximately Strat shaped, it's actually somewhat larger so that nothing feels quite in the right place.

Rocker

SG and 335 type guitars. Lovely to play but the neck dive... Aaaagggghhhh, Gibson could have sorted that fault but they didn't.

crunchman

Rocker said:

SG and 335 type guitars. Lovely to play but the neck dive... Aaaagggghhhh, Gibson could have sorted that fault but they didn't.

Didn't get neck dive problems with my old SG.  You might need to get a strap that isn't too smooth on the back.

Jalapeno

As mentioned ^^^^ no matter when & where it was made, if it has a vintage style 7.5" radius - it will feel VERY different to a Gibson neck.

thebreeze

crunchman said:

ICBM said:

Nut height (especially) and relief can make a big difference to how well a guitar plays even if the overall action seems about right. If the nut is too high it will always feel like a fight to play it.

The right height for the nut is surprisingly low, and even a bit too much feels like a lot.

Fret each string at the third fret and look at the gap between the string and the first fret. It should be between about 1/4 and 1/10 of the string diameter - ie *tiny*, on the thinner strings. Almost no guitars come set up like this from the factory.

Just beginning to realise this.

The nut on my bass was cut high.  I played a borrowed short scale bass, and it seemed so easy to play compared with mine.  I've been looking around online at various short and medium scale basses.

Then I had a look at the nut on my Fender and realised it was cut very high.  I fixed that the other night, and it's now a lot easier to play.  I think the nut height was a big part of it being more difficult to play.  Might still look at a 32" scale bass long term though.

@ICBM, @crunchman - how easy is adjusting the nut height to do?  Presumably you shave the flat side down with something?  Is it best left for the techs or could I do it?  I've been struggling to get on with a guitar and the nut does seem noticeably higher than on my other guitars which seem much smoother/easier to play in comparison.

crunchman

thebreeze said:

crunchman said:

ICBM said:

Nut height (especially) and relief can make a big difference to how well a guitar plays even if the overall action seems about right. If the nut is too high it will always feel like a fight to play it.

The right height for the nut is surprisingly low, and even a bit too much feels like a lot.

Fret each string at the third fret and look at the gap between the string and the first fret. It should be between about 1/4 and 1/10 of the string diameter - ie *tiny*, on the thinner strings. Almost no guitars come set up like this from the factory.

Just beginning to realise this.

The nut on my bass was cut high.  I played a borrowed short scale bass, and it seemed so easy to play compared with mine.  I've been looking around online at various short and medium scale basses.

Then I had a look at the nut on my Fender and realised it was cut very high.  I fixed that the other night, and it's now a lot easier to play.  I think the nut height was a big part of it being more difficult to play.  Might still look at a 32" scale bass long term though.

@ICBM, @crunchman - how easy is adjusting the nut height to do?  Presumably you shave the flat side down with something?  Is it best left for the techs or could I do it?  I've been struggling to get on with a guitar and the nut does seem noticeably higher than on my other guitars which seem much smoother/easier to play in comparison.

It's not the overall height that is normally the issue - it's how deep the slots are.  It's not fundamentally difficult as it's basically just filing the slots a bit deeper.  You do need to file at a bit of an angle.  It's probably best to find a Youtube video that shows you how to do it.

You've got to be careful that you don't file too much out, or file the slot too wide.  If you do that then it's probably time for a new nut, which is much more tricky.  Cutting the slots right in the first place is more difficult than making an existing slot a bit deeper.

The problem is getting the right tools.  A good quality proper set of nut files tends to set you back somewhere in the region of £100.  If you go on Amazon or Ebay and search for nut files you will see a lot of welding tip files rebranded as nut files.  For occasional use these will probably do, but they probably won't be thin enough for the top string on a guitar.  You don't want to make the slot too wide as the string can move around in the slot.  You could possibly buy a "proper" nut file for the top E string and use the welding tip files for the thicker strings.

I used welding tip files for my bass but I'm debating getting a proper set for guitars.  (There are separate guitar and bass sets in different sizes).  if you get both you could end up spending £200 plus.

Stew Mac in the US have a set for around £50, which is cheaper than the expensive Hosco ones, but I can't find anyone who sells them in this country.  By the time you import them from the US, you might as well buy the expensive ones here.

If all you are doing is occasional stuff on existing slots, then you will probably get away with the welding tip files, plus a specialist one for the top E string.

proggy

I struggle on narrow necked guitars, like Squier Affinity Teles and so on. My fingers aren't built for narrow necks.

munckee

I much prefer playing my tele with 7.5 radius neck but solos high up the neck are easier on my 335 copy.  chords anywhere easier on the tele.  Strat is a 9.5 c shape and its fine everywhere but feels a bit flat fronted compared to the tele (as it should I guess!)

thebreeze

crunchman said:

It's not the overall height that is normally the issue - it's how deep the slots are.  It's not fundamentally difficult as it's basically just filing the slots a bit deeper.  You do need to file at a bit of an angle.  It's probably best to find a Youtube video that shows you how to do it.

You've got to be careful that you don't file too much out, or file the slot too wide.  If you do that then it's probably time for a new nut, which is much more tricky.  Cutting the slots right in the first place is more difficult than making an existing slot a bit deeper.

The problem is getting the right tools.  A good quality proper set of nut files tends to set you back somewhere in the region of £100.  If you go on Amazon or Ebay and search for nut files you will see a lot of welding tip files rebranded as nut files.  For occasional use these will probably do, but they probably won't be thin enough for the top string on a guitar.  You don't want to make the slot too wide as the string can move around in the slot.  You could possibly buy a "proper" nut file for the top E string and use the welding tip files for the thicker strings.

I used welding tip files for my bass but I'm debating getting a proper set for guitars.  (There are separate guitar and bass sets in different sizes).  if you get both you could end up spending £200 plus.

Stew Mac in the US have a set for around £50, which is cheaper than the expensive Hosco ones, but I can't find anyone who sells them in this country.  By the time you import them from the US, you might as well buy the expensive ones here.

If all you are doing is occasional stuff on existing slots, then you will probably get away with the welding tip files, plus a specialist one for the top E string.

Thank you very much for taking the time to write that and all the detail.  Really helpful.

DaevidJ

12 string acoustics.... Argh... Owww... etc...