Acoustic Shape/Wood Combo Recomendations

dean111music

Above seems good place to start?

CarpeDiem

Your suggested place to start sounds good. It may also be worth trying a fan fret Lowden, as this may be easier to play with your RSI. 

crunchman

Woods are important, but the construction and bracing are probably more important.

If you are after a small bodied guitar, Brook make some of the best sounding small guitars I've heard.  They are another British builder worth looking into.  Their standard neck profile won't be to everyone's taste (shallow neck with flat fingerboard) but I'm sure you could get what you wanted if you custom ordered.

dean111music

CarpeDiem said:

Your suggested place to start sounds good. It may also be worth trying a fan fret Lowden, as this may be easier to play with your RSI. 

Yes I will try a fan fret too.

i think how I hold the guitar might help.., classical position with either F Shape with bevel or buy an FM which is much less depth.

i think the bevel option will give me the depth of sound but easier on the right hand. PB actually talks about how he started to have neck aches and arm problems and his sig was designed on helping him.

or there is the S shape  shorter scale length also better for RSI?

CarpeDiem

dean111music said:

CarpeDiem said:

Your suggested place to start sounds good. It may also be worth trying a fan fret Lowden, as this may be easier to play with your RSI. 

Yes I will try a fan fret too.

i think how I hold the guitar might help.., classical position with either F Shape with bevel or buy an FM which is much less depth.

i think the bevel option will give me the depth of sound but easier on the right hand. PB actually talks about how he started to have neck aches and arm problems and his sig was designed on helping him.

or there is the S shape  shorter scale length also better for RSI?

I'm not an expert on RSI, it's just that I found a fan fret surprisingly easy and comfortable to play when I tried one. I also suspect that a smaller guitar may work better for you. It would be worth you trying out a variety to see and hear what works best for you. What appears best on paper, isn't necessarily the best in my experience.

ToneControl

dean111music said:

CarpeDiem said:

Your suggested place to start sounds good. It may also be worth trying a fan fret Lowden, as this may be easier to play with your RSI. 

Yes I will try a fan fret too.

i think how I hold the guitar might help.., classical position with either F Shape with bevel or buy an FM which is much less depth.

i think the bevel option will give me the depth of sound but easier on the right hand. PB actually talks about how he started to have neck aches and arm problems and his sig was designed on helping him.

or there is the S shape  shorter scale length also better for RSI?

I'm not sure a shorter scale length would help RSI

I'd recommend buying this first anyway:


On a comfy settee with a small guitar, I use it on my right leg, and cross my legs
With a larger guitar I use it slightly further from me to not raise the guitar, and usually don't cross my legs

with this, I get a lot less problems with aches and pains playing guitar, and no longer need to workon positioning the guitar whilst playing

artiebear

I had some carpal tunnel issues quite along time ago which was very painful and frustrating. For along time now, I've been a  bit of a workout freak (not pumping iron etc), but just a 1/2 hour upper body workout which I have adapted to include working of shoulders, arms and hands. So long as I do all that, I get less issues. If i take a day or two off, I start getting some pain after a few hours playing. The worst was during a 15 gig tour, where I took my own car for various reasons, and was driving every day as well as playing, I got home firstly in agony, then more worryingly feeling some numbness in my left hand pinky.  couldn't get on with my slimmer neck guitars at all but found salvation in picking up a couple of guitars with big D shape necks that I could wrap around, suddenly less pain and gradually back to normal.
I still feel less tired, and a whole lot more comfortable with a fuller neck these days as opposed to a slim C shape.

GTC

I've played a fan fret and I can't see how that would help an RSI problem.

However, the use of good playing technique with a properly set-up guitar and the use of a good guitar support (like the Dynarette) could help greatly. For greatest benefit, both feet should be flat on the ground when using a support.

The Dynarette is probably the most flexible for switching between different guitars but I think the leather Neck-up is more flexible in adjustment for a particular guitar. I'm also just experimenting with a wooden Playwood support which I think will work well with a couple of simple modifications.

After trying them, I avoid the metal supports commonly used in classical circles as it is too easy to end up scratching the guitar's side without care.