Acoustic playability?

rockmonster · January 7

Wow! Condescending comments too lol!

BillDL · January 7

rockmonster said:

Violins, archtop guitars even 335’s and lesters have angled necks? Granted the latter is mostly solid bodied. So why don’t acoustics? Cost?

It's nothing to do with cost. It's to do with the differing geometries and needs in the different styles of instrument and the type and gauges of strings used.

On a violin the fingerboard is connected to the body at the heel, but the fingerboard extension sits in mid air and isn't joined to the soundboard. It needs to be this way because the bridge on a violin is very high and the strings need to align with the fingerboard. The strings on a violin exert nowhere near the same tension as steel strings on an acoustic guitar, so it can be built this way. On an archtop acoustic the fingerboard extension usually sits in mid air over the body also, but is shorter than on a violin and a lot more rigid because there is additional wood under the fingerboard extension. The body and soundboard of an archtop acoustic are more resilient than on most standard steel string acoustics, so they don't need the fingerboard extension to add any rigidity to the soundboard in front of the soundhole. It is common, however, to have the upper frets on the fingerboard extension of an archtop guitar feathered away in a taper so that the strings don't buzz in that area.

On a 335 type guitar the neck to body joint is around the 17th fret and there is very little fingerboard extension over the body, in fact just a few frets. This is far less problematic when the neck is angled back from the body and there is less tendency to fret out on the upper frets. Much the same is true of a Les Paul design. On Fender style guitar the bridge is a much lower profile design, so the neck doesn't have to be angled, although occasionally may need to be shimmed to create a very slight angle.

Andyjr1515 · January 7

I'm loving this thread

Image: /plugins/EmojiExtender/emoji/fb/1.gif

Mainly because - before I started experimenting a lot, reading up stuff, talking to folks, modding, started building electrics, basses and acoustics - I wasted a lot of money buying, trying and quickly ditching acoustic guitars and deciding that acoustics were not for me...for exactly the reasons you state @rockmonster . And yes - I asked exactly the same questions as you are here.

I've cut and pasted your original questions in italics. My personal take on the answers are in bold.

My questions are these:
How come so many people play acoustic guitars given that they (for me) are f@ckin impossible to play? More like a torture device than an instrument of pleasure!
I find many acoustics, especially low to mid range, in a typical store impossible to play. It is, as you say, torture.
I find: the nuts cut too high; the strings too high gauge; the action too high

The bridge height is miles from the top of the guitar and the strings are so far away from the fretboard why?
That is actually two questions...and I would add another category. There are, in come cases, some sonic advantages for the bridge and saddle to be quite high. There is, however, no excuse for the action to be too high. If the player is a hard strummer, then maybe 0.5mm higher than an electric action. I build/set up mine to average or low electric heights.
The category I would add is nut slot height. There is a reason, if you don't know the player's style, that the height of the nut slots might be marginally (we are talking tenths of a mm) higher than an electric. A nut custom cut for a hard strummer needs a teeny bit more clearance from the first fret. There is no excuse, in my mind, whether it is a factory built or 'hand crafted' for the slots to be cut as high as they often are

Is it the sound that decides this?
No - the saddle height above the guitar top can, in some circumstances, affect the sound. The action height above the fretboard doesn't.

Then the strings are the thickness of drain pipes. Impossible for me to play!
Broadly, for those for whom it matters, the thicker the gauge, the fuller will be the sound. Also, in my experiments, below 10 gauge most players and listeners will hear a tangible difference. However, if the rest of the set up is right, I would defy your average audience member to hear the difference between, say 10 gauge set and 12 gauge set. I personally fit a 10 gauge set for the three treble strings and an 11 gauge set for the three bass strings but, failing that, fit a set of 10's

Am I missing something?
why don’t the factories angle the necks so you have a chance to play up the dusty end?
They do. I don't know of any steel-string acoustic that doesn't have a neck angle. However, the angle isn't always right...and it's quite difficult (and sometimes not possible) to adjust it

Are even the hand made custom jobbers the same?
They shouldn't be. You can't 'factory set up' an acoustic and, to get it right, it takes quite a bit of time. While I still can forgive a hand-built 'off the shelf' being set up for the worst case (pub hard strummer) it should still be well set up.

I know tone is important but Christ on a bike to what cost? I hear people saying that a setup makes all the difference but really are you acoustic players just super human? When I play acoustic guitar it sounds like I’ve just learning to play!
A good set up makes all the difference. And there are further tweaks that can - in many cases - make a HUGE difference to the tone

My take. Feel free to agree or not as you wish

Kurtis · January 7

BillDL said:

On an electric guitar a tiny bit of audible fret buzz when it's not plugged in is usually inaudible when it's amplified, so the action can be set pretty low. Given that an acoustic guitar is intended to make an acoustic sound, that same fret buzz will be an annoyance. The strings on an acoustic guitar are generally of a thicker gauge than on an electric, so they oscillate over a wider arc and the action needs to be a bit higher to allow for the greater latitude of movement for those wider oscillations. It is generally accepted that you won't get the same very low action on an acoustic as you will on an electric and have it sound at its best.

I don't like any fret buzz on electric. I think it kills the tone/sustain.
It's maybe surprising though, to some, just how high that is.

Dead low might work if you have a really gentle touch, but what's rocknroll about that?!

rockmonster · January 7

Lots of interesting stuff guys keep it rolling. I’m learning a lot anyway!

rockmonster · January 7

Andyjr1515 said:

I'm loving this thread

Mainly because - before I started experimenting a lot, reading up stuff, talking to folks, modding, started building electrics, basses and acoustics - I wasted a lot of money buying, trying and quickly ditching acoustic guitars and deciding that acoustics were not for me...for exactly the reasons you state @rockmonster . And yes - I asked exactly the same questions as you are here.

I've cut and pasted your original questions in italics. My personal take on the answers are in bold.

My questions are these:
How come so many people play acoustic guitars given that they (for me) are f@ckin impossible to play? More like a torture device than an instrument of pleasure!
I find many acoustics, especially low to mid range, in a typical store impossible to play. It is, as you say, torture.
I find: the nuts cut too high; the strings too high gauge; the action too high

The bridge height is miles from the top of the guitar and the strings are so far away from the fretboard why?
That is actually two questions...and I would add another category. There are, in come cases, some sonic advantages for the bridge and saddle to be quite high. There is, however, no excuse for the action to be too high. If the player is a hard strummer, then maybe 0.5mm higher than an electric action. I build/set up mine to average or low electric heights.
The category I would add is nut slot height. There is a reason, if you don't know the player's style, that the height of the nut slots might be marginally (we are talking tenths of a mm) higher than an electric. A nut custom cut for a hard strummer needs a teeny bit more clearance from the first fret. There is no excuse, in my mind, whether it is a factory built or 'hand crafted' for the slots to be cut as high as they often are

Is it the sound that decides this?
No - the saddle height above the guitar top can, in some circumstances, affect the sound. The action height above the fretboard doesn't.

Then the strings are the thickness of drain pipes. Impossible for me to play!
Broadly, for those for whom it matters, the thicker the gauge, the fuller will be the sound. Also, in my experiments, below 10 gauge most players and listeners will hear a tangible difference. However, if the rest of the set up is right, I would defy your average audience member to hear the difference between, say 10 gauge set and 12 gauge set. I personally fit a 10 gauge set for the three treble strings and an 11 gauge set for the three bass strings but, failing that, fit a set of 10's

Am I missing something?
why don’t the factories angle the necks so you have a chance to play up the dusty end?
They do. I don't know of any steel-string acoustic that doesn't have a neck angle. However, the angle isn't always right...and it's quite difficult (and sometimes not possible) to adjust it

Are even the hand made custom jobbers the same?
They shouldn't be. You can't 'factory set up' an acoustic and, to get it right, it takes quite a bit of time. While I still can forgive a hand-built 'off the shelf' being set up for the worst case (pub hard strummer) it should still be well set up.

I know tone is important but Christ on a bike to what cost? I hear people saying that a setup makes all the difference but really are you acoustic players just super human? When I play acoustic guitar it sounds like I’ve just learning to play!
A good set up makes all the difference. And there are further tweaks that can - in many cases - make a HUGE difference to the tone

My take. Feel free to agree or not as you wish

Thanks for that. This is very informative. I knew someone on here could talk some sense!

guitarjack66 · January 7

rockmonster said:

Andyjr1515 said:

I'm loving this thread

Mainly because - before I started experimenting a lot, reading up stuff, talking to folks, modding, started building electrics, basses and acoustics - I wasted a lot of money buying, trying and quickly ditching acoustic guitars and deciding that acoustics were not for me...for exactly the reasons you state @rockmonster . And yes - I asked exactly the same questions as you are here.

I've cut and pasted your original questions in italics. My personal take on the answers are in bold.

My questions are these:
How come so many people play acoustic guitars given that they (for me) are f@ckin impossible to play? More like a torture device than an instrument of pleasure!
I find many acoustics, especially low to mid range, in a typical store impossible to play. It is, as you say, torture.
I find: the nuts cut too high; the strings too high gauge; the action too high

The bridge height is miles from the top of the guitar and the strings are so far away from the fretboard why?
That is actually two questions...and I would add another category. There are, in come cases, some sonic advantages for the bridge and saddle to be quite high. There is, however, no excuse for the action to be too high. If the player is a hard strummer, then maybe 0.5mm higher than an electric action. I build/set up mine to average or low electric heights.
The category I would add is nut slot height. There is a reason, if you don't know the player's style, that the height of the nut slots might be marginally (we are talking tenths of a mm) higher than an electric. A nut custom cut for a hard strummer needs a teeny bit more clearance from the first fret. There is no excuse, in my mind, whether it is a factory built or 'hand crafted' for the slots to be cut as high as they often are

Is it the sound that decides this?
No - the saddle height above the guitar top can, in some circumstances, affect the sound. The action height above the fretboard doesn't.

Then the strings are the thickness of drain pipes. Impossible for me to play!
Broadly, for those for whom it matters, the thicker the gauge, the fuller will be the sound. Also, in my experiments, below 10 gauge most players and listeners will hear a tangible difference. However, if the rest of the set up is right, I would defy your average audience member to hear the difference between, say 10 gauge set and 12 gauge set. I personally fit a 10 gauge set for the three treble strings and an 11 gauge set for the three bass strings but, failing that, fit a set of 10's

Am I missing something?
why don’t the factories angle the necks so you have a chance to play up the dusty end?
They do. I don't know of any steel-string acoustic that doesn't have a neck angle. However, the angle isn't always right...and it's quite difficult (and sometimes not possible) to adjust it

Are even the hand made custom jobbers the same?
They shouldn't be. You can't 'factory set up' an acoustic and, to get it right, it takes quite a bit of time. While I still can forgive a hand-built 'off the shelf' being set up for the worst case (pub hard strummer) it should still be well set up.

I know tone is important but Christ on a bike to what cost? I hear people saying that a setup makes all the difference but really are you acoustic players just super human? When I play acoustic guitar it sounds like I’ve just learning to play!
A good set up makes all the difference. And there are further tweaks that can - in many cases - make a HUGE difference to the tone

My take. Feel free to agree or not as you wish

Thanks for that. This is very informative. I knew someone on here could talk some sense!

Because they agree with you about acoustics being 'impossible' to play well? That seems a very poor way to get information,by just simply waiting for agreement and be convinced you are correct in your very bold and broad statement. Acoustics are as difficult as the time you spend practicing on them. Less time equals more difficult and more time makes it easier.

rockmonster · January 7

guitarjack66 said:

rockmonster said:

Andyjr1515 said:

I'm loving this thread

Mainly because - before I started experimenting a lot, reading up stuff, talking to folks, modding, started building electrics, basses and acoustics - I wasted a lot of money buying, trying and quickly ditching acoustic guitars and deciding that acoustics were not for me...for exactly the reasons you state @rockmonster . And yes - I asked exactly the same questions as you are here.

I've cut and pasted your original questions in italics. My personal take on the answers are in bold.

My questions are these:
How come so many people play acoustic guitars given that they (for me) are f@ckin impossible to play? More like a torture device than an instrument of pleasure!
I find many acoustics, especially low to mid range, in a typical store impossible to play. It is, as you say, torture.
I find: the nuts cut too high; the strings too high gauge; the action too high

The bridge height is miles from the top of the guitar and the strings are so far away from the fretboard why?
That is actually two questions...and I would add another category. There are, in come cases, some sonic advantages for the bridge and saddle to be quite high. There is, however, no excuse for the action to be too high. If the player is a hard strummer, then maybe 0.5mm higher than an electric action. I build/set up mine to average or low electric heights.
The category I would add is nut slot height. There is a reason, if you don't know the player's style, that the height of the nut slots might be marginally (we are talking tenths of a mm) higher than an electric. A nut custom cut for a hard strummer needs a teeny bit more clearance from the first fret. There is no excuse, in my mind, whether it is a factory built or 'hand crafted' for the slots to be cut as high as they often are

Is it the sound that decides this?
No - the saddle height above the guitar top can, in some circumstances, affect the sound. The action height above the fretboard doesn't.

Then the strings are the thickness of drain pipes. Impossible for me to play!
Broadly, for those for whom it matters, the thicker the gauge, the fuller will be the sound. Also, in my experiments, below 10 gauge most players and listeners will hear a tangible difference. However, if the rest of the set up is right, I would defy your average audience member to hear the difference between, say 10 gauge set and 12 gauge set. I personally fit a 10 gauge set for the three treble strings and an 11 gauge set for the three bass strings but, failing that, fit a set of 10's

Am I missing something?
why don’t the factories angle the necks so you have a chance to play up the dusty end?
They do. I don't know of any steel-string acoustic that doesn't have a neck angle. However, the angle isn't always right...and it's quite difficult (and sometimes not possible) to adjust it

Are even the hand made custom jobbers the same?
They shouldn't be. You can't 'factory set up' an acoustic and, to get it right, it takes quite a bit of time. While I still can forgive a hand-built 'off the shelf' being set up for the worst case (pub hard strummer) it should still be well set up.

I know tone is important but Christ on a bike to what cost? I hear people saying that a setup makes all the difference but really are you acoustic players just super human? When I play acoustic guitar it sounds like I’ve just learning to play!
A good set up makes all the difference. And there are further tweaks that can - in many cases - make a HUGE difference to the tone

My take. Feel free to agree or not as you wish

Thanks for that. This is very informative. I knew someone on here could talk some sense!

Because they agree with you about acoustics being 'impossible' to play well? That seems a very poor way to get information,by just simply waiting for agreement and be convinced you are correct in your very bold and broad statement. Acoustics are as difficult as the time you spend practicing on them. Less time equals more difficult and more time makes it easier.

There’s a pattern here. I am wrong because I don’t understand that the more you play the easier it gets- really? I’m asking why they aren’t set up to play more easily to begin with and you are saying well the more you practice the easier it gets. There it is again! Man up play more then you’ll be a good at playing acoustic. Like a record with a crack in it. FFS!

Devil#20 · January 7

Tannin said:

Loads of good stuff about acoustics. Useful as I'm playing a bit more myself recently.

@Tannin I've book marked this one and wizzed it.

BillDL · January 8

rockmonster said:

Andyjr1515 said:

<some exceptionally good content, but also some reiteration from earlier good comments>

Thanks for that. This is very informative. I knew someone on here could talk some sense!

I'm out, as they say in Dragon's Den

Cranky · January 8

bertie said:

Cranky said:

But acoustics aren’t so easy to set up yourself like electrics can be.

they're easier - only three things to worry about

Nut - which very rarely needs "adjustment" unless its poorly cut on a new one.
Saddle - only needs sorting if its too high, if its too low get a new one dont shim, you can get custom bone ones for £20
Relief - small truss tweek, wait, check repeat if necessary

simples

And then if those fixes don’t work?

And which saddle is easier to adjust, an acoustic or electric? Most would say the latter.

But no matter. I’m feeling pretty lucky right now, as I’ve always been an acoustic player first and foremost. I’m not great at it or anything — no Mike Dawes or anything approximating that. I can play a lot of Elliott Smith songs, unplugged 90s stuff, the usual Beatles and Zeppelin stuff. And most importantly, I never found an acoustic guitar anything other than fun to play.

guitarjack66 · January 8

rockmonster said:

guitarjack66 said:

rockmonster said:

Andyjr1515 said:

I'm loving this thread

Mainly because - before I started experimenting a lot, reading up stuff, talking to folks, modding, started building electrics, basses and acoustics - I wasted a lot of money buying, trying and quickly ditching acoustic guitars and deciding that acoustics were not for me...for exactly the reasons you state @rockmonster . And yes - I asked exactly the same questions as you are here.

I've cut and pasted your original questions in italics. My personal take on the answers are in bold.

My questions are these:
How come so many people play acoustic guitars given that they (for me) are f@ckin impossible to play? More like a torture device than an instrument of pleasure!
I find many acoustics, especially low to mid range, in a typical store impossible to play. It is, as you say, torture.
I find: the nuts cut too high; the strings too high gauge; the action too high

The bridge height is miles from the top of the guitar and the strings are so far away from the fretboard why?
That is actually two questions...and I would add another category. There are, in come cases, some sonic advantages for the bridge and saddle to be quite high. There is, however, no excuse for the action to be too high. If the player is a hard strummer, then maybe 0.5mm higher than an electric action. I build/set up mine to average or low electric heights.
The category I would add is nut slot height. There is a reason, if you don't know the player's style, that the height of the nut slots might be marginally (we are talking tenths of a mm) higher than an electric. A nut custom cut for a hard strummer needs a teeny bit more clearance from the first fret. There is no excuse, in my mind, whether it is a factory built or 'hand crafted' for the slots to be cut as high as they often are

Is it the sound that decides this?
No - the saddle height above the guitar top can, in some circumstances, affect the sound. The action height above the fretboard doesn't.

Then the strings are the thickness of drain pipes. Impossible for me to play!
Broadly, for those for whom it matters, the thicker the gauge, the fuller will be the sound. Also, in my experiments, below 10 gauge most players and listeners will hear a tangible difference. However, if the rest of the set up is right, I would defy your average audience member to hear the difference between, say 10 gauge set and 12 gauge set. I personally fit a 10 gauge set for the three treble strings and an 11 gauge set for the three bass strings but, failing that, fit a set of 10's

Am I missing something?
why don’t the factories angle the necks so you have a chance to play up the dusty end?
They do. I don't know of any steel-string acoustic that doesn't have a neck angle. However, the angle isn't always right...and it's quite difficult (and sometimes not possible) to adjust it

Are even the hand made custom jobbers the same?
They shouldn't be. You can't 'factory set up' an acoustic and, to get it right, it takes quite a bit of time. While I still can forgive a hand-built 'off the shelf' being set up for the worst case (pub hard strummer) it should still be well set up.

I know tone is important but Christ on a bike to what cost? I hear people saying that a setup makes all the difference but really are you acoustic players just super human? When I play acoustic guitar it sounds like I’ve just learning to play!
A good set up makes all the difference. And there are further tweaks that can - in many cases - make a HUGE difference to the tone

My take. Feel free to agree or not as you wish

Thanks for that. This is very informative. I knew someone on here could talk some sense!

Because they agree with you about acoustics being 'impossible' to play well? That seems a very poor way to get information,by just simply waiting for agreement and be convinced you are correct in your very bold and broad statement. Acoustics are as difficult as the time you spend practicing on them. Less time equals more difficult and more time makes it easier.

There’s a pattern here. I am wrong because I don’t understand that the more you play the easier it gets- really? I’m asking why they aren’t set up to play more easily to begin with and you are saying well the more you practice the easier it gets. There it is again! Man up play more then you’ll be a good at playing acoustic. Like a record with a crack in it. FFS!

I cant tell you what you want to hear and even when others do you continue to not take much notice. Set ups are factored in to buying a factory produced guitar and are usually not more than about 50,cheaper for the cheaper models like mine. And like everything in life practice is what improves your playing. If you have more time you improve quicker and if you have less so,you improve much slower like me.
I did already mention that everybody's ideal set up is different and no two are exactly the same therefore how do manufacturers set up for everybody? Answer is that they don't.
You could also try lighter strings but I think its been mentioned anyway.

Soupman · January 8

Years ago I bought my Lowden.
As much as I loved the sound I found it difficult to play cleanly - it seemed to magnify mistakes like sloppy fingering when fretting.
Eventually I had it set up, the ease of playing increased drastically. The sound I enjoyed is now accessable without anywhere near the effort before a setup.
You'll never get the strings to bend like on an electric, but then that's not what you want is it? Otherwise you'd stay with electrics.
My strings are Elixir 12s, so bending them significantly would require a few weeks practice in lifting 10kg weights by your fingertips first!
Get a set up and stick with it, the pleasure gained is worth it.

Tannin · January 8

^ Just so @Soupman. And Elixir 12s are seriously hard-work strings as 12s go, pretty much the heaviest-feeling 12 around short of Dunlops and maybe Sfarzos. If you can bend Elixir 12s you can crack walnuts with your thumbs.

bertie · January 8

Cranky said:

And which saddle is easier to adjust, an acoustic or electric? Most would say the latter.

oh for sure, but most would also say, an acoustic bridge very seldom, if ever needs "re-adjusting"

Rememeber the Gibson/Epihpone attempt at a height adjustable bridge in the 60s/70s ?? oof

back to the OP "argument" (as its almost become) in simple terms - its physics

Its not so much that acoustic guitars need a higher action and "fatter" strings, more that electic guitars can "get away" with having lower action, thinner strings and acoustically inaudible string buzz. You simply cannot do that with an acoustic, well you "can" but it just doesnt sound "right"

You dont by a Ferrari and compain it wont go up a mountain track, or a Land Rover win a race at Silverstone.

'orses for courses

Soupman · January 9

I've just restrung my old Flambeau with Newtone Heritage 12s, round core low tension as it's 38 years old (had it from new).
Hammer ons & bends are easier, less tension on the cedar top and it sounds the best it ever has done. Sticking with these now for this guitar.
Just goes to show the journey never ends - 38 years to find that sound! Lol.

Musical_Mystery_Tour · January 9

You can get the action fairly low on an acoustic guitar if you are prepared to take the nut slots down to the correct height, take the bridge down to the correct height, adjust the truss rod so it has helpful neck relief and take time to level the frets off properly. Some lighter strings will assist things too, but it'll start sounding thin and quiet if you go below .010 for the top E.

Some of it depends on what you are going to play. If you're never going past the fifth fret and doing campfire songs with mostly open chords, the action doesn't have to be that low to be easy to play. If on the other hand you are hammering on all over the dusty end, a lower action will help somewhat, then again, if you are playing slide, a low action risks fret clattering noises. Adjust it accordingly and you will find it is the easiest it can be for the style in which you play, and if there is more than one style in which that is, then get more than one acoustic and set them up accordingly.

For example, I have a Fender MA10 acoustic which I use for blues slide playing, to which I added a PAF to over the soundhole, so it can get a bit of a growl if necessary with that amped up, but the main reason I use that for slide, is because, fairly unusually for a steel-strung acoustic, it has a neck to body join at the twelfth fret, which makes it ideal for sliding up to the octave and that being nailed on when you do so because the body stops you from passing it. I wouldn't use it for any other style of playing, so I'm happy for it to have a fairly high action.

Likewise I have a big Epiphone acoustic for a much more boomy sound, a smaller Silvertone one for all round use which has one of those add-on spring reverb units, plus a few electro-acoustics and some other odds and sods for various things, including a ten string Cuatro and a twelve string which I use for specific songs. They all find a use for different playing and they are set up differently to suit those styles.

Lewy · January 9

Denny Zager (one half of Zager & Evans of "In the year twenty five twenty fiiiiive") claims to have cracked the acoustic playability conundrum. I have no idea if he's been successful.

Easy play | Zager Guitars

Personally I've seen too many 10 year old kids rip through bluegrass leads on dreads with 13's to think it's down to anything other than practice, technique and above all playing an acoustic like an acoustic (so lots of open strings, slides not bends, not holding down strings you're not actually playing etc)

guitarjack66 · January 9

Lewy said:

Denny Zager (one half of Zager & Evans of "In the year twenty five twenty fiiiiive") claims to have cracked the acoustic playability conundrum. I have no idea if he's been successful.

Easy play | Zager Guitars

Personally I've seen too many 10 year old kids rip through bluegrass leads on dreads with 13's to think it's down to anything other than practice, technique and above all playing an acoustic like an acoustic (so lots of open strings, slides not bends, not holding down strings you're not actually playing etc)

Kids playing 'above their expectations' has a lot to do with both practice and physiology. The obviously practice like mad but the flexibility they have due to more cartilage than bone in not yet fully formed boney areas will only stay with them if they continue to practice. Too many older players beat themselves up over these youngsters flexibility but Mother Nature will eventually bring them back closer to the rest of the field if they neglect the practice they currently put in.

thomasross20 · January 9

Lewy said:

Denny Zager (one half of Zager & Evans of "In the year twenty five twenty fiiiiive") claims to have cracked the acoustic playability conundrum. I have no idea if he's been successful.

Easy play | Zager Guitars

Personally I've seen too many 10 year old kids rip through bluegrass leads on dreads with 13's to think it's down to anything other than practice, technique and above all playing an acoustic like an acoustic (so lots of open strings, slides not bends, not holding down strings you're not actually playing etc)

100% this

I play with 11s on 25.5" scale

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