“Easy to play”?

SouthpawMark · March 2019

Apologies if this is a ridiculously simple question, but I am fairly new to the guitar.

Earlier today I watched an Andertons video where Paul Reed Smith sent Danish Pete one of his guitars as a gift. One of his first comments was about how easy to play it is. What characteristics or specifications make certain guitars easier to play than others?

octatonic · March 2019

Neck feel/stickiness/smoothness, ability to have a low action without buzzing, guitar geometry.

Blaendulais · March 2019

Cynically also whether it was free or whether you are endorsed by the company. These days probably more frequent than above

Tenebrous · March 2019

Part of it is also down to personal preference. One guys easier to play guitar might be horrible for another guy to play, & vice versa.

stimpsonslostson · March 2019

I think it's a bit like driving.
I drive lots of rental cars & while I can drive them all, sometimes I get one that's just "easy" to drive. It reacts predictably & there's no unexpected drama.
Of course sometimes you might WANT a bit of drama or excitement from you car (or guitar), but that's personal preference. Without it you might use the word "bland" or "sterile".

I've had a few technically perfect guitars that I just found uninspiring, but I've also had a couple that I had to "fight" with a bit that I really enjoyed.

TTBZ · March 2019

Everyone sees this differently I guess. For me, a guitar you have to "fight" isn't a good guitar, I always want something that gets out of the way and can just let me focus on writing and playing.. some would say soulless, I'd say that's more down to the player. Garbage in, garbage out. Certainly in my case anyway

guitars4you · March 2019

octatonic said:

Neck feel/stickiness/smoothness, ability to have a low action without buzzing, guitar geometry.

That is about it

Agree neck profile is a matter of taste - But the ability to have a slick action, free of string rattle/fret buzz, sure makes a guitar easier to play

The guitar is hard enough to play anyway, without having it made harder with a poor set-up

@southpawmark - Play a few guitars and you'll see that some suit your more than others - We all have different size hands - Regardless of how much you know, or don't know about guitars - Regardless of how good you are as a player, the one thing you can easily experience is does this guitar feel comfortable and effortless to play - If you are struggling to play it then it is probably not for you (assuming it is well set-up) - Try something else - Your hands never let you down when it comes to evaluating how a guitar feels, plays and performs

Maynehead · March 2019

Mainly a comfortable neck profile for your hand shape and low action.

To a lesser extent, a comfortable body shape, slick neck finish, right scale length for your hands, your preferred neck angle and control layout.

proggy · March 2019

A lot depends on the player rather than the guitar. I really struggle on slim necked guitars due to my chunky fingers, where other players with slender fingers find slimmer necks more comfortable to play. For me a wide neck profile is easier to play, and a nice low action is always a big plus.

richardhomer · March 2019

TTBZ said:

a guitar you have to "fight" isn't a good guitar, I always want something that gets out of the way

“Something that gets out of the way” is great description of what I look for in a guitar.

I agree with others that neck profile preferences are personal - but ‘basics’ that maximise ease of playing are a well cut nut, level/correctly crowned frets, low action and correctly set intonation. Frets are also a matter of taste - but low/narrow vintage Fender style frets are harder to bend on than larger ones.

chrisjac2 · March 2019

For me it was scale. After playing a strat and strat type guitars for 10 years when I picked up a les Paul it was a revelation. At the other end of the scale as a massive Brian May fan when I bought a burns BM replica I found it really hard to play. Too big and felt all wrong. Really affected my playing.

baldy · March 2019

I am just over a year into playing & find them all hard to play even though they are set up well.
I am still searching for a neck profile that feels comfortable to me LOL.

Dominic · March 2019

octatonic said:

Neck feel/stickiness/smoothness, ability to have a low action without buzzing, guitar geometry.

the general feel........in other words

Philly_Q · March 2019

One thing I've found recently, mucking about playing a lot of open chord shapes (CAGED system and all that)... on my favourite Strat, every note rings cleanly. If I pick up any other guitar and do exactly the same thing, there will always be at least one string that I'm accidentally muting or fouling up with another finger.

It's not a case of vastly different neck shapes, actions or widths, and different scale lengths have never bothered me. It just seems to be the case that one guitar is literally "easier to play" than the others but I can't put my finger (so to speak) on the difference.

grappagreen · March 2019

Some good stuff in here.

My view is that people persist with guitars that don't suit them and often they do this through ignorance.

When I did a bit of teaching some time ago one of the first things I did with any student was to say 'can I have a look at your left (playing) hand please? I would then give them an indication of what they might look for in a neck shape/scale length based on their physiology. I'd also hand them a well setup guitar that had the attributes and let them have a feel. At least people were then making an informed decision..

You can certainly tell from looking at someone's hand what's probably going to be the easiest/most appropriate for someone to play.

As stated playing the guitar is hard enough without making it any harder.

I have small hands with big palms and short, thin fingers. The correct neck profile, nut width, scale length (less so) for me is the difference between being able to play something and not!

Si

Sassafras · March 2019

Neck feel, weight, how it balances either sitting down or on a strap. I like a thick chunky neck, others prefer thin skinny necks.
You'll know when you find it.

Musicman20 · March 2019

Les Paul scale and the Fender Jag is what I class as easy to play....feels slinky and easy to play...

ESBlonde · March 2019

While all the above points are indeed valid, don't dismiss a particular guitar just because it's not like all the others you like. Sometimes an awkward neck profile can be got used to with time and you then get the tonal variation that that guitar offers. As you get more experienced you are able to swap from one style to another and still play. However you will always have a guitar neck/fingerboard that feels like home. If you only have one guitar, make it the best you can find/afford.

guitars4you · March 2019

ESBlonde said:

. If you only have one guitar, make it the best you can find/afford.

so true

baldy · March 2019

I have just looked online at what are classed as average male hand/palm/finger sizes.
Apparently I have slightly larger than average sized hands in terms of overall length , wrist to tip of middle finger is 195mm compared to 189 & slightly wider than average width palms at 90mm compared to 84mm.
However my fingers are shorter than average with my middle finger being 85mm compared to 95mm (long palms) & my finger tips are fleshy & wide.
My span is 8 1/4"" compared to an average of 8 & 1/2"
This is probably why I find I touch/mute strings I am not fretting & even with my thumb well over the neck I touch/mute the treble E with my palm.
Any suggestions on neck shape/dimensions based on that ?

Maynehead · March 2019

baldy said:

I have just looked online at what are classed as average male hand/palm/finger sizes.
Apparently I have slightly larger than average sized hands in terms of overall length , wrist to tip of middle finger is 195mm compared to 189 & slightly wider than average width palms at 90mm compared to 84mm.
However my fingers are shorter than average with my middle finger being 85mm compared to 95mm (long palms) & my finger tips are fleshy & wide.
My span is 8 1/4"" compared to an average of 8 & 1/2"
This is probably why I find I touch/mute strings I am not fretting & even with my thumb well over the neck I touch/mute the treble E with my palm.
Any suggestions on neck shape/dimensions based on that ?

Interesting... I just measured my hand and while wrist to tip is near avrerage (186mm), my middle finger length is way short (84mm). So I guess we're in a pretty similar boat...

Personally I prefer narrow necks with a small circumference (shape is less important). A narrow fretboard helps my (short) fingers reach the low E string comfortably without fouling the other strings, and a thinner neck also contributes to my ability to reach round the neck easily. In the past I've struggled with thin/wide necks, and thick necks (e.g. 50s LP). I find thin/narrow necks most comfortable, but fuller/narrow necks are fine too.

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“Easy to play”?

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