Acoustic Guitar Choice ?
MichaelRdk
Feb 5 2015, 05:30 PM
Learning Roadie
Posts: 25
Joined: 9-September 12
From: Denmark
Hello smile.gif

I am starting to dig a little into playing the acoustic too, i pretty much always played the electric guitar and been doing that in about 7years.
I currently have a Fender CD-60 acoustic, but i must admit i feel very uncomfortable playing it, due to the size and the amount of pressure i need to put down on the notes, maybe this is just something i have to "force" myself to getting used to, but...

my first problem is the amount of pressure i need to put down on the notes for them to ring clear, i know it's a bit tougher than the electric, but my fingers hurt, and they keep doing that, even with my finger tips as hard as stone, i just can't play for very long, is this just something i need to deal with ? oh and barre chords is a big no, i can do it somewhat fine on the electric, but it's impossible for me to do on the acoustic.

Then there is the size, my back is a little messed up and therefore i can't sit fully upright, i sit with my back bend a little more than normal which means i feel like i'm sitting with my chin right on the top of the guitar, now, while i would like if there was a little smaller guitar than the standard size i ofcourse is not looking for an ukulele or something baby size, but just maybe a tad smaller than standard so i can feel comfortable sitting with it.

Then there is my strumming arm, this might be a technique issue, i don't know, but basicly my right arm goes num after about 2minutes of playing, i rest my upper arm on the edge of the topright of the guitar

My electric guitar feels good and comfortable to sit with and to play, but the acoustic is really causing me issues sad.gif

So i was wondering if there's guitars that is maybe a little smaller than the standard size and maybe a little easier to take notes with, or is this just problems i have to learn to play with ?

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Bogdan Radovic
Feb 6 2015, 05:10 PM
Bass & Beginner Instructor
Posts: 15.614
Joined: 30-November 07
From: Belgrade, Serbia
QUOTE (MichaelRdk @ Feb 5 2015, 05:30 PM) *
Hello smile.gif

I am starting to dig a little into playing the acoustic too, i pretty much always played the electric guitar and been doing that in about 7years.
I currently have a Fender CD-60 acoustic, but i must admit i feel very uncomfortable playing it, due to the size and the amount of pressure i need to put down on the notes, maybe this is just something i have to "force" myself to getting used to, but...

my first problem is the amount of pressure i need to put down on the notes for them to ring clear, i know it's a bit tougher than the electric, but my fingers hurt, and they keep doing that, even with my finger tips as hard as stone, i just can't play for very long, is this just something i need to deal with ? oh and barre chords is a big no, i can do it somewhat fine on the electric, but it's impossible for me to do on the acoustic.

Then there is the size, my back is a little messed up and therefore i can't sit fully upright, i sit with my back bend a little more than normal which means i feel like i'm sitting with my chin right on the top of the guitar, now, while i would like if there was a little smaller guitar than the standard size i ofcourse is not looking for an ukulele or something baby size, but just maybe a tad smaller than standard so i can feel comfortable sitting with it.

Then there is my strumming arm, this might be a technique issue, i don't know, but basicly my right arm goes num after about 2minutes of playing, i rest my upper arm on the edge of the topright of the guitar

My electric guitar feels good and comfortable to sit with and to play, but the acoustic is really causing me issues sad.gif

So i was wondering if there's guitars that is maybe a little smaller than the standard size and maybe a little easier to take notes with, or is this just problems i have to learn to play with ?


Hi Michael,

Great to hear you are exploring the acoustic guitar world.
Since you have always played the electric, I think some of the things you mentioned are something you'd need to get used to when playing an acoustic guitar. Electric guitar is generally way smoother to play and especially when playing chords and barre chords. My suggestion here would be to find nice thin guitar strings for your acoustic. This will make a big difference in effort needed to fret down the notes. I'm assuming that you are looking for a steel string acoustic guitar (so called western guitar) and not a classical guitar? I must say that classical guitar might actually be a better choice in general for you as it is much smoother to play with its nylon strings but it is not rock n roll smile.gif

Your hand is going numb because you are most likely pinching a nerve or vanes while resting the elbow on the guitar body with too much force/weight. The edge of the guitar body is probably pressing on the nerve or vanes so it restricts blood flow and it goes numb.

There should be smaller acoustic guitars available out there (produced for juniors or small hands) which might be more comfortable for you to play when sitting down.

I have found this one on the web: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/yam...r#productDetail

Looking into higher quality acoustics you have some nice choice by Taylor guitars:

Taylor BBT Big Baby



Or even smaller one like this:



Searching for "Travel guitars" can help you find more portable acoustics.

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MichaelRdk
Feb 11 2015, 04:45 PM
Learning Roadie
Posts: 25
Joined: 9-September 12
From: Denmark
Thanks for the reply smile.gif

Yes, steel string guitar, i tried one with nylon strings once and i swore that i would never touch it again, it felt so horrible to play with, steel strings is definetly what i wanna do, so thinner strings, but how would that impact on the sound ? i have no clue what it got on right now tho, as i havent changed them since i bought it about a year ago, so don't even know what i should aim for.

I've tried different ways to hold the guitar, but the way i'm holding it is what feels natural, but causes as said, my strumming arm to go to sleep after about 2minutes of playing, don't know how to correct it, might be as you say that i put too much weight onto the edge with arm, but if i try to rest it less onto the guitar my arm is not relaxed, so i'm a little lost on that.

thanks for the links, i will definetly have a look at them.

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Bogdan Radovic
Feb 11 2015, 06:28 PM
Bass & Beginner Instructor
Posts: 15.614
Joined: 30-November 07
From: Belgrade, Serbia
QUOTE (MichaelRdk @ Feb 11 2015, 04:45 PM) *
Thanks for the reply smile.gif

Yes, steel string guitar, i tried one with nylon strings once and i swore that i would never touch it again, it felt so horrible to play with, steel strings is definetly what i wanna do, so thinner strings, but how would that impact on the sound ? i have no clue what it got on right now tho, as i havent changed them since i bought it about a year ago, so don't even know what i should aim for.


Changing strings for new ones will certainly be good for your fingers as fresh strings can feel softer. Usual rule with strings and sound is that the thicker the strings the better the sound is. Though this is bit of myth really and it is not entirely true. I think it would be worth experimenting with different string thickness until you find ones that are really comfortable to you. That way you are likely to play and practice more so in that case it will be "the more comfortable strings the better the sound" smile.gif

I'd try out a set of .010 gauge strings to see how it feels and sounds.

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