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Old 10-02-2010, 08:10 PM
garywj garywj is offline
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Default Best guitar to nail those though chords?

I am looking for guitar suggestions that would be the best to play with wide enough string spacing at the nut and close enough frets to allow me to practice pieces of music with chords that have a reach into the 4th fret in the open position. I only have one electric (not counting acoustics with electronics), and it is great for practicing bare chords that tire my fingers after a while on an acoustic. Is there a guitar that you would recommend that would be especially good for ease on left-hand challenging parts? The best guitar that I have right now for that is a Blackbird Rider carbon fiber.
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Old 10-02-2010, 08:20 PM
backliner backliner is offline
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000 Martin pattern, and some Gibsons like J-45, LGO, etc have a shorter scale length than the usual dreadnought fare.

Gibson had a couple of different size steel-string Folk models in the '60's that had a 2" fretboard at the nut (and the shorter scale length). Classical guitars are usually 2" too.

Some 12-fret (clear of the body) Martin patterns have a wider nut.

The Martin OM pattern has a wider nut, but the longer dreadnought scale.
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Old 10-02-2010, 08:42 PM
Shabby Chic Shabby Chic is offline
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Gibson F-25s had a short 24.75" scale and 2" spacing at the nut. There is one on sale on Ebay right now; they can usually be found for a very reasonable price.
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Old 10-02-2010, 08:43 PM
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Tele1111 Tele1111 is offline
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Hey Gary,

I think a short scale 12 fret oo would probably fit the bill nicely. Mine has a 1- 3/4" fingerboard, though depending on what you want, may or may not be wide enough. You could certainly find a 1-7/8 I would think.

Sometimes, those tough to finger chords or stretches simply require you to play in a position other than your "normal" position. I'm working on a fingerstyle arrangement of "Whiter Shade of Pale", and in order to finger some of the stretches, I realize I will have to hold the guitar in a more classical position.
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Old 10-02-2010, 08:46 PM
gitnoob gitnoob is offline
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I hate stretches. I usually go to my Larrivee Parlor for those (24" scale), or my Cargo for the really big stretches (22-3/4" scale).
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Old 10-02-2010, 08:48 PM
coldbrew coldbrew is offline
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My CA Cargo seems to fit the bill nicely for that, with its short scale and 1-3/4 nut. And really low action.

But you can't have it.

You could have Tarpman's, though:

http://www.laguitarsales.com/pages/4..._Cargo_273.htm
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Old 10-02-2010, 08:58 PM
epaul epaul is offline
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Put a capo on the second fret of your current guitar. It will become an easy to play wonder with a wide neck and a 22" scale.

If you want to stay at a "normal" pitch, put on a set of medium gauge strings, tune down half a step, and put the capo on the first fret. You will have comfy, wider necked 24" scale guitar.
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Old 10-02-2010, 09:34 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by epaul View Post
Put a capo on the second fret of your current guitar. It will become an easy to play wonder with a wide neck and a 22" scale.

If you want to stay at a "normal" pitch, put on a set of medium gauge strings, tune down half a step, and put the capo on the first fret. You will have comfy, wider necked 24" scale guitar.
Thats really a good idea. I do that quite a bit. Thanks for that epaul!
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Old 10-02-2010, 09:51 PM
backliner backliner is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by epaul View Post
Put a capo on the second fret of your current guitar. It will become an easy to play wonder with a wide neck and a 22" scale.

If you want to stay at a "normal" pitch, put on a set of medium gauge strings, tune down half a step, and put the capo on the first fret. You will have comfy, wider necked 24" scale guitar.
Geez, why didn't I think of that!
That's a GREAT solution!
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Old 10-02-2010, 10:21 PM
jlkitch jlkitch is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gitnoob View Post
I hate stretches. I usually go to my Larrivee Parlor for those (24" scale), or my Cargo for the really big stretches (22-3/4" scale).
I, too, find that Larrivee Parlor guitars great for those difficult chords. They are just a pleasure to play. I say that after playing my Metcalf Walnut Dreadnaught for over 3 hours straight at the NE Georgia Folk Festival this afternoon. The Dread was good and had the volume; but, I might, in the future, opt for a shortscale for endurance guitar activities. Actually, my shortscale Metcalf OM might be an even better choice with it's shallow Vee neck. The shorter geometry would make it even better. (NOTE: Of course playing everything in D, G, and A is not a big challenge.)
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Last edited by jlkitch; 10-02-2010 at 10:22 PM. Reason: grammar
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