D18 help!!

[baimo]

Originally Posted by ricky.kent91

So I recently bought a new D18, back in September, and the guitar is beautiful, sounds incredible, and plays great. Until about 30 mins in. I don’t know if it’s the wider nut, the deeper neck, but whatever it is, my hand cramps up about a half hour in, and it just bugs the hell out of me. This isn’t the kind of fun gear challenge that playing with pickups, pedals, or amps is. This is the soul-crushing realization that one of the best guitars you’ve ever heard, hurts to play. So I have a few options in my head, and if anyone can help, that’d be great:

- One option is more drastic, but I love this guitar so much. Do you guys know any custom luthiers that could build a Martin style neck with a Hummingbird shape? Or does the difference in nut width make the process that much more untenenable? I know it’s bad to swap or reset necks on an acoustic unless it’s damaged, but I’d be willing to entertain the option if it was available to me.

Thanks in advance guys!!

I have come to the realization that comfort(before sound) comes first to me when owning a guitar. No Matter how great a guitar sounds, if it is uncomfortable, you will never play it.

I have left wrist problems and needed to sell a Santa Cruz and a Collings because the necks were too big for me. I am comfortable with Martin's MLO and also Gibson neck shapes. They are thinner and I am able to play them for a long time. As far as the pricier guitars go, I am Comfortable with Froggy Bottom, Goodall and Bourgeois. The problem with purchasing these guitars is often it takes awhile having them at home before you realize what is comfortable and what is not.

My SC Vintage Southerner (I think that was the name) sounded so great, I considered having the neck shaved down but have decided that it was too complicated for me to do it. I might have someone shave it down and find that it still does not fit me right. Then I would have a guitar that was modified for me and render it unsaleable. So I have bit the bullet and sold or traded for a different guitar. I find the D-18 neck (MLO) to be the best neck for me. I have 3 Martins all with that neck. I did sell my D-18 when I purchase the Martin Outlaw which has the same neck shape. I usually play my Martins with light strings (12s) and always play sitting down. Sometime I play with mediums but it does make the Martins sound a little louder. Depends on my mood when I walk into a store and buy a set of strings. I am very surprised you are comfortable with the Gibson and not the Martin.

[ricky.kent91]

Originally Posted by baimo

I have come to the realization that comfort(before sound) comes first to me when owning a guitar. No Matter how great a guitar sounds, if it is uncomfortable, you will never play it.

I have left wrist problems and needed to sell a Santa Cruz and a Collings because the necks were too big for me. I am comfortable with Martin's MLO and also Gibson neck shapes. They are thinner and I am able to play them for a long time. As far as the pricier guitars go, I am Comfortable with Froggy Bottom, Goodall and Bourgeois. The problem with purchasing these guitars is often it takes awhile having them at home before you realize what is comfortable and what is not.

My SC Vintage Southerner (I think that was the name) sounded so great, I considered having the neck shaved down but have decided that it was too complicated for me to do it. I might have someone shave it down and find that it still does not fit me right. Then I would have a guitar that was modified for me and render it unsaleable. So I have bit the bullet and sold or traded for a different guitar. I find the D-18 neck (MLO) to be the best neck for me. I have 3 Martins all with that neck. I did sell my D-18 when I purchase the Martin Outlaw which has the same neck shape. I usually play my Martins with light strings (12s) and always play sitting down. Sometime I play with mediums but it does make the Martins sound a little louder. Depends on my mood when I walk into a store and buy a set of strings. I am very surprised you are comfortable with the Gibson and not the Martin.

Again, I think a lot of it is the nut width mixed with the shape. I played 3 other Martins today, two D-28s, and an HD-28 2018. All of them have the same neck and they all played and made my hand feel the same way. Got home, plugged in my tele and voila, guitarin’ again. Eric mentioned something that should have been obvious to me, but wasn’t, which is that Birds are also short-scaled. I think it’s the combination of scale, but width, and shape of the Bird that makes them easier for me to play. But I will look for a Martin I’m comfortable with for the rest of my life. Cause man, that D18 is magic.

[baimo]

It is unfair to compare an electric to an acoustic. But I believe this is the reason that Taylor guitars are popular. The neck on a Taylor acoustic is a great transition from electric guitars. But it is not as slinky as most fender electrics