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Old 11-21-2020, 11:08 AM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Denandannie View Post
...I need at a minimum a 1.75 for my size hands. I started capoing at the 2nd fret to get past this.

Second, I just hate a floating bridge.

...Any suggestions where I might look for a larger nut width and a non floating bridge?
My thoughts, in reverse order:
  • Most modern semi-hollows have the bridge permanently anchored into the top, either with studs (into which the height adjustment screws/wheels are mounted) or by pinning the base - shouldn't be a problem finding something that suits your needs;
  • I've been playing since 1962, taught in the public and private sector for 45 years, encountered countless fellow guitarists over my lifetime - and barring genuine medical issues, IME much of the professed need for ever-wider fingerboards among flattop=based steel-string players is rooted in poor left-hand technique (something those of us who were trained from the get-go on archtop don't generally have, BTW). I had the pleasure of meeting renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman, who has a pair of mitts worthy of an NFL linebacker and has no difficulty whatsoever handling the narrow neck/string spacing of a violin, and many of the same people clamoring for bigger necks double on fiddle/mandolin - often quite proficiently, which smacks as much of compartmentalization as the aforementioned technical deficiencies. My suggestion is to adopt an orchestral-string players' technique - get off the flats of your fingers and up on the very tips (also improves articulation. BTW) - and while Eastman makes a line of semis with 1-3/4" necks, you may just find you really don't need as wide a fingerboard as you originally thought...
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