What’s your favorite guitar for finger picking and why?

[hubcapsc]

My cf-100 is real easy to play and sounds good but ain't
much for whaling away at with a pick. It is a lot easier to
get the cf-100 to "do right" when trying to play some
syncopated thing like James Taylor's "Sunny Skies".
The cf-100 has lights on it and my Country Western
has mediums.

-Mike

[scriv58]

Martin hj-38, ‘46 Gibson sj and ‘57 Gibson cw, because those are the guitars I play and I only finger pick. Works for me.

[lfarhadi]

00-21. The L-O is slightly more responsive and the H-12 more lush and resonant but as a total package of clarity, complexity, sonorous bass etc. the 00-21 is my #1.

[mawmow]

Gibson L-OO TV (2016) for Bluesy pieces
Martin OOO-18 (2014) for folk melodies
Taylor 322 for some slow ballads
Guild F-30 Aragon in altered tuning for Irish/Celtic trads
Seagull Performer in Open D for slide
as well as some others...

[Wags]

Standard D-18. Hard to go wrong.

[Kyle215]

I go back and forth between my 000-18(reimagined) and my CEO-7... I keep trying to tell myself that I should sell one, but I’m not really getting through to myself on that...

[drumstrummer]

My cedar top short scale Taylor 512ce 12-fret. Comfort, responsiveness, and tone.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by Wags

Standard D-18. Hard to go wrong.

What gauge strings do you use?

[Peter Z]

1. Martin CEO-7. This is an amazing allrounder and the best for fingerpicking. Sound and playability are both just great.

2. Gibson Southern Jumbo or Dove. The Dove sound absolutely fantastic, the Southern Jumbo offers better playability while still sounding very nice.

3. Martin OM-21 or D-18. The OM sounds ‚nicer‘ the D-18 more ‚rough‘. Depends on the mood.

4. Gibson SJ-200. This is special. This is a strummer. Fingerpicking sounds absolutely beautiful but it’s too hard for me the get the volume I like when I play it with my fingers. No problems with volume when I strum it with a pick though.

[raysachs]

I’m only a couple years into fingerpicking. In that time I’ve learned a lot about how the dimensions of a guitar work (or don’t) for me in this endeavor and I’ve learned about my preferences for scale length and string spacing for this type of playing. I like to keep my right had very near the bridge so I can palm mute and sometimes anchor my hand on the bridge. During this time, I’ve owned and played a couple guitars that I otherwise liked but where the dimensions caused my hand to fell too far in front of the bridge to comfortably palm mute or anchor on the bridge. I sold one and elected not to finalize a purchase on the other. I also found I slightly prefer a 24.9” scale to a full 25.4” scale and I definitely prefer wider string spacing at the bridge, with a minimum preferred spacing of 2 1/4”. I like 2 5/16 more and 2 3/8 more yet - I never tried anything wider than 2 3/8”.

After all of that learning, I ended up with two guitars that worked well for me, an 000-15SM and a CEO-7. Although different, I really loved the sound of both. But I always ended up reaching for the CEO-7 because it has a shorter scale, slightly wider string spacing, and a Mod-V neck I vastly prefer to the MLO profile of the 000-15SM. The CEO-7 is a perfect all-rounder for me, so I kept it and sold the 000-15SM. So the CEO-7 is my only acoustic guitar now and definitely my favorite fingerpicking guitar of any I’ve tried.

-Ray

[Kerbie]

Probably whichever guitar I have in my hands at the moment. It probably would be a smaller body because I like the precise focus they provide. And it probably has Mahogany or Maple back and sides because I like the balance and clarity they offer.

[Robin, Wales]

OK - I think I am just about the least experienced poster in this thread so far! I've just got into fingerpicking in the last month, simply because there are a couple of Townes van Zandt songs I really like off his "Live at the Old Quarter" CD and I thought I'd have a go at them.

I have an Art & Lutherie Legacy guitar which is 000 size and has a solid spruce top and plywood back and sides (3 ply of cherry/maple/cherry). I bought it second hand a few months ago off Ebay. I have it strung with EJ16s and am learning to play with a thumb pick and standard metal fingerpicks. I used to play dorbo so I have no problem wearing them.

I love the timbre I'm getting from this guitar - it is very earthy and honest, with a lot of character. Using a Zoom H5 sat on my coffee table, I record myself practicing every now and then, particularly when I'm working on something new so I can hear how things are going.



I was playing a friends old 000-18 yesterday (same size, scale length and nut width). It was a lovely little guitar but I have to say was just a little "bland" to my ears and with less projection, less bass and less top than I'm getting from this cheap plywood Legacy.

[TBman]

All of mine ( I only play finger style).

I like having 3 of my guitars tuned to DADGAD, CGDGAD and other lower tunings. For those I generally use medium strings. For my standard tuned guitars I like lights.

[memphis1]

Goodall, for sure! I prefer the Concert Jumbo size-but their OM/Grand Concerts are also great. They are just so responsive!

[Rogerblair]

I have a newly acquired Yamaha Red Label FS5 that may assume the first place position in my small collection. It is already blossoming into a wonderful sounding instrument. Short scale, 1-3/4 nut. Comfy.

Rb