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  #16  
Old 08-17-2019, 07:00 PM
414CE Koa 414CE Koa is offline
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I feel like a moron. I actually figured out what the problem was! I had it in my head I needed to play the guitars relatively low. No idea why. I raised them all to be around the same height on me and now I can quickly adjust and play through all of them! Something so stupid but that seems to do! I'm glad I wasn't just going nuts. Thank you so much for your responses and advice! much appreciated!
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  #17  
Old 08-18-2019, 06:45 AM
Howard Emerson Howard Emerson is offline
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Originally Posted by 414CE Koa View Post
I feel like a moron. I actually figured out what the problem was! I had it in my head I needed to play the guitars relatively low. No idea why. I raised them all to be around the same height on me and now I can quickly adjust and play through all of them! Something so stupid but that seems to do! I'm glad I wasn't just going nuts. Thank you so much for your responses and advice! much appreciated!
Welcome to the club. We've all had moments like that, but frankly you learned THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE: By yourself.

Your 'duh' moment is just another example of proof about how sensitive the human body is, and how much resistance "it" meets when confronted with 'human logic', which is often isn't very logical.

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  #18  
Old 08-18-2019, 07:52 AM
Paddy1951 Paddy1951 is offline
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Originally Posted by 414CE Koa View Post
I feel like a moron. I actually figured out what the problem was! I had it in my head I needed to play the guitars relatively low. No idea why. I raised them all to be around the same height on me and now I can quickly adjust and play through all of them! Something so stupid but that seems to do! I'm glad I wasn't just going nuts. Thank you so much for your responses and advice! much appreciated!
Well hey, you solved your problem. You learned something in the process.

Don't be hard on yourself.
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  #19  
Old 08-18-2019, 08:54 AM
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ljguitar ljguitar is offline
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Originally Posted by 414CE Koa View Post
…Do you think until I get back up to speed I should focus on one main guitar?
…Any thoughts are appreciated. Thank you!!!
Hi 414etc

My experience is players who are 'fluent' on many instruments are more 'useful' and no less handicapped than people who focus on one particular instrument all their life. In fact they seem better equipped to play any time with a wide variety of other players and in more diverse styles and directions.

It's a matter of familiarizing one's self with both instruments. I played accordion for 12 years and piano during the same time period with equal ease and proficiency, and the sizes of the keys are radically different.

My gigging partner plays bass guitar, upright bass, electric guitar (he owns over a dozen) and acoustic guitar (with 1¾" nut) with equal ease. He's also 58 yrs old and has been a dedicated musician for over 4 decades.

I also have friends who have played only a single classical guitar (each had them custom built) for 3-5 decades and cannot adapt to other instruments. They are just as devoted, and their variety comes from the compositions they pursue, learn and play.

There are songs I can only play and stylize properly with my Strat, others with my Tele, and yet others with my acoustic guitars. It changes with the ensemble or setting (Irish music, Worship Band, acoustic gig etc…) and the parts I'm responsible to cover during the performance.

I opt for more flexibility - hence I own more types of guitars. I'm most proficient on my acoustic, but I can make my way around an electric as a backing guitarist with solid sensitivity to the group without interfering or competing with the other musicians on stage.



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  #20  
Old 08-18-2019, 04:00 PM
tonyo tonyo is offline
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Originally Posted by 414CE Koa View Post
Thank you very much for your responses! You all make very valuable points. I will work through it. Tone gopher I think you might have a point on specific differences. I have noticed I have the hardest time adapting to the Tele and Jackson which do not have stop bar tailpieces. Every other guitar I have has one. When I get it right with the Tele though it is one of my favorites to play! I'm just glad it isn't anything crazy.
My view is it depends on what you aspire to. I travel a fair bit and want to be able to play any guitar handed to me. So owning guitars with different nut widths and other characteristics is important to me. For someone else who only plays their one or two guitars, that may not be important to them.
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  #21  
Old 08-23-2019, 03:00 PM
AuntieDiluvian AuntieDiluvian is offline
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Originally Posted by jaymarsch View Post
I have heard from symphony and orchestra musicians (and one even a forum member here) who have to switch different sized instruments throughout a piece, that the best way to practice is to actually practice rotating through your different sized instruments when you sit down to play.
This^^^^.

I play in a lot of theater pits (and occasionally direct them), and a common instrument set for me might be:
> Electric solidbody
> Steel-string
> Nylon-string (classical)
> 12-string
> Mandolin

Over the course of a 2-3 hour show, each will be used, and you often have to swicth very rapidly from one to another. A common "guitar" book/score may also include a jazz box, banjo, ukelele, and pretty much any other fretted string instrument that the composer thought would create an iconic, recognizable style.

Yes, it can sometimes be very odd going from a long scale length guitar to a mandolin or ukelele, but the basic skills are really the same. What I find more challenging is reading; everything is scored in standard notation, and many of those alternate instruments have tunings that are very different from a guitar.

To the OPs question, though, you absolutely will not hurt your technique by playing a few different instruments. In fact, it helps you to separate the core techniques from adjustments you make that are unique to a given guitar.
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  #22  
Old 08-24-2019, 10:08 PM
Joscefi78 Joscefi78 is offline
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You answered your own question, OP. Of course switching guitars can hurt your play. Of course stress and hard work can be great because it's a goal to overcome, but for the learning process, keep it simple.

Switching around scale lengths or even guitar types can confound even a great player.
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  #23  
Old 08-25-2019, 12:21 PM
Pitar Pitar is offline
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That's a question I don't think anyone can genuinely answer - for you - because none of use are you. I hope that doesn't sound trite. It isn't meant to be. It's another of those questions that will answer itself as you progress. Lot's of questions like this one find themselves on these various forums that are truly unanswerable.

Assuming a certain measure of clairvoyance - You will encounter different guitars that provide the sound you like, you will buy them, and yet they will vary in physical ways that you will need to adapt to. Odds of this occurrence? Very good. Will they impact you negatively? See the above paragraph.
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  #24  
Old 08-25-2019, 12:59 PM
mr. beaumont mr. beaumont is offline
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Hurt your playing? No.

But if you're reaaaaaalllly used to one guitar, you might want to acclimate yourself to a different one before playing it in front of people
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