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  #1  
Old 11-05-2020, 06:37 PM
1acoustic 1acoustic is offline
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Default Cramped Fingers

In then past three weeks I have went from a classical nylon string guitar with a 2, 2 1/8 inch nut to a Breedlove parlor with a 1 11/16 inch nut. The Breedlove just doesn't have the room for my fingers when fingerpicking. Question is should I keep at it, or return it for something like the the Alvarez AP66 or the AP70?

Many thanks to all who may read and/or reply.
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Old 11-05-2020, 06:39 PM
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I went from a 1 & 3/4 nut size to a 1 & 7/8 nut. Now I don't think I could play a 1 & 3/4 nut easily.
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Old 11-05-2020, 06:47 PM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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You may get accustomed to the 1 11/16" or you may not. I think you may be better off trying a 1 3/4" guitar first.
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Old 11-05-2020, 07:18 PM
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I think the smaller nut guitar should be replaced with a guitar that has a 1.75 or wider nut.
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Old 11-05-2020, 07:46 PM
Mike McLenison Mike McLenison is offline
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I had to change my chord fingering to accommodate a smaller neck width. For example, below is what I play with 2 fingers covering 4 strings for an Am or E chord. It worked out well as it frees up my other fingers for extensions, etc.

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Old 11-05-2020, 08:06 PM
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I have 2 classicals that are 2 1/8” at the nut and my steel strings range from 1 23/32” - 1 13/16”. I generally prefer the wider 1 13/16” necks but have no problem when I play the 1 3/4” nuts. I would simply capo at the first or second fret since you are used to a 12 fret anyway. A 1 11/16” nut guitar will likely be 1 3/4” at the 1st or second fret. I also learn a song with a capo so the repetitive stress happens with less reach and less stretch. I find the more I use my capo the more my brain easily adapts to changing guitars. It’s the right hand spacing that throws me off but though I have about 14 guitars they are all 2 1/4” - 2 3/8” at the saddle. I won’t buy any guitar less than 2 1/4” at the saddle.

Last edited by blindboyjimi; 11-05-2020 at 08:24 PM.
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Old 11-05-2020, 09:22 PM
GGSanders GGSanders is offline
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My only guitar for 35 years had a 1 11/16 in. nut. Since then I've acquired a mandolin with 1 1/8 in. and fairly recent guitars with 1 13/16, 1 11/16 and a nylon crossover with 1 7/8 in. nuts. All feel natural now, and only require a few minutes warmup when I switch back and forth. Point is, while some on this forum find only one nut width/neck size/thickness, etc. will work for them, others seem able to adapt without much trouble.

It could be that personal ergonomics (hand size, finger length/thickness) plays a roll. I don't know. For the first few years my left hand just cramped up something awfull, and I could barely get through a 2-3 minute song. My friends just said to keep at it, that it would go away, and eventually, it did.

As noted previously, you could capo up 2 frets, and that would effectively give you the feel of a steel stringed guitar with 1 3/4 in. nut. My guess is that 1/16 inch difference in nut width won't feel much different, and will still not give you the fingering room you've become accustomed to.

If you can return the Breedlove without loss, I say go for the Alvarez. It will be a little easier to adapt to, but don't think it will suddenly give you a whole lot more room, and will feel like your classical, it won't.
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Old 11-06-2020, 03:10 AM
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This was the whole reason that I went from standard Martin necks to 12 fret dreads back in '99.

Thin necks were developed in the '30s -for tenor orchestra and jazz band banjo player needed to change to guitar as music changed. Guitar makers assumed that we all wanted to just play 3 or 4 string chords.

This is my story - please forgive the voice - I was recovering from throat cancer treatment.
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Old 11-06-2020, 07:24 AM
mawmow mawmow is offline
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Change the guitar !
I play fingerstyle and I can barely play nut width narrower than
1 3/4" either even though I took personal lessons that helped
change my fretting hand posture. Gibson's 1,725" is my very lower limit.

I do own an Alvarez AP66ESB and it does it.

I guess most builders are now making 1 3/4" nut width orchestra models.

P.S. I was amazed how "LARGE" finger and thumb picks
were too small for my very average hands !
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Old 11-06-2020, 07:48 AM
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Hey 1acoustic

Decisions decisions. Only you know what works for you.
Is the decision time sensitive, meaning do you have a window of opportunity to return the guitar. If yes then, IMHO I would return it.

If not, then try living with it for a while. You can always trade or sell it later


I went through a similar but opposite choice. I have always favored a 1 11/16 nut (I play with my fingers 95% of the time). 1 3/4 nuts always felt to wide and I could not adjust, but I never really gave “Muscle Memory” a chance .

Then I recently had the opportunity to get a really nice guitar for pennies on the dollar (Furch OM33). But it had a 55 mm nut (almost 1 3/4). It sounded amazing and I stuck with it for a few months. Now I can switch between the smaller and larger nut with minimal adjustment.

Going from larger to smaller nuts might be a different experience. I guess it depends on if there are any physical restrictions (hand/finger size). But if you have the time and like the sound of the guitar why not give it a try.
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Old 11-06-2020, 09:21 AM
menhir menhir is offline
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I wonder if changing the nut string spacing on a fan fret guitar would be feasible, considering the frets are not all at right angles to the neck.

I'm guessing it would throw off the intonation a bit? Or not?
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Old 11-06-2020, 03:04 PM
Misifus Misifus is offline
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When I made the transition from a 2” classical to a steel-string, I did a lot of research on nut widths. I tried steel-strings with every width from 1-7/8” to 1-11/16”. For me, I found that 1-3/4” nut worked best. I was having a custom luthier built guitar made and he would have made it to whichever width I wanted. I tried all of them, and settled on 1-3/4”. I know that the 1-11/16” you found difficult is only 1/16” narrower than the one I preferred, but that little bit made all the difference.

Coincidentally, about five years later, after playing the 1-3/4” nut for that time, when I inherited a nice guitar with a 1-11/16” nut, I found I could play it without trouble. However, had I acquired it before playing the 1-3/4” guitar for that time, I couldn’t have done as well.
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