Should An Acoustic Be Hard To Play?

[Huskyman]

The past few years I have gotten back into playing a lot and learning new things and trying a lot more than just strumming open chords. It seems that on my acoustic when playing around the first or second fret that I really have to push hard. For instance as a variation I will play a A chord at the 2nd fret by barring it and then add my 2nd and 3rd fingers on the 3rd fret like a C chord shape and unless I push really really hard it wont sound clear at all. Same thing on the 1st fret when I play a 4 or 5 string F chord the first two strings at the 1st fret are not clear and sometimes really pushing hard does not help. The action on my guitar seems to be decent so I am wondering if maybe the nut is not cut correctly? I'm using light strings. I know the most obvious thing to do is to bring it in to a good tech but I thought I would also ask here and get some opinions. My guitar is a Yamaha A3R. Thanks.

[Fullbore]

If you’re new to acoustic steel string guitars, they are harder to play than nylon string or electric guitars.

You might want to check your nut height. Distance from any string to 1st fret should be very little.

Many web sites give good info on this.

[bluesfreek]

It's worth it to bring your guitar in to a qualified tech or luthier for a setup. Explain to them what action you like and they should be able to check the string height at the nut and saddle and adjust your truss rod properly.

[FrankHudson]

Sounds like your guitar may benefit from some attention to the action via nut slots cut slightly deeper. One way to check would be to capo at the first fret or so, and then try the same chord forms. If things are easier with the capo, then it's likely that (as once you capo, the nut is out of the picture.)

Worn frets or even low vintage-style frets can also make it harder than it needs to be to fret cleanly, but I get the impression this is a newer guitar and so putting that out of the picture.

Yes, luthier attention should help with the diagnosis and mitigation.

As to the question in the thread title. Most people use larger, higher tension strings with acoustic guitar than electric, so in that way, yes, an acoustic guitar can be "harder" to play if compared to an electric guitar. Another thing I find (playing both acoustic and electric myself) is that electric guitars when used with some common downstream amps and effects can be more forgiving of less than 100% perfect technique. A good clean, even tone note to note on a acoustic can be harder to achieve when it's just your fingers, strings and a wooden box.

[Mandobart]

Originally Posted by bluesfreek

It's worth it to bring your guitar in to a qualified tech or luthier for a setup. Explain to them what action you like and they should be able to check the string height at the nut and saddle and adjust your truss rod properly.

Truss rod is for neck relief (bow in neck) NOT to adjust the action, particularly at the first few frets! Get a real luthier to adjust the saddle and nut as needed. You may want to start out with light strings as well.

[Fullbore]

I like Frank’s suggestion about putting capo on 1st fret and comparing playability. I’ll do that myself.

Seems a much easier and more effective way than measuring distances between strings and frets.

[menhir]

Originally Posted by bluesfreek

It's worth it to bring your guitar in to a qualified tech or luthier for a setup. Explain to them what action you like and they should be able to check the string height at the nut and saddle and adjust your truss rod properly.

This is your first step.
There is no point in altering your guitar when an adjustment may be all that's needed. Make sure you go to a reputable tech.

When I returned to acoustic after a long lapse and purchased a decent guitar, I had it set up at the shop. I just assumed everything was done properly and the pain, strength and effort it took to play was all on me. After all, we know there will be a long period of acclimating oneself to the instrument. Being very persistent, I played until I got used to it.

What I found out later (How I found out is another story) was that the action was set unnecessarily high for any situation barring strumming with a brick. With a proper setup, well, I was amazed.

Truth is, learning to play with a bad setup gave me the strength to easily handle a good set-up, but since that will come along with time and practice anyway, the ordeal was totally unnecessary.

Even if a good tech says your guitar is good to go as it is, that's something worth knowing, too.

Good luck.

[chippygreen]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

Truss rod is for neck relief (bow in neck) NOT to adjust the action, particularly at the first few frets! Get a real luthier to adjust the saddle and nut as needed. You may want to start out with light strings as well.

Not always true. When my Bashkin 00-12 was shipped to me from Dream Guitars I had issues playing barred notes and chords in the first 5 frets - much harder to get clean notes than on my other Bashkin and other guitars. I showed it to Michael at Woodstock and a minor truss rod adjustment later - and some filing of the nut slots - (thanks Evan Gluck!) it plays great.

Do you have access to a friend's guitar? An A/B test could help you identify whether the comments directed at your technique/level of practice/guitar setup are the most helpful. It can be hard to hold strings down until you develop callouses but if you can play clean on someone else's guitar it may be a setup issue.

[mawmow]

Got plenty of great advices...

If you can pass a dime (or a nickel !) between strings and first fret, the action is definitely too high: When you fret a note on these strings, the resulting note becomes sharp !

On my low adjusted acoustics, 0.012 string gauge, I can fret notes without my thumb even pressing behind the neck.

I am always amazed to see very high action on brand new guitars in stores, as serious as they are reknowned to be, as I am amazed no clerk ever ask how you find the action while you buy. I mean, an average action coming out of the factory may be correct for you while it is too high for me, but I have seen way high unacceptable actions even on reknowned brands.

I have even found used guitars with too large nut width or other stupid anomalies in reknowned stores saying used instruments were fully inspected and adjusted by their tech : ALWAYS make your own inspection when you buy.

As many serious stores offer free first adjustment in the first year, do not be shy to get back and ask the action to be fitted to your playing.

[Huskyman]

Thanks everyone. Really good advice here and I will respond all in one post instead of individually. I really appreciate it a lot.

I did put the capo on the first fret and that made it much easier. Quite a bit in fact.

I can easily get a dime under the strings and even a nickle but the nickle does rub some.

I do not have access to a friend with a guitar but I do have a fairly new Ovation also and I tried it with my Ovation and it was also much easier to do what was killing me on my Yamaha.

I'm close to Reno and I know they have 4-5 places there where I can get some work done. I just need to do some research and choose one.

Again, thanks for all the insight. Much appreciated.

[jazzguy]

Originally Posted by bluesfreek

It's worth it to bring your guitar in to a qualified tech or luthier for a setup. Explain to them what action you like and they should be able to check the string height at the nut and saddle and adjust your truss rod properly.

Do this above. Trust me, you will not regret it. Make sure they are qualified. It can transform the playability of your guitar.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Cobalt

Thanks everyone. Really good advice here and I will respond all in one post instead of individually. I really appreciate it a lot.

I did put the capo on the first fret and that made it much easier. Quite a bit in fact.

I can easily get a dime under the strings and even a nickle but the nickle does rub some.

I do not have access to a friend with a guitar but I do have a fairly new Ovation also and I tried it with my Ovation and it was also much easier to do what was killing me on my Yamaha.

I'm close to Reno and I know they have 4-5 places there where I can get some work done. I just need to do some research and choose one.

Again, thanks for all the insight. Much appreciated.

Hey,
Glad you got your answers!
Get your guitar set up really well and it shouldn't be a chore to play it.
I have played a few acoustics that were set up so well it was practically like playing an electric.

[bluesfreek]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

Truss rod is for neck relief (bow in neck) NOT to adjust the action, particularly at the first few frets! Get a real luthier to adjust the saddle and nut as needed. You may want to start out with light strings as well.

Did you even read my post? I told the OP to bring his guitar into a qualified tech or LUTHIER and have it setup to his liking. I never said that the truss rod is used to adjust the action. What I said was that once the tech fixes the action at the nut and saddle he will adjust your truss rod for proper relief which is part of any setup and it DOES affect he action. I have been playing and setting up both electric guitars and acoustic for 40 years myself and do this all the time.

This is my last post on this forum. Because people like this who don't read or think before they post.

Can't say it was nice knowing such a bunch of cork sniffing snobs.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by jazzguy

Do this above. Trust me, you will not regret it. Make sure they are qualified. It can transform the playability of your guitar.

Absolutely; there's nothing so disheartening as an instrument you love but are struggling with.

[Aaron Smith]

Taking it to a good tech or luthier is the best advice. Relevant to that-

- it might be worth making a separate post to find a recommended luthier around Reno. Like mechanics or surgeons, some are better than others.

- you should have some idea of what you’re asking for before you go there. Even with the best luthier, it’s all about communication with the player to get the goals understood. A good baseline setup will always be better than no setup, but at some point it’s a tradeoff between ease of playing and ability to play loud/hard without buzzing. Know what type of strings you want to use. If you’re a beginner you will be better served to get a low, fast setup with light strings and leave a bit of volume and tone on the table.