What are reasonable options for someone with bigger hands/fingers?

[lowrider]

You are going through what everyone goes through. Practice, practice, practice! Things will get cleaner.

Some people say that the Seagull s6 1.8 neck has 1.77 string spacing , some say 1.5 which is the same as a 1.75 neck. Typical spacing to the edge is .125 (1/8). You can get a new nut made with 3/64 to the edge and give you more spacing between strings.

I had a Seagull with 1.72 nut. The actual with was 1.73 but it had the same string spacing as a 1.69 nut. I fit a new nut with 1.49 spacing and it made a huge difference.

But like I wrote in the beginning; practice, practice, practice!

[Muddslide]

I've got "Homer Simpson fingers" myself, and manage to play bass all the way to soprano ukulele. Not necessarily all that well, but I do okay.

My biggest trouble is electric guitars.

As others have said, it's part of the learning curve. As mentioned, there are steel string guitars with wider nuts.

I'm a bit surprised that classical/nylon string guitars haven't been suggested more, but they are a world away from steel strings in sound and feel. However, you might find the string spacing much more to your liking.

My younger daughter is 19 and a pianist, but the past few months she's been picking up my parlor guitar and playing...asking me to show her some chords and songs.

She's planning on getting her own guitar soon and just today we were in GC and she was trying out a few. It occurred to me to hand her a nylon string and when she tried it out her eyes lit up. She's quite excited about it, but is definitely geared towards the classical right now. She went on and on about how much easier it was to play. She seems to prefer the sound as well.

Just a thought.

[Tony Burns]

OM's typically have wider necks with wider spacing -i know my OM28v does.
but honestly like a prior reader states -with practice it gets easier with about any neck -
but sometimes its just nice to get a new guitar with a wider spacing !
Peace




.

[Steadfastly]

I have no idea why you are asking me this question. See my signature below.

When I first started playing, many, many people told me I just needed to practice more and eventually I would find that I could fret a 1 11/16 or even a 1 5/8" wide nut, neck cleanly. I am sure these people all had small or regular size hands and fingers. I have found 1 3/4" nut widths just about perfect for me although I have played 1 7/8" and 2" nut width with little problems but the 2" is a little wide for me but better than a 1 5/8" or 1 11/16". Neck radius and profile are important too but the first thing I look for in a guitar is the nut width and then I go to the rest of the specs from there.

So, what I am saying with this long winded post, is that nut width does matter and if it's too narrow for those of us with large hands and fingers, then we need to look at something wider. When you are fretting you chords as you check out guitars, go slow. If you can chord clean when going slow, you will likely be able to chord clean going faster as you gain experience. Happy hunting and enjoy your playing.

[FrankHudson]

Sounds like you're learning. It's been suggested once early in the thread, but let me restate this idea: Obtain a capo, and capo up two frets, and bingo, wider string spacing. This may get you going with any handy guitar.

Classical guitar is another option too. No it doesn't sound the same as a steel-string, but it's a fine sound.

I will say that I love my 1.8 inch older Seagull, and my current concern is that my joints do have consistent flexibility to fret as cleanly as I once did. Besides wider necks, I've stated to use different chord voicings and non-standard tunes more to compensate.

[chippygreen]

I echo the suggestion to learn fingering and chords on a nylon string (classical) guitar with the wider fingerboard. Once you have the technique it will be a lot easier to translate that technique onto a narrower steel string fingerboard.

I am fortunate to have many nice guitars, but I genuinely enjoy my $50 Yamaha thrift store guitar as much as those costing many many times more, and new Yamaha classicals can be had for under $150 and an identical model to mine for less than that on eBay/Reverb (sometimes).

[lt20dbl]

I have the same problem. I learned on a classical, which was a tremendous help. Within a year, I got my first steel string and played them for years. All had standard 1 11/16 necks and good clean sound eluded me. My problem was diagnosed by a local guitar shop and he ordered me a used, Martin D-28S. I began to understand the beauty of wider nut and string spacing for a guy who wears a size 16 ring. 12 fret Martins or Martin style, dreds, 00s and 000s for me.

[Cool555]

Originally Posted by wfguy

I was planning to buy a guitar a few weeks, but I held off after a friend loaned me his for a bit. Lately, I've been playing around with it, and trying to learn some chords from YouTube videos. It's just frustrating, because I can't seem to get my big, fat fingers to just push down only one string. I can't necessarily feel it, but I'm slightly touching another string.

And I understand that there's certainly technique involved, no question there. But I'm also a big guy with big mitts, so I'm wondering what I could do to make it easier on myself when I buy my own guitar.

I understand that some guitars (Seagull, let's say) have a wider neck. But I've also read that the string spacing is still standard width. So, besides finding something with a wider neck, can anything be done at setup with get the strings a little wider apart? A different bridge or nut, that sort of thing?

Start by using a classical guitar which has a thicker neck. Its strings should be further apart. Once you have more or less become more proficient in your playing, try switching to a normal acoustic guitar.

[musicman1951]

You might consider starting on a classical guitar. There are lots of very reasonably priced guitars available.

[fingerguy]

Originally Posted by wfguy

I was planning to buy a guitar a few weeks, but I held off after a friend loaned me his for a bit. Lately, I've been playing around with it, and trying to learn some chords from YouTube videos. It's just frustrating, because I can't seem to get my big, fat fingers to just push down only one string. I can't necessarily feel it, but I'm slightly touching another string.

And I understand that there's certainly technique involved, no question there. But I'm also a big guy with big mitts, so I'm wondering what I could do to make it easier on myself when I buy my own guitar.

I understand that some guitars (Seagull, let's say) have a wider neck. But I've also read that the string spacing is still standard width. So, besides finding something with a wider neck, can anything be done at setup with get the strings a little wider apart? A different bridge or nut, that sort of thing?

I have the same problem and the solution no matter what guitar is technique. Have your thumb BEHIND the neck not overlapping it is key. By doing that it makes a huge difference.

Now most likely it will be awkward and uncomfortable at first but the more you do it, in time it will become natural and you won't realize you are doing it automatically.

[beninma]

I wear XXL or XXXL gloves depending on the manufacturer/use too although I don't have "fat" fingers. I probably won the lottery here I guess as long/thin fingers seem to be desired. My weakness seems to be outright strength though, I have to be careful or I cramp.

I think it is 99% practice.

I can get along fine with almost any nut width and I ended up with only guitars with 1 11/16" nuts for now. I've had 1 3/4" as well.

Maybe slightly easier with 1 3/4" and no harm trying to get a guitar with a 1 3/4" neck but you're still going to have the same problems until you get more practice.

What I have observed is there is a very short/steep learning curve with this stuff when you start out. It's really frustrating to get past. Then you get past it and it feels like you're improving rapidly but in reality there are aspects that still improve slowly over many years.

A big thing here is the precision you put your fingers down, there are stages I can see as you go from total beginner up. As you move up the stages your fingers hit things more precisely and these difficulties with muting strings or hitting wrong strings slowly go away.

- Need to look at the fretboard, need to consciously move each finger, pretty sloppy, wrist kind of stays rigid and locked

- Still have to look at the fretboard, but you can move your fingers at the same time, wrist still kind of stays rigid

- Fingers start to automatically go to the right place, but you still need to look, wrist is starting to relax and you are starting to adjust your wrist/forearm position to make things easier for your hand. For me this stage made a huge difference in the problems you're talking about, as having your wrist start to take on different positions allows the fingers to approach the strings from more optimal angles.

- You start to not have to look at the fretboard anymore, your fingers and wrist do the right thing, and you don't have to think about it much anymore, but your precison is not perfect. You put your fingers in the right place, but they are not 100% accurate, and within a beat you subtly move your fingers to the perfect spot. Maybe some fingers lag behind the others when you're forming a chord

- You start knowing when a finger can stay still which helps you move faster, you start playing the same chord multiple ways depending on what is around it

- Same as the previous step but you start moving your fingers smaller distances with more economy, fingers don't move as far from the strings

- Really experienced player - You don't need to look, all your fingers move smoothly at the same and they all land in exactly the right place with no secondary adjustment required.

The other night I was at a group session.. looking around as we're strumming something together you could see all these stages... The teacher has probably been playing close to 50 years. His fingers barely move, always the smallest movements, you never see him adjust his fingers after they land. He's got "fat" fingers.

Redd Volkaert is a great example.. he has huge fingers and no trouble with tighter string spacing. Given his age he probably played some guitars with 1 9/16" nuts at some point too given they were popular on electric guitars for a while. (Though I'm not aware of that ever being a Telecaster thing)

My teacher has similar hands as I do.. he recommends techniques for people with long/thin fingers. But he will somehow explain a different way of doing it and explain how the other way is better for someone with thicker fingertips. Sometimes this has to do with using one finger to hit more than one string. If you've got big thick fingertips sometimes it's supposedly easier to lay one finger down in a mini-barre instead of using two fingers. Stuff like that.

The capo suggestion is interesting. The Capo will give you more room across the neck but less room up and down the neck as the frets are now closer together. Stuff like an A chord with 3 fingers will be harder. The A chord shape is a good one in terms of different techniques. I've been taught to play this with a barre across 3 strings. It is not common for acoustic. But if you have big strong fingers and have a hard time getting 3 fingers into that space than the barre might work for you. I switch this up. If I am using the Capo even though I don't have "fat" fingers having long fingers I will still have trouble squeezing 3 fingers into place to make an A chord if I'm up the neck with the capo. So I am starting to go back and forth. The 3 finger approach can have a big advantage if you're moving from D -> A as one finger stays put. But the one finger A chord can have an advantage if you're going to G next AFAICT.

[varmonter]

Originally Posted by lt20dbl

I have the same problem. I learned on a classical, which was a tremendous help. Within a year, I got my first steel string and played them for years. All had standard 1 11/16 necks and good clean sound eluded me. My problem was diagnosed by a local guitar shop and he ordered me a used, Martin D-28S. I began to understand the beauty of wider nut and string spacing for a guy who wears a size 16 ring. 12 fret Martins or Martin style, dreds, 00s and 000s for me.

This is what i was going to suggest as well .
The martin d28s has a very wide neck,
like a classical. And it's a wonderful sounding
guitar to boot. They come up for sale on reverb
from time to time...12 fret wonders if you ask me.
They are not cheap. usually in the 3k range.
I have one as my main gigging guitar.
When i play a regular guitar now i have to readjust
a bit to the narrow neck. Really nice guitars..

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by wfguy

…I understand that some guitars (Seagull, let's say) have a wider neck. But I've also read that the string spacing is still standard width. So, besides finding something with a wider neck, can anything be done at setup with get the strings a little wider apart? A different bridge or nut, that sort of thing?

Hi wfguy

Some Seagulls have the equivalent of a 1¾" nut (expressed as 1.8") which is ⅟₁₆" wider than the standard. The string spacing is what counts, and the Seagulls with the wider setting have their nut spaced like every other 1¾" nut guitar.

Another suggestion, a few times when I taught guitar (for 40 years), I met people who had converted 12 string guitars to 6 string, because the neck on many 12 string guitars is substantially wider (some as wide as 2"). They chose to alter a 12 string rather than buy/play a classical guitar because they prefer the tone of steel strings versus nylon strings.

Someone mentioned a Classical guitar (nylon string). Full sized ones often have a 2" nut (sometimes wider). Those are often listed in the 52mm range.

I mention these two choices so you could visit a well stocked music store and play some examples of these guitars to see if they assist in your situation.

[roylor4]

What Larry said is true, the Seagull 1.8" has the same string spacing as most 1.75" nut guitars with a bit extra at the low & high e.

People saying it's a practice only issue are speaking for themselves and it doesn't apply to everyone. Some people are more adaptable than others in regards to string spacing - I'm not one of them. FWIW, I will play over 100 gigs this year and only play acoustics with 1.75" or wider nuts. I play a minimum of 10-12 hours a week and still don't get along with 1 & 11/16th acoustics. For me, it is clearly not a practice issue, it's there. Can I play them? Yeah, but not as well as my own wider necked guitars.

My Bluesboy has a 1 & 5/8" nut, but for people that play both electric and acoustic - they will tell you that they are different beasts and are played in vastly different ways.

As a newbie, experience is definitely part of the issue - but only you know if you want more string spacing at the nut.

In many cases, getting clean sounding chords can also be affected by string height/action, nut width and neck profile. Very thin necks make my hand cramp and I prefer medium to baseball battish necks (and I'm only 5'6" with average sized hands).

Keep playing your loaner and improving and also go test drive several at a local store and see what size shoe fits.

For some of us, that 1/16" of territory makes a world of difference.

[zmf]

WF -- one thing not mentioned is learn to hit the strings you're not going to muffle. This will become more obvious as you start to get the hang of it.

It's not cheating, honest! Most of us don't have perfect guitar-playing hands - there are individual physical limitations. But you will adaptation to those limitations and learn to make a guitar sound pretty good.