What size guitar for fingerstyle?

[Wrighty]

I move between OM and GA size as my preference, but mostly OM 14 fret as the ideal. I play with nails but have a lighter touch and I find in the main the best balance of tone and comfort is found on an OM.

With the right build, an OM has sufficient bass clarity although I had considered a deeper body as an option on a new build.

[Llewlyn]

All flesh (sometimes short nails) fingerstyle player. I mostly pick a Martin CEO-7 (00-14 frets), but I like the sound I get out of larger guitars too. Nut width and string spacing are the first thing I look at. If I'd be gassing for a new toy it's be a 000-12 frets.

Ll.

[musicman1951]

You are correct in that there is no rule/best. For me it's a short scale 000 with at least a 1 3/4 nut, 2 3/8 string spacing and a very responsive feel. I do not want to feel I have to work hard to pull some sound from the guitar.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by jklotz

I'm primarily a fingerstyle player these days. I've been mostly playing OM/OOO size guitars, but I notice a lot of folks play GC sized guitars. I know there is no hard fast rule, but what sized guitar do you prefer for fingerstyle? Cut away or no?

Hi jkl-etc
I only play fingerstyle.

My three main guitars are Dreadnought (EIR/Cedar), OM (Myrtlewood/Italian Spruce), Mini-Jumbo (Koa/Sitka). The EIR/Cedar Dreadnought is my main guitar (has been for 27 years).

To me a fingerstyle guitar has to be very responsive, resonant, project well, have some bass presence, clear trebles in the upper range without becoming edgy, at least 1¾" nut, and have full bodied tone.

Only my OM is a cutaway.

If it meets those criteria, I don't care what shape it is.

[s2y]

Generally, I go for OM or slightly smaller. Bigger bodies can work with lighter bracing or softer tops.

[madhat]

I think it is just personal preference- what ever you are comfy with physically and/or sonically. I prefer 00 and 000 size guitars.

have fun!

madhat.

[Alan Carruth]

A 12-fret 000 tends to have a bit better bass than a 14-fret OM/000 due to the longer body and the sound hole position. I also like the 16" 'Small Jumbo' platform.

[Michael Watts]

I like the sound of a more "square" body so I prefer modified Dreadnoughts (and varients like my Kostal MDW sig) to OM's and Jumbos. So much depends on who made it of course!

I play in DADGAD with barely any nail.

[cliff_the_stiff]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Easy. It must have a fingerstyle fretboard, 1& 13/16" nut width, to 2 & 5/16" string spacing.

Std scale? 12 fret 000/

Short scale ? 12 fret 00.

Job done, game over, smoke if ya got 'em.

I am with Silly Moustache on the nut and saddle width. I occasionally get up above 12 fret, so I like a cutout on a 12 fret, or a 14 fret.
My best fingerstyle guitar is my Collings 12 fret without a cutout, so it’s not a dealbreaker for me obviously.

[usb_chord]

I prefer the 000 and 00 sizes. I'd say 000-12 fret cutaway if I didnt dislike the look of them so much. I prefer symmetry in the 12 fret design.

I'd go with spruce and mahogany to control the more resonant design of the larger 000 12 fret body and add in a little more fundamental.

[GeneralDreedle]

This is hard to answer right? If you are fingerpicking something and want a resonant sound, I like my Martin, if it's blues then I like my Nick Lucas and Guild JF 30. As for size, Gary Davis played a J200 and Mississippi John Hurt played Guild F30-

[Picking Moose]

Granted that a wider neck will suite fingerstyle better than a narrow one, everything else in the guitar shape (for comfort) is dependable of many factor, including:
- your body size
- how you hold/rest the guitar (right leg, left leg, slightly tilted up/down...)
- how you rest your picking arm on guitar (if you do) eg. forearm on edge of guitar's upper bout or upper arm resting on it
- your wrist/picking hand position in relation to strings
- your hands size
- how pronounced is your belly (had a student once who had such a pronounced belly that he could not cross legs to hold guitar so at lessons I would put a big yellow-pages book on floor for him to raise his right leg (didn't have a foot rest at the time).

[ssynhorst]

Dreadnoughts will produce the biggest sound if struck hard with a plectrum; that is what they were designed to do to compete with banjos, fiddles and mandolins in string bands. But because of their size and intended use they are heavily built and fingerstyle play particularly with flesh only may not drive them hard enough to produce a full sound. But smaller bodies and short scales enable lighter build with thinner bracing. They are more easily driven so are often surprisingly loud and full sounding when played with fingers. They are also often built with wider nuts and string spacing at the saddle which are comfortable for playing with the fingers. 00 and 000 designs are very often preferred by fingerstyle players for comfort, volume and best tone.

I have fitted a couple of standard neck guitars with custom nuts having the 1&1/2" string spacing usually found on 1&3/4" nuts.

- Stevo

[bobster7]

I have three guitars i really like for fingerstyle, all 12 fretters, namely:

Collings 000-2H

Huss & Dalton DS-12 Custom

Eastman E-20P

All three are responsive guitars with very different voices.

The Eastman is very warm, dark and lush, sweet chiming bell like trebles that sustain for an age. Amazing tone on my particular E-20P, a very open sounding instrument. I absolutely love this guitar and the neck is fairly chunky which i particularly like.

Collings - More fundamental tone, very balanced, thick trebles. Not as pretty sounding as the Eastman or H&D but you hear every note.

The Huss and Dalton has an enormous and very deep bass response. The tone is warm and rounded, trebles are sweet although not as thick as the Collings or as bell like as the Eastman.

I am currently leaning some Bert Jansch tunes (my book finally arrived!!!) and initially i had decided to try and focus on using just one of my guitars for all the jansch pieces (even started a thread on this subject) but i could never decide which one as different songs quickly started to lend themselves to different pieces. I'm currently leaning 6 Jansch songs and have now decided on the best sounding instrument for the following although Tell me what... sounds good on all three. They all have my trusty Thomastik strings on.

Alman & Rosemary Lane - Collings
Needle of death & Angie - H&D
Tell me what is true Love & One for Jo - Eastman

Morale of the story is experiment, trust your ears and judgement and go with whatever you prefer.