Small hands 1 3/4 nut?

Daveyo · #1 11-20-2023, 08:26 PM

Hello all
I have been playing one and 11/16 nut guitars for a long time
I just picked up Taylor 310
Which I totally love
Except for the wider nut width
I’m not having too much of a bad time with it
But I wonder if there’s anybody out there with small hands like me that plays the one and three-quarter inch nut anyways
I’m gonna try to give it a couple of weeks
If not, I’ll go back to the smaller nut with
Thoughts?
Thank you in advance
David

The Bard Rocks · #2 11-20-2023, 08:38 PM

From what I can observe there is not as much a correlation between nut width and hand size as might be expected. There are a myriad of other factors which seem to affect things as well.

Tatterdemalion · #3 11-20-2023, 08:42 PM

I have small-ish hands — at least I think I do; I once read about a study of wristwatch-buyers that found most men think they have smaller wrists relative to the average than they actually do, and I’ve always wondered if the same applies to hand size. But anyway I think I have small-ish hands, and I typically find 1 3/4” a little more comfortable than 1 11/16”. It’s not a huge deal to me either way, and the overall neck carve seems to play a bigger role than just nut width in a vacuum.

If the Taylor feels good in your hands, I’d say don’t worry about it!

birdsong · #4 11-20-2023, 08:48 PM

The size and shape of the neck are what affect me the most.

My fingers are small-ish with some arthritis.

I play guitars that span 4 different nut widths - up to 1 7/8. I can play them all because the necks are comfortable for me.

martingitdave · #5 11-20-2023, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

From what I can observe there is not as much a correlation between nut width and hand size as might be expected. There are a myriad of other factors which seem to affect things as well.

Agree. I think neck shape makes more difference in terms of hand shape/size. Nut width on a thinner neck seems to just affect people's sense of where the strings should be.

Birdbrain · #6 11-20-2023, 10:59 PM

I have smaller hands for a man, and for too many years (decades) I thought I must have a narrow-necked guitar. Finally I played a 1 3/4 model long enough to realize that it made me a better guitarist. Finally I was picking out single notes from a chord clearly. I thought I was too clumsy for that, but a narrow string spacing made it harder to avoid fouling adjacent strings. Now, I'm in the process of clearing out anything less than 1 3/4" wide.

Our problem, I think, is that our fingers aren't long enough to arc high above the fingerboard and land straight down. Our fingertips come in at an angle, and even a few hundredths of an inch spacing helps. Just don't expect to be wrapping your thumb for bass notes!

I dimly remember my beginner days when fretting an open G chord seemed a stretch. Your fingers will get more flexible as you play, but they probably won't get any longer.

PS- I look for thin necks, not fat ones. That gives me a little extra reach around to the fingerboard.

tinnitus · #7 11-20-2023, 11:13 PM

I've seen players with tiny hands play wide necks beautifully, and hulks with monster paws play well on skinny little necks with narrow nuts (and bridges). My own lunch-hooks are extremely medium, but I enjoy the extra room a 1 3/4" nut allows (and a curved radius too, but that's just me).

Play this one for a while and see if you like it better than your other guitar(s). Somewhere down the road, you might find that's the size you want everything to be.

fitness1 · #8 11-21-2023, 07:05 AM

I have really small hands and prefer 1 7/8 nuts on steel strings and full 52mm on classical.

What many don't realize is that with longer fingers, the angle of attack is more "up and over" the fingerboard, where with smaller hands and shorter fingers they have to come in on an angle - this is where the increased space between the strings can be helpful.

This is simple geometry and no amount of working on technique will make it better when you have small hands and thick fingers/fingertips.

** Sorry - just realized Birdbrain explained this pretty well above.

hairyharris · #9 11-21-2023, 07:19 AM

I have both 1 3/4 and 1 11/16. A Alvarez and a Martin respectively. The Martin is helping me with accuracy on the strings on both hands. The smaller width also pushes me to fret the streets with my finger tips to avoid muting a string. Yet the Alvarez with the wider nut is easier but I do notice that I'm not on the fingertips as much. I enjoy both withs and use each everyday. Good luck on your search.

rbpicker · #10 11-21-2023, 08:31 AM

I used to think that it mattered a lot, until I watched the videos of young Asian children (probably six to 10 years old) playing flawlessly on classical guitars with very wide necks.
After that I quit complaining. It’s the neck carve more than the width for me.
Roger

sinistral · #11 11-21-2023, 08:40 AM

I do think some of it is a function of technique—if one has classical guitar training or plays in a classical style (neck angled higher, thumb more centered behind the neck, no “thumb-over” notes, etc.), then playing on a wider neck with smaller hands is less of a problem. Muiriel Anderson is frequently mentioned as an example. But for most of us who have been playing for a while, our technique pretty much is what it is.

There really is no definitive answer to the question. If you asked 100 people with small hands the question—and first you’d need to define what “small hands” means—making up numbers, 33 would say they prefer 1-11/16” nuts, 33 would say that they prefer 1-3/4” nuts, and 33 would say that they’re indifferent, or that neck shape is more important than nut width, etc. You are number 100—how do you determine which group you’re in? The only way is to try guitars with different nut widths and neck shapes to see for yourself. Similar results could probably be obtained if you posed the same question to people with “medium-sized hands” or “large hands” or “fat fingers,” etc., but with a bit more skew to the percentages.