So I've was thinking about selling all my guitars except one, and now...

[Lakewood_Lad]

I've started to get pains in my shoulder when I play a dreadnought and a grand auditorium. I can play OM (and presumably smaller) pain-free.

I only have one OM guitar. The others are dreads and GAs.

Looks like my body has made the decision for me.

And I'll have to change my name from Lakewood to Larrivee unless/until I buy a new Lakewood. My current one is a GA so it's got to go.

[maxtheaxe]

Originally Posted by Lakewood_Lad

I've started to get pains in my shoulder when I play a dreadnought and a grand auditorium. I can play OM (and presumably smaller) pain-free.

I only have one OM guitar. The others are dreads and GAs.

Looks like my body has made the decision for me.

And I'll have to change my name from Lakewood to Larrivee unless/until I buy a new Lakewood. My current one is a GA so it's got to go.

I would definitely look into an OM in this situation...I've had some of this trouble myself. I have arthritis that I contend with and had a serious left-shoulder dislocation that was never properly reduced; I've found that the OMs are much easier on my shoulder, simply due to the shorter body length.

BTW, have you tried a Larrivee L-series? My go-to guitars are my Larrivee L-03 and L-10, neither of which seem to bother my shoulder (unless I seriously overdo it and play 3 or 4 hours without taking a break). They really sacrifice very little tone-wise compared to a dread, while being a great deal more comfortable to play.

[Joe Beamish]

Originally Posted by Lakewood_Lad

I've started to get pains in my shoulder when I play a dreadnought and a grand auditorium. I can play OM (and presumably smaller) pain-free.

I only have one OM guitar. The others are dreads and GAs.

Looks like my body has made the decision for me.

And I'll have to change my name from Lakewood to Larrivee unless/until I buy a new Lakewood. My current one is a GA so it's got to go.

Lots of people with shoulder pain have found ways to enable playing their dreads and jumbos comfortably by using a strap or otherwise altering their playing position. You might try experimenting if you haven’t, and keep whatever guitar sounds the best.

One guitar is beautiful. Instead of thinking about brands, body sizes and tone woods, I think about music and how to play it. My one guitar happens to be an OM, but it could be anything.

[Lakewood_Lad]

It's my right shoulder that hurts. Getting it over the lower bout when fretting awkward chords has started to become painful. I'm happy with the OM I already have so it's not a terrible thing.

On the plus side the OM is the only guitar I've ever bought new and I don't expect to lose much money on the guitars I'll have to sell. I might even make some. I could probably buy a smaller bodied Lakewood with the proceeds if I wanted to but for now I think I'll lay off and just focus on the Larrivee. I've been wanting to just focus on one guitar for a while but I haven't been able to bring myself to make the cull.

Sometimes going with the flow aint a bad thing.

[Kenbike]

I have a Jumbo, OM and OO and my favorite guitar is the OO for playing sitting down at home.
But if out I find the OO does not project as well as a OM.
Try a OO size it may really surprise you.

[Lakewood_Lad]

Originally Posted by Kenbike

I have a Jumbo, OM and OO and my favorite guitar is the OO for playing sitting down at home.
But if out I find the OO does not project as well as a OM.
Try a OO size it may really surprise you.

I've been looking at smaller guitars and nearly bought a K Yairi New Yorker last weekend (parlour guitar) but decided against. I think smaller is definitely the way to go.

I'm going to experiment with a few different seats, postures and positions for the guitar and see if it's just bad posture because it might be muscle rather than joint pain but it's a nice excuse anyway. I've felt like I've had too many guitars for a while now and this kind of forces me to make a decision.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by Lakewood_Lad

It's my right shoulder that hurts. Getting it over the lower bout when fretting awkward chords has started to become painful. I'm happy with the OM I already have so it's not a terrible thing.

On the plus side the OM is the only guitar I've ever bought new and I don't expect to lose much money on the guitars I'll have to sell. I might even make some. I could probably buy a smaller bodied Lakewood with the proceeds if I wanted to but for now I think I'll lay off and just focus on the Larrivee. I've been wanting to just focus on one guitar for a while but I haven't been able to bring myself to make the cull.

Sometimes going with the flow aint a bad thing.

Here's another angle.

I had a similar problem, I had the beginning of bursitis in my right shoulder. Went to an orthopedic Doc, who sent me to Physical Therapy who gave me a series of stretching exercises that virtually removed the problem. I play Jumbos mostly and one Dread...

something to think about?

[tomopoole]

Originally Posted by Kenbike

I have a Jumbo, OM and OO and my favorite guitar is the OO for playing sitting down at home.
But if out I find the OO does not project as well as a OM.
Try a OO size it may really surprise you.

I adore my OM. I find it the perfect size. But, my Martin 00 12 fret is hands down the most fun to play, and projects really well. So easy to just relax and get creative with that small body.

[Rpt50]

Have you guys tried physical therapy? Not "look up some exercises" on the internet, but actually getting a referral and going to an actual physical therapist? I was skeptical, and at 58 with decades of motorcycle riding and racing (and crashing), I assumed that shoulder pain was just going to be part of living from here on out. But in less that 2 weeks of supervised exercise, I already have considerable relief. I'm amazed.

[RP]

Originally Posted by Lakewood_Lad

...And I'll have to change my name from Lakewood to Larrivee unless/until I buy a new Lakewood...

And a good reason to choose an AGF username that's not based on a specific brand of guitar...

[rmp]

Originally Posted by Rpt50

Have you guys tried physical therapy? Not "look up some exercises" on the internet, but actually getting a referral and going to an actual physical therapist? I was skeptical, and at 58 with decades of motorcycle riding and racing (and crashing), I assumed that shoulder pain was just going to be part of living from here on out. But in less that 2 weeks of supervised exercise, I already have considerable relief. I'm amazed.

exactly, see my post, 2 replies above yours.

My issue was a few years ago, 2016,, I've been free of this issue since with only one or two times when I had to repeat the exercises for a few days.

[Parlorman]

I’ve had rotator cuff injuries and surgery on both shoulders. I can play my single and double 0s for hours but with an OM or triple 0 start getting pain in both shoulders after a half hour or less. I can barely play a dreadnaught for 10 minutes or so.

One of my best friends and playing partners had left shoulder and hand pain. I suggested he drop his Hummingbird to DGEFAD and capo on the second fret. The shorter reach and lower string tension kept him playing the big guitar comfortably for years.

[Lakewood_Lad]

Originally Posted by RP

And a good reason to choose an AGF username that's not based on a specific brand of guitar...

You read the thread and that's what prompts you to reply?

Wow.

[rmp]

he was just being sorta kinda helpful,, HA!

good luck with the shoulder issue. Maybe yours is like mine. I couldn't raise my arm any higher than parallel to the floor with out hurting a lot.

I suffered for months before I finally made a few phone calls.

[RP]

Originally Posted by Lakewood_Lad

You read the thread and that's what prompts you to reply?

Wow.

Really, really sorry to disappoint but after reading a whole lot of "My shoulder hurts, and I can't play dreads anymore" threads over the years, I wanted to add something different than get a smaller guitar. If you want more thoughts on the subject that are to your liking, you might want to do an AGF search on "shoulder pain"...