Re: neck width of classical guitar vs. steel strung guitar
On Jul 14, 9:10 pm, "Sheldon" <shel...@XXXXXXXXsopris.net> wrote:
> "tysteel" <tysteel3...@aol.com> wrote in message
>
> news:5fdd8d01-8ca5-4f2f-9e91-328de2ad7b52@p25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> > Why is it that steel strung acoutic guitars have slimmer necks (or
> > should I say... smaller frets) than their classical nylon strung
> > counterparts? Why aren't don't steel strung acoustics generally made
> > with the same kind of jumbo-sized frets (and neck width) as is the
> > case with many nylon strung classical guitars?
..
> > tysteel
>
> To answer your question: Neck sizes on classical and steel string acoustics
> are different sizes because of the way "most" people play the instruments.
> Classical guitars are generally played by plucking individual strings with
> the fingertips or fingernails, and the wider spacing allows more room to do
> that. Steel string acoustics and electrics are generally played using
> chords and chord forms, so the narrow neck allows quick formation of chords.
> Also, using a pick, it's easy to get between the narrow strings.
I stubbornly stuck to my steel string guitar for a long time, while
learning classical material. I finally broke down one day and bought
a classical guitar and that made it much easier to play because
of the wider neck. One thing though-- some reaches became a new
problem because of the wider neck (crossing strings), because I
needed a longer finger reach for certain intervals. But over time,
you get used to that as well.
After playing a classical guitar for a while, I find that the narrow
neck of a LP is too small for me to play the same material on.
Even a steel stringed acoustic takes some re-adjustment.
Snark
<castlebrav…
RichL
