I've been getting left hand finger joint pain, (suspect arthritis) and am looking for an electro-acoustic that is nice and easy on the fingers. Been playing a Martin 00018 for maybe 10 years, then a Seagull before that, and they have always required a bit of a "fight" to get nice tone, but I'm getting tired of the fight!
I assumed Taylor would be the logical choice, but I tried a couple and they had surprisingly high action. Any recomendations?
Will mainly be used for teaching, acoustic jazz and theatre work.
Circa £1000ish, Cheers!
Comments
Is @razorbill 's Guild X-150 Savoy the sort of guitar you have in mind, perchance?
Your Martin 000-18 is short scale and it should have less tension that something longer scale.
Also have you come across low tension strings? There are a number of them out there, like Newtone Heritage. I recently put on some Pyramid Silvers and they are a lot easier on the fingers than other phosphor bronze strings I have used.
If you are getting arthritis, I think your best bet would be to look at shorter scale models, or maybe find a guitar that sounds great tuned down a half step. Some really come to life in that tuning and it’s definitely a bit easier on the fingers.
I fought with my Lowden for years before getting it set up by a tech. The difference was unbelievable as others have said.
Good luck with your search.
There's far too much "wisdom" bandied around about beating ourselves up with thick strings in the name of tone
If you're having a guitar set up, make sure the tech knows what you mean by *a properly low nut* - almost all are too high from the factory, and many even after being 'set up', and it makes a huge difference to the playability. As already said, lighter and/or lower-tension strings will also help. Newtone 11s are good.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
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Probably best to get your hands checked out, I wouldn't self diagnose arthritis, it could be various things even just overuse. A GP should be able to arrange an xray.
Experienced acoustic players would probably dislike it, but it works for me!
I'm intrigued by the claims for the Martin SC-13e, but it is too much money for me to justify right now.
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