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Qualities in an easy playing guitar


cool9

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What are the essential qualities in a guitar to have to bring out the maximum potential in a player? Personally, I think it is feel of the neck, action and fret size. I haven't found a guitar that meets the suitable criteria. I've had Fender, Ibanez (and some Classicals) over the years and I never found an electric that I was 100% satisfied with.

Do a lot of professional electric guitarists have unconventional setups (action, etc.) which allow them to play easier? I don't know how some of these professional players play some of these guitars with big/slow necks but I suppose everyone has different hand size and strength.

We came here to entertain you, Leaving here we aggravate you, Don't you know it means the same to me...
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Don't think of the neck as something that hinders/helps speed, but something of feel that you either enjoy or don't. If you like thinner necks then go for it :).

 

Really, there's SOOOOOO many factors in a good guitar that you really should just go out and keep trying hundreds of guitars until one strikes you as "the one." From the action, to the neck size, to the body size, to the tonewoods used, to the relief on the fretboard, the intonation, the taptone of specific parts of the body, to the acoustic sound it produces, to the specific sounds of each pickup, to the size of the frets, to the shape of the frets, to the type of connection between the neck to the body, to the control of the pots (and what pots are used), to the strings, the scale length, the tuners, whether the bridge is fixed, floating, or otherwise. There's a huge amount of factors that go into each guitar that really reinforces the fact: even the same guitars built the same year will still sound different. The best option you have is find the guitarists that influence you the most, see what guitars they're using, try them out, and make detailed arguments about what you like and dont like. If you like the sound but the neck's too fat, then there'll be a guitar out there that accomodates that. If that guitar's hard to find, I'm sure all of us on the GP forums will be more than happy to assist you my friend! :)

My Gear:

 

82 Gibson Explorer

Ibanez 03 JEM7VWH

PRS McCarty Soapbar

Diezel Herbert 2007

 

Peters '11 Brahms Guitar

Byers '01 Classical

Hippner 8-Str Classical

Taylor 614ce

Framus Texan

 

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Don't think of the neck as something that hinders/helps speed, but something of feel that you either enjoy or don't. If you like thinner necks then go for it :).

 

Really, there's SOOOOOO many factors in a good guitar that you really should just go out and keep trying hundreds of guitars until one strikes you as "the one." From the action, to the neck size, to the body size, to the tonewoods used, to the relief on the fretboard, the intonation, the taptone of specific parts of the body, to the acoustic sound it produces, to the specific sounds of each pickup, to the size of the frets, to the shape of the frets, to the type of connection between the neck to the body, to the control of the pots (and what pots are used), to the strings, the scale length, the tuners, whether the bridge is fixed, floating, or otherwise. There's a huge amount of factors that go into each guitar that really reinforces the fact: even the same guitars built the same year will still sound different. The best option you have is find the guitarists that influence you the most, see what guitars they're using, try them out, and make detailed arguments about what you like and dont like. If you like the sound but the neck's too fat, then there'll be a guitar out there that accomodates that. If that guitar's hard to find, I'm sure all of us on the GP forums will be more than happy to assist you my friend! :)

 

+1

 

There are lot of things that make a guitar faster for me that have nothing to do with you... Not only the instrument, but all the way from what I've had for breakfast and room temperature to the signal chain and who's listening.

 

Fast is a facet, not the stone.

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A good set up can make a guitar feel and play totally different whether you are a beginner or a pro...trying to find 100% satisfaction in an electric can be hard to do and many of us own several models for just that reason...some lucky guys find the best fit for them right off the git-go and never change their main axe...if it feels and sounds just the way you want it to, never let it go...
Take care, Larryz
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I've been much more satisfied with acoustic (classical) guitars than electric. Electrics I've had don't seem to stay in tune, intonation is always a problem, buzzing always occurs somewhere. Same with electrics I've played in stores. I think wood necks are always changing shape, if ever slightly, due to temp/moisture which effects playability. I hardly see professionals tune up on-stage. I don't really get it. I've studied Physics/Engineering/Harmonic motion/stress/strain, etc. and stringed instruments are much more complex than they seem.

I had a "professional" set up my new Strat neck and he had the action super low and everything buzzed. I was shocked and he told me "It's not an acoustic instrument. You don't hear it thru an amp". I certainly didn't buy that.

We came here to entertain you, Leaving here we aggravate you, Don't you know it means the same to me...
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As others have said, there is much more to an "easy playing" guitar than just the neck and set up (though that is a big piece of the puzzle). A couple other major things to consider is the scale of the neck and the bridge type. I for one prefer playing a recessed floyd style bridge as it puts my right hand in a more comfortable position. I also find the shorter scaled necks a bit easier to play. You also need to consider the type of cutout it has for playing the higher notes (nothing worse than tring to play the 24th fret with too little room).

 

As for the buzzing, a properly set up guitar will not buzz. There is however a limit to how low you can get the strings.

 

At the end of the day much of what makes a guitar easy to play is going to be personal preference, based on what the player has trained on and what type of music they play. Yeah lowering the action tends to be a general fix, but what if the player has an issue with too low an action, or small frets when trying to get their signature vibrato or tone?

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As for the buzzing, a properly set up guitar will not buzz. There is however a limit to how low you can get the strings.

 

Sorry dude, but this is not the case with highly-responsive, high-end guitars, especially steel strings and classicals with thinner tops (mostly light-lacquer, oil finish, or french-polish guitars). The box will always sympathetically resonate at a pitch that will cause a wolf tone on the fretboard, where a note will either constantly/consistently buzz out. There's no way to avoid this, so you have to play with an awareness for it.

My Gear:

 

82 Gibson Explorer

Ibanez 03 JEM7VWH

PRS McCarty Soapbar

Diezel Herbert 2007

 

Peters '11 Brahms Guitar

Byers '01 Classical

Hippner 8-Str Classical

Taylor 614ce

Framus Texan

 

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Well, perhaps my idea of well set up is not nearly as low in action as others. I play a top end electric guitar as my main and it doesnt make a single incorrect sound (probably should have clarified that my comment was based on experience with electrics). If my tech set it up to buzz he would have had it back in his shop asap. I have seen numerous guitars buzz due to incorrect bridge height, wrong guage strings for the tuning, bad truss rod tention, and more often than not, bad frets.
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Well mostly for the guitar's I'm speaking of, you will always have those wolf tones, regardless of the action. There are ways to calm them down (such as tuning some strings sharper by a cent or two), but no way to completely rid your guitar of such a problem.

 

Still, try this. On your guitar, on a really clean setting, walk up a string (any string, maybe even multiple should you wish to try), playing each fret as you go along, but wait for the note to completely die (COMPLETELY) before moving on to the next note. You will notice some notes will die MUCH faster than others, considering that youre not deviating in the amount of force you hit each note. This is due to a few factors, partially because the notes that don't ring out aren't one of the basic overtones to the tap tone of your body and/or neck. This is one of the other inherent problems with guitars that can't be addressed due to the basic nature of the instrument.

My Gear:

 

82 Gibson Explorer

Ibanez 03 JEM7VWH

PRS McCarty Soapbar

Diezel Herbert 2007

 

Peters '11 Brahms Guitar

Byers '01 Classical

Hippner 8-Str Classical

Taylor 614ce

Framus Texan

 

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Well mostly for the guitar's I'm speaking of, you will always have those wolf tones, regardless of the action. There are ways to calm them down (such as tuning some strings sharper by a cent or two), but no way to completely rid your guitar of such a problem.

 

Still, try this. On your guitar, on a really clean setting, walk up a string (any string, maybe even multiple should you wish to try), playing each fret as you go along, but wait for the note to completely die (COMPLETELY) before moving on to the next note. You will notice some notes will die MUCH faster than others, considering that youre not deviating in the amount of force you hit each note. This is due to a few factors, partially because the notes that don't ring out aren't one of the basic overtones to the tap tone of your body and/or neck. This is one of the other inherent problems with guitars that can't be addressed due to the basic nature of the instrument.

 

All of my guitars have 20-20k pink noise tap tone... :-)

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Do a lot of professional electric guitarists have unconventional setups (action, etc.) which allow them to play easier? I don't know how some of these professional players play some of these guitars with big/slow necks but I suppose everyone has different hand size and strength.

 

I set up my own instruments. For me the string action has to be just right, not too low so the strings buzz, not too high so the strings are harder to push to the fretboard. The fingerboard/fret setup has to be perfectly straight. No high or low frets. I do file my own frets when needed.

 

The pickup height has to be set at the right distance from the strings, not too close so the pups effect the string with the magnetics too much. Not too far away so the pups do not give off the right oomph to the notes.

 

The fret size does not matter although I prefer jumbo height frets, some of my guitars came with thin low frets and some of them have higher ones. It makes no difference which guitar I play if it is set up right.

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All of my guitars have 20-20k pink noise tap tone... :-)

 

Could you clarify as to what you mean? I dont quite understand :( What guitars are you speaking of? Acoustics?

My Gear:

 

82 Gibson Explorer

Ibanez 03 JEM7VWH

PRS McCarty Soapbar

Diezel Herbert 2007

 

Peters '11 Brahms Guitar

Byers '01 Classical

Hippner 8-Str Classical

Taylor 614ce

Framus Texan

 

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Share on other sites

I had a "professional" set up my new Strat neck and he had the action super low and everything buzzed. I was shocked and he told me "It's not an acoustic instrument. You don't hear it thru an amp". I certainly didn't buy that.

 

Well, in many cases, you don't hear it through an amp. Another point to consider is that, if you had been playing the guitar as if it were an electric guitar, it might not have buzzed at all. People who are used to playing acoustic exclusively often fret too hard and pick the strings too hard, both of which can cause buzzing that wouldn't be there if an experienced electric guitar player was playing the guitar.

 

I think it's funny that you say that the electrics you've had don't seem to stay in tune. I have never had a classical or nylon-string guitar with good intonation, nor have I had one that stayed in tune very long. Then again, I've never had a really great classical guitar.

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