It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 5:01 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Fender Not Friendly to Finger Pickin'; New Neck or New Nut?
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 5:53 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:35 am
Posts: 3
I've researched this topic intensively, but not seen this question asked and would really appreciate your input.

My favorite guitar is my AVRI Tele, but the tight string spacing at the 1-5/8th nut makes it very difficult to chord in the first position without muting adjacent strings. My LP Custom, at 1-11/16th's, is far more friendly and the handful of Gretsch's made at 1-3/4th are the bee's knees!

Understanding that string spacing and nut width go together; have those of you with this issue been able to resolve it by cutting a new nut with wider string spacing? I measure 3/32" from the High-E, and 4/64" on the Low-E to the point where the first fret bevels off. That's not a lot of room to move.

The only option I see is to replace the neck with a Musikraft, whom is the only manufacturer I know that sells a licensed Fender design, and maintains all the specs of the AVRI series (V-Neck, 7.25 Radius, etc.) with a 1.75" nut width. I don't see Fender offering this option on the new neck replacements recently launched, and although the Customer Shop is capable, the wait time and budget is not within my grasp right now.

Again, I appreciate any input from anyone who has been down this path already. I would prefer not to replace the neck, but I don't readily see any alternative. What solution did you find?

Thanks


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Fender Not Friendly to Finger Pickin'; New Neck or New N
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 2:58 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14049
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
IMO you have to practice more on Fender guitar , these are different beast than Gibson or Gretsch . Neck not same .

If you have to modify so much a guitar with new neck , better to buy a new guitar . Do you play enough to be confortable with Fender ?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fender Not Friendly to Finger Pickin'; New Neck or New N
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 7:53 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:59 pm
Posts: 472
Location: New York
stratele52 wrote:
IMO you have to practice more on Fender guitar , these are different beast than Gibson or Gretsch . ...


+1. I have no trouble at all chording in the first position in my Fender guitars, all with 1 5/8" spacing.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fender Not Friendly to Finger Pickin'; New Neck or New N
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 9:43 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:50 pm
Posts: 4602
Location: ˚ɷ˚
Some people have bigger fingers than others, and need to adjust their playing style or choose guitars accordingly. Personally, I tend to use a single finger on adjacent strings on the same fret (like the 4th and 5th string on E-type chords), and fingerpick instead of pull-off when there's not enough room.
Look at some guitar players with ham hands (like Albert King), and you'll find that they did the same, or avoided the problem in other ways.

That said, guitars differ, and a narrow Fender vintage neck is much harder to play clean with big fingers than, say, the two-by-four neck of a Gibson.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fender Not Friendly to Finger Pickin'; New Neck or New N
Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:01 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:35 am
Posts: 3
Thank you for the responses. A few thoughts:

The point about practicing is well made, but my objective is not technical improvement. My objective is to enjoy playing guitar. I therefore choose the path of least resistance and prefer to challenge myself in other aspects of music and guitar rather than technical prowess.

That said, I picked up a Larivee Bakersfield and Clapton's Signature Martin; both with 1-3/4 nuts. What a phenomenal difference. I never knew that I could play the guitar that well. I can say with certainty that I am able get the most enjoyment from playing guitar with specs that suit my ability.

Alas, I've concluded that there really is no substitute for a proper fit neck width and nut/string spacing and Fender does not produce an instrument that is the right fit for me. Either a neck swap or a complete change of guitars is in order.

I hope this post will be helpful to others


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fender Not Friendly to Finger Pickin'; New Neck or New N
Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 5:08 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 10:47 am
Posts: 29
I agree with other, some more practice may do the trick. I have a Tele, Strat, Les Paul, Epi 335, and a PRS. Switching between them makes for some pretty clumsy sounding music. It takes me a while to adjust. Infact i do not even try to play some songs on certain guitars due to fingering issues.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fender Not Friendly to Finger Pickin'; New Neck or New N
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 2:27 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:35 am
Posts: 3
Everyone's hands are different. Size, length, finger length, width, etc.

You can practice until you're blue in the face with ill fitted equipment, but if the setup is not optimized for your particular charactaristics than you'll never achieve your full potential.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fender Not Friendly to Finger Pickin'; New Neck or New N
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 7:39 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:50 pm
Posts: 4602
Location: ˚ɷ˚
True, but unfortunately I don't think there are any guitar makers who cater to people with larger than average hands. So the only viable alternative is to adapt your playing style to fit the reality - if you cannot do an A chord with three fingers without touching the adjacent strings because your fingers won't fit, practice won't help much. If you don't hit the strings with the tip of your fingers, sure, you can correct that. And if you're fat, you can lose weight. But if your bones just won't let your fingers fit, it doesn't matter.
So you find alternatives. I do A as a four-string barre with the pinky on the fifth fret. And do E type chords with a single finger where others use two. Others cram in fingers diagonally, but that won't work on high frets or slides.
You do what you have to do, which often includes ignoring old Mel. And doing more lead guitar than rhythm, so you avoid many of the awkward small-hand chords.

I still wish Fender would re-introduce the wider necks they had before. But they appear to have killed off both the 1 3/4" and 1 7/8" necks, and never had a full sized 2".


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: