Hey folks...a quick one. I've read previous posts about the time needed to adjust to an acoustic vs. electric when switching back and forth so this may be related. I bought a Larrivee and the nut width is 1 3/4. I then felt the need to get a Les Paul with the nut width of 1 11/16. Since I play acoustic a majority of the time, I really struggle with the width difference between strings when switching to electric (flatpick both). I'm assuming this is normal (and will hopefully work itself out over time) but did I screw up in getting a 1 3/4 nut on the acoustic? Anyone else playing these widths, please chime in. I thank you!
Mike
I switch between an LP and an acoustic with different sizes all the time and have gotten use to it so you should be OK pretty quickly as long as you practice both regularly.
I'd agree with Nils. :)
I asked I similar question here a fair while back and somebody (I think it was Dogbite, who has an awesome set of gear) pointed out that he has instruments with a big range of widths, and was able to adjust OK.
I now have instruments going from a mandolin, with a nut just over an inch wide, through to a classical nylon string guitar with a nut that's a whisker over two inches. In between there's 5 other stringed instruments (4 guitars, 1 banjo) with a variety of widths. And Dogbite was right, I soon adjusted. After all, the neck width changes along its length, as does the fret spacing and we all get used to that.
Oddly enough, my guess is that a small difference of 1/16 might take longer to get used to than a bigger difference might. Because it's "almost there" you'll probably be getting away with not adjusting some of the time. So it might take a bit longer to get the two 'feels' fully sorted. Just a guess though.
But I'm sure that it will sort out. :)
Cheers, Chris
2 words........... muscle memory.
You will indeed learn to cope with the different widths with sufficient practice and you will be able to switch between them and never skip a beat.
Folks...I thank you for the kind words and encouragement!
Take care,
Mike
I bought a classical with a slimmer neck for my last set of exams - the difference was "only" 1/10 of an inch, but it made some very difficult stretches playable (David Kellner's Aria). After a few days of switching backwards and forwards between three classicals I hardly noticed the difference in neck sizes but still used the newer guitar for "that" piece in the exam instead of my main concert guitar.
Best,
A :-)
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