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Does anyone know of a Luthier that takes into account the following considerations of the Guitar Player when when designing/building a guitar ...
Body type .. thin, medium, heavy Shoulder width .. narrow, average, broad Arms .. long, medium short Hand width .. narrow, average, broad Finger length .. short, average, long
I'm sure there may also be other things I've forgotten
But I believe that if you are going to get a custom made guitar and spend $$$$$$$ it might as well be designed/built for you since if you buy a "standard" guitar and happen to be a midget or a giant you will surely injure yourself trying to rip rasgueos
You'll end up having to see therapists and doctors if you insist on playing an instrument that does not match your body type ...
But then again, perhaps chronic pain is necessary to evoke duende and explete a perfect jaleo .. :)
The things you can change without loosing control over sound and feel are scale, nut and stringspacing at the bridge. Just some millimeters change in body size makes a different guitar. Some builders may use 2 different body sizes. I dont, because I find it to be enough to control one size and because I fel that its the right size. The flamenco guitar is a very higly specialized and fine tuned instrument and if you are not very small or very big, you should be able to find a comfortable sitting position.
You can't put much on the luthier, we can change the body size and scale. It's the players job to learn to play with optimum relaxation and learn his or her own body to prevent injury.
Chuscales said "The guitar is a torture device from Mars." I think he meant a combination of physical uncomfortableness and the ability of the guitar to frustrate. It's important to take responsibility for playing in a way that suits your body.
Things you can do are stretching; learn some light yoga that is focused on reverse stretching the muscles and nerves you tense up while playing.
Stopping during your practice to breath and stretch and loosen up.
Don't sit in a vegetative state mindlessly grinding away at your playing. Keep your mind bright and stay focused for short periods of time and then change your posture.
Drink water while you practice. Muscle dehydration causes stresses which lead to pulled muscles.
Back right off when you feel fatigue or like you've worked your hands or elbow, whatever in a way it's not ready for.
Eat correctly and don't swim and practice guitar until you wait an hour to go back into the flamenco pool.
it's better to adapt than to be picky. otherwise, you end up like this guy.
in case you don't understand what is going on, he's got two non-slip pads, two footstools, a cello stick thing that probably extends into his arse, his guitar is resting on a resonance box, sitting on top of yet another resonance box.
i recommend this position for pregnant woman, not guitarists.
thanks for the tip about water, stephen. it's such common sense, but totally important and easily overlooked.
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Seriously, have you ever seen Paul Galbraith play in person? He is a fantastic musician. That guitar he is playing is an 8 string made by David Rubio.
i've heard recordings of him. he is indeed a great musician, so no offense to him, just his weird sitting position. i wonder what you lutheirs think of his resonance box?
well...props for getting the most ergonomical position.
I think you'll find that neck profile is one of the single deal breaking factors in a guitar.
Anders talks about pulsation, which I have only recently come to understand, but I think that in 13 years of playing guitar, one of the make or break factors has also been the neck.
Too skinny= hand cramps. I have rather long slender fingers and need something substantial to grip
too fat and it feels like driving a boat.
That said, pulsation is also the one big thing i look for even in electric guitars. too floppy and loose and i have no use!
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