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Bigger guitars for bigger people?
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avimuno
Posts: 598
Joined: Feb. 9 2007
From: Paris, France
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 Bigger guitars for bigger people?
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Hello luthier friends!
I am a 6'2 tall guy, with very big hands and long fingers. As a consequence, it has always been, and still is, a major struggle for me to get the hand positioning right on a flamenco guitar. The string spacing at the bridge and at the nut have always felt a little too tight... the problem is mainly on the bridge though... with big hands, the right hand positioning is always a compromise which has it's limits. It feels like my hand does not get the space it needs to be able to get all the techniques right, as they should be.
I have always considered that the complains I would have concerning the dimensions of guitars were an excuse for my personal shortcomings and my lack of practice, and to some extent they surely are. But I have also noticed in meeting a few fellow guitarists in recent years that this complaint came back a lot.
I have adressed this issue with a few luthiers over the years, but most of them strongly advised me against going for a guitar that had bigger dimensions... I am not necessarily talking here about a longer scale, or a bigger plantilla which would have a direct effect on the sound... just more spacing between the strings at the nuts, and incidentally at the bridge, to allow the fingers to have more space to move, to feel a little less cramped... I once suggested a string spacing of 56mm at the nut and of 64mm at the bridge bridge, which resulted in the luthier giving me a look of horror! 
I know that some supplies, like the wood for the fretboard, are bought already cut, so this means that the builder is stuck with the width he buys his supplies at. It also seems that it would be quite expensive to have the fretboard wood cut wider.
Other arguments against have included one luthier advising me that more space between the strings would mean that techniques like Alzapua would become more difficult... I admit that it would take a little time to get used to a wider string spacing, but ultimately this might feel much more comfortable, more natural if you will, for someone with big hands.
So with people becoming bigger and bigger, shouldn't the guitar also evolve to fit the size of the players?
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Jul. 2 2013 11:16:43
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Ruphus
Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010
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RE: Bigger guitars for bigger people? (in reply to avimuno)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: avimuno
I know that some supplies, like the wood for the fretboard, are bought already cut, so this means that the builder is stuck with the width he buys his supplies at. It also seems that it would be quite expensive to have the fretboard wood cut wider.
Hi Avi,
No, it mustn´t be expensive.
One of our luthiers here makes his bridges himself ( and he is not the only one on board who does so, I think), and he has no problems at all with individually producing fretboards to demand either. And spacings. I know he has done so recently.
Such not only without extra charge, but without compromise in quality which already has resulted in a waiting list.
His guitars are gems and sound very flamenco.
I expect his reputation to rise internationally in the not so far future. Hence, already at remarkable quality to price ratio it should be good point in time to obtain one of his makes anyway.
quote:
ORIGINAL: avimuno
Other arguments against have included one luthier advising me that more space between the strings would mean that techniques like Alzapua would become more difficult... I admit that it would take a little time to get used to a wider string spacing, but ultimately this might feel much more comfortable, more natural if you will, for someone with big hands.
I imagine your thumbs tip to be correspondingly larger than average. Thus the wider spacing should only mean adaption to your thumbs thickness as well.
After all, proporations within a hand should basically stay same.
I suppose you are on a good way ergonomically as long as plantilla and strings not be challenged by extra ordinary dimensions. ( And I think to see a number of makers setting the bridge further towards the tail anway; like e.g. with a Antonio Marin someone linked to just yesterday.)
Individual specs will probably turn out of great relief for a tall fellow like you, don´t hesitate with tailoring.
Ruphus
PS:
I just realized that you asked luthiers. But I leave my post in place, because convinced of it being good advice still.
( Luthiers seem to not have special resource on limbs to guitar proportions at hand anyway. That´s at least what I got from asking some. Apparently there has not been made scientificial research on this aspect yet.)
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Jul. 2 2013 13:53:49
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