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OK, beginning luthier, beginning guitar player. I've built a Hauser style classical, and an OM size steelstring (this one's for my son, but I'm breaking it in for him ). I have small hands and wide fingertips. I'm having a lot of difficulty hitting the chords on the steelstring without damping the nearby strings. Are there any downsides to building my next steelstring (another OM, but with curly narra from rctonewoods) with the neck/nut width of a classical? Or should I persevere and work on more accurate finger placement?

TIA

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

No problem as far as tech stuff on a wider nut. It can be whatever you want, making sure you do the proper taper at the 12th and all of that.

A lot of the older either 000 or OM and I think some kits although never bought one so haven't paid attention to that used a 1 7/8 nut, so another 1/8 or so won.t matter. You could just use classical measurments for this also. I am planning on a classical and for reasons much like yours (opposite though need thinner nut) going to make it with a 1 7/8 nut.

We do 7 string archtops and nylon string jazz(semi classical)and 7 string classical and they have a really wide nut I can't play with 6 hardly so 7 is out of the question for me.

oh yea if just learning, learn the proper way to do it even on a smaller nut. I am not a real player so not know all of the tech stuff on that end

Hi Gene, Being able to customize your personal guitar is one of the great
things about building.   As Stan said, from a technical standpoint, there is
no reason not to.

keep us posted how it's going!

long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

Gene, I also have smaller hands and fat finger tips. I prefer a wider nut and a
lower profile neck on the guitars I play. That helps me not mute or get
buzzing from hitting the strings I am not trying to touch, and allows me to
get my hand where it needs to be with less stress on my hands.

OK,
I'm going to try it on the current guitar. I'm using a bolted M&T neck anyway, so worst case I make another neck, or narrow this one down.

_________________
Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

Gene,

I agree with the fellas above as far as building from a technical standpoint. From a players perspective, I don't think you should go any wider than 1 3/4 for a steel string. No matter how fat your fingers are, that should be plenty wide enough to play your music clean. If you go much wider on a steel string, what you're gonna find is that you are going to have a hard time reaching some of your stretches. There is a HUGE difference trying to make a bar chord on a steel string with a 1 5/8" nut versus a 2" nut. Now, try barring with your first finger at the fifth fret and try and play some different combinations with your other 3 fingers. You'll really be wishing for a more narrow nut. Small hands like you mention usually call for a smaller nut, not a larger one. I think with the higher tension strings of a SS, you'll regret having such a wide nut. Personally, I love a 1 3/4" nut for fingerpicking, and a 1 11/16 for flat picking/strumming.

Also, you might want to work on your technique if you're having trouble with muted strings. With a wider nut, if your technique isn't right, you'll actually be hitting the strings with less of an attack angle than you want because you probably won't be able to reach properly if you're a beginner. Ideally, there should be close to a 90 degree break for your attack angle. In other words, the first digit (from the tip of your finger to the first joint) should be as perpendicular to the fretboard as possible while playing. The strings should contact the tips of your fingers, not the pads. If you have a wider nut, it will be harder to get this angle. Your fingers will tend to lay across the strings and you will have to really push your wrist out to properly finger the notes. Did you ever notice why you never see a classical player with their thumb over the top of the fretboard? In order to get the wrist out and properly finger the notes on a 2" nut, there is no way you can grip the top of the fretboard with your thumb.

Sorry for the rambling post. I know you didn't ask for a guitar lesson. I just think as you become a better player, you're gonna wish for a smaller nut if you have smaller hands.

Cheers!

John

John,

Thanks, that all makes sense, and a real reason for staying narrower. I'll take your suggestion of staying narrower than the classical. since I like fingerpicking, I'll stay around 1 3/4. As I improve my technique I can go narrower if I want.

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

a wider neck dors indeed make hitting the strings cleanly more difficult, especially for players with small or shorter hands.