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Post by drlj on Nov 22, 2023 10:30:20 GMT -5
Oh....and maybe experiment with a nylon guitar. It takes a bit to adjust to the feel and tonal differences but playing nylon is much easier on joints and tendons. I agree. There are 14 fret nylon guitars available that are a bit of an easier transition for steel string players. I am pretty sure Cordoba makes them. |
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Post by John B on Nov 22, 2023 10:38:31 GMT -5
Still quite a ways from catching up to you. Actually, based on your recent trip to Glacier and my current fitness level, I won't be catching up to you in any way, shape or form. The Donner arrived. The neck profile isn't too bad. It is a little flat on the back, but more "cheek" on the bass side of the neck, which feels comfortable. The edge of the FB would need to be knocked down a bit. The pickup sucks. I don't know crap about EQ-ing a guitar, so even throwing some EQ pedal modelers on the sound did not do much for the sound. It picks up the slightest string touch. Maybe some coated strings would help in that aspect, but the treble sounds a little like the bridge pickup of an electric - not much "roundness" that an acceptable acoustic sound would have. So I dunno. I like the feel of a little headless guitar, but maybe that means I should track down a Steinberger. The budget ones, not a "real" one. I will probably send this back because even though it was relatively cheap it definitely sounds that way, too. I am also thinking about hopping in the car this weekend and heading to Sweetwater to check out one of the new Fender skinny acoustics. They have skinny-ish (42.86mm), electric profile necks, so that might be better than the wide-necked (45mm) Ibanez I am currently playing. |
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Post by brucemacneill on Nov 22, 2023 18:37:11 GMT -5
Back in 2014 I had a 3 hour gig at the local Community College. There was a woman supposed to give me a break but she only played for about 20 minutes. Anyway, i was getting to my time limit and thought I'd do one more song. As I reached for the first chord my left hand cramped up like a crab claw and I couldn't move my little and ring fingers at all. I had to bow out and load up my 4 guitars, amp and mic into my SUV and go to another building to get my pay. Driving home was a bitch and I didn't unload the car until the next day. It took about 4 hours before my left hand started to un-cramp. I went to a neurologist who took some tests on my left arm and decided I had a pinched nerve in my left elbow. He sent me to a surgeon. Initially the surgeon said he could move the nerve but at my age he couldn't promise it would work. I told him I was a guitar player and he said he'd try but no promises. I had the surgery in late 2015 and I did get feeling back in the fingers but really couldn't control them well enough to play things I had been playing for 50 years. Here we are in 2023 and although I try to practice and some days are better than others I still can't trust the fingers to go where they need to go. The surgeon told me this is a common problem with guitar players and truck drivers who drive with their elbows out on the window sill. I think others here have had the same problem with mixed results. You have my sympathies and best wishes. Since my heart attack, maybe stroke back in 2021 it has been even more difficult because I've lost strength in the left arm and forgotten at least half of my old playlist. Old age sucks. Good luck.
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Post by coachdoc on Nov 22, 2023 19:38:37 GMT -5
I've got tennis elbow in my left arm. When I had it in my right arm a year+ ago, I traced it to switching my computer mouse and keyboard. I changed to a more ergonomic setup, and in about 6-9 months it went away. This year it's happening in my left arm. I have difficulty grabbing large objects - think palming a basketball, only substitute something non-athletic. For example, grabbing my wide-mouth water tumbler by the top - pain shooting down my arm to my elbow. Especially trying to hold something away from my body, like holding my arm straight out. Actually, just straightening my arm hurts. Making a fist hurts - when I've got my arm close to my body, but even more so if I extend my arm. I've been trying to come up with what I might have started doing differently, and about the only thing I can come up with is I started playing guitar more. Actually, I pretty much just started playing guitar again, after not really playing for quite some time. I'm thinking it could be the rotation of the arm to get into playing position,, or maybe the nut width, or maybe the neck profile. Regardless, I'm trying to figure out if it's guitar, which I would prefer to keep playing, or something else. One drag is that it took so long for the changes I made for my right arm to take effect, so I don't think I'll notice any improvement for quite a while if I change something. Any thoughts?
No. But I did have a case of stenosing tenosynovitis in the bird-flippin' finger of my left hand a couple of years ago. Over the course of 18 months, three hydrocortisone injections and the introduction of more foods into my diet that have anti-inflammatory properties, it disappeared—without requiring surgery. And that was good, because that bad boy would lock up and changing chords shapes was a bear. It has been fine ever since, and I make sure to add turmeric to my diet in some food or my morning coffee every day.
Get thee to a hand and arm specialist stat.
Rick Kelly at Carmine Street Guitars insists that hand-filling neck profiles help prevent hand issues. I'm just sayin'.
PS: I have never been able to palm a basketball.
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Post by coachdoc on Nov 22, 2023 19:40:14 GMT -5
Pain in bird flippin’ arm/finger??? Overuse syndrome?
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Post by howard lee on Nov 23, 2023 8:40:10 GMT -5
Pain I bird flippin’ arm/finger??? Overuse syndrome?
Overuse? Maybe. But I still have a lot more f**ks to give.
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Post by Village Idiot on Nov 24, 2023 19:54:44 GMT -5
I [li]Always use a guitar strap, even when seated. Fasten it at the neck heel, not the headstock. Adjust it for playing comfort, not for appearance. I tried that this evening. I always play seated. My problem is my left hand thumb, which I blame on driving lazily and one-handed all day long with the left hand manning the wheel and I've had several truck driver friends verify that that's the problem. I'm working on that. I noticed tonight that the strap lessened the lifting my left thumb was using to support the guitar neck. And I believe that will make a difference. A huge difference. Thanks, Mark! |
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 20,471 
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Post by Dub on Nov 24, 2023 20:38:32 GMT -5
I [li]Always use a guitar strap, even when seated. Fasten it at the neck heel, not the headstock. Adjust it for playing comfort, not for appearance. I tried that this evening. I always play seated. My problem is my left hand thumb, which I blame on driving lazily and one-handed all day long with the left hand manning the wheel and I've had several truck driver friends verify that that's the problem. I'm working on that. I noticed tonight that the strap lessened the lifting my left thumb was using to support the guitar neck. And I believe that will make a difference. A huge difference. Thanks, Mark! One other piece of advice. Don't drive one-handed and don't grip the steering wheel tightly. Keep your left hand at about 12:43 and your right hand at about 12:17. When turning to the left, grip with your right hand and raise your hand letting the wheel slide through the fingers of your left hand. Don't pass your right hand over the top, just grip lightly with your left hand while sliding your right hand back to 12:17 to grip the wheel again, if needed, and repeat. When turning to the right, do the opposite. This will give you better control of the car, let you react more quickly to events on the road, and keep your hands and arms in better shape. |
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Post by billhammond on Nov 24, 2023 20:52:28 GMT -5
Keep your left hand at about 12:43 and your right hand at about 12:17. Giggling over this word.  |
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Post by billhammond on Nov 24, 2023 21:03:26 GMT -5
This reminds me of how back in the '80s, a Strib sportswriter had talked his way into writing a weekly car review column for our Motoring section. He was a total sellout -- carmakers would deliver high-end versions of their latest cars to his house and he would, of course, write fawningly about each and every one. As a car reviewer, he was a pretty good hockey reporter.
Anyhoo, in one of his dipshit columns he referred to "the classic steering wheel hand positions of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m."
Still cracks me up. Your left hand is in the morning and your right hand is in the afternoon. It was SO tempting to leave it as he wrote it, but I fixed it, with a grumble.
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Post by coachdoc on Nov 24, 2023 21:43:43 GMT -5
Oh....and maybe experiment with a nylon guitar. It takes a bit to adjust to the feel and tonal differences but playing nylon is much easier on joints and tendons. I agree. There are 14 fret nylon guitars available that are a bit of an easier transition for steel string players. I am pretty sure Cordoba makes them. I have a nylon string Cordoba cross over. A fine guitar and fun to play. As loud as my steel strings, much easier on the callouses. |
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Post by aquaduct on Nov 24, 2023 21:44:03 GMT -5
Many years ago, my guitar teacher- a studio musician in Detroit- suggested that I try jumbo frets in order to improve note articulation. He also said that would necessitate a lighter fretting touch to avoid pulling notes out of tune with the higher frets. Ever since, my electrics (95% of my playing) have jumbo frets. And my guitars are always strapped high and comfortable with a 90 degree elbow angle in my left arm.
No arm/hand issues so far 50 years on.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Dub on Nov 24, 2023 21:50:52 GMT -5
Keep your left hand at about 12:43 and your right hand at about 12:17. Giggling over this word. Heh. I'm sure 12:42 and 12:18 would be acceptable. OK, the hour designation and word about are indeed funny. |
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Post by coachdoc on Nov 24, 2023 21:52:13 GMT -5
Jeez. I hesitate to reply don’t want to jinx myself. Never had any problems, probably because I don’t play enough.
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Post by billhammond on Nov 24, 2023 22:16:08 GMT -5
As loud as my steel strings, much easier on the callouses. |
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Post by Village Idiot on Nov 24, 2023 22:17:22 GMT -5
One other piece of advice. Don't drive one-handed and don't grip the steering wheel tightly. Keep your left hand at about 12:43 and your right hand at about 12:17. When turning to the left, grip with your right hand and raise your hand letting the wheel slide through the fingers of your left hand. Don't pass your right hand over the top, just grip lightly with your left hand while sliding your right hand back to 12:17 to grip the wheel again, if needed, and repeat. When turning to the right, do the opposite. This will give you better control of the car, let you react more quickly to events on the road, and keep your hands and arms in better shape. Oh, I'm fully aware of all that. But it's hard to heed when you've been on a two-lane rural road for 45 minutes and have hardly seen any traffic. |
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Post by John B on Nov 24, 2023 23:00:06 GMT -5
As loud as my steel strings, much easier on the callouses. Dangest thing... those thick pads at the end of my fingers don't give a damn about anyone. |
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Post by amanajoe on Nov 25, 2023 10:53:51 GMT -5
Pain I bird flippin’ arm/finger??? Overuse syndrome?
Overuse? Maybe. But I still have a lot more f**ks to give.
Caution Adult Content:
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Post by amanajoe on Nov 25, 2023 10:57:42 GMT -5
Back in 2014 I had a 3 hour gig at the local Community College. There was a woman supposed to give me a break but she only played for about 20 minutes. Anyway, i was getting to my time limit and thought I'd do one more song. As I reached for the first chord my left hand cramped up like a crab claw and I couldn't move my little and ring fingers at all. I had to bow out and load up my 4 guitars, amp and mic into my SUV and go to another building to get my pay. Driving home was a bitch and I didn't unload the car until the next day. It took about 4 hours before my left hand started to un-cramp. I went to a neurologist who took some tests on my left arm and decided I had a pinched nerve in my left elbow. He sent me to a surgeon. Initially the surgeon said he could move the nerve but at my age he couldn't promise it would work. I told him I was a guitar player and he said he'd try but no promises. I had the surgery in late 2015 and I did get feeling back in the fingers but really couldn't control them well enough to play things I had been playing for 50 years. Here we are in 2023 and although I try to practice and some days are better than others I still can't trust the fingers to go where they need to go. The surgeon told me this is a common problem with guitar players and truck drivers who drive with their elbows out on the window sill. I think others here have had the same problem with mixed results. You have my sympathies and best wishes. Since my heart attack, maybe stroke back in 2021 it has been even more difficult because I've lost strength in the left arm and forgotten at least half of my old playlist. Old age sucks. Good luck. Bruce,
I occasionally get the same thing when I've played a long show without holding the guitar the way I should. I can usually shake it off in a few minutes and everything is back to normal. Most recently it happened when playing with Todd in Vinton in the third hour of the show (Todd is such a slave driver) so I switched to simple three chord songs for a few minutes and got it back to normal. It does not bode well for the future, but nothing about my health or body does.
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Post by coachdoc on Nov 25, 2023 14:06:39 GMT -5
Just picked up my Matt Arcara 000 and was shocked at how comfortable the neck was. When he built it for me he had me try out several necks an approve the final carving.
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