Neck Speed Myth?

[Rudi]

Playing at speed:

 

As  a young’un I wanted ever lower action, lighter gauge strings, lighter string tension and all the things that go to make playing easier. More than that, I needed these things in order to play properly at all.

 

I don’t recall exactly when it was I realised that I didn’t need those features anymore, but it took a little while to sink in.

Moreover, I now seem to be able to play any guitar at full throttle regardless of its set up.

 

The Spanish guitar is full scale, with a very wide neck and very high action. At first, everything about it was a challenge, but within a few months I had managed to adapt my most technically difficult composition to this guitar. I had to adapt my technique because the 26” scale meant I could no longer span the frets needed to perform it properly. I had to invent a ‘new’ technique in order to play it at all.

 

The work was worthwhile because that piece sounds much better on that guitar than it could on any steel strung model.

 

Likewise the Archtop was difficult because the heavier string gauges created such high tension. The only thing to slow me up on that was the realisation that the notes didn’t ‘ring out’ properly at higher speeds. I now make a point of allowing the archtop full voice by just slowing up a bit.

 

Make no mistake, both these (and other) guitars are more challenging to play.

The Spanish is a challenge in terms of maintaining accuracy. A quick chord change is likely to find the frets but miss a string along the way. It’s a serious issue with high action & wide fingerboards.

 

The archtop took more physical strength to play and made my arms & hands tire quickly. It’s also more difficult to judge intonation, because when using thick wound strings past the 12^th fret, you just cant feel those frets anymore. The string cannot bend into the fret recess.

 

But these ‘hard’ guitars don’t really slow me down technically whether fingerpicking or using a plectrum. I’m able to play both just as fast as the super easy PRS and higher end Jacksons. Ok you cant bend strings on them, but then you cant use flamenco styling on a Les Paul either.

 

Even trying to master a 'hard' guitar is liberating, because it expands your range of what you can play & therefore the different (& even techniques) timbres available to you.

[TCgypsy]

Thanks guys. I need to know this. Being entirely self taught, I do lots of stuff 'wrong'. For example, where I can, I string bend downwards (towards the floor) rather than the regular way. It's nice to know just how far from the path I am.

 

Contact:

I honestly didnt know what I did until I grabbed a guitar and watched myself play. For small movements over a couple of frets I 'might' retain miniscule contact, but anything more, its a complete release.

 

Just saw this cruising through old posts. I bend strings in both directions pushing or pulling the string - I don't think pulling the string is wrong. For instance on the low E you are going to have to pull it anyway cuz if you push it far it's coming off the neck! Sometimes pulling even on higher strings feels or sounds better to me so I do it this way. It's good to be able to consistently do it either way.

 

Back to the original topic, sanding the back of your neck down to gain speed is a total myth. If you feel like you need to do it by all means the placebo effect is proven :-p If you are playing live under lights you are going to be leaving a puddle (unless you never sweat) so I don't know how a sanded neck is gonna be any faster than a varnished one when you are soaked in sweat even if you believe that removing the varnish makes you faster. Also, if you are holding onto the neck that tightly then you need to revisit your technique not visit Home Depot for sand paper!

 

Peace,

TC

Edited June 27, 2015 by TCgypsy