Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey Everyone,

Just wondering what most customers are ordering when it comes to nut width? Or how about string spacing? 1 11/16th for flat-pickers, and 1 3/4 for finger-pickers at the nut? Anyone after 1 13/16th or 1 7/8th? Bridge string spacing at 2 1/8th or 2 3/8th, maybe 2 5/16th?

I play classical mostly, so I am trying to get a feel for steel string players.

Thank you.

Jeff

I have not built a 1 11/16" nut in 7 years. Most are 1 3/4" with an increasing number of customers asking for 1 13/16". Saddle spacing is generally 2 1/4", but the large hand/long fingered folks get 2 5/16" and a couple have asked for 2 3/8".
When I build for spec...like Healdsburg... I'll go 1 3/4" nut and 2 1/4" saddle spacing. Seems to cover the widest population of prospective clients.HankMauel38483.9867361111

Same here - 1 3/4 X 2 1/4 - that said - my last 3 commissions are/were for 1 7/8ths nut and 2 3/8ths saddle spacing. Big Hands!

_________________
Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Three of my commissions for my value line have been for pre-teen females with pretty small hands. All three of them ordered 1 11/16, but the vast majority of my builds have been 1 3/4- 1 7/8

Is there a measurement chart for hand size vs. nut width?

I have built a lot of custom golf clubs over the years and there are custom charts for measureing hand size that correlates to proper grip size. I have not seen any for guitars though.

_________________
tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

Not that I am aware of. I have short fingers but broad finger tips. I like a 1 7/8 nut on steel string guitars. I do not recommend narrow necks for young students or beginners because they tend to grow quickly and being a finger style player I line a good string spacing and feel it promotes cleaner attack and technique. But some fell it relieves hand strain. All in all when building for commission it is the client you have to please. After all they are the ones that will be playing the instrument. I have built to aid arthritic players and players with deformities due to injury. This could be anything from narrow necks to small radius FB’s

That's an interesting question Jeff.

I had my acoustic guitar made in 1981 & had the luthier directly copy a particular neck shape & size I loved - it belonged to a twin of the Gibson J-45 of mine that had just been stolen. I have ridiculously short fingers but luckily they're not so very broad or stubby. This guitar's neck had a nut width of 1 5/8" with a 24 3/4" scale with a string width of 2 1/8" at the bridge. The back of the neck was symetrically rounded but somewhat slim ... all in all it was a perfect size for me.

It was much like a "standard" Martin scale & nut width would seem to someone with more standard hand dimensions. My friends who play guitar didn't care much for it ... too small they said.

After delving into the guitar building process myself last year, it seemed natural to copy the neck size & shape of my 1981 copy of a Gibson J-45 "student-sized" neck. Being my 1st guitar, I plan to keep it.

I'll be making a guitar this year for my best friend who is rather large & he wants a 1 3/4" wide nut, 2 1/4" spacing at the bridge & 25.4" scale. After that, we'll see. It's easy enough to acommodate any size request unless you're very highly automated in your neck-building processes. Why not give each client exactly what he or she wants?

Skip

[QUOTE=Skip Beach]

Why not give each client exactly what he or she wants?

[/QUOTE]

Skip,

That is what I intend to do.....when I get a client!

Thanks for the help everyone.

Jeff