Guitars walk me through the minefield

[NorthSky]

Good stuff ...

 

[iridium]

Are they?

My full quote is:
"Guitars are ergonomically horrible. The guitar position standing versus sitting is totally different. This fixed many of the ergomomic problems: [insert the green guitar photo]"

Your posted picture of the girl with bass; have her sit down to practice a few hours with that bass on her leg [take a lot of weight off the shoulder and that weight is to one side of the spine]. Now sitting, the bass will be in a different position with either the left or right shoulder positioned to the rear for the changed hand positons; depends on her leg preference. If the bass/guitar is not modified the sitting vs. standing is position very different.

Take a look at the pushed back shoulder on the photos others have posted.

Respectfully,
iridium.

 

[Vincent Kars]

I thought the hollow shape of the bass was giving room and support to the breast.
Don’t read anything more in my post than the usual male sexist pig view on these matters.

 

[NorthSky]

She's a great bassist, she's young too, that was that music concert with Jeff Beck...awesome show...on Blu-ray, great guitar playing...Beck a virtuoso. One of my favorite music concert videos on Blu, progressive Rock psychedelic music. Now I just have to revisit...thank you!
Wow, I'm excited, like an old man reborn again under the wisdom rising star. That should keep my mojo shaking playing new strings on my guitar.

 

[Vincent Kars]

 

[NorthSky]

By the way, Tim would be also a great contributor to this thread, he too is a musician who loves guitars.

 

[NorthSky]

Cool Vincent.

 

[NorthSky]

I got that CD too, I dig it man. I'm more into Classical and Blues and Jazz but I love Bob Dylan too, and the Rolling Stones, and Pink Floyd, and Jeff Beck, and Imogen Heap.

 

[iridium]

One of my favorite examples of GREAT guitar handling:

If that does not work go to YouTube & enter: Woodstock Johnny Winter
Pick the one with 1.5 million views.

Such a natural / no effort / pure joy.

iridium.

 

[NorthSky]

Super cool, big Winter's fan.

 

[Sal1950]

Guitars are ergonomically horrible

Somethings seriously wrong with the guitar, I tried to play one once and couldn't make a single song come out.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

By the way, Tim would be also a great contributor to this thread, he too is a musician who loves guitars.

Thanks. Are we talking acoustic guitars or electrics? No matter, I got tired of the difference between seated and standing ergonomics years ago, and play electrics with a strap, even when sitting. The other difficulty is that barre chords in the lower positions cause you to turn the wrist counter clockwise (the wrong way) to fret the low strings properly, particularly when seated, with the guitar on the right leg. The solution is fanned frets, but they’re just too weird, can’t play ‘em. And the older I get, the more I like lighter guitars, and ergonomic shapes. The offset (think Fender Jazzmaster) shape is best for me, so my “Telecaster” looks like this.

Then there are neck profiles, fretboard radius, fret sizes, scale length, string gauges. It’s a lot to talk about...

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Thanks. Are we talking acoustic guitars or electrics? No matter, I got tired of the difference between seated and standing ergonomics years ago, and play electrics with a strap, even when sitting. The other difficulty is that barre chords in the lower positions cause you to turn the wrist counter clockwise (the wrong way) to fret the low strings properly, particularly when seated, with the guitar on the right leg. The solution is fanned frets, but they’re just too weird, can’t play ‘em. And the older I get, the more I like lighter guitars, and ergonomic shapes. The offset (think Fender Jazzmaster) shape is best for me, so my “Telecaster” looks like this.

Then there are neck profiles, fretboard radius, fret sizes, scale length, string gauges. It’s a lot to talk about...

Looking at the pictures above reminds me - smaller bodied acoustics are more comfortable to play, especially seated, than big drednaughts and jumbos. Throwing your arm over a big guitar wears away at your shoulder after a few hours.

 

[NorthSky]

We're talking about all guitars, with each having its own unique sound, measured from recording tools. I never picked a guitar having the same exact sound as another one. The very same with audio gear and loudspeakers. ...Even cars, dishwashing machines and Blu-ray players.

⛾ https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-...ime/91699-acoustic-guitar-body-resonance.html

 

[NorthSky]

I don't want two things sounding the exact same, one is enough.

As for the position of the guitar, standing up with a strap or sifting down closer to the floor on a chair, couch, etc., even there the guitar sounds different to not only my set of ears but also to the audience. ...The position in the room, the floor, the walls, ceiling, the couch, the ear's position in relation to the room, like where you position a single mono speaker or subwoofer. ...Same thing with a guitar, and you can measure the sound differences, you betcha.

The sounds we hear are not inside the recording machine, the measuring tools, they are in our ears, where we are, where the guitar is, where the speaker is positioned, always in relation to the room, or the outside humidity in the air or dryness etc.

We don't have to be anal and all that jazz about it, but why not.
It's all arithmetic.

 

[GPx86]

I obsessed over guitar in high school much like I obsess over Hi-Fi stereo today. I think one can approach them in a similar manner and I believe I do. I am first drawn by how something looks. Many will comment that we "eat with our eyes." For example, my first real guitar was a Fender American Deluxe Strat. The Strat was an iconic shape, sound, and had a specific aura. This is akin to the classic BBC monitor style, or Luxman amps. It's just instantly recognizable and can often be a stepping stone.

More than anything the guitar is about how it feels to you. It's been said that "tone is in the fingers." This is absolutely true. When Yngwie Malmsteen pics up any pile of crap he rips the same phrygian mode and harmonic minor runs as he always does and with his specific light-touch playing style. Jeff Beck always reams on the tremolo and yanks on the strings, and SRV would always play those delightful blues licks he learned from his influences.

With those two things in mind, one of my all time favorite guitars was a Squier Vintage Modified Strat. It looked so awesome with its mini humbucker neck pickup, and Strat style bridge and middle pickup. It turned out that the frets were pretty poor from the factory so I took it back and my local guitar shop hand dressed the frets. This was the BEST playing guitar I had ever played. This attention given to the guitar to make it feel right made all the difference. It didn't sound great, but it sounded good enough and just felt so perfect that I could not have imagined anything better.

Move on a few years and I impulse bought a PRS S2 Singlecut. This thing played like butter and felt perfect from the factory. I grew to love the way it looks but I was not sold on it to begin with. I find now that it does not suit my tone desires, and I never play it, so I am going to sell it sometime soon. It seemed like a good buy at the time, but over the last couple years it just didn't have the "mojo" that I thought it would. It will ultimately go, and my Strat will keep its usual place at the head of the table.

All that being said, to answer OP's question I don't think there is a benchmark for what the no nonsense guitar is. If there is, I want to check it out. Ultimately in my experience the only thing that matters is how the instrument FEELS to you, the player. Once you are dialed in and feel comfortable playing the instrument you can do whatever you wish in order to make it sound how you want. But you always have to be comfortable playing it.