Flatpicking or fingerpicking: which guitar?

dennisg
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Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:19 am

The Martin thread is interesting in that someone asserts that some guitar types are more suitable for flatpicking, while others are better for fingerpicking. So, what makes a guitar good for one type of playing and less good for another?


KennyF
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Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:45 am

Dennis,

As Chas pointed out (I think), the Martin 000 size guitar is more of a fingerpicker. Dreds are a better choice as an overall strummer/flatpicker.


MarkM
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Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:45 am

Good question Dennis. I think it really has more to do with body construction, bracing, etc.....

When I think if Flatpicking I think of bluegrass (Oh if I could play this style) country, and Folk. If you think of just the bluegrass for a moment you'll notice that alot of the "purists" would have no electronics (at one time they weren't even available) and they would have to project that sound. DRED, DRED, DRED. The Dred shows up there, country (as country has alot of similiar traits) and ofcourse in many a folk song.

I think that with these types of music the one common trait in flatpicking is the solid, thick, warm, etc... sound of the bass strings. You're only going to get that sound (without electronics) from a thicker string. Really nothing smaller then mediums. So with that said the guitar has to be robust enough to handle the stress that those strings bring. On the fingerpicking side, although many will use "thicker strings" I think the style of music usually utilizes med-lights, lights or a combination of both. To my ears most of the the fingerpicking songs really shine in the mids and highs. That's where they sparkle. On a guitar like that you'll have differnt types of bracing and dimensions.

If you look at the Talor line for instance the body shapes that come with medium strings are the Dred and the GS I think. Both can be pounded on because of the sound structure and they will project volume much better than say a GC with is a bit smaller and comes with lights for that fingerpicker. Now these are just generalities of course but I think you would be hard pressed to find a bluegrass player with anything but a Dred. Same goes for Neil Young who has that "Claw" style that uses both flatpicking and strumming.

Not sure if this really answers anything but it's just my observations. I'm really thinking of getting a GC for fingerpicking because of the lights. It's got to be easier then what I'm seeing on my guitar.


MarkM


BigBear
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Wed Jan 13, 2010 12:42 pm

Great question Dennis! For me, it comes down to neck size. My Larrivee L-10 has a wide neck and is much easier for me to play fingerstyle or Travis pick. Plus the "L" body shape, Larrivee's unique shape, seems more balanced to me but doesn't "throw" sound very well.

For flatpicking my little Taylor 314, with it's Grand Auditorium shape and standard neck, works great for flatpicking and strumming. I feel that it's a little punchier without having the big bass that the dreadnaughts or jumbos have. It sounds particularly good amplified.

Cheers! :cheer:


wrench
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Wed Jan 13, 2010 1:58 pm

Dennis,

Did you hack my webcam? I analyzed the frequency responses from my guitar bodies yesterday. That's how I knew my Helmholtz resonances in last night's O-Port thread.

I agree with everyone's comments, and I can verify it with spectrum analysis. Also, I agree with Mark's comments on medium strings, but I'll comment on that in another thread.

The short story is this: my Dred is a G and E chord monster generating most of its sound between 80 Hz and 600 Hz. My Jumbo is just a sound monster producing strong sound from 20Hz to 5,000Hz - very similar to a piano, and peaking at the A chord. These sound samples were taken by "rap test", so strings are not a factor in the sound samples.

wrench


Catman
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Thu Jan 14, 2010 5:54 am

Wrench,

You keep a spectrum analyzer at home?

David


wrench
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Thu Jan 14, 2010 10:42 am

The Analyze function in Audacity. What a guitar toy!

I'm a mechanical guy, not acoustic, but I did a lot of machinery vibration analysis many years ago - even before spectrum analysis hardware was readily available.

wrench


hasben
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Thu Jan 14, 2010 1:41 pm

I think you gotta go with what ya got; and fingerpick "...the one your're with". :laugh:


reiver
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Thu Jan 14, 2010 2:44 pm

Dennis

I would say that a built for purpose fingerpicking guitar, will differ in a few key areas from the standard dread/jumbo/GS models that we are familiar with. Typically it will have a smaller body, will be a shorter scale length (24.9 inches c/w 25.4 inches) with 12 frets to the body and wider string spacing at the bridge, to allow the fingers to get between the strings more easily. For example, Martin make a signature model which is 2 5/16 inches at the bridge whereas my guitars are both 2 1/8 inches.

I think that these are the key areas of difference.

r


suziko
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Thu Jan 14, 2010 2:59 pm

My guitar, a Taylor GC3, was apparently developed as a fingerstyle guitar.

"Bob Taylor introduced the small-bodied Grand Concert in 1984 as an alternative to the boomier tonal tendencies of traditional, larger-bodied guitars. The GC spoke to the evolving styles of acoustic guitarists at that time, as solo instrumental fingerstyle music was growing in popularity.

Bob developed the GC with input from Chris Proctor, the 1982 National Fingerpicking Champion, who would go on to be Taylor’s first guitar clinician. Proctor wanted a comfortable body shape with clarity and balance from bass to treble, a cutaway, and a wider neck than the 1-11/16” then used on the Taylor Dreadnought and Jumbo."


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