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Post by jlhooker on Mar 24, 2014 7:56:02 GMT -5
I have had an Epiphone Masterbuilt Acoustic for a year or so.It is a good looking ,well built guitar that sounds good.My problem with it is that it's a little hard to play and my hands are old.I think the strings are 12's.Could a lighter gauge help? What about lowering them? Thanks for any help. JLHooker
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Post by dadfad on Mar 24, 2014 9:19:16 GMT -5
I've played a couple of Masterbuilt acoustics and thought they were pretty good guitars. The Masterbuilt series far exceeds the typical quality of the regular Epiphones. (I/m/o)
It's hard to say if you need your strings lowered or not without seeing the guitar. Typical "medium" action at the 12th fret the thick-E will be about 1/8" off the fret and the thin-E will be about 3/32". Some players like it lower (like me), and some higher, but that's about what is considered "medium" action on an acoustic flat-top guitar.
Thinner strings might help, but this "quick fix" might be easier to try first. If you typically play your guitar tuned to A-440 try tuning it down a half-step (or even a whole-step). It might help in two ways. First, there will of course be a bit less tension on the strings and so a bit easier to push. Second, the fact that there is less tension might also allow the neck to "un-bow" slightly which would cause the strings to be closer to the frets, giving less distance to push them.
Tuning a half-step or a step below concert A-440 isn't uncommon at all. Lots of guitarists do it. I usually do myself unless I'm playing with others who prefer A-440. (And even then I'll often just compensate for the key-change by fingering the positions differently, or just putting a capo on the first or second fret.)
I prefer slightly lowered tunings because I think the deeper sound goes better with blues (which is mostly what I play) and has the added benefit of making bends (especially near-the-nut bends) a little easier and quicker when doing them on-the-fly when playing fingerstyle solo.
So I'd try that first. Like I said, I don't know if your guitar needs an adjustment or not without seeing it. If you think it does and you don't want to have it done in a shop, if you aren't familiar with doing it yourself but want to try, I might be able to walk you through it.
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Post by jlhooker on Mar 24, 2014 15:15:56 GMT -5
Thanks very much for the reply.I checked the sting height on both e strings at the 12th fret and they are very close to your recommendations .So I guess I'll try the lower tunings or maybe some lighter strings.I have Dr Pure Blues 10's on my electric guitars and I have no problem with fretting them. I'm just a back porch player who picked up a few chords along the way. Thanks, Hooker
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