Making my acoustic easier to play

cain

Hi

Are there any mods that i can do to get my acoustic to play more easily? Cos its harder to play than most other acoustics.

[deleted]

What you mean by harder to play Francis?

cain

Feels tight, high tension. Its got the same strings on that i bought it with, but i doubt it would be heavy gauge on there.

[deleted]

I suspect you must have a look at lighter strings first...

If it was set up for medium gauge (Which I cant thing of any acoustics that come pre setup with medium strings)
You might need to check the truss rod and the nut if it is setup with heavier strings when you do change..
But have a look at a light or custom light set of strings...

Maybe someone else can add, but thats all I can think of. ?

AlanRatcliffe

It's down to basic setup stuff - nut & bridge action, truss rod. String gauge too, but a well setup guitar will make a normal set of strings play easier.

Bob-Dubery

Francis Viviers wrote Feels tight, high tension. Its got the same strings on that i bought it with, but i doubt it would be heavy gauge on there.

Check the action, check the neck curvature.

Alan, how much difference does scale length make? All else being equal, would a longer scale guitar feel noticably tighter?

shaundtsl

I had a cort which I also found quite hard to play. What I did was lower the action by sanding down the saddle slightly, it really made the guitar easier to play. But be cautious when doing this as you cant raise it again unless you buy another saddle.

I dont know if it was the right thing to do, but the guitar played better for me after that.

Bob-Dubery

shaundtsl wrote I had a cort which I also found quite hard to play. What I did was lower the action by sanding down the saddle slightly, it really made the guitar easier to play. But be cautious when doing this as you cant raise it again unless you buy another saddle.

You can shim it - within reason.

Francis, a good setup may make a huge difference here. Shouldn't cost too much, and a good tech will give it a quick once over to see if there's another serious fault that could cost more.

What's the guitar? How old?

cain

Crafter, about a year in my posession?

Bob-Dubery

I ask because it's an old, inexpensive guitar and it needed something like a neck reset and then you'd probably be better off buying a new one. However a decent tech would let you know if that were the case.

AlanRatcliffe

X-rated Bob wrote Alan, how much difference does scale length make? All else being equal, would a longer scale guitar feel noticably tighter?

Absolutely, although there isn't much you can do about that other than buy another guitar. ? A longer scale length will also usually be brighter and more percussive.