[murphaph]

Hi all,
First question from a new guy so bear with me!

I just started taking lessons on guitar and I bought a Yamaha CG101. It sounds lovely to my (untrained) ear but the action is quite high and it's sometimes difficult to fret even say A. I presume the higher action means I will develop stronger muscles in the hand and that can only be a good thing, though the fingertips are suffrin' right now ouch! I read that higher action guitars also tend to have less fret buzz problems. Is this true? Will a 'tougher' guitar at the start make me better longer term?

[fly135]

The Yamaha CG101 is a nylon string classical. It is easier to fret the notes on this guitar than a steel string acoustic. So this is not what one would consider a "tough" guitar. You should ask your teacher and perhaps the shop you bought it from about doing a setup. When I bought my CG101 I didn't really give .much thought as to the action as it was much easier to fret than my regular acoustic, and it felt good relative all of the other classicals I tried when deciding.

[Dewy]

Ahh, see I never investigated the guitar, and assumed it was Steel string.

Not even sure if Nylon's come in different gauges.

[murphaph]

Thatnks for the clarification there fly. I have no real frame of reference, but I read two reviews which criticised the high action of the CG101. If it's just a case of those guys exagerating and me just nit being good enough right now, that's fine by me I have no real feeling in the tips of my left hand anymore, hopefully these callouses will arrive sooner rather than later. Does the numbness go away to be replaced by tough, but sensitive skin? Thanks for answering these guitar101 questions, I'm sure you've heard 'em all before a hundred times.

[fly135]

I just took a look at mine and the action is quite a bit higher than my steel string acoustics. I may shave the saddle a bit to lower it, but I'll get another saddle as a replacement first in case I go too far and the strings start buzzing. However, when I was trying all the classicals out when I bought the CG101 I really didn't notice the action being worse than the others, and I played them for a while.

Yes your fingers will toughen up considerably. Especially if you start playing a steel string acoustic as well.

[totamed]

Only playing will make you a better player. A guitar that sounds good and is relatively comfortable will make you want to play, and that's where ability will come from.

[totamed]

I would have the action set as low as possible with no buzzing, no sense in causing more pain than needed. Callouses will form surprisingly fast and most of the pain will be a memory. Action very high might be desirable if you're a pro, but for now I wouldn't suggest anything that would discourage you from playing. Make it as fun and easy as you can, and you will play and play.

[X4StringDrive]

I just recieved a "nylon" as a gift, it was used and needed new strings, the shop sold me "high tension" strings as I already have toughened finger tips, they also said there is lighter tensions available. Not sure if this helps any, I'm new and absorbing all I can.

[Racetruckdave]

Classical guitar strings come in different tensions, not gauges. High, medium and low. The higher the tension, the higher the tone and, consequently, the stiffer the action.

A classical guitar has a higher action than a steel string because the nylon strings have a greater "arc" when they vibrate, lowering the action too much causes buzzes.

High action has a better tone because of the greater force placed on the top by the strings, although, too high an action will cause the string to go sharp when they are fretted. Pushing down stretches the string, causing it to "tighten" raising the pitch.

Low action plays easier and faster, but at a loss of tone and volume!

It's a trade off, you must make a decision based on your playing and style. And be prepared to change your decision as you progress!

I started off on a guitar with really high action and it really hindered me for a long time. I didn't start really improving until I got a better playing guitar. I spent more time trying to physically play than trying to improve my technique. Sore fingers, cramping hands and sore forearms. Not fun. And it didn't really improve my hand strength, at least not much.

I've noticed that I'm setting my guitars up with higher action and heavier strings now, all in the quest for tone. But it took a lot of playing and practice. But my touch has actually gotten lighter. I think that, one day, you'll suddenly realise that you don't have work at playing, you'll just play! It was just like learning how to play barre chords, really hard for a long time then, all of a sudden, BAM, I could do it!

IMHO, classical playing is harder than steel string, it's less forgiving and the fret board is wider. And flat! It's harder to play barre chords on one. But they do sound so nice!

[totamed]

Racetruckdave, no doubt you are correct as I was referring to steel strings when I was talking about high action. Apparently I wasn't paying close enough attention to realize Murphaph was talking nylon, I defer to you.

[skinnybloke]

Hi Racetruckdave, that was an excellent response.

[Racetruckdave]

Totamed,

You have nothing to defer to me about! This is how we learn! Each and every person here has about one thousand different stories about how it was and how it should be done. That's what this site is about, a whole bunch of people with different experiences sharing their travels through this wonderful process. I learn something new every time I'm here.

Murphaph,

Anything that's harder than it should be be, is going to slow you down. Within reason. It is going to be hard to play until you develop the callouses and get used to fretting. That is something that all of us have done.

Nowadays, there is no reason to have to play an instrument that's really hard to play. There's more than enough manufacturers out there that make a good instrument that, after a good setup, is easy enough to play. Yamaha is squarely in this camp, they don't make junk. Any good shop will turn you in the right direction.

But, if you are a beginner, you will have to pay your dues, just like the rest of us! I'm assuming you are just starting out. Then just realize that there is no easy way in the beginning, but it does get easier the more you play. And the more you play, the more you learn, and the more you learn, the easier it gets.

Until you become the pompous A**s that I've become!

[zappa70]

I have the same basic setup.Plus a very skinny neck!Anyways it does seem to build up my finger tip calluses and hand strength,as long as you don't get frustrated and quit!
Good luck and (Play on Brother)

[murphaph]

Ah thanks a million guys. I'm not the quitting type and i want to be able to play music. I just wish I'd made the effort as a child but we can't turn the clock back. I really like the noise the guiar makes when I can play a 3 chord progression without hitting a bum note. It's such a sweet sound that's enough incentive for me! I am only playing less than a week but my fingertips are definitely toughening up nicely. I have quite long fingers which seems to be helping me with the wide neck my guitar has. I think I'll stick with it-there's a million reasons not to learn guitar if you want out, but I want in I (someday) want to be able to play classical stuff, fingerpickin galore. Someday I'll get there.