Iāve done something I thought Iād never do and bought a new acoustic guitar - all going back to @Richard_close2u leaving a comment under one of my videos a few months back and planting a thought in my head. The comment was about the size of my newly-vintage (it recently turned 20 years old) Martin D-28 and whether I have tried out smaller guitars.
And as much as I love the sound of my Martin the truth is that I have been practising more and more on a cheap travel guitar I bought a couple of years ago: I can play it while sitting comfortably on the sofa and when I just work on memorising songs rather than technique. I also take it outside in the summer when I am babysitting the young chicks (too many buzzards around here). And then it just so happened that I noticed that certain things I struggled with in the past became easier: like the A-D hammer on or F-chord with a thumb-over on fret 1 with no capo. And I was so excited ā¦ but of course these things are easier on a guitar with a scale that is 2 inches shorter. I didnāt put 1 and 1 together at first, but of course on the Martin the F-chord was just as hard as always. And when I started to work on two songs at the same time that needed the two things I felt a whiff of RSI creeping up my arm. And then the penny dropped. I need a guitar that has a shorter scale but that sounds better than my travel guitar - it had to be performance-ready if you like.
In parallel I had been thinking about a smaller-sized guitar that works better for fingerstyle playing, but on itās own that was not enough motivation to actually go and shop for a new guitar. It was really the need for a guitar with a shorter scale. In the end I chose the Taylor Grand Concert (which has a scale shorter than the āstandard 25.5 inchesā even though it is not even a full inch shorter) because most guitars with even shorter scales fall into mini / travel / junior categories and just canāt compare with the sound of the Martin when they are not made from solid wood. I would have loved to try a Taylor Grand Theater but no-one stocks them and I donāt like buying a guitar I have not tried out. But I can already feel the difference the shorter-but-not-as-much-shorter scale makes.
And scales and RSI aisde - the Taylor plays a dream, so thank you @Richard_close2u for putting a thought in my head! I am always happiest when I play guitar, but now even more so!
Here is a video if you want to see my new Taylor in action - a collection of some intros to songs I have been working on over the last few months. I tried to add chapters on the video but that didnāt seem to work so I list the time stamps below again.
0:00 Blues runs the game
0:27 Blues runs the game on Martin
0:53 Just like anything
1:46 Rexās blues
2:27 Jersey Giant
2:53 Jersey Giant on Martin
3:21 These days
Well, firstly happy NGD . Secondly what great finger work and playing .
Great idea to play both through the video. The sound was quite chalk and cheese for me, but I actually really liked both sounds just for different reasons.
The Martin of course had that really warm, smooth, deep sound and Taylor sounder brighter and thatās why I like them both really.
Scale length does so much. There is no ābest lengthā but only a ābest fit for ones feeling and needsā. It can open up a world of freedom and comfort and inmany cases, help you source from a whole new cask of inspiration.
Yes, you have to be very careful with that man ,he do that with us sometimes , I don`t know how ā¦something with guitar and needles, inserting voodoo or something ā¦he almost made me buy one Taylor T5z Classic ā¦
and to be honest it doesnāt leave my mind ā¦ so sooner or later it has to come anyway ā¦I am so weak ā¦ ( I now also see that the prices of that one have gone up a lot (maybe I should have listened beter ? )
Congratulations on a really fine guitar! I have not played a Grand Concert, but I do appreciate the comfort of my Grand Auditoriums and the Taylor neck profile.
Iām curious about this. Iāve had the same entry-level Yamaha acoustic for most of my life and am quite fond of it, i.e. Iāve no real desire to get a new acoustic (Iām one of the few anti-GAS folks on this site, I think). However, I have found that the thumb-over F on other guitars that I have played a bit easier. I feel like the neck on my guitar is rather thick (not wide, but thick back-to-front).
Hereās my question: on your new Taylor, is the thumb-over F easier because the frets are closer together (which you kind of implied), or is it the shape of the neck that makes it easier compared to the Martin?
And Brian @brianlarsen, I might not have to justify to anyone here when I buy a new guitar, but I did have to justify it to myself! And then I have written out the whole story here because I for one have not thought about scale length until a few months ago, and maybe thatās true for others as well.
Hi John @jjw good question and the answer is probably a combination of both but mainly the scale length for me. It is not much of a difference, but a couple of millimeters over three frets does make a difference between buzzing 80% of the time or buzzing 20% of the time. I still need to get the placement of the fingers right as my ringfinger still does not reach fretend but itās now a question of a bit precision practise and no longer an uphill struggle where I constantly over stretch and then the RSI kicks in. And for me the A to D hammer on - and then extending to Dsus4 with the pinky - was even worse, buzzing almost all the time.
Itās amazing how different the two guitars sound, right? Which was actually one of the reasons why I decided to buy a Taylor and not say a Martin 00-18 - if I really need another acoustic guitar when the one I have already sounds nice, then go for something that is very different. At the moment I am (of course) playing mainly on the new one, but over time I think there will be more consideration as to which guitar to play for which song. And I am feeling totally priviledged and happy to have that choice.
Happy NGD Molly! They both sound great and thanks for the back to back comparisons, the different sounds (voicings?) come thru clearly. Iām glad the new guitar is easier to play!
. Secondly what great finger work and playing 
.
ā¦he almost made me buy one Taylor T5z Classic ā¦
)
