Thatās strange! Lighter strings, lowered the action, still hard!
Maybe the action is still not low enough (Did you measure?)
or
Maybe you just did something to the bridge, so the action is lower over all, but not at the first fret? So you could file the nut slots down.
Even with a new guitar, the setup has to be good to make it play easier than yours.
Thereās just those factors for having to press hard or not:
String gauge vs. scale length, and then height of the strings over the fretboard.
Ok, please forgive me for dwelling on setting up your old guitar first!
Once again, thanks for all the great advice and tips. I did hit a Guitar Center last week. I went into their acoustic guitar room and played a pile of them. I tried Taylors, Martinās, Ibanez, more Yamahas, and some Iāve never heard of. A few other players came and went. I did strike up a conversation with a guy who was at about the same point in his guitar journey I was. We each tried the same guitars and said what we liked/didnāt like about them. I heard some that sounded better than my current $200 Yamaha and some that didnāt. Most didnāt feel any better/different to hold than the Yamaha I have. One of the best ones I tried was a Gretsch parlor guitar that was selling for just $189. I liked the feel and sound of it, but didnāt buy that day. It was kind of nice to be ignored for over an hour and just play what I wanted to without a hard sell. Iād already changed out my original strings to a lighter set. Iād already lowered the action so I didnāt have to stand on the strings to ring out a note, or especially a chord. What I did find after watching some you tube videos, was that I could adjust the neck on my current Yamaha. Originally what I found online said the neck on mine wasnāt adjustable. So much for internet accuracy. I put a straight edge on the neck, and sure enough, it was off a bit. I loosened the nut about a quarter turn or so and like magic, the Yamaha now plays so much easier. Who knew? Itās about time for me to change strings again after noticing some wear on them during the adjustment, and Iāll stay with the lighter gauge strings. Sorry for the long rambling, but I just want to say thanks again so much for everyoneās encouragement and positive responses after I posted this question. For now, Iām back in business. Cheers!
Jim, how great youāve found a solution - at least for now! I expect the next time you shop for a guitar, it will be a much different experience. Thanks for the update!
