I have my eye on a beautiful Taylor acoustic. If I splurge, I’ll keep my cheap Fender for throwing out the window
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I’ve got a cheap Fender as well, what a wonderful idea 
Update: went to a guitar shop. Tried a Yamaha A1M acoustic electric and fell in love. Tried others but this one felt right. And yeah, the action on my cheapo was WAY high. Truss rod loose and the neck had some kind of bump where it meets the body. Was not worth spending money to fix a guitar worth $100 (keep it for the beach).
I could actually see the difference in action immediately and then felt it right away. I actually played an f chord (wait, E chord on 5th fret?) and they all rang out. Couldn’t do it a second time but I’ll celebrate the 1. What a difference. 
And nailed a mini F first time when I got home. Joy.
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Congratulations George! That’s a lovely guitar you’ve chosen. I had a feeling today was going to be New Guitar Day for you. I guess we know what you’re doing this weekend! 
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F Chord is damn hard to play. i been trying for the last 3omin still can’t fully play all together. As saids that last 2 thinest string keep muting and unable to press hard enough.
Welcome to the forum Teoh
The F chord is all about technique you shouldn’t have to put that hard. Try getting your index finger in the right spot to fret the e and B string then place the rest of the fingers.
Also how bent id your wrist it should be as streight as possible, lift the neck of your guitar up more if needed.
You can also try playing it at the 5th fret(A barre chord) theres less tention up there.
Hmm… I actually think I’m not even pressing hard. Trying the mini F chord but cannot produce sound with the 2 highest strings unless I press harder.
I stopped doing the main F chord for now and have had no issues with the meaty part of the muscle.
The tip regarding thinking of the bar finger and thumb as a rotational force on the guitar neck was exactly what I needed, night and day difference for wrist tension and general feeling of smoothness.
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Welcome to the community! I hope you get it very soon, or you might have already got it!
“What works for you”. Work on getting an F Chord, and if its not the right way of doing it, make it a matter of concern later. Focus on 1. strength. There are many exercises that will help build the strength in your hands. 2. Start with an electric guitar, and make sure the set up is correct. 3. Focus on putting your 4 fingers down first, then the index finger. Imagine your finger and thumb is a Capo. 5. practice on the easier frets first, and make your way to the first fret. Do not give up, or give in. The F stands for “frustrating”. It can literally cause you to give up playing guitar. Don’t give up. It will happen.
That F chord is giving me nightmares but I am relieved to see that so many of you have struggled too. As I learn everything by myself - with Justin’s lessons- it feels a bit frustrating at times but I am soooo determined to get that F… chord right at some point. I don’t usually make any New Year’s resolutions but this year I did: I WILL NAIL THE F CHORD. Period. Let’s see if the Universe and the Force is with me on that 
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Try practicing it by barring it at the 5th fretthis is an A barre chord. Being 5 frets away from the nut the string tension is less and the frets are closer together.
Once you have this mastered move down to the 3rd fret this is a G barre chord and a little harder, then move to the F barre chord.
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Thank you, I will definitely try this. I also think that the action of the acoustic guitar I play with is way too high but as it’s a cheap steel-string one, there isn’t any truss rod inside so the action can’t be changed. I am really considering buying my own acoustic anytime soon: this one is quite bulky (it’s a 3/4 size) and after 7 months of practice I am not really comfortable with it even if the sound is kinda nice. In the meantime, I’ll do my homework!
When looking for a new guitar try some smaller body guitars. To many people buy Dreadnought size guitars and regret it.
Here a size comparison chart of some of the different body sizes
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After about 3 weeks of trying, I can finally play the F chord 90% of the time. At beginning of last week I was ready to give up - I didn’t think I was ever going to get it. But the last few days it has finally clicked. I stopped doing all the rest of the practice sessions while trying to learn the F chord - I will start on the practice again next week. Although listening to the sound of the F - I think it is now time to take my guitar in and have it set up properly. I will take it into the local music shop in a couple of days time.
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I find that when I hold an E-shaped F barre chord (i.e., at the first fret) for very long I get a bit of not quite pain but definite discomfort on my fretting hand at the base of my thumb. It feels almost like it’s going to start cramping up. I don’t think I am gripping the neck too hard, so I am wondering if there any other likely culprits I should keep an eye out for.
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Yeah it takes a while to build up the muscles and strength. Just like working out at the gym. Take it slow and learn some of the F chord variants.
Yep, not uncommon, I had over 20 years break from playing guitar, back then I could play most barre chords relatively well with a clear tone and for reasonable length of tie with no issues. Wet i picked the guitar up again in August 2024 it was back to basic and barre chord were a no hope for several months. I took at least 2-3 months of around 2 hour a day general practice before the strength in my hand came back and I could start to attempt barre chords.
I am still trying to get them clean and nice sounding after a further 15 months. Take it slowly and gradually build up, introducing a song with one or two bar chords, and if you get pain stop and come back to it the next day.
I think I got this in 5 minutes. I am not sure how but that was a great explanation