Posted: Fri May 31, 2019 3:09 pm Post subject: Need an easy instrument to strum on
Hi everybody! I need your recommendations, I guess.
I am in my 70's and need some advice on what stringed instrument to pursue for easy strumming along as I sing folk songs and favorite old singers like Elvis and the Everly Brothers. Strictly for my own enjoyment. I was a very novice 6 string guitar player almost 50 years ago. When I tried both steel and nylon string 6 strings recently I realized I have no muscle memory, have lost strength and flexibility in my fingers.
I started researching 4 strings which then took me to ukuleles so I got overwhelmed quickly. I am starting from scratch and welcome any advice, so:
Tenor 4 string, cigar box, ukulele (if so, which size?)? I even saw a 3 string being played on YouTube. Suggestions?
Easiest to play?
Steel, nylon or steel over nylon?
String notes? Anything where I can get away with mostly only needing to use 2 fingers?
Joined: 09 Oct 2008 Posts: 3260 Location: Glasgow, UK
Posted: Fri May 31, 2019 3:15 pm Post subject:
Get a parlour guitar, they're fairly inexpensive, small bodied and shorter scale so easier to play, and they sound great. A secondhand Gretsch Jim Dandy would cost around 80-100.
Joined: 02 Jun 2017 Posts: 1011 Location: Dumbtown, Florida
Posted: Fri May 31, 2019 3:48 pm Post subject:
Steel string would probably be easier to play once you start to learn a bit more, nylon string guitars tend to have necks that are a little bit wider so fretting becomes a bit more difficult. Best of luck! _________________
Joined: 20 Apr 2006 Posts: 8301 Location: Albany, NY
Posted: Fri May 31, 2019 4:54 pm Post subject:
Try tuning something up to open chords instead of standard tuning. Could be a ukulele or even a cigar box guitar. Banjo also seems easy to play with the small necks and light strings _________________ https://hauntedcat.bandcamp.com/album/haunted-cat-3
And while decidedly not a "strummer", there are these "church basses" with 2 strings and 5 frets
As far as regular small/cheap stuff goes, I'm frequently tempted by the $150-$200 lines of Recording King acoustics, which are pretty pawnshoppy parlor guitars (though they also make dreadnought and 000 models)
Joined: 14 Jan 2008 Posts: 9882 Location: Nr. Basinggrad, UK
Posted: Fri May 31, 2019 8:34 pm Post subject:
There's a chap local to me who is "Dan" in the band "Dandy Man" (geddit?) and he uses a 4-string tenor very effectively. It could be cheaper to put only 4 strings on a six-string. Comfort could be a major consideration; nylon will be easiest on the fingers to start with but most nylon-string guitars have a wide flat fretboard and you may find the neck on a steel-string more comfortable. Can you get to a music shop to try?
Joined: 02 Nov 2012 Posts: 4470 Location: Around the corner
Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2019 7:31 am Post subject:
Lighter gauge of strings on Affinity Squiers. Their necks are somewhat narrow, if you put 7s or 8s and tune a half step lower you'll be good I think _________________
Used those on my Martin for awhile after being converted by a friend til I missed the volume, they're swanky and especially nice for fingerpicking. _________________
Aug wrote:
which one of you bastards sent me an ebay question asking if you can get teh kurdtz with that 64 mustang?
robertOG wrote:
fran & paul are some of the original gangstas of the JS days when you'd have to say "phuck"
Used those on my Martin for awhile after being converted by a friend til I missed the volume, they're swanky and especially nice for fingerpicking.
Very true about volume and something to bear in mind. I instantly get drowned out by other guitars, especially because I fingerpick, but I mainly play on my own or plugged in.
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