Are some guitarists sometimes the tiniest bit whiny...?

[Haole Jim]

Having heard more than a share of moan-y comments like, "Mosrites' necks are too narrow, Les Pauls' necks are like baseball bats, Strats go out of tune when you use the twang bar, Teles hum when you use the neck pickup..."

For whatever reason (having been at a big-box music store, later playing the Mk I with its "little" neck, then taking a long walk with the dog), pondering this topic allowed the query to surface, are sometimes, some guitarists the tiniest bit whiny about their or some particular guitars' flaws?

As a corollary, there are no super-wide or long mandolins, violin or violas and some pretty big folks play them.

Any thoughts?

[TimR]

What's the fun of having a forum if you can't go there to whine? My wife won't let me whine so I have to do it somewhere ..................

By the way some big guys have small hands, but almost all Japanese folks (maybe Sumo wrestlers aside), have small hands. Probably why you never hear the Japanese gripe about skinny necks.

[Veenture]

"Welcome to the world of guitar playing"

[olrocknroller]

I own eleven very different guitars because each one possesses a unique characteristic that I enjoy, be it sound quality, "feel" or playability, or pure versatility...number twelve is in construction now, because I keep trying to find the "perfect" guitar. I think the "whining" comes from finding that perfect guitar, only to discover after owning it a while that it doesn't quite do "X" to your utter satisfaction.

Another factor that I have noticed is that my playing style, and hopefully artistry changes as I learn, and adapt to increasingly arthritic fingers, which also influences the guitars I gravitate to playing. I have built one guitar, which my friends call the "fencepost" because it has a very chunky neck, and classical width fretboard with a conical radius starting at 10" at the nut, and graduating to 14" at the 24th fret. It is superb for playing lead with bends, because it gives me room to move with less restriction from neighboring strings, but chording becomes tiring very quickly. I had a Fender Jaguar with a 9.5" fretboard radius that was superb for rhythm playing, but quite a pain for lead...

I said all that to say that if you are at all varied in your playing styles, sometimes playing lead, sometimes bending up 1.5 tones, and other times playing backup, you probably need two or three quite different guitars, especially if you gig for hours on end. I'm resigned to the multiple guitar ownership approach, because up to now, I haven't been any better at building the perfect guitar than anyone else...

olrocknroller

[TimR]

Now if I could afford to own 12 guitars, I promise, I would never whine again

[Veenture]

Now if I could afford to own 12 guitars, I promise, I would never whine again

hear, hear!

BTW, I agree with olrocknroller and TimR. It's like buyng shoes to fit right, just for you; mountain boots for climbing, sandals for leasure, leaden shoes for diving ...I leave the rest to the reader's own imagination.

[oipunkguy]

including all the project guitars I'm working on I have about 20 guitars. all are different from each other. i like baseball necks on LP's and i love skinny necks on mosrites. one of my most favorite neck to mess around with is a original fender mustang neck. tiny, but awesome. I agree with the argument, some guitarist are just too whiny.

[juan_10]

Of course guitarists are whiny ! Ask any groupie and they will say , the guitarist is the moodiest one in the band ! Keyboard players , bassists and drummers are downright uncomplicated compared to the guys and girls pickin' and grinnin' up the front end . Ok maybe I'm a bit tongue-in-cheek here , but the groupie bible says here ..'thou shalt not go out with the guitarist in the band .. for verily he will do your head in with his introspective misery.'

Apart from Ted Nugent of course.

[vjf1968]

Having heard more than a share of moan-y comments like, "Mosrites' necks are too narrow, Les Pauls' necks are like baseball bats, Strats go out of tune when you use the twang bar, Teles hum when you use the neck pickup..."

For whatever reason (having been at a big-box music store, later playing the Mk I with its "little" neck, then taking a long walk with the dog), pondering this topic allowed the query to surface, are sometimes, some guitarists the tiniest bit whiny about their or some particular guitars' flaws?

As a corollary, there are no super-wide or long mandolins, violin or violas and some pretty big folks play them.

Any thoughts?

Let me get this straight, if a guitar player has a preference for certain things on his/her guitar he or she is a whiner?

I really do not follow this logic. Do you have a problem with ergonomics?

I do not own a Les Paul with a big neck but I never was a Gibson guy anyway. I just do not bond with them.
Same thing with Rickenbackers, especially the 330 and 360/12. People want to hear you play and not hear you tune.

I do not own a Mosrite Mark 1 becuase I didn't like the neck so I bought a Hallmark which was smarter move becuase I also have a Fender 52RI Tele and the necks on both guitars are similar so during a gig when I make a switch it is a smooth transition.