Fret or Strings? Help!!

[deedeeyaw22x]

Hi all,

I'm just wondering, I was using Takamine Acoustics (basic) for just learning, I then recently switched to Washburn acoustics and I feel that my fingers are more painful when I strum using washburn guitars.. I was guy wondering that is it just the guitar or the strings are too hard?! If the strings, what type of strings do I use for lesser pain ?! Hahah.. Sounds weird but it hurts after playing 4-5 songs...

Or what other alternatives I can do to minimize the pain?
Thank you so much

 

[Shinji.Ikari]

Might be the action of your washburn guitar? It might be too high and uncomfortable to play

 

[deedeeyaw22x]

What do you mean by th action? Everything seems pretty good... All ok only that I find my fingers hurt when pressin the chords

 

[J.custom]

Action means the distance between the strings and the fret board. It could have been possible that you were using a lighter string gauge on your other acoustic guitar as well. Mind checking and telling us? Easier to diagnose problem.

 

[relinquish69]

changing to gauge .010 strings would make it easier to play but it would change the sound quite a bit. You could take a picture of your guitar's string height for us to gauge the action.

 

[guanrong85]

dont sacrifice tone for a lower string gauge. go for a full setup. from my understanding, your truss rod might not have been fully maxed out yet, meaning, adjusted to give you a dead straight neck with NO relief.

check also your nut and saddle height.
some guys to go to for setup: malcolm tan (http://www.mtlutherie.com/) or adam chan (http://cadam7777777.blogspot.com/)

 

[relinquish69]

dont sacrifice tone for a lower string gauge. go for a full setup. from my understanding, your truss rod might not have been fully maxed out yet, meaning, adjusted to give you a dead straight neck with NO relief.

Lower gauge strings softens the tension hence making it easier to hold chords for longer periods of time. of course a set up plays a major role in making the guitar more comfortable to play but string gauge is another factor in the whole equation.

The TS should send the guitar for a set up first before deciding whether to swap to a lower string gauge or stick to .012. I myself am using .011 and I feel that is a good compromise for both comfort and tone. There is no point in having good tone when you have problems in playing.

If the TS is a beginner, it's better to do a set up and lower down the string gauge at one go since the string gauge also affects the tension of the guitar neck (which requires you to go for a set up once again if you swap from .012 to .010).

 

[deedeeyaw22x]

Thank you guys.. I'll post a picture soon on the action of my guitar.. Where would you reco to go for the setup and what's the pricing like?

 

[deedeeyaw22x]

Guys, the picture for my action of the guitar..i think its pretty high...

where do i go to retrify this and how much will it prolly cost?

thanks in advance

 

[deedeeyaw22x]

Help? I already posted some pictures

 

[relinquish69]

I can't tell whether your neck is warped or not from the pictures. One thing is for sure, your saddle is a little on the high side. Thankfully it has a lot of room for trimming down. You can get it done at Guitar Connection but not too sure about the pricing since they only quote upon looking. Probably less than $100 but don't quote me.