i have a yamaha F-310 acoustic guitar, my first one. the problem with it is that the steel strings HURT like hell, after 15 mins of playing ur fingers are gonna be gone. :cen: it's also a high action guitar. i was wondering if there's any way that it could be converted to a low-action. i was reading a review of this guitar on a music gear review website, where the guy said he lowered the bridge to make it a low action guitar. is that possible? also, are there any "soft" steel strings that i could switch to, or are all steel strings the same?
Well for one, you just have to get used to pressing hard. At the same time it does not have to be excruciatingly hard to get the strings to sound. I guess if you're having problems with the high E and the B strings cutting into your fingers, then you could get thicker gauge strings but that really isn't the solution. Also you should have some knobs or dials under the bridge that allow you to lower the action.
if it is a accoustic..then i doubt that it will have the knob or dial to lower the action...(it is mostly found on hardtail bridges of LP's etc)...if you are having high action problem..then first check if the neck of your guitar is straight..i.e there should be no warping/buckling..if it is not straight ..then adjust your truss rod(if you have one).. lowering the saddle at the bridge is not an ideal solution..you can get into serious trouble if you mess that up!!..so i recommend getting it checked by a pro. as far as the fingers go...well play..and play regularly..you will soon develope cellouses..(the hard skinnned finger tips)...that will sort out the problem..and yeah to keep em hard..i regularly dip ma fingers in alcohol..!!!
BTW, what's a comfortable action...I mean how many millimeters from the fret board should the strings be ideally ? :think:
Action depends on what you like. Lower actions are easier to play but higher actions can get you great punch if you can manage to play it. Know why Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmy Hendrix wanted high action guitars ?
trey azagthoth of morbid angel wont play unless his strings are set to high action...hes an amazing player too....the overlord of death metal if you must.
thanx for ur replies.. @shahrukh ur right, unfortunately my guitar doesnt have a knob or dial to lower the action, and the guitar neck is fine.i already have developed callouses, but they still hurt like hell, and i cant get near any alcohol either..lol.. and since im not one of those legendary guitar players mentioned, i cant handle high-action, well not yet anyways. who knows, maybe in the future.. @death_metal_fan, i dont think getting thicker gauge strings will help, cause its the low strings that hurt the most, the thin ones are fine. lastly, is it possible to get smoother/softer (or expensive) steel strings, and will it help?
tell me onething...does your fingertips hurt..or the muscles in your fingers/palm/hand...cuz the thicker strings shouldn.t give you much problem!!
Why dont you try some alternate tuning on ur guitar. Something like open D tuning. Google for some alternate tunings. May be this will solve ur prob.
yeah if your muscle hurt then bring your tuning down...maybe a step or a half..play for some time and that will develope your muscles!!
Hey bro, the Yamaha F310 has a saddle that may have to be cut down a tad (1 mm or so) to reduce the action coz the action is on the high side. By now I'm sure your palm muscles must have gotten accustomed to the touch but hey, if you want to, you can always cut get the saddle cut down for free at the store you got your guitar from. After this, use lighter gauge strings like granada extra light strings. Hope this helps.
