Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

MetalManiac

MetalManiac

Li'l Junior Member
Just getting acquianted with my new nE-225 Gibson. Plays fantastic, sounds great, BUT..right where a Les paul sits comfortably on the lap, this thing wants to roll around. Worse than playing a V on your lap! In sum total, its a disaster, and it's got to go!;


004_zpsojkvmqwf.jpg

Another I could think of is the old Sg's. Perfect in every way, and fantastic tone, but took a nosedive. had to get rid of mine.

The old Gibson basses are like that. Too much neck out in front. Sound and play fantastic.

The Gibson Explorer is my favorite lap guitar by far, but to me, it's a disaster to play standing up for everything except stage theatrics. The neck hangs out so far in space, and while a virtuoso could rock it, in all sincerity, it is not a players guitar standing upright.
 
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Re: Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

That's a nice looking guitar! Why not just take some time with it and see if you can get along? MY BC Rich (Ironbird) tends to dive a bit & it was annoying, but I can hardly tell now that I'm used to it. If you're standing a leather strap will help (one that's rough on the inside). You could also try re-positioning the strap buttons :bigthumb:
 
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Re: Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

Some axes just don't seem to like being played sitting down. I have a few. Not a big problem for me; I usually play standing up anyway.
 
Re: Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

Any guitar I try out that is an ergonomic disaster never gets bought, no matter how it sounds or looks. I refuse to play something I have to adjust to.
 
Re: Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

Definitely the Stratocaster, from the perspective of someone who almost exclusively played Jazzmasters for years:

-The bridge is waaay to the right, near the strap button. I anchor my palm behind the bridge, this is only comfortable seated in a classical position
-The strings feel way too close to the body; it's as if they're down in a hole, and I really have to dig in for them (On a Jazzmaster or even say a Les Paul, the strings feel like they're high above the body, on a little pedestal for you to pick them)
-Takes effort to not hit the volume control/have the volume roll itself miraculously down after five minutes of playing
-Takes effort to avoid hitting the trem arm when it's inserted, because it's threaded next to your hand; on the Jazzmaster it's comfortably behind your "working area"
-The middle pickup: lower it or shatter it with my pick?
-The tone controls: Two tones, they seem to be wired differently on every Strat, what were they thinking? People say the Jazzmaster controls aren't intuitive?

...So I've had my American Deluxe Strat for a month. I really WANT to like it because it sounds great and the frets/neck is awesome and plays like butter. But to be honest, I'm pretty embarrassed that I'm having a tough transition to using it, for the above reasons. I mean, this is the most popular guitar in the world (especially for beginners) and yet it feels so clunky to me; maybe it's "forcing good technique" to only give you a tiny little space where the stars align and your picking hand/pick isn't slamming into anything? When I switch back to my Jazzmasters or Jaguar, I feel like I can all of a sudden really play again.

Runner-up: Fender Mustang - There's a giant chrome tube where your wrist needs to be
 
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Re: Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

Those are some interesting observations about the Strat, Silence Kid.

I'd have to agree with you on the top control knob being too close to the pickup/bridge and feeling like the middle pickup can get in the way sometimes.

As for the bridge being "too far to the right", I think it actually has more to do with where the guitar sits when standing...the whole guitar sits too far toward the right of your body, resulting in the fretting hand being brought closer to center and requiring your right hand move outwards from what you're used to. This is related to the strap button positions, more than anything. Of course, someone who grew up on strats will say it's "just right", but as an Explorer/V player myself, I'm used to having the neck positioned deeper to my left side, as well. Try moving the upper strap button behind the upper bout or to the neck plate. If you physically pinch the strap to the body in a couple spots while you're wearing the guitar, you can figure out the best place for you. It's a fairly common mod and should help re-position the guitar to the left slightly when you stand, making it feel more natural.
 
Re: Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

You can see you gotta play it like a classical- it won't cradle your right thigh like a 335. Thats what I cannot get along with-

 
Re: Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

It's tough to make big generalizations about guitar ergonomics, because players come in so many different sizes and shapes.

I actually recently came to some of the same conclusions about Strats as Silence Kid (despite my screen name). Ironically, the fact that is so well-balanced (strap button at 12th fret) pushes the bridge way to the right. In contrast, the SG moves the bridge way to the left to a spot where it's super comfortable for me.

Bridge position relative to pick hand placement is dependent on where the top strap button is. The more towards the headstock the top strap button is, the more the bridge shifts to the right.

Where the waist is cut on the lower half will affect how lap-friendly the guitar is.

Another big factor is your pick hand angle/picking technique. I can't do the stereotypical right-elbow-out-at-a-chicken-wing-angle-picking-near-Strat-bridge thing. That tightens up my shoulder and gives me nerve issues. That's one reason why I can't get along with the Ibanez Joe Satriani guitars - they put the bridge waaaay to the right.

I've sort of come to the conclusion that I prefer guitars with the strap button around the 15th or 16th fret (like a Les Paul) and with a forearm contour that meaningfully guides my hand towards the strings (some forearm contours are angled really sharply and don't do much good). Jazzmasters are really comfortable guitars for me in these ways.
 
Re: Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

MetalManiac said:
Just getting acquianted with my new nE-225 Gibson. Plays fantastic, sounds great, BUT..right where a Les paul sits comfortably on the lap, this thing wants to roll around. Worse than playing a V on your lap! In sum total, its a disaster, and it's got to go!;


004_zpsojkvmqwf.jpg

Another I could think of is the old Sg's. Perfect in every way, and fantastic tone, but took a nosedive. had to get rid of mine.

The old Gibson basses are like that. Too much neck out in front. Sound and play fantastic.

The Gibson Explorer is my favorite lap guitar by far, but to me, it's a disaster to play standing up for everything except stage theatrics. The neck hangs out so far in space, and while a virtuoso could rock it, in all sincerity, it is not a players guitar standing upright.
Click to expand...

Install a black Bigsby on it. That will balance the weight and play in tune better.
 
Re: Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

I can never jive with an SG. A Les Paul? Fine. An Explorer? Sure. A Flying V? Not a problem. But an SG? Nope. It feels "wrong" in so many ways

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk
 
Re: Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

There is a reason I don't own a PRS
Just can't deal with the wide neck

I played strats and acoustics for years till recently

The ibanez was so light and so awesome feeling I had to have it
It was difficult to adjust to the skinny neck but it was worth it

Then I played your Signature Gibson
That's when I realized the thin necks and low frets and shorter scale was what I had been missing

Thank you Jerry

Give it more than a day
It may just change your perception
 
Re: Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

Firebirds...my left shoulder aches because I have me left arm extended out high and awkwardly. Only real big "Ergonomic NO" I've run into.
 
Re: Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

Any double neck guitar that I have played. All show in my experience.
 
Re: Ergonomic Disaster Guitars?

Belly cutaways rally ruin things for me. Doesn't really make much of a difference when sitting down, and puts the guitar at an awkward angle when standing up.
 
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