Neck, guitar for problem hands

[tc4all]

Let me start off saying I am only a year into this stuff and older then most of you.  I have an EJ Strat (12” radius, vintage style neck) that I am considering a new neck for or even a different guitar.  My left hand is bad.  I have broken it, have some arthritis, and have a trigger finger that will, at some point, be operated on, plus my hands are just not that big.  Due to all of this, some fingers are a bit bent making me even consider trying to learn left handed. (Not a very coordinated sight to behold.) I have also considered buying a 24” scale Douglas just to see if that helps before laying out a lot of money on something else.  Several questions though:

1.I can't always reach the fret so end up pressing more between frets than at the fret.  To get the note to be clear I press down to the fretboard and sometimes still can't get it plus my fingernails (even just trimmed down all the way) hit the fretboard before the note is perfect.  Will taller frets help this, or even scalloping?

2.I seem to have an easier time with frets closer in then those close to the nut so I have thought of a shorter scale neck.  In that case, the frets closer in seem to get too close together.  Is this a getting used to thing, or is it something your fingers are either going to have trouble with or not.  (I tried a Rickenbacker 320 with a 22” scale and an SG with a 24 3/4” scale”.)  Is a sort scale really a big change?  I mean I know the Rick is very small, but Lennon played one and I played an SG and barely could notice a difference in scale length vs a Strat yet I know it is.

3.Anyone with similar hand issues have any suggestions about that part of things would be welcome too.

 

[Disco Scottie]

Large frets would help. You don't have to push down to the wood... most people have to be careful about doing that, since it causes the note to go sharp. But it sounds like you would be playing with a much lighter touch. If you have a decent music store near you, go check out some guitars with the jumbos.

I switch between 24-3/4, 25 and 25.5 necks quite often without any trouble. A shorter scale would probably be a great choice for you, since there's less tension. Nothing like slinky strings on a shorter scale!

 

[dano8180]

i had a similar problem with the EJ strat. i have smallish hands and tendonitis in both wrists (somewhere someone is thinking a bad joke!) and had a hard time with it's neck. luckily i didn't purchase the guitar. the solution? total vintage neck with 6100 frets, clapton contour, and a 9.5" radius. . . no pain when playing anymore!

 

[AutoBat]

i'd recommend using extra light strings, stainless steel 6105 frets, and if you replace the neck on your EJ strat, you'll need new tuning machines, as the EJ headstock is thinner than all other fenders.

 

[jay4321]

I'm being completely serious when I say this, but - did you ever consider the lap steel or playing a lot of slide? If your fret hand is in bad shape and arthritis is an issue maybe there are alternatives that would suit you.

 

[Ace Flibble]

24.75" scale with 6105 fretwire might be good. It'll have a little height to it so fretting is a little easier and the slightly slimmer width means that the higher frets won't feel quite so cramped.

Or you might want to look at PRS or some of the Ibanez single cut designs, which use 25" scale. Quarter of an inch may not seem like much and at the low frets it isn't, but it can be just enough to make the higher frets much more playable for some people.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I had surgery on my left hand several years ago.  The ligament in the first finger had left some scar tissue in the tendons groove at the MCP joint of my first finger.  It would lock there like trigger finger.  Now the next joint down has partially frozen due to more scar tissue and other things.  Whoo, Yea.  I have noticed that the scale length doesn't really bother me much.  I have a Gibson 24.75" to a 27" seven string, and no real difference for me.  However, profiles with V's in them cause all kinds of pain for my hand.  I would try to find several different profiles to try and see what you think as well as the scale length.  Ibanez to the PRS fat ones, V's to D's.  Set yourself down at one of the megamarts and try them with a riff that is not the easiest to play and see what feels good.  Then match up with the closest W neck.
Patrick

 

[Firebird211]

That's bad to hear about all of the problems with your hands.    I have recieved a few injuries, and nerve damage to my left ulner nerve, which only causes numbness to hand when irritated.  I have some problems with my wrist popping here and there.  Along with what everyone has said before I would suggest using a lighter gauge string(or what you have), but raise the action just a little higher to get more tension so your fingers won't press so much on the fretboard.  That works for me.  If you want to make a custom guitar that suites you better, by all means do it.

 

[OzziePete]

On the issue of shorter scale guitars, there seems to a problem with some of the short scale guitars with intonation. Whether it is a cheap bridge causing the problem or low string tension across a trem I dunno, but comments have been made about short scale guitars being 'hard' to intonate. Defintely the Ricky 325s that Lennon popularised had that problem and I think the Fender Jaguar (or was it the Mustang?) had intonation issues too.

Reading up on Lennon when I was a kid, I think he decided on the Ricky for 2 reasons.
1) He was short sighted and refused to wear glasses while out in the public and on stage. Lennon was the one public person who would later make glasses cool! A short scale neck gave him better opportunity to see the whole neck!
2) It weighed a hell of a lot less than other electric guitars (and probably cost him less at a music store in Hamburg than the solid body Strat copy by Hofner). Wearing that Ricky on stage for hours on end in Hamburg meant the issue of weight was a motivator.

On a side note: does anyone else note the use of German like brand names amongst The Beatles gear? "Rickenbacker", "Grestch", 'Hofner" and "Ludwig" - all German names......maybe they were giving a nod to the folks who got them grounded as a band? :dontknow:

 

[Cagey]

On a side note: does anyone else note the use of German like brand names amongst The Beatles gear? "Rickenbacker", "Grestch", 'Hofner" and "Ludwig" - all German names......maybe they were giving a nod to the folks who got them grounded as a band? :dontknow:

The Germans have always been excellent engineers, as well as good businessmen. Many of those brands were the standards by which others were judged, not only in Europe, but in other countries as well.

 

[drewfx]

On a side note: does anyone else note the use of German like brand names amongst The Beatles gear? "Rickenbacker", "Grestch", 'Hofner" and "Ludwig" - all German names......maybe they were giving a nod to the folks who got them grounded as a band? :dontknow:

And later they decided to switch to Casino's and give a nod to the Greek...