Picking on Ibanez George Benson vs. a Tele?

[ES175please!]

Have been using a Tele for most of the last decade- outside of when I was able to get a ES-175 for a time before having to sell it. I just purchased an Ibanez LGB30 and the layout and size/shape of the guitar is affecting my picking. I imagine I will get used to it but wow, accuracy and speed has gone down the tubes. I will continue to play around with my arm position but is this something you have gone through? How did you adjust? Appreciate the feedback and advice!

[voxo]

More please as i was tempted to get one...

[pauln]

Switching from a solid body to a hollow body may do that regarding your degree of dependence on how much you need to see your hands. When you lay your right arm over a solid body it may tilt the guitar up a little giving an easier view.

I suppose every guitarist has done the experiment of playing a tune they know inside and out with their eyes closed to see what happens... most probably being kind of delighted in how well that mostly continues to work. Typically this informs you that you really don't need to see all the time; just an occasional glance to confirm is sufficient.

On the other hand, it may just be normal to take some time getting used to it - the difference between a light vs dark finger board, dots vs rectangular fret markers, slightly different angle of approach of both hands, etc.

[jazzyfan]

There should be absolutely no difference between any guitars, unless your technique is screwed up.

[pauln]

There should be absolutely no difference between any guitars, unless your technique is screwed up.

"It's people like you what cause unrest."

[Average Joe]

Well, in all likelihood my technique is screwed up. I do find that the difference in playing position between what I'm used to, Fender style instruments, and full sized archtops will throw my technique off a bit. I bet that if I spent enough time on the latter it would even out, but 4 decades of conditioning is in there to be sure.

I'd suggest sticking with it. The way to break habits is often to create new ones

[Cunamara]

There should be absolutely no difference between any guitars, unless your technique is screwed up.

That's absolutist and absurd.

To the OP, it'll get better as you learn the kinesthetic differences and develop tactile landmarks with the new instrument. I play a Tele and a Strat and a GB10 and a classical and a dreadnought and various hollowbody guitars. There is no problem with making the switch now because I have gotten used to all of the instruments. My hand and arm positions are naturally slightly different for each and it's just a matter of getting used to them.

[BreckerFan]

There should be absolutely no difference between any guitars, unless your technique is screwed up.

This is of course totally incorrect.

There are a number of factors that could make different guitars harder or easier to play, some controllable and others not.

For the most part things like setup and string tension can be controlled. This could be using the same strings on each or using slightly different strings if the scale length is different, and adjusting string height to get a similar feeling.

But the big things that you can't really change are the string spacing, neck/string radius, and where along the strings your picking hand falls based on the guitar geometry. To a lesser extent also, the attack and decay differences between a solid and hollow guitar.

Part of good technique is learning how to play different guitars and accept the differences. I've been learning this recently on two of my main guitars, an ES-330 and a Guild X-150. For a long time I tried to play the 150 like the 330 and I didn't bond with it as much. Recently I've been embracing the more acoustic qualities of the 150 and haven't been able to put it down.

[teeps]

... and the layout and size/shape of the guitar is affecting my picking. I imagine I will get used to it but wow, accuracy and speed has gone down the tubes ...

To me the interaction between the underarm of the right (picking) hand and the body - the edge, actually - of my Ibanez AG75 seems to disturb the movements of the picking hand and causing fatigue. Mostly so with bare arms, less so if wearing something long sleeved like a shirt. It may help experimenting with the strap length (if you play standing) and the angle of the guitar. Re the angle something like a classical guitarist posture rather than horisontal.

[Old Nick]

Not sure if this applies but, when I switch between my archtop and slab, I change picks. Jazz III on the slab, Jazz III XL on the archtop. I think it's due to the different bridge...

[wolflen]

Played a Les Paul Classic for most of ten years>

I bought a new Ibanez 2204 super strat style about 18 months ago and it has been my main guitar.

I am now just feeling very comfortable with the strat. The size and feel difference..and for me the most important..the sound.

Different instruments are just that..different..for most of us there will be time to adjust to the difference.

[Doublea A]

Have been using a Tele for most of the last decade- outside of when I was able to get a ES-175 for a time before having to sell it. I just purchased an Ibanez LGB30 and the layout and size/shape of the guitar is affecting my picking. I imagine I will get used to it but wow, accuracy and speed has gone down the tubes. I will continue to play around with my arm position but is this something you have gone through? How did you adjust? Appreciate the feedback and advice!

I tend to get into a groove. What I mean is, I will play a Tele style (solid body) for a few weeks. That means practice, gig, everything for a few weeks.
When I switch back to archtops, I will play it for weeks exclusively as well.
It does take time to adjust.


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[Mick-7]

Have been using a Tele for most of the last decade- outside of when I was able to get a ES-175 for a time before having to sell it. I just purchased an Ibanez LGB30 and the layout and size/shape of the guitar is affecting my picking. I imagine I will get used to it but wow, accuracy and speed has gone down the tubes. I will continue to play around with my arm position but is this something you have gone through? How did you adjust? Appreciate the feedback and advice!

The position of your hand and forearm will vary with different size/shape guitars, but you should be able to compensate for it by adjusting your guitar strap, so that the guitar sits higher or lower and/or at a different angle on your lap. Experiment with various positions until you find the position in which you can play the best, which may feel somewhat unnatural at first (there will be an adjustment period). That is to say, you should not need to change the position of your arm much (maybe slightly) from one guitar to the next but you will have to change how you hold the guitar.

[m_d]

This is of course totally incorrect.

There are a number of factors that could make different guitars harder or easier to play, some controllable and others not.

For the most part things like setup and string tension can be controlled. This could be using the same strings on each or using slightly different strings if the scale length is different, and adjusting string height to get a similar feeling.

But the big things that you can't really change are the string spacing, neck/string radius, and where along the strings your picking hand falls based on the guitar geometry. To a lesser extent also, the attack and decay differences between a solid and hollow guitar.

Part of good technique is learning how to play different guitars and accept the differences. I've been learning this recently on two of my main guitars, an ES-330 and a Guild X-150. For a long time I tried to play the 150 like the 330 and I didn't bond with it as much. Recently I've been embracing the more acoustic qualities of the 150 and haven't been able to put it down.

I believe it's mostly correct. I hate to be a broken record by mentioning Troy Grady's work once again, but it's definitive and has been around for a number of years now. Go to YouTube and watch him play different solid bodies (Fender vs Gibson types), a flat top or a classical. The closest to an archtop I saw him play was a Gretsch hollowbody. There was no difference in facility whatsoever. You'll see different picking styles but they're not tied to the type of guitar played. Technique fundamentals remain the same.

[BreckerFan]

I believe it's mostly correct. I hate to be a broken record by mentioning Troy Grady's work once again, but it's definitive and has been around for a number of years now. Go to YouTube and watch him play different solid bodies (Fender vs Gibson types), a flat top or a classical. The closest to an archtop I saw him play was a Gretsch hollowbody. There was no difference in facility whatsoever. You'll see different picking styles but they're not tied to the type of guitar played. Technique fundamentals remain the same.

Non sequiter. The fact that someone can play the same line on different guitars doesn't mean that it feels the same on each guitar, or that it isn't easier to play on one guitar or another.

It's pretty clear why this might be the case. Think about a super flat radius super strat with wide string spacing vs an old arch top with a very curved radius and narrow spacing. Imagine playing a string skipping line on the D and B strings. It's simple geometry that position of the B string relative to the D string on these guitars will be different. This will in turn require the pick to travel on a different path to play the same line.

I'm not saying that this will require a radically different picking mechanic, but it will require *some* difference. And while some people's mechanics may have no trouble with this, it's entirely conceivable that someone else could.

[Hep To The Jive]

For the picking hand? Takes about a couple of minutes to adjust to any guitar, should not be a problem, unless indeed your techinque is screwed up. Now the fretting hand is different story, I hate wide flat necks, the trad Fender necks is ideal, so going from tele to most archtops is a not really comfortable. This of course affects overall playing, the picking hand depends on what you do with the fretting, so maybe this could be the issue? But again should not be THAT much.