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| Guitars and Gear |
A: Giving it to a good fingerstyle guitarist! Yes, I'm being funny... but there's a lot of truth in that, too. The guitar is a much smaller part of the equation than most people realize. For example, if I were to list my preferences for a "fingerstyle guitar," you'd end up with almost the exact opposite of the guitar that Michael Hedges used (a Martin D-28), and it would obviously be silly to suggest that he was using the wrong guitar! Ultimately, there's no "right" answer to what makes a good fingerstyle guitar. Q: What features/specifications do you look for when buying a fingerstyle guitar?
A: I've owned a fair number of guitars over the years, and that's allowed me to hone in on some particular features or specifications that I think tend to work really well (at least for me) on a "fingerstyle" guitar. While I've gone through periods of preferring certain tonewoods (for many years I played cedar-topped guitar almost exclusively, for example), these days there are three main considerations I look for, and they're all related to dimensions rather than tonewoods: a small-bodied guitar, a wider nut (1-3/4" or more), and a long scale length (25.4" or more). The first two are almost mandatory for me, while scale length is a secondary consideration and more of a true preference than a requirement. Q: Why the preference for a smaller-bodied guitar?
A: My first few acoustic guitars were dreadnoughts and jumbos, because I loved the big sound when strumming. But as I transitioned from a singer-songwriter to a fingerstyle guitarist, I found that the smaller body sizes were more comfortable to play. The right arm moves a lot more for strumming than for fingerstyle; the depth of the guitar's body and size of the guitar's lower bout become more noticeable factors when the right arm is mostly stationary. Also, the smaller body tends to give the guitar a bit more balance between the strings, since the bass usually isn't as prominent. That's important when you're playing the bass and the melody at the same time—you don't want the bass notes to overpower the treble strings. Q: Why the preference for a 1-3/4" nut?
A: For fingerstyle playing, I like a little more between the strings; it's more comfortable for me and I think it makes my playing more precise. The wider fretboard also gives a bit more real estate to work with when bending or doing fast hammer-ons and pull-offs. I have a feeling that the string spacing at the bridge is actually just as important—if not more important—than the spacing at the nut, but the nut width is an easy way to judge how the guitar will feel under my fingers. It's amazing how much difference 1/16" can make in terms of the guitar's feel and playability. When I started playing fingerstyle, I was using a Taylor 510 with a nut width of 1-11/16", and to be honest I'd never paid much attention to the width of the nut. When I bought my next Taylor—a 714 with a 1-3/4" nut—I was hooked on the wider fretboard and haven't looked back since. Q: And why the preference for a longer scale length?
A: While a shorter scale length can be comfortable for many players because the slightly shorter ditance between frets can make fingerings easier, I find that I prefer a longer scale length (25.5" or longer), simply because of the additional tension on the strings. Since I play mostly in dropped tunings (where certain strings are tuned lower than normal), the longer scale length helps keep a bit more tension on the string, so that it doesn't start to feel too loose or sloppy when playing. If too much tension is lost, it not only results in a loss of tone, but can also cause fretted notes to go sharp. I've become much more open to using shorter-scale guitars recently however, because I can compensate for the lower tension by moving to heavier gauge strings, or sets that are designed specifically for dropped tunings like DADGAD with heavier gauges for the strings that get tuned down—therefore keeping the overall tension similar to a standard set on a longer-scale guitar. Q: Your main guitars are made by Avalon in Northern Ireland. What led you you to play Avalon guitars, and what do you like so much about them?
A: I have a long history with Avalon Guitars, having used one of their early Gold Series A101 models to record my Solo Guitar and Celtic Guitar albums—and even before Avalon starting making guitars under their own brand name, the same people were making the Lowden guitars that I used in the late 90s/early 2000s. Avalon guitars have an open, airy sound that works really well for my style of music. I've also been a long-time fan of the look and feel of their guitars. The S-model guitars I use are their smallest body size, and I find them very comfortable to play while still having the distinctive "Irish voice" that I love so much. My Avalons all feature cedar tops, which helps add a bit of warmth and overtones that I think works really well with the smaller body size. They're gorgeous instruments, and the craftsmanship is exquisite. They sound fantastic and they're a joy to play, which is really everything I look for in a guitar.
