[For beginners] Points you need to know about buying an easy-to-play guitar

My name is Takuto Fujioka, guitarist in an acoustic unit called BABY BABY.

It's already December so quickly. Christmas is coming soon. It was Christmas in my second year of junior high school that I bought my first guitar.

I heard that the number of people who have started playing the guitar increased this year due to the increased time spent at home due to the COVID-19. I think there are many people who buy guitars online nowadays. Most of the guitars I've bought so far have been obtained through online shopping and auctions.

Today, I would like to talk about the points you’ll want to know when you’re a beginner buying an easy-to-play guitar.

By the way, when choosing a guitar, I think that the ease of playing is important when you are a beginner. (Of course, the most important thing is the appearance!!)

So what kind of guitar is easy to play? I think a guitar with a low string height may be easier for beginners to play.
In that case, how can you distinguish a guitar that can be set with low string height?

The important point I think is the fingerboard R!
When choosing a guitar, I think that many people are concerned about the scale, and I think that there are few people who are concerned about the fingerboard R! However, there is no loss in knowing that it is an important point that is directly related to the ease of playing the guitar.

About fingerboard R
If you look closely, the fingerboard of the guitar is shaped like a gentle curve. The fingerboard R is a numerical representation of the degree of this curve. The smaller the number, the tighter the curve, and conversely, the larger the number, the gentler the curve.
In general, Fender guitars have a relatively tight fingerboard R, and Gibson guitars often have a gentle fingerboard R. (It seems that most of the recent guitars are 9.5R and 12R guitars, but there are also some with a tight radius such as 7.25R, so check it out.)

Typical fingerboard Rs that are often used are like this.

7.25R = 184mmR (mostly vintage fenders)
9.5R = 241mmR (mostly in current fenders)
12R = 305mmR (mostly Gibson)

9.5R fingerboard.

12R fingerboard.

This value has a lot to do with lowering the strings by adjusting the string height.

This is a little off topic, but when you buy a guitar online, you need to keep in mind that you will also need to adjust the string height and neck yourself. (Of course, you can bring it to a musical instrument store, but then it is better to buy it at a musical instrument store from the beginning.)

When I adjusted the string height myself, the sound got muffled and I couldn't lower the string height as much as I wanted to! This is common.
The root cause of it is the fingerboard R!

Although it is a structural problem, it is difficult to lower the string height of a guitar with a tight fingerboard R. If you lower the string height too much, the sound will be muffled when you choke. This is all there is to it.
Also, when adjusting the string height, if you do not set the height of each string according to the fingerboard R, it may become difficult to play. Especially if you are a beginner, it is difficult to make fine adjustments like these.

On the other hand, a guitar with a gentle fingerboard R has the advantage that it is easy to set the string height down.
I think it's really important for beginners to be able to lower the string height and press the strings easily, so I personally recommend a guitar with a gentle fingerboard R.

When you buy a guitar, the fingerboard R may not be listed in the item description column. In such a case, please contact the store by e-mail. Also, even if the fingerboard R is gentle, the string height may not be lowered as much as you would like depending on the condition of the guitar, so it is a good idea to ask how much you can lower the string height if possible.

This is not the whole story, and I think that each person will have a different opinion of what is easy to play.
Also, you don’t want to lower the strings too much, as a better tone can be obtained if there is a certain amount of height.
Of course, if you have a guitar that looks cool, that's OK!!!!!!! However, choosing a guitar that is easy to play after knowing about the structure is also very important for continuing to play the guitar, so I would appreciate it if you could put this in the corner of your mind.

See you soon!