Martin LX1 Guitar Excellent for Ukers

I looked at it, but I felt it sounded a little boxy, and a 1 11/16" (42.28mm) nut doesn't work for me, and I don't even have fat or stubby fingers! I settled for the Alvarez AP70 (there's a mahogany version too, the AP66), which is sold as a parlor size, but it's bigger than most parlors and pretty much a OO size. The 1.75" (44.something mm) nut just about works for me, and it still requires practice. Can't imagine going more narrow. (I also wanted a solid top.)

Not sure I get on with guitars. I keep defaulting back to ukes, which are just very compact and friendly, and much easier on the fingers. The guitar certainly made me appreciate the value of being able to play all chords with four fingers at the most! Things like the guitar G chord that you ideally use your middle, ring, and pinky for are hard (and that's the best version to transition to the C chord, so the easier version with index, middle, ring won't really work so well). But at the same time I don't want to give up on it. I mean, tons of people manage to play guitar at least at a mediocre level, so it has to be possible to learn to do that! :p

I really agree with the "bang for the buck" when it comes to guitars. In the higher end you pay through your nose, too, and I'd say mid-range guitars cost more than mid-range ukuleles, but I also feel the "mid range" starts on a higher quality level than it does with ukes. In the "entry" range (say, $500 and below), though, you get fantastic guitars with abalone inlays and all, something you won't find with ukes in that price range. Huge selection, too, in all price ranges.

As for volume: A lot of dreadnought players moan about how quiet folk size and parlor guitars are, saying they are "unplayable" unplugged in any public venue. So the whole "can't be loud enough" thing that we sometimes see among uke players, definitely does exist in the world of the guitars, too. Dreads are definitely out for me. I find my Alvarez to already be rather bulky, though I think if I went any smaller, the low-E would sound dead. I also think ukes can be really loud - perceived as loud or louder as some guitars due to the higher frequencies.
 
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