Is there an ideal spot to strum?

[SRQPhil]

I know this may seem like a dumb question. But I'm fairly new to acoustic guitars. When I recently got my Larrivee L-03, I've noticed how the sound can vary considerably depending where I strum. The closer I get to the bridge, the higher and brighter it gets to a point.

 

Got me wondering whether there is a sort of sweet spot in an acoustic, that ideal spot to strum. Obviously the way the pick guards are placed, it would appear to be just past the sound hole.

 

I guess it just comes down to personal preference and what type of sound you are looking for.

[Greymuzzle]

Yes, absolutely. There is a sweet spot known as the 'Guitar Spot' or G Spot'

When you start to strum there just right you can recognize it by the vibrations feeding back against your body from the cradled curves.

[daklander]

I don't know, I kind like strumming on the couch or on the back patio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greymuzzle is right, each guitar has it's own sweet spot. That said, that sweet spot is not always right for any given song. Sometimes you want that crispness near the bridge.

[valentsgrif]

Take a look at the old hippie in your avatar. About where he does it is good enough.

But seriously, Greymuzzle and Darklander are right. experiment. listen. do what sounds good.

[outdoorgb]

Sure it matters. I play around all the time.

On one part of a song I play (Country Roads) I do one strum, close to the bridge, at each measure. The rest are a alternating bass pick with a up/down strum. Play around with it and see what you hear...

See what you hear?

[EvilTwin]

Depends on what you want to hear.

 

Django Reinhardt is a guy who was a real master (IMO) at picking in different spots for dynamics -- play softer, closer to the end of the fingerboard, then play hard closer to the bridge.

 

Experiment; it'll do you good.

[freetime]

play all over it. The best thing you can do is strumm all over it to get different sounds out of it.

[Jimmy Chaos]

if you strum on the neck you'll get a glassy harp like sound.

[guitarist21]

Strumming location is one of the fastest ways to change the tone you're getting out of your instrument. Terry Allan Hall once said something to the effect of strumming location replacing the use of a tone knob on an electric guitar.

 

It's also way easier than going to your amp, computer, EQ, or whatever and messing with knobs and sliders. Getting comfortable with the different tones you get when strumming in different locations and knowing where to put your hand when you play is a really useful skill that will hopefully- eventually- become second-nature to you.

 

Ellen

[phil_harmonic]

Agree with what others are saying but I also think near the neck is where you "usually" want to be, at least that's where I spend most of my time.

[rjoxyz]

Yes, absolutely. There is a sweet spot known as the 'Guitar Spot' or G Spot' When you start to strum there just right you can recognize it by the vibrations feeding back against your body from the cradled curves.

Oh, oh...I may never look at my guitars the same again.

Does your guitar react in a particular fashion if you strum long enough at that spot? Sort of a crescendo effect?

Has anyone ever suggested you are spending too much time, alone with a guitar?

[Crab_Cake]

This is a great question.

Let me give you my experience.

I have a $400 olympia dread, its not very fancy but I like it a lot.

To get a good sound out of it I have to strum it actually on the fretboard. I strum around the very last fret. This ups the bass and makes the guitar sound pleasing to the ear.

Now my 12 fret masterbilt is a different story. If I strummed on the neck the bass would overpower the treble. So I have to back off. But really that guitar is so good I can play it anywhere and it sounds good.

SO it really depends on the guitar.

[Greymuzzle]

rjoxy wins the prize.

As I typed in my response to the question I thought it was so blatant that I might earn a rebuke. Then the thread went on and I wasn't being called on it at all.

I'm sorry, but can only claim that certain questions just really beg certain replies

[bobc]

Thats why guitars are like woman.

They have too many freekin spots.

I'm still looking for the... "shut the hell up and go to sleep"... spot.

[austikins]

i tend to strum closer to the bridge because of the way it brightens up the sound. some friends of mine have even said that i can make a bad guitar sound good, and i tell them its because of where i strum. of corse it doesnt sound good on all guitars, but thats where i prefer it.

[rjoxyz]

rjoxy wins the prize. As I typed in my response to the question I thought it was so blatant that I might earn a rebuke. Then the thread went on and I wasn't being called on it at all. I'm sorry, but can only claim that certain questions just really beg certain replies

Most here are more gentile than I and refrained from response. On the other hand, I can't let something like that go by. It's a character flaw.

[Sparhawk]

Strumming location is one of the fastest ways to change the tone you're getting out of your instrument. Terry Allan Hall once said something to the effect of strumming location replacing the use of a tone knob on an electric guitar. It's also way easier than going to your amp, computer, EQ, or whatever and messing with knobs and sliders. Getting comfortable with the different tones you get when strumming in different locations and knowing where to put your hand when you play is a really useful skill that will hopefully- eventually- become second-nature to you. Ellen

+1 Spot on!

[DeepEnd]

Yes. The best place to strum your guitar is . . . wait for it . . . where the strings are. (Hey, wasn't that a Neil Sedaka song? From that movie?)

 

Where the strings are, someone strums for me. A simple strum, just like a drum, Two arms to hold me tenderly. Where the strings are, my true strum will be. He's strumming down some strings in town, And I know he's strumming there for me. In the crowd of a million guitars, I'll find a strum that's mine. And then I'll shout to all the people, And say he strums so fine. Till he strums me, I'll wait impatiently. Where the strings are, where the strings are, Where the strings are, someone strums for me.

 

(Oh, wait, never mind.)

 

Strumming location is one of the fastest ways to change the tone you're getting out of your instrument. Terry Allan Hall once said something to the effect of strumming location replacing the use of a tone knob on an electric guitar. . . .

 

Seriously, Ellen's response is 100% correct. I remember seeing a local bluegrass group where one of the guitarists strummed "back and forth" (the best way I can describe it) so that he strummed near the bridge and then near the neck on alternate strokes. It made for a neat sound on his old Martin.

[totamus]

Strumming location is one of the fastest ways to change the tone you're getting out of your instrument. Terry Allan Hall once said something to the effect of strumming location replacing the use of a tone knob on an electric guitar. It's also way easier than going to your amp, computer, EQ, or whatever and messing with knobs and sliders. Getting comfortable with the different tones you get when strumming in different locations and knowing where to put your hand when you play is a really useful skill that will hopefully- eventually- become second-nature to you. Ellen

 

 

Ellen Nailed it. Close to the bridge= "bright". closer to the fretboard = "deep". Play around!

[DADGADammit]

If you are playing classical music, it is necessary to master the different sound produced by playing on different parts of the string, and other ways of attack etc. Take it from the master. You should watch the whole thing, but he starts playing at about 1:10

n_Ar3vrEIpA

[freetime]

If you want the ultimate tone I would just slap on some Elixirs, grab it by the headstock and smack it into the wall.

 

WTF is wrong with Elixirs?

[LaurentB]

Dude,as many of these experts will have to agree, it's not where you hit the strings, it's the kind of shape and what wood material the guitar is made out of that determines tone. Just think about it, if you hit the strings from the headstock or the bridge, it is still the same pressure from the pick and still the same strings, so the tone obviously can't be different. It's not like hitting from somewhere else morphs the string into a different material, so how can the sound be different?

 

 

That is very untrue. The vibration of a guitar string consists of the sum of sinus waves of different frequencies, i.e. the fundamental note and its harmonic overtones.

The fundamental note has its largest amplitude right in the middle of the string. That's why the string sounds very dull, almost muffled when you strike it there. You mainly get the basic note with only weak overtones. The first harmonic overtone has its highest amplitude at one third, the second at one quarter of the string etc. etc. The nearer you strike a string to the bridge, the more you emphasize these higher harmonics, making the string sound more treble.

 

By the way, I always thought the bathroom was a good place to strum, because of the nice reverb.

[GrandStation76]

 

That is very untrue. The vibration of a guitar string consists of the sum of sinus waves of different frequencies, i.e. the fundamental note and its harmonic overtones. The fundamental note has its largest amplitude right in the middle of the string. That's why the string sounds very dull, almost muffled when you strike it there. You mainly get the basic note with only weak overtones. The first harmonic overtone has its highest amplitude at one third, the second at one quarter of the string etc. etc. The nearer you strike a string to the bridge, the more you emphasize these higher harmonics, making the string sound more treble. By the way, I always thought the bathroom was a good place to strum, because of the nice reverb.

 

 

WoW! That was an unexpected lesson in the theory of waves!

 

It was a joke to all the "experts" on this thread that say nothing matters but the wood and shape.

 

I know how guitars work, but if you didn't know what I was getting at with my post, I understand.

 

So did they, as I'm sure a few were flipping of their screens;)

 

Besides, even though I can think it out to perfection in my head, damn you know how to explain it well:thu:

[LaurentB]

WoW! That was an unexpected lesson in the theory of waves! It was a joke to all the "experts" on this thread that say nothing matters but the wood and shape. I know how guitars work, but if you didn't know what I was getting at with my post, I understand. So did they, as I'm sure a few were flipping of their screens;) Besides, even though I can think it out to perfection in my head, damn you know how to explain it well:thu:

Oh, hahaha! Indeed I hadn't noticed it was meant as a joke