Guitar for wheelchair bound Mama

[porgy]

My Mammy wants an acoustic guitfiddle. Only problem she is in her 80's, bound to a wheelchair and she cannot play a large flattop. I let her hold a regular Acoustic, but poor Mama has arthritis and feeble hands and it was a bit difficult or her, so I am looking for a parlor or student type of acoustic for her. Any recommendations for a small, decently priced and sounding Acoustic for Dear Ol Mammy!

[marshman]

Maybe one of the baby Taylors? I've never played one, but it should be sized about right.

[otterhound]

Maybe a Little Martin . Good on ya !

[Hiker]

If only, a mandolin...

[Satchmo]

An Art & Lutherie AMI might fit the bill. Great little guitars for not too much cash.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/acoustic-...ck-review.html

[LGOberean]

I think you have some good options, both in terms of parlour/student size and in price range.

Back about a year or so ago, a Civil War re-enactor approached me with the idea of playing guitar for their educational program they put on for schools. I didn't get the gig (never even got to audition for it, I guess they just decided to stick with banjo and fiddle), but for a while I was looking into parlour guitars.

The front runner for me was the A&L Ami nylon string parlour. Solid cedar top, cherry back & sides, Silver leaf maple neck, rosewood board & bridge. http://www.artandlutherieguitars.com/aminyloncedar.html Easy to play, decent sound for what it is, and around $220 last I checked.

Also, my son has a Baby Taylor that is really nice to play.

[zooyuka]

Have you ever considered a ukulele?

[PK]

Howabout a Hawaiin lap guitar? Open tuning slide on the lap might be easier than chord shapes. Here's a wikipedia link explaining more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lap_slide_guitar

PK

[Ben Harmless]

Originally Posted by Satchmo

An Art & Lutherie AMI might fit the bill. Great little guitars for not too much cash.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/acoustic-...ck-review.html

+1 on that. It was my first thought. A guitar for a good price.

My second thought was a decent nylon sting axe. You can get 'em in 3/4 size for real cheap, and they might be easier for her hands, though the neck will be wider.

[RomanS]

+ 1 for the nylon string - smaller body, and much easier to fret; you can get nylon strings with narrower necks, too, these days...

[porgy]

I have considered most of your ideas. I wish i had went with the classical nylon string guitar, but I went with the Baby Taylor. Only problem now is, I have to get nylon or an easier string for mama to pick on. She has arthritis, and the steel strings are hard on her hands. I saw some low tension strings on the internet for sale, but I forgot the name of them, they are made for arthritis fingers. Do any of you know or have any ideas on replacing the strings with something easier for Mama! She would appreciate it. And Thanks for thinking of Mama! I'll let her know.

[Celticophilia]

"Baby Taylor" is a great choice! Small, has great balance and volume. You might consider tuning the guitar to an "open chord". In this way she could hum along while strumming and either placing her finger across the all the strings or use the flat end of a butter knife, guitar slide, etc. She can then lay the guitar across her lap and immediately enjoy making music right away!

www.edharrismusic.com

[porgy]

Great idea. I think I need to get her some lighter strings maybe. I haven't heard her picking in a while, so I know it hurts her fingers and hands, maybe hands more than fingers. I'll see what I can come up with. On a different note: I played the Baby Taylor, and for a small guitar it has good sound, great for soloing blues and country on. The thing I find best about it, is you can make some really neat train sounds. I guess because it has such a good ring to it, it also has a nice chime sound.

[Celticophilia]

Porgy, it is a great little instrument for the money and is backed by the same manufacturer warranties as all their other instruments. Since many tunes can be played in I,IV,V major progressions anyway, open tuning opportunities may be best considering her arthritis challenges. My "Gramps" too was challenged after a bad fall which had left one hand crippled. He converted over to this approach and was excited when he realized he could explore new possibilities even in his later years!

I recommend John Pierce Phosphor Bronze Light Gauge - They "set-in" quickly, maintain their tonality for an extended period on time, and have great balance and projection. You may find that you don't have to change them out as frequently.

I hope this was helpful!

www.edharrismusic.com

[Frontier9]

You could tune it down a step or two.

[LGOberean]

The Art & Lutherie Ami parlour guitar (nylon string version) would have been my choice, but that Baby Taylor is really nice, too.

I don’t know about stringing it with nylon strings, though. You’d need ball end nylon strings, like D’Addario’s Folk Nylon sets (silver or bronze wound).

Another option would be to go silk & steel. The string tension is significantly less when compared to your average light gauge steel/phosphor bronze strings. For example, D’Addario’s ubiquitous EJ16s (phosphor bronze light gauge) have a string tension of 163.2 lbs, whereas their comparable EJ40s (silk & steel silver wound set) have a string tension of 121.2 lbs.

And you have lots of options here. Besides the D’Addario’s EJ40s, Martin, Martin Marquis, GHS and Ernie Ball all offer several selections (of both gauge and alloy) of silk & steel (or silk & bronze) strings.

I have only tried silk & steels once myself, but I’ve been meaning to experiment some more with them. For my one foray into the realm of silk & steel, I chose the Martin Marquis Folk Guitar Strings, Silk & Steel, Standard set (M1400). I wanted to try the 11.5 gauged 1st string, so I went with the Martin Marquis. Usually I’m a D’Addario guy.

[Ben Harmless]

Originally Posted by Frontier9

You could tune it down a step or two.

+1. I read something on the Taylor website about this awhile back. I think that overall they recommend against it, but for tonal reasons. I'd try it in a heartbeat to see if it helps.

Congrats on the purchase. Those Babies are way more axe than you'd ever expect.