Nut width and fretboard radius for fingerstyle

[samuelfnilsson]

Hi Emil!

Do you think there is an optimal nut width and fretboard radius for fingerstyle guitar playing?

I have mainly been playing guitars with 1 3/4 nuts for a long time.
One with radius 12” and one with 15”.
Now I’m thinking of selling these and buying a Gibson which has a somewhat narrower nut and a 12” fretboard radius.

The reason I’m asking is because I’ve read on lots of different places that the 1 3/4 ” width is the ”best width” for finger style.

Surely it must be a combination of scale length, nut width, fretboard radius, neck profile and the size/shape of the hands of the player etc.
And of course I need to try the guitar in question myself before deciding, I just wanted to ask you for your opinion as well.

Here is a comparison between some of the guitars I have experience from for the sake of discussion. (The numbers might be incorrect so please don’t quote me )

Gibson is 43.815 mm
Taylor 44.5 mm (1 3/4” )
Guild 44.5mm
Martin 42.8 mm
Maton 44.1 mm

Thank you for your music and all the great stuff on proguitar!

Kind regards

Samuel

[emilernebro]

@samuelfnilsson
Hi Samuel!
Thanks for asking about this, it's always exciting to get a new instrument but there's lots of things to think about before choosing "the one"! :)

For me, the Maton EBG808 artist has been the ideal instrument for fingerstyle guitar - but I do have other instruments that I love for fingerstyle playing too. The specs on the guitar:
Guitar Name: Maton EBG808 Artist
Fretboard Radius: 12"
Nut Width: 1.736" - 1 47/64"
14th Fret Width: 2.165" - 2 11/64

I also like guitars that have a little bit shorter scale as well.

But to answer your question - I don't actually think one spec is better than the next for fingerstyle guitar. I think everyone has their own favorites and it's difficult to give you a certain tip on what would work best for you. I would try as many guitars as I can in a store, and find out what you like the best. It takes awhile to find out what you like the best! :)

Kind regards/E

[samuelfnilsson]

@emilernebro Thank you very much for your elaborate answer! I absolutely agree with you on the scale length as well as the rest of the things you wrote. Much appreciated! Kind regards, Samuel

[samuelfnilsson]

@emilernebro (sorry for my slow response, I was sure I had already responded but I must have clicked on the wrong button somehow )Thank you very much for your elaborate answer, I absolutely agree with you regarding the scale length and the rest of the things you wrote. I much appreciate your input !
Kind regards, Samuel