What would be best for me.. petite bouche or grande bouche?

Russell Letson · December 2020

Until a couple years ago, my hands could manage a considerable range of neck geometries, from classical to old Guild narrow-gauge. Now my decades of bad left-hand habits can't accommodate the extremes without discomfort--the old Guilds and even modern 1.75" necks are manageable, but I need a slightly narrower neck, a deeper profile, and a radiused fingerboard--the opposite of what Michael developed over the decades. That means an entire new neck, and there's no guarantee that such radical reworking wouldn't affect the guitar's voice. And in any case, I'd rather eventually pass the instrument on in its original configuration--Michael's work deserves to be preserved as-is. I feel the same way about any instrument that strikes me as being optimal, like my '65 Guild, my '46 Broadway, or my '20 0-18.

And that Shelley Park is a worthy successor. (And maybe my hands will recover. And the horse will learn to sing.)