Everything you need to know about Nut Width

Where is the nut width measured?

This is a bit of a mixed bag, because some Fellows feel a difference of one or two millimeters straight away and clearly prefer one over the other. Do you have smaller hands or short fingers? Or do you mainly strum chords? Usually a narrow neck would be the first choice for that. Do you focus more on fingerstyle? Then a slightly wider neck might be more suited.

Do you play classical guitar or flamenco​? Then an even wider neck is an obvious choice. But remember: there are no fixed rules! Preferences are very personal and there are also a lot of guitarists who switch more or less effortlessly between one nut width and the other. They do feel a difference, but to them it doesn't really matter. Lots of other players swear by that one nut width and don’t want anything else. Finding out what suits you best can be a bit of a journey and an overview of the most common nut widths might help with that.

Where is the nut width measured?

The nut width is measured at the top (nut) of the guitar. A lot of guitars come from or originate from the United States, so the nut width is often indicated in inches. For our European Fellows, this can be a bit confusing and that is why on our website, you will always find the nut width in both millimeters and inches.

What is the most common nut width for guitars?

The most common is a size best known thanks to the electric guitar, especially Fender's world-famous Stratocaster. These have a neck width of 1 11/16 inch or 42.8 millimetres, but for convenience it is usually rounded 43 millimetres. Not only electric guitars have this neck width, you can also buy more and more acoustic guitars with a nut width of 43 millimetres. All major brands, such as Martin and Gibson have this neck width widely available. The biggest advantage of this relatively narrow neck is the ease of playing for chords and solo work.

Nut width of 44.5 millimeters or 1 3/4 inches

Slightly wider and therefore the choice of many fingerstyle guitarists. A narrower neck can then sometimes feel a bit fiddly and those two millimetres extra, make for a bit more ease of play precisely for that style. Found on the classic Martin models, but also on modern instruments from Eastman.

49 millimeter or 1 15/16 inch

Now we enter the area of more classical guitars and, partly because of the also somewhat thicker nylon strings, this sometimes requires some extra space. Classical concert guitars are often a bit wider: 52 millimetres, but also the slightly narrower'crossover'guitars are deliberately a bit in between western and classical guitars. A bit more space, but at the same time a bit more playing comfort that can fit well modern playing or jazz on a nylon guitar. Builders like Lowden and BSG make great guitars with this nut width.

The perfect nut width

As mentioned, most guitarists really feel a difference of one millimetre at the nut width. So what if a neck width of 43 millimetres feels just too narrow and 45 millimetres just too wide again? Fortunately, there are endless intermediate sizes besides the common ones, and we have many of them in stock. In our magical shop in Dedemsvaart, the Netherlands, we have almost a thousand acoustic and electric guitars available for you to try out, and there are many different sizes among them. Ed Sheeran has his own guitar line in which they take his smaller hands into account and those therefore have a neck width of 44 millimetres. And there is much more, such as Gypsy Jazz guitars with a neck width of 46 millimetres. Or the fingerstyle gun that Ibanez made for Jon Gomm: also not a standard size.

52 millimeter or 2 3/64 inch

Guitar makers such as Camps, Cordoba and Alhambra opt for the classic neck width with a flat fingerboard on which you can string notes together so wonderfully.