help! i may have a problem with my wrist - my new 7 is hurti

[greshaki]

Waaaaaayyyy! I got my first 7. It’s a custom job done by a local luthier, and I havent put it down all week. I plugged into my peavey rage 15watt and promptly broke it, I didn’t turn it up or anything (its sounding 'ripped').

I bought this axe over the ibanez or esp options mainly because of the neck. It felt really comfortable and fluid, it sort of rides that gap between 'baseball bat' and 'wizard plank'. Its considerably wider and thicker than your average 6. Like I said, I played it all weekend and ive got WRIST PAINS and a sort of strained feeling halfway between the knuckle and wrist of my ring finger. I've never had any problems with wrists or hands before and im scared. Did this happen to any of you guys when you switched to 7's? should I be very afraid? Please try to help, this is freaking me out and I don’t want to play it again until I find out if im doing some damage

[7 Dying Trees]

I found I had to change my technique and stop wrapping my thumb over the top of the neck when I got my first 7. I also remember having hand cramps and wristy stuff going on. Look at classical guitar left and postures and the like, or what bassists tend to use (basically professionals that play wide neck instruments, there must be truth to their technique).

It's all fine now. Try a different posture and having the guitar higher up. That mad a difference to me. Look at the way you play and see if there may be something you can do to change it so your wrist doesn't hurt.

[Wound]

Yea I had the same problem, I had to change my grip like 7 Dying Trees said, instead of puttin my thumb over the top of the neck i put it behind the neck, kinda pushing against it...but i guess you have to find ur own grip, you will get used to it, just fiddle around with grips till you get comfortable.

c",)

[caprile]

i must have pretty big hands, because i have no problem playing with the thumb over the neck, even the low E. i have to think hard to play hendrix tough.

[Dead Roman]

i find that my thumb follows my fretting finger across the back of the neck

[Sevenstringer]

Thumb on the back of the neck is a must. I know this may sound silly, but, do you stretch your arm/wrist before you play. It is just like if you were going to do weight-lifting. You should stretch your arm out before "exercising" it. Just a thought......

[Drew]

Custom 7? how bout pics?

-Drew

[BrianH]

MODERATION... thats the key, I haven't played a 7 yet that wouldn't hurt anyones wrist after way to much play time. I love 7s but I do try and watch time spent on them... everyone doesn't have the same playing style or hand reach, I could imagine small hands would have a very difficult time with a 7.

[GhesQi J]

Every guitar requires a certain amount of adaptation. Same thing for a seven string. The wider neck demands another playing style. The trick is to find the ideal style with which you feel comfortable.

When I play one of my 2 seven strings, my thumb is behind the neck.
When playing my six string, my thumb is wrapped around it.

Cheers,
Joten

[Insecticide]

woohoo my first post. heh

I had the same problem when i first started playing guitar (8 years ago).
i played constantly like, 7-8 hours a day, and after a while i was in a lot of pain too. I just chilled on the guitar for a couple days and when i started pplaying again i just lightend up my touch a little. When i made the switch to a seven string (13 months ago) i didnt have any wrist pain, but i also have big hands. so just chill on the guitar for a little while and all should be fine. but if it doesnt you might wanna get checked out.

[Gresh]

Always warm up and stretch as you get through your warm up routine. Just simple 4 note per string chromatics are fine. Start slow and increase to get the blood flowing. If you bypass this step in your playing, you will get away with it for a while, but it will catch up to you later. Repetitive motion injuries take a long time to heal. You're probably just suffering from an unfamiliar position. I have to wear my guitar higher to avoid pain/discomfort when playing...and I have huge hands for my size.

[Drew]

yeah, re-entering this thread, and i think i'll actually post contructively this time (although i'd still love a pic ) Switching to a 7 really does require a change in posture. the suggestion to look at bass players was a good one, and is a good place to start. for me, i noticed that it helps to have my thumb lower than i would for a 6, on the back of the neck- on my strat my thumb is usually a bit over the midpoint of the neck, on the back, while on my 7 i tend to keep to the bottom half of the neck. A relaxed hand position is key, of course. Remember to strech properly, and pay attention to the nature of the pain- if it's a "sore muscle" sort of pain, well, guitar's no different from any other physical activity- if you push yourself, your muscles hurt. that's fine, and it'll go away as they get stronger. If it feels like more of a tendon problem, then you need to watch out. Back off on your playing time, be very careful with your stretching, break your practicing up into small 5-15 minute blocks and give yourself plenty of time to recover between, drink planty of water (necessary for tendon repair), and, if things continue to get worse, quit cold turkey for a week or two- it's much better to lose a week of practice now than lose your long-term ability to play. You're speaking to a survivor of wrist tendonitis here (who incidentally found the wizard-7 FAR more comfortable than the wizard)

-Drew