經常都會遇到有人說：我的吉他很難按，該怎麼辦？

這是最常見的吉他問題，弦距太高。

”吉他是否好彈“其實是因人而異的，一般我們所說的弦距是指弦線與吉他第12格FRET之間的距離，通常吉他出廠時是2.5-3mm。但可能因為沒有得到適當的保養，以致吉他弦距上升，令到吉他變得不容易按。(彈吉他的朋友一定都體會過線位高的吉他是什麼一回事)

太高的弦距會令吉他難按，但太低的弦距又可能會令吉他buzzing (打品,痴fret).

有些人彈FingerStyle可以會喜歡低一點的弦距(<2.5mm)，如果喜歡掃chord的話可能又會偏好高一點的弦距(>2.5mm)，古典吉他則是3.5-5.5mm也很常見。所以吉他好不好彈完全視乎你的彈奏風格。

即使你買的是新吉他，也不代表一定好彈，因為吉他在運送和放置在樂器店期間，因著温濕度的改變弦距會有一定變化(一般是因琴頸和面板變形)，所以買新吉他後也應拿給專人去做Setup(調整弦距)。一般是調整琴頸和上下弦枕，需時數小時，然後再重新上弦及觀察數日至吉他穩定。

某些低價吉他還可能會有Fret(品絲)高低不平的問題，這種吉他很有可能會把弦距調高一點令用家不易發現品絲不平的問題。如想認真彈好吉他的話，不太建議購買太便宜的吉他。(*吉他Fret是可以換的，但費用並不低)

綜合而言，不論新舊吉他，如果你想它好彈的話，都應該拿給專業人士去Setup，至於買什麼樣的吉他才算好，這個你就要自己做功課了，我和Sungha Jung所代言的Lakewood吉他質量非常穩定，但入場費較高。

題外話，跟外觀有關的維修我是不建議去做的，首先外觀上的修復很難完美，其次對聲音並沒有影響。

*查詢結他Setup及維修事項 Guitar Holdings

People often ask me “My guitar is hard to play, what should I do?” This is the most common guitar problem: the string action is too high.

What you consider “easy to play” depends on your playing style. Normally the string action is measured from the top of the 12th  fret to the bottom of the string. Usually the factory set up the acoustic guitar with an action of 2.5-3mm. Anything within this range is normal. Sometimes the guitar isn’t stored well, making the string action rise, which makes it difficult to play. (If you play guitar you know what high action feels like.) If the action is too high it will make the guitar difficult to play, but if it’s too low it will cause buzzing. If you play fingerstyle you may like lower action (<2.5mm), if you love strumming the guitar, you may prefer higher action (>2.5). For classical guitar 3.5-5.5mm is very common. So whether the guitar is easy to play all depends on your playing style.

Even if you buy a new guitar, it doesn’t mean it will be easy to play, because when the guitar is shipped and stays in the shop, the humidity varies, causing the string action to change a little bit. (usually the neck and top warp) So after you buy a new guitar you should take it to a professional to set up. Usually, setting up the neck, nut and saddle takes a few hours, then the technician has to put on the strings and monitor it for few days as it settles.

The frets of a cheap guitar may not balance, so the factory may set the string action higher to cover up the problem. This is why I don’t recommend people to buy a very cheap guitar. (The guitar frets can be fixed or replaced, but it costs a lot.)

In conclusion, whatever guitar it is, if you want it to be easy to play, you should send it to a professional to set up. You need to make your own decision about what brand of guitars are good; the Lakewood guitars used by me and Sungha Jung are high quality and very stable, but they start at a fairly high price point.

Incidentally, I don’t suggest you do any cosmetic repairs to your guitar. First, it is very difficult to get it perfect, second it doesn’t change the sound.