I made a big deal on this blog about my DeQuervain's tenosynovitis and how it has always affected my playing, even when I was a kid. I even set up an experiment to see if scale length had any affect on the symptoms (it didn't, at least at the time). But something odd has happened lately.
It stopped.
Yup, it just stopped. Just like that (imagine me snapping my fingers when you read the word "that"). And I've been playing my guitar a lot lately. A whole lot. I just got a DigiTech RP90 and I've been spending hours playing with all the settings. I've also had some really good practice sessions over the past few weeks.
So why has my DeQuervain's suddenly gone away?
Beats me. Let's analyze this, shall we? What has been different over the past few weeks that could have caused this? Well, first off, I've been using my Les Paul Special almost exclusively. Ever since I've been waxing nostalgic over all the Les Pauls I've sold over the past 20 years I've been in a Les Paul mood, and the closest thing I have to a Les Paul is my Special. Well, technically it is a Les Paul (it says so on the headstock) but it's not a traditional Les Paul. It does, however, have the same scale length, fretboard radius and neck width, so it plays just like one. And I know this to be true, as I played an Epiphone Les Paul standard at Guitar Center when I was trying out the RP90 and it felt very similar. What does this mean? Well, it brings up the whole scale length argument again, but maybe it has less to do with scale length as it does string tension. How so, you ask? Well I'll tell you.
String tension is affected by three general things - scale length, string gauge, and tuning.
Shorter scale guitars require less string tension to get to pitch. Just play a Fender and a Gibson back-to-back (all other things being equal) and you can really see it. Come over to my house and play my Strat and my LP Special - they both have Dean Markley light strings and are tuned to standard E. You can really tell the difference.
String tension increases as string gauge increases, too, so heavier strings are harder to play. This is why Les Pauls can usually take heavier gauge strings better than Fenders because they are naturally easier to play - a Les Paul with 10s plays similar to a Fender with 9s.
Tuning affects tension, too, as naturally a dropped tuning will decrease tension. If I tuned my Strat and my LP Special down a half step, the Strat will react better because it has naturally higher string tension. In fact, I never tune my LP Special down because when I do, the strings have so much slack in them that they buzz terribly and the whole guitar generally feels sloppy. I'd have to put 10s on it if I ever wanted to tune it down.
Following this logic, it makes perfect sense that my guitars, when put in order of easiest-to-play, are the LP Special, the Strat, and the Tele. My Telecaster is very hard to play. Not only does it have the Fender scale length, but it has thick strings. They might be 10s, but they feel heavier. I have a suspicion that the previous owner used it for slide work, because along with the heavy strings it also had the action cranked up pretty high. I fixed the action, but it's still a bear to play, especially any deep bending. It's also the guitar that was the easiest to induce DeQuervain's symptoms with.
Getting back to the original question, perhaps my DeQuervain's is in remission because I've been playing the guitar with the lowest string tension. Less string tension means less pressure is required from my thumb at the back of the neck, which means less strain on the muscles and tendons, which would explain the lack of DeQuervain's symptoms. Isn't it nice when all the puzzle pieces fit so nicely? I love it when a plan comes together.
Short term, I'm going to tune my Telecaster down low (I'm thinking a whole step to D) and test my theory. Since I almost never tune down, I'll probably end up restringing it with 9s like the rest of my guitars.
Unless, of course, I really like the way it sounds in D.
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