Originally Posted by: manXcatHi Dave-H
To answer your string gauge question immediately, no, or more accurately it shouldn't. String spacing can. See paragraph 5 below.
What size are your hands? Glove size is a reasonable indicator.
Edit: I just searched to check which Pacifica you have. Found it. Post edited in consideration. Given its age & (?) origin, have you had it checked for fretboard level, fret & nut condition, and importantly set up? i.e. action height and radius alignment. Not famil with the C2 suffix, but EG112 was the Alder bodied predecessor to the 012. Being so old, I'd recommend fitting a new fresh set of 9s unless it has been done recently TYK.
New Pacificas come OOTB fitted with 9s. Unless your hands are truly petite, you don't want lighter. If yours was second hand it might be fitted with 10s or questionably set up. Any or a combination of 10s, [u]high action[/u] and or a damaged or poorly cut nut might be contributant external factors.
The nut width on your nylon string acoustic is as narrow as a Pacifica? Unusual. What about the string spacing? Contemporary [u]Pacifica string spacing is unusually narrow at 10.5mm as is its nut at just 41mm.[/u] There are exceptions, but [u]most[/u] acoustics run 11mm or wider IME, with nut of 43mm or wider.
Re first form C chord. Open C is an easier chord, but can seem a bit of a stretch initially. Be sure you're not inadvertently applying excessive pressure to your forefinger during the fretting of the chord flattening out your tip unnecessarily or causing interference inadvertantly through placement angle because of the stretch. Applying more pressure than necessary is a common 'sin' starting out. Mea Culpa.
Pay particular attention to its overall fingering to determine why the forefinger fingered C note in particular isn't sounding cleanly if that's what is occurring.
Thanks for the info, manXcat. I had my guitar checked out by a local guitar teacher, and store owner, he's been a local guitar hero for 40 or more years. He said the neck was fine, it had no dead notes, so the frets are good, and said all it needed was new strings. The action height is pretty good. With a capo on the first fret and fretting the last fret, I can barely slip a business card under the strings at the 12th. I think it has 9's on it now, but with my new guitar being nylon stringed, I thought I might need to go up to an 11 gauge set. For info, the G2 in the model number denotes the special finish- Black metal flake, with a black headstock. I do have large hands (a large glove is too small but x-large are too big) and I do have long thin fingers, but with not a lot of meat at the tips. The string spacing on both guitars is 1/4 inch at the nut. I still remember the C major from years ago, and it was a problem on this guitar, too, muting either the G or the E. I have absolutely no problem with it on my acoustic. BTW, thanks for the consideration in answering!
