hey hey. "my friend" does not wish to remain anonymous. my name is noah zacharin, and hello to all of you. my hand problems have been ongoing, and at one time threatened to cut me off from many things i love to do. one thing i love is cycling; one change i made was getting off my racing bike and buying one that has me riding around town looking like mary poppins (very upright, minimal pressure on wrist and elbow.) that helped a lot. also being very aware of movements that hurt and not doing them, or changing angles to make them stop hurting. one big help was holding my left elbow away from my body when i played--that kept my wrist straighter. as for my new guitar: the jury is still out on its sonic qualities (as related to my playing style and sense of aesthetics) as well as its effect on my health. we'll see. and hey rick, thanks for the very flattering description of "your friend". bless ya