Guitars for small hands?

Question

I just started playing the guitar, I've had one for a while which is the 'Squier by Fender Stratocaster Bullet Guitar, a beginners guitar. When I started to try out the chords I realised that I have difficulty spreading my fingers through three frets, and I mean a LOT of difficulty. I play the piano and I have to stretch my hand out fully to reach an octave, I sometimes have to alternate a piano chord because I just can't reach it.

Are there any guitars with a thin neck along with smaller frets? My fingers are also quite thin. And an Electric guitar if possible.

Answer 1

Don't be discouraged by small hands. I know many folks with extremely small hands who have become very accomplished guitarist. In some cases you may need to adapt in the same way as on piano and find alternative voicings for some chords.

A smaller scale guitar will also help. The biggest advantage is that the shorter the scale length, the closer the frets will be together. Scale length is generally specified in inches. Look for shorter. A 3/4 scale guitar, will, as the name implies, be about three fourths as long as a full size guitar. But even full size guitars come in varying scale lengths between different manufacturers.

Here is a company that specializes in smaller guitars. Small Guitars . com

To make your full scale guitar a short scale guitar until you can buy a short scale guitar, try putting a capo on the first or second fret and then tune the guitar to standard tuning and leave the capo on. This will shorten the scale of any guitar. The best capo for this would be something similar to a Paige Capo (see picture below).

By the way, your fingers might be short, but you mentioned that your fingers are also thin. For guitar, thin fingers are an advantage. I have short and fat fingers and with fat fingers it's difficult to avoid touching the string next to the one I am fretting and inadvertently muting it. Thin fingers allow for more precise fretting without accidentally touching nearby strings.

Good luck!

Answer 2

(Note although asking for a recommendation, I think this is a valid question here if we limit it to the available sizes of instruments.)

There are plenty of children's sized guitars which may be worth trying. They have a shorter scale length. (They also have narrower necks.)

For "professional" or non-children's sized instruments, Rickenbacker used to do the 325 model (John Lennon used one!)

(For specific brands of children's guitars, Fender do the Squier Mini. Ibanez do the Mikro. But shop around for a "3/4 size guitar" or "Short scale guitar" for any more choices.)

Answer 3

In addition to the answers above, I would recommend trying Ibanez or Jackson guitars, then have thinner neck compared to Fender and you might find it easier to play.

I also have short fingers but frankly, I believe it is not an issue. I only realize I have short fingers when I watch Steve Vai playing.