Small hands? Choosing a guitar by scale length, neck width and body size
Small hands don't stop you from playing guitar. But even within the same instrument, string length (scale), neck width (nut width) and body size change how much strain your hands and arms feel. Choose with these three numbers in mind and your first few months get much easier.
Three numbers to check
- Scale length (string length) — the shorter it is, the closer together the frets, so your fingers stretch less. Electrics are 24.75 inches (LP-style, SG-style) or 25.5 inches (Strat-style and others), mini acoustics are 540–600mm, and a 3/4 classical is about 580mm.
- Nut width (neck width) — the narrower it is, the easier it is to wrap your fingers around the neck. On acoustic, about 43mm is comfortable; on classical, the standard is 52mm and crossovers are 44.5–48mm.
- Body size — if you have a small frame, a big body (dreadnought) gets in the way of your arm.
Electric — short scale or a thin neck
Short-scale (24.75-inch) LP-style and SG-style guitars, or the Ibanez and Yamaha Pacifica lines known for thin necks, are comfortable.
- Harley Benton DC-200 · DC-580 ($111–129) — SG-style, with a 628mm (about 24.7-inch) scale.
- Ibanez GRG170DX / GRX70 ($229) — a fairly thin neck that's said to be comfortable even with small hands.
- $299–399: Epiphone Les Paul Tribute · Les Paul Tribute Plus · SG Tribute Plus (all 24.75 inches).
Acoustic — OM/concert or mini
Try an OM/concert, which has a narrower waist than a dreadnought, or a mini size first. All of the minis below have a 43mm nut.
| Model | Scale | Price (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Yamaha JR2 (3/4) | 540mm | 209 |
| Yamaha CSF1M | 600mm | 549 |
| Martin LX1 (Little Martin) | 584mm | 449 |
A regular acoustic's scale is about 25.5 inches (648mm), so these minis are roughly 5–11cm shorter. The tradeoff is a quieter sound.
Classical — 3/4 size or a crossover
- If they're under 150cm tall or in elementary school, choose a 3/4 size (about 580mm).
Yamaha CS40 (580mm · 48mm, $119) - If you're an adult with small hands, a narrow-neck crossover is comfortable.
Ibanez GA5TCE (46mm, $299) · Yamaha NTX1 (48mm, $579) - Starting on a 3/4 means you'll need time to adjust when you move up to full size. The details are in Classical guitar 3/4 vs 4/4.
Bass — thin neck or short scale
The standard 34-inch long scale is a big stretch across frets 1–3. With small hands, a J-style's thin neck or a short-scale (30-inch) bass is more comfortable.
- Squier Sonic Precision Bass ($269) — a narrow 1.5-inch nut and a thin body.
- Ibanez GSR200 ($209–249) — a fairly thin neck.
- Ibanez SR300E ($379) — thin, at 19.5mm deep at the 1st fret.
More reliable than any number is holding the guitar yourself. Even at the same scale length, necks differ in thickness and shape (profile), so they feel different in your hand. In a store, play a chord and move between the 1st and 5th frets to see whether your fingers reach.
In Find my guitar, answer "Small" for hand size on the last question. Short-scale and thin-neck models move to the top, and the card marks this as a match with your answers.