Best Guitar For Small Hands

Are you looking to find the best guitar for small hands for your money, but aren’t exactly sure what to look for? Our experts break down what you should be looking for and how much you can expect them to cost.

 It can be very difficult to find the best guitar for small hands, most guitar manufacturers produce standard size models that we are all supposed to comply with. If you have small hands it’s not that simple, so read on to find out what you have to lose (feature wise) to solve this annoying issue. 

Best Guitar For Small Hands Buyers Guide

The problems that can be encountered include not being able to fit your hand around the neck, making it difficult to reach the strings and the scale length can be a problem. So let’s start there.

Scale Length

The scale length is the distance between the bridge (at the bottom of the guitar) and the nut (at the top of the neck). So it’s essentially the length of the strings. The reason the scale length is important is because of its relationship to fret distances. For example a short scale guitar like a Gibson Les Paul, with a 24 ¾ inch scale length, will have frets that are closer together than say a Fender Stratocaster with a scale length of 25 ½ inches..

So as the scale length increases, so does the distance between each fret. For the most part this is not a problem, but if you have smaller hands to start with, you will notice that the tension between the strings is greater with guitars with a longer scale length. A guitar with a shorter scale length will take less tension to bring the strings to the correct pitch, making them easier to play.

Cutaway

Guitars with cutaways make it easier for smaller hands to reach the higher frets. Most electric guitars have 2 cutaways, but they are becoming more popular on acoustics and semi-acoustics.

¾  Sized Guitars

These are essentially for students, but if you have small hands, they will feel much more comfortable to play. There is a trade-off with ¾ size guitars, they seem to have less features than standard size guitars. However, as you will find them easier to hold there will be less stress on your arms, hands and shoulders. 

String Gauge

The higher the gauge of strings the harder they are to play. To find the right strings that suit your hands, try experimenting with lower gauge strings, but we recommend trying .009 gauge strings. 

Drop D Tuning

This sounds a bit complicated, but it’s so simple. It basically involves changing the bottom E string down by a whole tone, making the bottom E a D. This allows playing barre power chords on the lower strings. T his makes it easy to play 12-bar blues using just 2 fingers. Especially handy when played higher up the fretboard. 

Frequently Asked Questions