In this article, we’ll go over some great options for guitarists with small hands.
We’ll Also Cover what makes a good guitar for those with small hands.
Let’s Get Started.
So, what makes a good guitar for people with small hands?
A good guitar that will work best for someone with small hands is generally a guitar with a smaller neck. (Yes, kind of obvious I know lol hang with me)
Simply put, there are some technical terms for a smaller neck that you don’t necessarily need to know, but will definitely help you figure out a good guitar for you.
The Technical terms you want to look for when searching for a guitar for smaller hands are:
- Nut width (This is the measurement taken at the top of the guitar right above the first fret. The nut is actually that white piece of plastic or sometimes bone or synthesized bone that all the strings sit on. The nut controls how far apart strings are from each other.)
- Neck Depth (This is simply how fat the neck of the guitar is, we want to have a thin neck so your hands can easily reach whatever they need.)
- Low Action (A good low action guitar is something I absolutely love. Low action means that the strings are closer to the fretboard so that it’s much easier to press down on the strings. This is not a necessity for players with smaller hands, but it does help.)
- String Gauge (Again, not a necessity but string gauge is the measurement of how big the strings are. Strings that are to big are harder to press.)
- Scale Length (This one is also not a necessity, but this can make a world of difference to those with really really really small hands. A shorter scale length means that the frets are much closer together. Frets that are closer together just makes it easier to do longer stretches when you’re playing.)
So, to summarize….the best guitar for someone with small hands has a skinny neck and a small measurement at the nut, it also can have a shorter scale length, a shorter string gauge, and low action.
Unfortunately, guitar companies don’t really advertise which guitars are good for people with small hands. So we have to learn these terms.
Note: If you’re serious about getting a guitar that’s good for you no matter if you have small hands or you’re getting one for someone with small hands…..I should say that it’s definitely best to try these out in person.
While getting a guitar online may be appealing, and you may still do that and that’s totally fine…..you should probably check out what you’re getting first. Each guitar feels so different to play, and there’s a ton of reasons why this is.
You may find that you don’t even need a guitar with a smaller scale length or nut width, and you actually prefer a guitar that has larger frets. Or, you might find out that you don’t like how one sounds versus another (It’s absolutely amazing the differences in tone between guitars)
I like to think of buying a guitar the same as buying a car, you’re going to spend hours with it. So you should try to get one that is super comfortable to play you know?
I guess the only instance where things would be different is if you’ve played a certain brand of guitar and you really liked how it felt.
Anyways, this was a really long note. lol.
On to the Guitars…..
1.Martin X Series Little Martin.
I’m not gonna lie, this thing has me totally confused.
Martins are absolutely killer guitars, they have what I’d consider a good mix of dark and light tones. They’ve stood the test of time, and because of that they (usually) cost a fortune.
This guy doesn’t cost a fortune, and that’s what shocked me. Everything else about the guitar? Perfect. Kind of what everyone expects out of Martin though to be honest.
The only thing I don’t like about the guitar is actually the material, and I’m not sure why I don’t like it. There’s not really any reason not to, I guess I just like wood guitars better.
Anyways, this guitar has everything you’ll need. From a shorter scale length, a good medium low action set up, and a narrow nut width.
This is my number one favorite.
(More Details and pricing info on Amazon)
This guy does a pretty good little review of the guitar as well.
2. Fender Jaguar Kurt Cobain
I grew up around this guy, he was an icon and actually grunge was a strong influence in my first band years back…..so I had to add this guitar to the list.
To be fair, there are tons of other Fender Jaguars with the same specs, so if you don’t like the look of this one there’s no worries. Tons of styles to choose from.
This has basically everything you need, nut width is small, scale length is short, and the action is low.
(More details and pricing info on Amazon)
Also, this review is pretty fun to watch the guitar in action. Andddd, if you get one I’m jealous.
3. Academy Series 10e
Taylor actually makes a ton of guitars that are specifically designed for beginners, and a lot of these are great for players with small hands as well.
Now, unlike the two above you won’t find me ranting and raving about these. Why? Because I’m not actually a huge fan of their tone. To me, it’s just a little to bright. That’s not the style I play, and so it’s just not for me.
But….
There’s no doubt that these are very very easy to play, the action is set up quite nicely so it’s very easy to press down on the strings and play some nice acoustic licks or chords or whatever you’d like really.
They seriously play like butter, I’d say they’re nearly perfect for someone with small hands and they have literally everything you’ll need.
I guess if you’re looking for a downside, you’d notice that the scale length isn’t incredibly short. It is short though at 24.875″
(More details and pricing info on Amazon)
Also, Marty is seriously the best guitar teacher if you’re just starting out. Watch him play the Taylor below, he’s honestly the best teacher there is out there so I highly recommend you check out his other videos and subscribe to his channel.
4. Jackson JS1X Dinky Minion
Back to the ranting and raving…..these are choices I picked after all lol.
The Jackson JS1X will have basically everything you need. I couldn’t find info on the strings, but I’m going to assume they will come with some heavier gauge strings that you might need to replace if you’re not comfortable with them.
Why do I think they come with thicker gauge strings? Well, this guitar is more of a guitar for a metal player. If that’s you, perfect. Guitars made for metal styles of playing usually have thicker gauge strings, because they produce a very bass heavy tone, and can really make the gain go crazy.
I might as well break it to you now, that you might have to get used to these thicker gauged strings if you play metal.
This guitar is probably meant more for the rock/metal musician. However you can play other styles on it of course.
(More Details and pricing info on Amazon)
Dudes over at PMT did an excellent job on this little review if you want to hear it in action.
5. Taylor Series 312ce
As I said earlier, these are not my favorite because of the tone. But these are absolutely perfect guitars for those with small hands.
If I absolutely had to choose one, it would probably be this one. For some reason Taylors 3oo series just sounds more full and rich than their other guitars.
This particular model would really do great with any fingerstyle folk type music.
(More Details and Pricing info at Amazon)
6. Ibanez GRGM21BKN
Here’s another option that’s kind of more for metal/rock players. This particular version has everything you’ll need.
(Thin Nut width, Low Action, everything we went over before)
However, I’d like to point that honestly almost any guitar from Ibanez will do (Even the acoustics). They’re guitars that are meant for people who want to shred, and shredders look for a lot of similar traits in guitars that people with small hands do to.
If you are interested in models like this, I’d also definitely recommend ESP guitars. They’re also very similar to Ibanez.
(More Details and pricing info on Amazon)
Listen below if you want to hear it in Action.
7. ESP LTD Eclipse EC-256FM
For this last one, I’m going to throw a curveball. Just to kind of give you a little more hope for finding a great guitar for you. If you’re feeling like there aren’t many options for people with small hands, this might help you.
Here’s what I mean, ESP guitars are known to be great by (almost everyone) with small hands. This makes sense, sort of. While models like this one have thin necks and have a slightly shorter scale, they actually also have what are known as jumbo frets. Which means that the frets are actually larger than even normal guitar frets. Because of this, you would think anyone with small hands would
Despite this, people with small hands find these guitars easy to play.
What I’m hoping to show you here, is that even though things like Neck Width, and Low action are preferred by most guitar players with small hands……..you don’t have to have every one of these qualities. Like I said earlier, what’s most comfortable to you is going to be your best bet.
(If you want more details and pricing info, you can check this model out on Amazon)
Want to see this guitar in action? Check out this review. Agufish, is awesome for metal reviews btw. Oh, and I chose this review because it was SUPER critical.
How Can I find more options like these?
Unfortunately, there’s not a site with a definitive list of every single option that would be good for a guitar player with smaller hands, and that’s just kind of an aggravation to say the least. You would think that one of the larger retail guitar stores would have a list of these somewhere, but that simply isn’t the case.
So, if you want to find more guitars that will work for you, i’d suggest trying one of these options:
- Hit up an actual store, there are tons of extremely knowledgeable staff at (most). I’ve got a friend who works at the local store, who probably knows more about gear than he actually does about playing each instrument. It’s kind of ridiculous. The bonus benefit here as well, is actually getting to try each and every one you’ll like out for yourself. Who knows, you could actually end up being one of those crazy people who like to play on classical guitars (These have the widest nut width of all acoustics). A lot of kids do practice on these, which I understand as they’ll get older their hands might grow into them…….but still crazy to me.
- Check out any Taylor, Takamine, ESP, and Ibanez. When I run into anyone with smaller hands, almost all of them seem to really like these models. Especially the ultra thin wizard neck guitars Ibanez has. So, they’re definitely worth a shot. I’d keep in mind that not all of Takamine’s models are made for guitarists with smaller hands however.
- Look at all Guitar Options there are lots of players with smaller hands who play on normal sized guitars and even guitars I would personally not enjoy playing on (like those with jumbo frets). It’s not impossible for you to do! I don’t really suggest this, but if you feel like you’re up to the challenge then go for it, you might also discover your hands aren’t as small as you thought.
Conclusion:
First off, thank you for reading my post and congratulations on starting your journey. Playing guitar is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had, and I will love to play until the day I die. It’s absolutely so much fun, and I really hope you’ll find it as gratifying as I’ve had over the years. There’s really nothing like being able to play your favorite song yourself. Or finally getting a guitar lick that you’ve been practicing for hours.
I assume you’re going to be looking at other places on the internet for info on this subject. I’m sorry to tell you, that there is tons and tons of just not well put together articles on this subject. I know that’s not what you want to hear, believe me. I put a lot of work into this article because of this. So be on the lookout and definitely pay attention to who is giving you what information.
If you’d like for me to go into further detail on what makes a great guitar for small hands, leave me a comment and let me know! I could probably go into a TON more detail, but I figured the information in this article would be enough for most people.
Again, thanks for reading!