Getting a guitar with a thin neck is a great way to make playing guitar easier and give you more control over what you play.
A thin neck gives your hand more room to stretch and gives you more leverage so your hands don’t strain as hard to press the strings down. Like any instruments guitars with thin necks can range from being inexpensive to thousands of dollars, and there are lots of thin neck model guitars out there.
In this list you’ll find the best thin neck guitars out there in every price range and style, When I did the research for this article I tried to pick out a good variety so there is at least one guitar on this list for just about any player out there, no matter what style of guitar you prefer.
Note: This list isn’t comprehensive of all the great guitars out there with thin necks, I tried mainly to pick the ones which I thought had the best value. I’m sure there are ones I’ve missed, since I mainly choose from brands I know well and have played on before.
After this list, check out my section on guitar brands with thin neck acoustics. There I’ll break down the best brands to look out for when you’re searching, and I also talk a little bit about brands you might want to avoid even thought they advertise thin necks (And do have them).
Our (Top 8) Thin Neck Acoustic Guitars.
Ovation Legend Plus –
Ovation is an underrated innovative guitar brand, if you’ve ever played one you’ll know they’re unique and hard to forget.
The Ovation legend plus is an acoustic-electric with a slightly bright tone, but not to bright.
When it comes to the thickness of the neck, this models neck is only slightly larger than your average electric.
The Ovation Legend has an OP-PRO studio preamp (3 band EQ, with limiter/compressor) with an OCP-1 pickup (made by Ovation). The soundboard is a spruce solid AAA, and of course their body is made of Lyrachord (this is a special material they make and designed themselves to produce some great tone).
Note: The back of this Ovation is actually flat, so that curved back you’re probably used to falling off your lap you won’t have to worry about that with this model.
Taylor114ce-
This is one of Taylor’s most popular guitars, and it is built to be easy to play with a low action and thin neck.
Taylor guitars in general are actually built this way in general, so when picking up any of their guitars online you won’t even need to check the specs to see if the neck is thin because that’s how all Taylor’s come. Makes things easier.
So what makes the 114ce so great?
This guitars tone is warm and beautiful, the highs are way more pronounced than the lows which creates a very bright vibrant tone. They have an X bracing in the back which does bring out the low bass tone out, but still the tone is mostly mids and highs.
So, if you’re looking for a bright happy sound on an acoustic with a thin neck this is definitely it.
Quick history: Taylor has been making guitars since 1974, and the thin neck acoustics is actually what made them different from all the other acoustics out there, and was a major factor in why they became so popular.
Tip: This is the cutaway version, and if you don’t like the cutaway (even though cutaways have a great advantage if you want to easily play over the higher notes)…You can get the non cutaway 114e for less than the cutaway option.
Big Baby Taylor –
Another one of their most popular guitars, the Big Baby Taylor (BBT) really stands out for how comfortable it is when you first pick her up. This guitar is a full length, at 15/16ths scale with a standard 4″ body depth. The neck is just like every other Taylor acoustic, thin and easy to play.
Apart from being very comfortable, these are popular because they are super affordable and practically a steal when it comes to the quality Taylor puts out.
The tone is that signature bright, happy sweet tone that Taylor is known for. When you play one you’ll notice the highs and mid tones sort of drown out the bass tones.
Ibanez AEG 10ii –
Not commonly known for their acoustic guitars, ibanez makes lots of great acoustics that shouldn’t be overlooked. Finding a good deal on one is pretty easy, since Ibanez prices some of their acoustics absurdly cheap.
This particular Ibanez isn’t one of the most inexpensive models, but it is definitely worth taking a look at. The neck is thin and so is the body which measures at only 3 1/4″ (your average acoustic is 4-43/4″).
This model comes with a aeg-sp1 preamp, and fishman sonicore pickup. For your electronic controls you have bass controls, midrange, treble, volume and a phase switch.
Note: They make a nylon version as well (AEG10iiN).
Takamine GN93CE –
The Takamine GN93CE is my absolute favorite guitar on this list, This guitar sounds just right, the tone is rich and not to bright and sweet like the Taylor (The Taylor’s tone is incredible it is just more bright than I’d like) and the midrange and bass are well pronounced without drowning out the highs.
This particular model is their own body style called “Nex” there is a similar dreadnought style as well (GD93CE).
Not only does the model sound nearly perfect, it is a looker no doubt. I love the pattern on the back which is done with black walnut and maple, and the front is just as gorgeous. Has a very elegant look to it, the gold tuners are another great touch as well.
Of course, the neck on this model is thin. This acoustic also comes with a tk-40 preamp and built in tuner.
Ovation Elite Celebrity Super Shallow –
This Ovation is an exceptionally good deal, very low price for what you’re getting and is very thin all around including the neck and the body (makes sense since the name is super shallow).
When getting an acoustic with a low body width sometimes the tone is slightly compromised, and that is simply not the case with this guitar.
Like most Ovations, the tone is bright but not overly bright with this guitar and you still can hear the lower tones very well.
This Elite Celebrity Super Shallow has a OP-4BT preamp with 3 band EQ, and the Lyrachord backing of the body which creates their unique tone. The body does not have your standard soundhole in the middle, but rather there are a few small soundholes on the outer edges of the body. This also is a innovation unique to Ovation that helps shape the tone. There is X bracing so the guitar projects also projects well.
Ibanez Montage –
At first glance, you’d probably assume this is another Ovation….with the soundholes being on the outside and just in general from the design. It definitely looks like a lot of the guitars they’ve made. The Montage is also very similar to the T5 by Taylor.
There’s a ton that goes into this guitar, which would make you think the price tag would be higher, there’s two pickups (B-Band UST-Acoustic Pickup and the Ibanez AP9-Electric pickup) and a switch to switch between those and a gain setting. There are separate volume knobs for each pickup as well and also a master volume.
The Ibanez montage has the works- reverb, chorus, distortion, phase canceling, and a dual notch filter. The preamp is a HBP Multi-function preamp.
Note: This guitar also has what Ibanez calls F.A.S.T. technology (Fast action set up tech), this allows you to set up the action really fast, which is an added bonus on top of the thin neck to really help take the strain off your fingers.
Seagull S6 –
These guitars are simple, with an incredible tone and are super inexpensive. If the only thing you need in your guitar is a thin neck and for it to sound good acoustically, this is your best option expense wise.
The tone is just to die for at this price, and it fits well with basically any style of music. I’m not a fan of all their guitars, but I do absolutely love this one.
The Seagull S6 has a cedar top, Cherry back and sides, maple neck, and can come with Godin Q1 electronics.
Note: There is a slim neck version of this guitar and a non slim version.
Guitar brands to check out with thin neck acoustics:
Fortunately, if you’re worried that none of those choices are good for you……you’re in luck because there are quite a few great brands that stick almost exclusively to thin necks for their acoustic models.
If you pick up almost any of the models from this list you should be good to go.
Taylor-
These guys started in 1974 with the idea to fill the gap in the market where people needed slim neck easy to play acoustics and that’s where they found their success. They struggled selling even three a day for years, but sticking to that model eventually paid off big time. They still keep to the same thing today, making acoustic that are easy to play. If you like a bright sounding acoustic guitar, you’ll love almost any Taylor.
Ibanez-
With all the famous musicians that play electric versions of these, people do overlook their acoustics. They have a unique sound with a more bass fueled tone than most other acoustics and you can find tons of their guitars with slim necks and extremely slim body styles as well. Plenty of their acoustics are a steal as well, so be on the lookout for one of these that suits you.
Seagull-
Most of these guitars look very plain-jane and are often overlooked by most musicians since most don’t know much about them. I’d say this is a huge mistake, because Seagull guitars sound absolutely phenomenal and there really is one for every type of player. When you’re looking for thin neck acoustics from this brand, know that a lot of their acoustics have a version that is slim versus anon-slim version.
Ovation-
Most people know about this brand and instantly recognize it from the strange plastic type substance on the back (Lyrachord- made specifically by the company for a unique tone).
These sound great, and are wonderful guitars with many slim neck versions that I’m sure you’ll love. Before buying one of these however I would definitely check them out in person because they have a very different feel to them than your average guitar.
Note: – There are tons of other brands out there that have great thin neck acoustic guitars. Lots of smaller name boutique guitar manufacturers and large brands as well. These are just the brands who carry the most thin neck acoustics.
Tips for searching for the right acoustic guitar with a thin neck:
Even though I think this is a great list of acoustics, I’m sure some of these won’t be 100% perfect for everyone.
Plus honestly finding the right one for you can be EXTREMELY difficult, considering that there aren’t any comprehensive lists that are any good on the internet, and forums don’t always have the best information either.
WARNING: A common problem I see people having issues with is getting the term “Nut width” confused.
“Nut width” does not measure how thick a guitar neck is rather it is the measurement across the fretboard.
When I was doing research I noticed a lot of people having problems looking up guitars with thin necks, and were searching for “nut width” with variations like slim nut width guitars, narrow nut width guitars, etc and assuming that nut width meant the actual width of the neck. “Nut width” = width of the neck across, not the actual width of the neck.
I’m not sure where people are learning that nut width is a term for the thickness of the neck of the guitar but it definitely isn’t.
If you’re having trouble finding acoustics online with thin necks – Try instead of searching on the primary search engines for “thin acoustic guitar neck” or whichever search query, try doing the search on an actual music store like Guitar center or Musicians Friend. I’ve found that doing searches on these platforms actually produces some good results, where with normal search engines they have a hard time distinguishing exactly what I’m looking for, which was surprising.
Also, when doing your research if you do decide to look through other articles and forums definitely do a little digging of your own.
I saw quite a few recommendations on forums for thin neck acoustics that the necks would definitely not be considered thin by any guitarist with even a small amount of experience.
There were also trolls making some recommendations that were very obviously wrong to, easier to spot those…..but it amazed me that some people were thanking them for help.
Of course, this probably seems obvious……this is the internet after all, and it’s always best to not just trust whatever you see on here.
That’s not to say there isn’t a lot of good advice on the forums though, when I was researching I did find some great info on some new brands that I can’t wait to try in person.
Also, if you’re looking for thin neck guitars because you want something that’s easier on the fingers for shredding or barre chords, I’d also suggest looking up models that come with low action set up straight from the factory. (Low action means the strings are closer to the neck) Any guitar can have the action lowered, and this will definitely help you be able to play longer as well.
Conclusion:
Finding the right thin neck acoustic can be pretty difficult considering there aren’t any lists of all the options there are (this might be something I write in the future), I hope I did a good job explaining the right brands to look for and gave some pretty useful tips. If there’s any way I can make this article more helpful or if you have any questions please leave a comment. Thanks for reading!