Which one for Very small hands?

PopDufc

So Just One More syndrome has kicked in and looking for the guitar to get me playing.
Choice is 
Squire contemporary jaguar hh.
Sterling cutlass short scale 
Ibanez s561.
I've tried squire and ibanez and, I think, ibanez is a bit easier to play.
I would like a tremolo so cutlass ticks boxes.
Any help out there?

ScreamingDave

This is out of left field a bit, but I just bought a Blackstar Carry-On ST for £129 from Absolute Music in Poole (in-store offer only, though). I absolutely love it.  Great for small hands!

LionAquaLooper

Try a Yamaha Pacifica if you haven't already. Compared to strats (for example) they got slimmer and narrower necks. 

Tannin

Probably way out of court price-wise, but I have always remembered my beautiful little baby Rickenbacker. It was too small for my hands, way too small, but an absolute gem of a guitar. Do they still make them? 

(Back in a minute.)

Hmmm ... apparently not. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, they'd probably be very expensive anyway. 

PopDufc

Yup. The little rickenbackers are lovely... expensive 

Musicwolf

Small hands doesn't necessarily mean that you want a small neck.

I've got tiny paws and, for years, my only electric was a Patrick Eggle Berlin Pro with a pencil thin neck.  I just couldn't find another guitar which I liked because everything else seemed so thick.  Then I ordered a PRS SE Semihollow unseen (because I saw it in a guitarist magazine and fell in love with how it looked), when it arrived it had a much thicker neck than I was used to and it felt massive in my hands.  After an hour or so of playing I discovered that I really liked it (it's actually not that big of a neck).

These days my favourite have much bigger necks and I find the Eggle a bit too skinny (although a few minutes of playing and I adapt).  I did try a Rickenbacker 325C64 the other year, that has a 21" scale length.  It felt like a toy, god knows how anyone with average size hands can play one.

Tannin

^ I think that might be the Ric I had back in the day, @Musicwolf, or something similar - a tiny little thing for my average-to-large hands. I never really got the hang of it, but it made some truly lovely noises. That would have been 1976, give or take, back when I was young and randy and couldn't play for toffee. 

(Sorry @PopDufc, your thread. I'm not helping.)

PAL

I don't think a guitar purchase should be based on hand size. The reason is if you can only play a small guitar neck then
 you are ruling out a lot really good guitars you could be playing in the future.
 If you want a really small neck and short scale then there is the Rickenbacker 325 ( John Lennon ). The scale is 530mm but it 
 is very expensive ! Maybe try the Fender Mustang 24 inch scale. Good luck.

robgilmo

I think big hands are more of an issue than small.

mrkb

robgilmo said:

I think big hands are more of an issue than small.

Agreed, small hands make everything look bigger, which helps a lot.

HAL9000

robgilmo said:

I think big hands are more of an issue than small.

MD Philips could probably sell you something suitable.

Fingers657

Try a Squire bullet Mustang and Strat both short scale good to start on with small or big hands.

ICBM

PAL said:

I don't think a guitar purchase should be based on hand size. The reason is if you can only play a small guitar neck then
 you are ruling out a lot really good guitars you could be playing in the future.

There are so many good guitars with smaller necks that it isn’t an issue, even now that the fashion has gone back to larger ones. Most Japanese-made guitars seem to have smaller ones in general, regardless of type or scale length.

Offset

Are you buying a guitar for Donald Trump?

PopDufc

I am talking about actual experience.  I did want a LP junior but as soon as I picked it up I realised it was a monster neck. Could not get on with it. Still looking for help with the options given. The wizard 3 neck on the ibanez s561 felt great but thr look doesn't appeal to me.
Possibly your answers tell me that I am an individual and should get the best one for me.
Ibanez s561 and save up for the squire paranormal jaguar. The only squire I know of with 12" radius and short scale.

ICBM

PopDufc said:

I am talking about actual experience.  I did want a LP junior but as soon as I picked it up I realised it was a monster neck. Could not get on with it.

I totally understand what you mean - I have small hands too, and I do get a bit fed up with people who just tell you to "just learn to adapt" or whatever - no, I prefer smaller necks, and I don't want to be told to "adapt" to the current fashion for big necks just because some people like them. There are a lot of guitar with smaller necks, and I don't find it restrictive to choose a guitar with neck size as one of the criteria.

Of the guitars you list, I think the Cutlass has the smallest neck - Jaguars often have quite small necks at the nut end but get bigger towards the body, since they have the same neck pocket width as a Strat. (Mine was very tapered like that.)

robgilmo

The Epiphone slim taper necks were quite thin were they not? 

PopDufc

Thanks. Cutlass is the only one I'm not near to try. It does tick all my boxes though and it comes.in a nice seafoam green.

Fingers657

Just go sit in a well stocked guitar shop/store for a few hours and try a few guitars.

bluecat

I don't have very large hands although I used to be a butcher so my fingers are still very strong. I have a Harley Benton cabronita with quite a slim neck beautiful finish and have no problem with making any chord shapes, it is slightly slimmer than my mim powerhouse deluxe strat. I have never had a problem with that either. If you don't want to spend a lot of money, go the HB way, they box way above their weight for what you pay although they don't carry the same charisma as more expensive brands. Let us know what you decide to choose. And welcome to the forum.

Strat54

These Japanese home market Fender have a narrower nut width and neck made for the smaller hand....

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/230301401301008-12854257--fender-guitarguitar-uk-exclusive-made-in-japan-traditi