josie Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 My 4yo grandson is obsessed with guitars - especially his Dad's Fender Strat (and my Jazz bass - the lad has good taste!) They're talking about getting him a 3/4 electric guitar, but all the ones I've seen seem to be pretty cheap "for children", and I want him to have a good instrument. I'm thinking of getting him a short scale guitar instead. (I've just spotted what looks like a nice one cheap second hand.) I think he'll be able to get his arms around the body well enough, and the shorter neck should be all he needs to be able to play it. The only possible problem I can see is that heavy gauge strings might be hard for his little fingers, but I could re-string it with a lighter gauge for him. Any experience / advice welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubsonicSimpleton Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Maybe ukulele might be an option to investigate - softer strings combined with smaller necks and a selection of shorter scale lengths depending what type of uke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josie Posted August 22, 2017 Author Share Posted August 22, 2017 Nice idea, thank you - in fact I gave him one a while back, and he loved it at first, but he's lost interest - it's too small, he wants a "real guitar" and prefers his 3/4 acoustic. He's trying to play along to Bruce Springsteen videos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 (edited) Check out the Fender/Squier Duo Sonics or Mustangs perhaps? Quite a few to choose from here too: [url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/shortscale_guitars.html"]https://www.thomann....le_guitars.html[/url] https://www.gak.co.uk/en/mini-and-travel-guitars Edited August 22, 2017 by dannybuoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubsonicSimpleton Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Well in that case maybe the best course of action would be to let him have some input on which of the guitars he is most excited by and then be willing to spend a little cash getting it set up properly if necessary good selection of whats available here https://www.thomann.de/gb/shortscale_guitars.html worth noting that the harley benton strat is available in two scale lengths(19inch and 22.75 inch), and the expensive fenders are 24inch which is short by fender standards but still quite big compared to the other guitars on offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winny Pooh Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 The Ibanez 3/4 is apparently the best built compared to the other scaled down guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ribbetingfrog Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 https://www.gak.co.uk/en/ibanez-pgmm31-wh-paul-gilbert-signature-mini-electric-guitar-white/906000 Paul Gilbert just released a micro signature guitar, 22.5" scale. Made me think of your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 I would suggest that from a teaching viewpoint even a 3/4 guitar is way too big for a 4-year-old, but I doubt anybody would listen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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