Advice needed

[obbm]

Having played bass on and off for around 60 years I thought it was about time I actually learned to play a guitar.  The problem is that, being small in stature, I have fairly small hands and short fingers.  The obvious answer to this is go to a music shop and try some however living in the wild west of Cornwall music shops are pretty sparse and choice very limited so visiting and trying is a bit pointless.

 

I've read up a bit and it seems that it is best to have a guitar with a thin neck and because I want to play fairly quietly on headphones I need an electric, not acoustic or electro-acoustic.  Initially I thought the Fender mini-Strat might be the answer but I am now thinking that it might be a bit too small.   Are the bottom of the range Squier Strats a reasonable starter and do they have thin necks.  Any suggestions based on personal experience would be appreciated.

[ambient]

Do Telecasters have slim necks?

[Old Horse Murphy]

Hi Dave

 

I hope you're well. I'd go for either a regular size Strat or Tele personally. Alternatively something like an Epiphone SG due to the smaller body. 
 

You're not that small, so I really wouldn't worry about Squier/Fender necks being too broad for you considering they're very often recommended for young adults to start on. 
 

As a Shadows fan, I could see you with a Red Strat

[gafbass02]

I have a cheap and decent squier mustang for exactly this. I was dubious at first, but boy this thing has blown me away!

[obbm]

27 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

As a Shadows fan, I could see you with a Red Strat

but then I'd have to get some heavy rimmed glasses 😉

[TheGreek]

I'm amazed that a bass player is concerned about the neck size on a geeetar.

In the past you've had to adapt to neck sizes on a bass (successfully) - you shouldn't have any issues picking up a guitar. In fact, you'll be surprised how weeny they feel. I suspect you know one or two guitarists who would allow you to try whatever they have.

[PaulThePlug]

Like a Bass, rather tham just nut width and profile... Fretboard Radius and posdibly scale length (Fender-esq 25 1/2" v's Gibson-esq 24 3/4").

Worth trying a few to see what floats ya boat.

For general play i would stay away from the tremelo stuff and go fixed bridge.

 

What style of music - Humbuckers v's Single Coil, or a Mixture ala PJ? What shape dya fancy? Stratish or Les Paulish Single Cut... Harley Benton?

Edited October 10, 2021 by PaulThePlug

[Old Horse Murphy]

1 hour ago, obbm said:

but then I'd have to get some heavy rimmed glasses 😉

That can be arranged 😉🎸🤓

[YouMa]

Get an Ibanez rg second hand you will fly around the neck. I challenge anyone to find a faster shallower stronger neck than the wizard neck. I know they arent as trendy looking as a fender but they are the best value you will find and so well built. It improved my playing ten fold.

[LukeFRC]

I can't really play guitar but decided I should learn... I had an acoustic and and electric... 
It really depends what you want to play. 

The benefit of the acoustic is you just pick it up and go, no amp, no pedals, no cables... and for learning in a unstructured manner I was that was really good as I played it more. 
I sold the acoustic cos the electric was "better", it continued to gather dust and got sold...

a while later I bought another acoustic, it gets played... the electric I bought to learn at the start of lockdown 2020... yep, gathers dust.

[obbm]

2 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

I can't really play guitar but decided I should learn... I had an acoustic and and electric... 
It really depends what you want to play. 

The benefit of the acoustic is you just pick it up and go, no amp, no pedals, no cables... and for learning in a unstructured manner I was that was really good as I played it more. 
I sold the acoustic cos the electric was "better", it continued to gather dust and got sold...

a while later I bought another acoustic, it gets played... the electric I bought to learn at the start of lockdown 2020... yep, gathers dust.

Interesting.  We went too see some relations this afternoon and they gave me an acoustic that belonged to their daughter. It not at al bad but needs a set up and some new strings so it's a start on a budget. What strings do you use? If I get on OK then I'll get an electric.

[Hellzero]

I can confirm that the easiest mass production necks to play are certainly Ibanez. So worth try some.

 

The standard gauge on electric guitars is 10~46 (some call it medium or regular), so starting with this gauge or something close on an acoustic guitar is a good start. The Martin strings are really good for the price. Check the M170 set (10~47 which is considered extra light for acoustic guitars).

 

And congratulations for starting playing a new instrument !

[LukeFRC]

8 hours ago, obbm said:

Interesting.  We went too see some relations this afternoon and they gave me an acoustic that belonged to their daughter. It not at al bad but needs a set up and some new strings so it's a start on a budget. What strings do you use? If I get on OK then I'll get an electric.

Dunno! They are cheap compared to bass strings so I’ve tried a few brands. My acoustic is also a bit odd and takes very lightweight strings or the top starts doing bad things!

in short I’m not the person to ask! 

[Nicko]

19 hours ago, obbm said:

Having played bass on and off for around 60 years I thought it was about time I actually learned to play a guitar.  The problem is that, being small in stature, I have fairly small hands and short fingers.  The obvious answer to this is go to a music shop and try some however living in the wild west of Cornwall music shops are pretty sparse and choice very limited so visiting and trying is a bit pointless.

 

I've read up a bit and it seems that it is best to have a guitar with a thin neck and because I want to play fairly quietly on headphones I need an electric, not acoustic or electro-acoustic.  Initially I thought the Fender mini-Strat might be the answer but I am now thinking that it might be a bit too small.   Are the bottom of the range Squier Strats a reasonable starter and do they have thin necks.  Any suggestions based on personal experience would be appreciated.

My 90s mex tele has quite a thin neck profile (ie front of fingerboard to back of neck).  It's comfortable but is a longer scale than my Epiphone Es339.  That has a slightly chunkier neck but it's more comfortable to play in the lower fret area.  My best of both worlds is a Patrick Eggle NY which has a similar neck profile to the telecaster but with a Gibsonesque scale length.   Obviously this is no longer available but I you may find a PRS trype guitar with similar dimensions. I don't find nut width makes a huge difference to the comfort, but it does to the ability to get clean notes from every string which as a beginner is a bonus.

 

Might be worth a special trip to try some neck profiles - something like a Fender Duosonic (short scale narrow nut modern C neck) vs an Epiphone SG (medium scale medium nut width, flat, and a bit chunky)vs a Jackson DKNY (longer scale, very flat fretboard, quite thin profile) would tell you what profile and scale length suits.

[OliverBlackman]

I made the leap last year. I have small hands and find the strat much easier than others to play due to the shallow neck. It’s taking a while to get used to a completely different technique but is actually fun to be a beginner again. 

[matski]

Like a few of you, I thought the same thing last year when I inherited a guitar. 😌

 

A word of advice: whatever you do, don't attempt to learn to play guitar on a 12 string.... 😬

[Cato]

12 hours ago, obbm said:

Interesting.  We went too see some relations this afternoon and they gave me an acoustic that belonged to their daughter. It not at al bad but needs a set up and some new strings so it's a start on a budget. What strings do you use? If I get on OK then I'll get an electric.

 

Generally speaking steel strung acoustic guitars are physically harder to play than electrics, they tend to have heavier gauge strings and higher string tension. I've always found it much easier to fret barre chords cleanly on electrics.

 

Although as a longtime bass player I suspect fretting hand finger strength isn't going to be much of a hurdle for you.

 

String gauge and type is all down to personal taste, although for a beginner you probably don't want to go any lighter than 10s, just because they'll be too easy to bend out of pitch when you're learning to fret chords. 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

21 hours ago, gafbass02 said:

I have a cheap and decent squier mustang for exactly this. I was dubious at first, but boy this thing has blown me away!

I second this suggestion. I have a squier bullet mustang like this in funky yellow. The black & metallic blue ones are about £120 new and the FSR versions in more interesting colours are a few quid more. It doesn't have a trem so is easier to keep in tune than something like a strat and the stock humbuckers sound surpringly good. The scale length is slightly shorter than a strat or tele and the frets were impeccibly finished on mine.

[DubDelay]

Ibanez all the way for neck comfort.

[casapete]

22 hours ago, ambient said:

Do Telecasters have slim necks?

Like most other Fenders, they can vary a great deal. Generally speaking ( as with basses perhaps ) their more 50’s and maybe early 60’s inspired vintage-y stuff tend to have bigger necks. Their more ‘modern’ incarnations have slimmer necks , and demand seems to have led most manufacturers to do the same.

With 6 string guitars I’m one of the relatively few people who like a large neck profile. I have a 59 Les Paul Junior that is nigh on perfect for me, as well as a ‘Fat neck’ 335, a 54 Strat reissue and a Baja Tele, the latter two having fantastic ‘V’ shaped necks. I find that the meatier necks are way more comfortable, and my hands aren’t overly big either! When I play a skinny necked guitar I struggle to get my hand comfortable. Horses for courses etc.

[cheddatom]

1 hour ago, Cato said:

 

Generally speaking steel strung acoustic guitars are physically harder to play than electrics, they tend to have heavier gauge strings and higher string tension. I've always found it much easier to fret barre chords cleanly on electrics.

 

Although as a longtime bass player I suspect fretting hand finger strength isn't going to be much of a hurdle for you.

 

String gauge and type is all down to personal taste, although for a beginner you probably don't want to go any lighter than 10s, just because they'll be too easy to bend out of pitch when you're learning to fret chords. 

 

IMO fretting a barre chord is very different to fretting a single note. It's worth persevering with acoustic as it'll build up that strength, but electric would be much easier