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best bass for small hands
- Thread starter parksung
- Start date
I would add to the list a Gibson SG bass. There are several models available from about $900.00 USD to $1430.00 USD depending on the model. They are short scale basses with a slim neck and are fairly light weight.
Check out musiciansfreind.com and music123.com. They have the lower priced models as well as the higher priced ones.
The white one goes for about $1299.00 USD.
Good Luck!
Let us know what you end up getting. Post pics of your new bass when you can.
Check out musiciansfreind.com and music123.com. They have the lower priced models as well as the higher priced ones.
The white one goes for about $1299.00 USD.
Good Luck!
Let us know what you end up getting. Post pics of your new bass when you can.
I"ve read alot of interviews with Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones.
He stated many times that his small hands kept him from playing most Fenders. So what you"re dealing with isn"t a new problem.
His solution was to play short scale basses.
Alembics and others might be a bit pricy.
Fender Mustangs , Danelectro Longhorns and good places to start. The nice thing is either can be found for under $500.
I play a Longhorn and I perfer it"s tone over my Fenders.
He stated many times that his small hands kept him from playing most Fenders. So what you"re dealing with isn"t a new problem.
His solution was to play short scale basses.
Alembics and others might be a bit pricy.
Fender Mustangs , Danelectro Longhorns and good places to start. The nice thing is either can be found for under $500.
I play a Longhorn and I perfer it"s tone over my Fenders.
Hand size is not a limiting factor for playing bass. You should be able to play just about any bass. Go to the music store and hold a few - and see which ones feel the most comfortible to you. A Fender Jazz should work.
fender jazz basses do have slim necks but the bodies are quite large..
have a look for used sterlings, corts curbows and ibanez SR .. dont avoid any basses though try all that you can.
im relatively small, about 5, 7 and i started playing bass at a young age so i was smaller when i started. as a lot of people are saying its more about getting a technique that suits you than getting a bass for smaller people.
have a look for used sterlings, corts curbows and ibanez SR .. dont avoid any basses though try all that you can.
im relatively small, about 5, 7 and i started playing bass at a young age so i was smaller when i started. as a lot of people are saying its more about getting a technique that suits you than getting a bass for smaller people.
She probably weighs half of what I weigh... so the weight of a 9 pound bass is going to affect her a lot more than it affects me. It's not just about having small hands. Why hang an anchor around her neck. Sure, she can learn to play on a big, heavy bass. But she doesn't have to.
The original poster should make a list of her favorite bass players... what kind of basses are they playing? What kind of music do you want to play (in the broadest sense... jazz, rock, funk etc). These factors will also be considerations, in addition to size/weight.
The original poster should make a list of her favorite bass players... what kind of basses are they playing? What kind of music do you want to play (in the broadest sense... jazz, rock, funk etc). These factors will also be considerations, in addition to size/weight.
I'd like to add to the info here.
I've been playing bass having played guitar since the early 60s.
I am 5'11" but have pretty small hands & feet.
My first bass was a Sunn P bass but I quickly moved to a Yamaha RBX375 which is a 5 string.
I didn't have a great deal of trouble with the LENGTH of the fret-reach, but I found that the WIDTH was causing me to overstretch and I was getting some tendon pain in my left hand.
I moved to a Hohner B Bass 5 string which allows me to do two things: since the neck and string spacing is narrower than the Yamaha I don't need to stretch my hand so far.
With its being a 5 string, I can play up the neck, working on shorter frets than a 4 string (ie if you were to put a capo across a 5 at the fifth fret, it effectively works as a 4+1).
The other thing I have done is to string a couple of basses as BEAD. This gives the extension of a 5 with the neck width of a 4. I have an Ibanez RB620 (P bass) and a Westone Thunder III Fretless strung like this. This tuning particularly suited the singing keys of the singer in my last band.
Of course, these are personal solutions and as I do a lot of guitar teching, I can fix up nuts & setup myself.
Hope this gives you some ideas.
I've been playing bass having played guitar since the early 60s.
I am 5'11" but have pretty small hands & feet.
My first bass was a Sunn P bass but I quickly moved to a Yamaha RBX375 which is a 5 string.
I didn't have a great deal of trouble with the LENGTH of the fret-reach, but I found that the WIDTH was causing me to overstretch and I was getting some tendon pain in my left hand.
I moved to a Hohner B Bass 5 string which allows me to do two things: since the neck and string spacing is narrower than the Yamaha I don't need to stretch my hand so far.
With its being a 5 string, I can play up the neck, working on shorter frets than a 4 string (ie if you were to put a capo across a 5 at the fifth fret, it effectively works as a 4+1).
The other thing I have done is to string a couple of basses as BEAD. This gives the extension of a 5 with the neck width of a 4. I have an Ibanez RB620 (P bass) and a Westone Thunder III Fretless strung like this. This tuning particularly suited the singing keys of the singer in my last band.
Of course, these are personal solutions and as I do a lot of guitar teching, I can fix up nuts & setup myself.
Hope this gives you some ideas.
The American Deluxe models have downsized bodies, and can be very light as well. They're great basses too. On the pricey side new (though I've seen good deals at GC occasionally), but used they're not too bad.
One of the best blues bassists I've heard around here played one of these, and sounded fantastic. She was about 5' 1". And she played a five string. So it certainly can be done, and done right.
I'd have to say any Ibanez will do fine, ATK series or Soundgear. I dunno why people are saying Stingray I think it's a little wide of a neck for small hands takes a while to get used to for me. I would recommend a sterling for smaller hands since it has a jazz type neck.
yeah why are so many people trying to say fender . all get wide at the high end .its like they think there is a fender for everyone . blind faith .... . the only fender i want is on my car. if i want someone to smash into anything of mine ill put a fender in front any day
I'm 5'2", and have proportionally sized hands for my size.
What I found was I'm fine on the first couple of positions on any four or five string, it is when I get higher up the neck where things can get weird. The reach back to the E or B string above the 12th fret can get pretty tough for those of us with small hands.
The weight issue hasn't been a concern for me.
For me, it comes down to choosing the right bass for the music being performed. If I'm playing blues, country or 70's rock; what ever gets the big fat tone. If I'm going to try and hack my way through a Bach cello piece, then hello skinny neck.
As far as good choices - Schecter, older Gibsons (had a Les Paul, that thing killed) or try any other neck-through non-Fender. For those of us with small hands, the heel design of a Fender style instrument really gets in the way when you start ripping up the neck.
What I found was I'm fine on the first couple of positions on any four or five string, it is when I get higher up the neck where things can get weird. The reach back to the E or B string above the 12th fret can get pretty tough for those of us with small hands.
The weight issue hasn't been a concern for me.
For me, it comes down to choosing the right bass for the music being performed. If I'm playing blues, country or 70's rock; what ever gets the big fat tone. If I'm going to try and hack my way through a Bach cello piece, then hello skinny neck.
As far as good choices - Schecter, older Gibsons (had a Les Paul, that thing killed) or try any other neck-through non-Fender. For those of us with small hands, the heel design of a Fender style instrument really gets in the way when you start ripping up the neck.
Unfortunately....that bass is probably upwards of 850$ Look into some lesser know Japanese and Korean brands. They make Jazz imitation basses that have very small necks. Also Ive heard the epi thunderbird basses have thin necks.
Sound gear basses are good as well as SOME fenders.
I strongly disagree . As I've played both guitar for years and now play bass -short fingers can certainly hinder manuevering on the fretboard . You can't play what you can't reach. Certainly with practice short fingered players can work extremely well within their limitations but it can't be said that finger size doesn't matter.Choosing a bass with shorter frets is without a doubt the way to go especially for a beginner who may be more apt to become frustrated more easily .
Just an opinion from a short fingered player with big feet.
I would reccomend Jazz basses or MM Sterlings, they're both great basses with smallish necks.
My first bass was a Hofner violin bass copy, it got it pretty much because it was comfortable and small, and I also like the Beatles a lot, so you could try and find a violin bass or other short scale bass.
My first bass was a Hofner violin bass copy, it got it pretty much because it was comfortable and small, and I also like the Beatles a lot, so you could try and find a violin bass or other short scale bass.
I'm only 5'6" and I have been playing 35" scale wide 5 strings for years. Positioning the bass in the right place will help as will 1-2-4 fingering in the lower positions.
I also play some medium and short scale basses. The reduced weight and reduced reach is nice, too. I'd recommend the Fender Urge or Urge Standard since they're 32" scale and still nice quality. The Rob Allen Mouse 30 is probably one of the easiest basses to play, but a shade out of the desired price range.
I also play some medium and short scale basses. The reduced weight and reduced reach is nice, too. I'd recommend the Fender Urge or Urge Standard since they're 32" scale and still nice quality. The Rob Allen Mouse 30 is probably one of the easiest basses to play, but a shade out of the desired price range.
My case is similar. I am 5'7", and I have small hands. To give the OP an idea, my glove size is "women's size S" (7" around the widest part of the palm, thumb not included.)
My first bass is a P copy, 1 5/8" at the nut. A while ago I decided I wanted a 5-string bass, but I was concerned about the neck being too wide. I went to several stores and tried out as many fivers as I could find, Fenders, Squiers, Ibanez Soundgears, Peaveys, Yamahas, MTDs, Godins, and I realized I actually felt more comfortable with the narrower string spacing on some of them.
I find that I don't have as much a problem curling my hand around the neck as having to stretch my fingers on the fretboard. I bought an SX 5-string P bass, with a 1 11/16" width at nut. No problem at all, very comfortable when playing patterns like root-5-8, for example.
The length of the fret reach only becomes a problem when I need to play something like 1-hammer-4. But then this has to do with the overall length of the bass, and not so much the width of the neck.
I think it would certainly be easier for us small-handers to play a shortscale. I'm sticking with 34" because of there's a wider selection of basses. Since I got the 5-string, I've restrung my old P copy DGCF and put a capo on the second fret.
David
