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best bass for small hands

#82
JimmyM said:
Explain how that's absurd.
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Leverage is a big part of the equation, but there are limitations. If the dimensions we are talking about (hand size vs. neck size) are too disproportionate, there is no leverage. The hand won't be able to get proper leverage. So telling a beginner student that hand size doesn't matter, and that he/she can play an 11-string bass or an upright without major challenges, is not very good advise. (Well, that is not exactly what you said, I'm just generalizing from yours and other replies on the gereral consensus the hand size does not matter.)

Sure, proper technique and thumb position, relaxation, economy of motion, etc., will aliviate any fatigue problems, but a person with small hands trying to learn or to reach his/hers maximum potential with a bigger-than-apropriate bass, is not the best aproach. The person can play and learn properly to a certain degree, but won't be able to do all he/she can do. Speed, dexterity and comfort will be compromised.

I have smallish hands, and I have tried anything from a Hofner to a 7-string. I have clean and proper technique, and I'm conscious of leverage. But I simply cannot play to my full potential on a bass that is bigger than what my hands can manage.

Moreover, with all the variety of basses out there today, why in the world would you prevent a beginner with small hands from getting the most comfortable bass available? It seems illogical to me.

I would advise a beginner to get a normal size bass, like a standard 34"-scale Jazz that has a slim neck, and has been proven for a few decades to be a comfortable bass for people of all sizes. I would only recommend a shortscale or smaller basses to kids, or persons with very small hands. They can later come back to shortscales by choice, because the sound and vibe. But I think most people will find a Jazz bass neck pretty manageable. But starting on a Warwick Thumb 6-string, for example, won't be too easy.

So I would say hand size does matter and one has to try several types of basses with different specification to find what feels comfortable. Small hands are not all the same. Some people have short finger; some people have small palms. Some people will get cramps with a super thin and small neck like on a Ibanez Soundgear. Some people like wide and flats neck, etc. . . Also, string tension and action setup contributes to all these leverage and comfort factors. It is more complex than simply saying, "hand size means nothing."
 
#83
HELLonWheels187 said:
Technique > Hand size

If you play properly the size of the bass shouldn't matter.
FTR: Vic Wooten is 5'3 and he plays a 34" bass and I like to think he is pretty good.
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+1

I am 5'6" and have very small hands.

I have no problems with my Bongo 5, Fender 5ers or Lakland.

Unless your style requires you to use your thumb to fret notes a la John Mayer or Jimi... or you have to bridge the entire fretboard with your index finger like Jaco and play chords with your other fingers, who cares how thick/long the neck is?
 
#84
lefty007 said:
Leverage is a big part of the equation, but there are limitations. If the dimensions we are talking about (hand size vs. neck size) are too disproportionate, there is no leverage. The hand won't be able to get proper leverage. So telling a beginner student that hand size doesn't matter, and that he/she can play an 11-string bass or an upright without major challenges, is not very good advise. (Well, that is not exactly what you said, I'm just generalizing from yours and other replies on the gereral consensus the hand size does not matter.)

Sure, proper technique and thumb position, relaxation, economy of motion, etc., will aliviate any fatigue problems, but a person with small hands trying to learn or to reach his/hers maximum potential with a bigger-than-apropriate bass, is not the best aproach. The person can play and learn properly to a certain degree, but won't be able to do all he/she can do. Speed, dexterity and comfort will be compromised.

I have smallish hands, and I have tried anything from a Hofner to a 7-string. I have clean and proper technique, and I'm conscious of leverage. But I simply cannot play to my full potential on a bass that is bigger than what my hands can manage.

Moreover, with all the variety of basses out there today, why in the world would you prevent a beginner with small hands from getting the most comfortable bass available? It seems illogical to me.

I would advise a beginner to get a normal size bass, like a standard 34"-scale Jazz that has a slim neck, and has been proven for a few decades to be a comfortable bass for people of all sizes. I would only recommend a shortscale or smaller basses to kids, or persons with very small hands. They can later come back to shortscales by choice, because the sound and vibe. But I think most people will find a Jazz bass neck pretty manageable. But starting on a Warwick Thumb 6-string, for example, won't be too easy.

So I would say hand size does matter and one has to try several types of basses with different specification to find what feels comfortable. Small hands are not all the same. Some people have short finger; some people have small palms. Some people will get cramps with a super thin and small neck like on a Ibanez Soundgear. Some people like wide and flats neck, etc. . . Also, string tension and action setup contributes to all these leverage and comfort factors. It is more complex than simply saying, "hand size means nothing."
Click to expand...
Comfort is one thing. Physically being able to do it is another. I've played basses that were very uncomfortable to me. But I played them, and hand size didn't enter into it.

BTW, I feel the same about upright. I've seen many people with small hands absolutely rip on a wide necked upright, including women and mid-sized kids. I'd say thickness of the neck enters into it when you're a little kid, but once you hit about 12 or 13, it shouldn't.

However, I do think that people should buy what's comfortable to them, so if they feel better on a smaller neck, more power to them. But with good leverage, even a 12 year old girl could play an 11 string ;)
 
#85
JimmyM said:
I've seen many people with small hands absolutely rip on a wide necked upright, including women and mid-sized kids.
Click to expand...
This is why I often mention ergonomics (someone else referred to 'good form' - same thing) as the wrist angles are far more natural on an upright, especially for the fretting hand, than on an electric the way most people play them.
 
#86
AHHHHHH, just found this thread... most interested...
I am the type of guy who'd rather stay away from longer scales.
Is Wooten really 5' 3" ? Probably, but just check the size of those hands !!!!! :D
 
#89
parksung said:
i'm 5'3" and have pretty small hands (i'm a girl).

any recommendations on a good intermediate bass for small handed people? i've heard Yamaha's are good but i don't like the cutaways on some cheaper models (ie. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed])
Click to expand...

I didn't read through all the posts but a 32" scale bass would be an option that will still have great tone if made correctly.
 
#90
I'm 5'4" and I play a regular p-bass, but the first few frets are harder for me to reach across - fatigue is sometimes an issue. I agree w/ the suggestions to try the sx short scale basses... or maybe get an ibanez. I've tried a couple in stores and the necks are really thin.
 
#92
parksung said:
i'm 5'3" and have pretty small hands (i'm a girl).

any recommendations on a good intermediate bass for small handed people? i've heard Yamaha's are good but i don't like the cutaways on some cheaper models (ie. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed])
Click to expand...
I have pretty small hands too but I started on upright so I've never been comfortable with a skinny necked bass. For me, I play as wide as I'm comfortable with. When I 1st started playing electric, I bought the bass with the skinniest neck I could find (Hagstrom) it was a real pencil neck. Anyway, while on the road I had to pickup another bass as the Hagstrom got left behind in MI. I bought a Kalamazoo that had a much wider neck. After I got use to it the Kalamazoo felt much more comfortable. So hand size is a factor to a point. But don't rule out basses with a wider neck just because you have small hands, try them all.
 
#94
Chopin, regarded as one of the technically best pianists of all time, had hands so small he couldn't span a single octave. Other famous pianists have had fingers so fat they couldn't fit between black keys. Clearly, these artists had to develop techniques suitable to their own physiology.

Certainly a little Youtube surfing of people playing the super-wide ERBs shows this. Nobody ever born has hands large enough to use 4-string technique on an 11-string ERB - yet people can and do play such instruments with great proficiency.

lefty007 said:
I simply cannot play to my full potential on a bass that is bigger than what my hands can manage.
Click to expand...
So there's a hidden assumption in this statement. What's really being said is, using small-neck techniques on a larger neck won't work well, but the problem lies in the techniques and not in the neck. There seems to be no such thing as a bass "bigger than my hands can manage" - using techniques appropriate for that bass. An 88-key piano was not too wide for Chopin's tiny hands to manage just fine.
 
#96
rfclef said:
SO sir.... Are you imPLYing that 30.5" models do NOT have great tone??? HMMMMMmmm?:eyebrow:

lol.

Bobby... Long armed big handed short scaler...:bassist:
Click to expand...

LOL, you know what he meant. Sometimes ya want a short scale for that lo-fi deeper tone, which is easy to do. Trying to get a short or medium scale bass to sound like a standard or XL scale bass is quite the challenge, which a guy like Cliff does extremely well. I trust him so much, that I might order a 32" scale 7 string or narrow 8 sometime.
 
#97
spade2you said:
LOL, you know what he meant. Sometimes ya want a short scale for that lo-fi deeper tone, which is easy to do. Trying to get a short or medium scale bass to sound like a standard or XL scale bass is quite the challenge, which a guy like Cliff does extremely well. I trust him so much, that I might order a 32" scale 7 string or narrow 8 sometime.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know... cheap, poorly made shorties can sound like garbage (as can cheap, poorly made full scales...). I love the sound of my Epi Viola more every time I play it... I have a cheap chinese shorty that I am not so enamoured with... Though I am thinking of trying out some better pups and pots just to see... I want to keep it as my "play outside at the football games" axe (I teach HS band) so I do not have to take the Epi out in the weather, or the Birdsong I am about to order (Did I mention I am gonna get a Birdsong?:cool: )

Bobby
 
#99
"Leverage is a big part of the equation, but there are limitations. If the dimensions we are talking about (hand size vs. neck size) are too disproportionate, there is no leverage."

I guess thats why my hands cramp up when playing my Epiphone in the lower registers, and when I tried out my friends Ibanez EDB600, my hands felt VERY comfortable.
 
#100
i'm a 5'1" progressive/shred bassist and i learned most of my technique on a warwick streamer - i think with a good technique, it doesn't really matter, although i can see a short-scale bass being beneficial (i own a short-scale turser beatle bass as well).

don't make fun of me for being small...i'm young and i'll grow. :p
 

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