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Five strings for small hands?

Dee-man

Dee-man

Supporting Member
Apr 6, 2004
3,376
2,681
SF Bay Area
#1
I have small hands and proportionately short fingers. I just got a Rob Allen mb2-5 from a fellow TBer and, though the bass is terrific, I'm finding that the top muscle on my left forearm is getting very strained and tight after playing just a short while. My strap length is very short. Maybe I'm out of shape or have bad technique, but it may simply be the width of the neck (1 7/8 at the nut and 2 5/8 at the 12th fret and fairly meaty height-wise).

Does anyone have any suggestions (new techniques, just tough-it-out for a while) or recommendations for narrower, faster 5-strings?

Thanks a lot, Dee-man
 
#3
Well first off look after your arm. You get tendinitis and you won't be playing for a while. Just try it out little by little and see if you can eventually get accustomed. My hands are in the same boat and I stay away from 5 er's.
 
#4
Same boat as you are. . .

From the ones I have tried, I can tell you Zons and Smiths 5s have very comfortable necks that make you fly, even if you have small hands. No fatigue. StingRay 5s too, but they tend to be heavy, so it is a compromise. I have heard that some Ibanez have very skinny necks.

In my general opinion:
-Warwicks are too chunky.
-Sadowskys, although VERY comfortable, the wide neck gets painful for small hands in the long run.
-MTD are way wide.
-Yamahas are chunky, too.

Some people say that having small hands can be compensated by good technique, etc., and you can play an 11-string Conklin with no problem. . .

but from personal experience, I think that is B.S. . . To reach your full potential as a player, small hands need small necks.
 
#9
Thanks for all the good ideas and commiserations. Keep 'em coming. I really like playing a 5 (and the RA at that) and am not ready to give up on a 5 just yet (though my RA mb2-4 is sooooooooo comfortable!).
 
#11
I have small hands and Im currently playing a 35 inch scale 5.
Another thing to look for is something with an Adjustable bridge so you can narrow or expand the string spacing, that made a big diffference for me.

For the first week after I had my Roscoe SKB3006, my left hand and forearm would hurt after playing but for me at least it was just that I had to get used to it, after the first week I had No problem at all playing that wide neck, you MIGHT be going trough the same thing, but Ill say that if you are having pain to proceed very slowly and cautiously. no sense in hurting yourself when you have alot of other options bass wise out there.

- Tom
 
#12
Ibz is the narrowest I've played, as far as nut spacing, and they've got 34" scales. The Cirrus is nice too, but the 35" scale does make for some stretching in the lower positions. A Stingray or other MM might not be bad either, from the four string basses I've played.

P.
 
#13
I love my 55-02 but after playing it for a long time my left hand also starts to hurt (I'm cursed with smallish hands as well). I also have some trouble with faster passages with long reaches.

I bought an SR5 HH about a month ago and so far I'm much more comfortable with that one. I don't think I like the tone quite as much (at least not yet), but I'm learning to dial up what I want so maybe it might end up being my keeper. The jury's still out though.

Also, I just got an SX SJB-62 fretless 5 string for Christmas and that's very comfortable for me to play as well. I sold a MIM Jazz Deluxe V about a year ago and I had no problems with that one either.

So, I've had three basses 34" scale with ~17mm spacing and had no real problems with any of them. I've had one that's a 35" scale with 19mm spacing and that one gives me occassional problems. I'd like to try a narrow spaced 35" bass sometime and see how that works for me. After playing with my Stingray for a while now, I'm not so sure I was right about scale length being the issue for me. I'm now wondering if it's really the spacing.
 
#14
lefty007 said:
Some people say that having small hands can be compensated by good technique, etc.
Click to expand...

Yes, absolutely...

lefty007 said:
...and you can play an 11-string Conklin with no problem...
Click to expand...

But within reason...

dave64o said:
So, I've had three basses 34" scale with ~17mm spacing and had no real problems with any of them. I've had one that's a 35" scale with 19mm spacing and that one gives me occassional problems. I'd like to try a narrow spaced 35" bass sometime and see how that works for me. After playing with my Stingray for a while now, I'm not so sure I was right about scale length being the issue for me. I'm now wondering if it's really the spacing.
Click to expand...

Yes, for me the board width would also be more of an issue than would the extended scale length. A 35-inch scale five-string would be the ticket - but with relatively compact string spacing...

MM
 
#17
My hands are very small. Measuring from the bottom of the palm to the base of the fingers is about 3.5 inches and the longest finger (the middle) is 3 inches. And...I am challenged by my pinky finger because it is 1/2 inch shorter than it should be!! I jammed it when I was a toddler and nobody noticed until I started playing guitar (teenager). I don't have a knuckle like everyone else does - mine is jammed down into the top of my hand...just an indent in that spot! LOL
Why couldn't this have happened to my right hand!!! Arghhh!!!

I play a Fender Custom Shop Custom Classic Jazz V and it feels perfect for me.

-just my 2 cents
 
#18
Here is my suggestion.. go to the stores that you like.. ones that have a great diversity (did i say that!).. in basses.. when you go.. take with you a 19mm, 18mm and 17mm socket.. lay the different sockets between the strings at the bridge.. the one that you are looking for are either 17mm spacing or 18mm spacing.. but I would reconmend the 17mm spacing if you are a finger player.. but if you do any slap.. then the 18mm may be the way to go. Some basses that I can think of off the top of my head that are 17mm spacing are Dean 5 Q5, Tobias (but don't remember which ones), Gibson LesPaul 5 (actually i think it is smaller than 17mm). I play a Dingwall AB-I 5'er and it is 18mm spacing. I have small hands and have no problems playing it.. but then I don't slap and pop either.. Stay away from fenders.. in my honest opinion.. they are wide.

My 2 cents..

Randy
 
#19
How high does your bass rest on you and what's your left hand technique like?

I have pretty small hands. Hell, I'm only 5'6" and weighing in a 120lbs.

I mostly play Peavey Cirrus basses, but my go-to bass is an MB2 5er. Despite the extra width of the MB2, I find it more comfortable than my narrower Cirrus basses, which is probably due to the back profile.

I tend to hang my bass so my right hand rests a few inches above my naval and angle the bass to a roughly 45 degree angle. My knuckles run parallel to the fingerboard and my thumb is seated on the back of the neck, very similar to classical guitar positioning.

I used to experience hand fatigue because my bass was either too high or too low and I always wanted to wrap my thumb around the neck. Once I corrected this, I could play a 5 or wide 5 for a long time without fatigue.
 
#20
I think I'm #3 or 4 to recommend Ibanez and SX for smaller hands. I just got an Ibanez SR305DX and the neck is thin and narrow but not too narrow (the sound needs work . . .). Very comfortable and lightweight too.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I have both SX P and J 5ers and both necks feel great (just as narrow and a bit thicker/rounder). The J is my main player. The sound is much better than the Ibanez but they are also heavier. They are also 1/2 the price of the Ibanez.

http://www.rondomusic.net/bassguitars5.html
 

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