Hand Size?

[lark_z]

The great post this week re- smaller basses for smaller people hit on both bass scale and bass reach, which was quite informative. After reading this and seeing people (Ok - mostly women) that are dramatically smaller than I am playing a bass, it really makes me wonder.

I'm 5'11' and a (whopping) 160 lbs. I've always maintained that my hands are small, hence the whining about needing a short scale.

Here's the left hand, 9" span when extended from pinky tip to thumb tip. It's just under 8" from the tip of the middle finger to the base of the palm, which according to this is typical. Average Hand Size: For Adults, Children, Athletes, and More

Maybe I just need to "man up"?

 

[Mushroo]

We did a poll on this a few years back, with hundreds of responses. Here are the results:

Average Finger Length (index finger)?

There's no need for the neanderthal "man up" attitude. This is music, not powerlifting. If you watch a lot of pro bassists, they don't have their fingers spread 9" apart, but rather, relaxed and close together, almost touching. For example here is Geddy Lee from Rush, demonstrating the relaxed and comfortable left-hand position that has facilitated his 50+ year career:

 

[Jazz Ad]

 

[Vinny_G]

It is much more profitable, in my humble opinion, to learn to change position quickly, you will gain in dexterity and versatility.

 

[IamGroot]

It is much more profitable, in my humble opinion, to learn to change position quickly, you will gain in dexterity and versatility.

Shifting proficiency is a must for everybody.

If you want to play bebop, OFPF is easier and smoother, although you are still doing a lot of shifting.

 

[Watchootognbout]

The great post this week re- smaller basses for smaller people hit on both bass scale and bass reach, which was quite informative. After reading this and seeing people (Ok - mostly women) that are dramatically smaller than I am playing a bass, it really makes me wonder.

I'm 5'11' and a (whopping) 160 lbs. I've always maintained that my hands are small, hence the whining about needing a short scale.

Here's the left hand, 9" span when extended from pinky tip to thumb tip. It's just under 8" from the tip of the middle finger to the base of the palm, which according to this is typical. Average Hand Size: For Adults, Children, Athletes, and More

Maybe I just need to "man up"?

You and I have the same hand size.
And are about the same build and weight.

I have a 6"index to pinky spread/reach.


And I have no problem playing 34' and 35" scale basses.

I do index/pinky 2-5 reaches like this all the time.

No problem.

 

[stigbeve]

My daughter started out on a 34" scale Ibanez GSR200 with .45-.105 10 year old roundwounds at the age of 13 and she did fine.

 

[Clark Dark]

Hand size, shmand size

 

[lark_z]

Thanks for the replies. I've moved my capo from Fret #2 to #1, so I'm playing at roughly 32" scale for awhile. Will drop back to 34" in a month or so. It's not really that much of an issue until I hit something that must be played OFPF or must have lightning quick movement. Seems that the tone got better when I moved the capo and the volume from the pickup increased. Don't want to start a whole different thread about that here. Thanks again.

 

[Malcolm35]

^^ Problem solved. My small hands played a lot of bass. Yes I do slide and think nothing of it.

 

[Element Zero]

5’6”, 8 inch spread pinky to thumb, and my main 5 string P-ish body with 19mm spacing at 34” scale is a breeze to play. Put a 4 string J shape bass in my hands and I’m really struggling to reach the low end.

Personally, I feel the “small hands” excuse a bit of a cop out. Physical disabilities or abnormal hand/finger attributes, sure, I get it. However, what ever is comfortable for YOU is what’s comfortable. My fretting hand cramps on Ibanez Soundgear necks but my MM SR5 is butter. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[dnp41]

Yeah first of let me say there is absolutely no link between hand size and... Uhm.. junk size.

So I have very small hands.. I'm 6'3" and about 200 lbs, but my hands are the exact same size as my wife's hands, or of the coworker who didn't believe me (she's 5'8" or something). My favorite bass is my vintera 50's P, with the widest neck I could find.

My point? It's much more taste related then anything else. No need to man up, no need to do anything else but make music on the instrument that speaks most to you.

 

[TOOL460002]

Seems like more of a guitar issue, and, as I don't play guitar, the only example I have is Buckethead. You can't slide around if you need notes to ring out, which is why it really doesn't matter on bass imo. Mine are average; big enough to fret index-pinky from the 1st to 4th fret, which is all that matters to me.

 

[James Collins]

I'm the same size as you and play 34" scale. I've long thought most people complaining about small hands have average sized hands.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Do you think Mohini has bass scale/hand size problems?