What's a good bass for small hands?

[spade2you]

I too would suggest a short scale model like the Fender Mustang bass or something with a slimmer neck such as a Jazz bass.

With most short/medium scale basses having a short top horn, 1st position reach generally isn't that much better. It's true that the frets are a little closer together. 34-35" scale isn't difficult if you can adopt 1-2-4 fingering. Where most folks go wrong is wanting to play 1 finger per fret and typically have their fretting hand at an angle that makes the same distance between frets a longer reach.

 

[Basso54]

Just to echo what everyone else has said, with appropriate practice and developing dexterity/flexibility in your hands/fingers. You can play any bass you want with ease. At that point, smaller necks will become "faster" necks. When I started out, I felt the same way you did, until I met a fellow bassist with smaller hands than mine (kinda creepy) that had a few more years under his belt. He gave me the rundown on flexibility and how it relates to being able to play on bigger necks. It's not all related to just playing either. You need to stretch you muscles in your hands. Warm them up before you ever start playing/practicing. It helps, trust me.

A few personal favorites for faster necks are Geddy Lee Jazz basses (see signature) and Ibanez SR series basses. With the SR's stick to current 500 series or higher. Older 400 series are pretty good too. I'm currently looking into getting back into the Ibanez herd with a SRT800DX. Neck through, EMG's, and a veeeeery fast neck. I may be rambling but the thing you need to remember is that practice will take you further and make you a better player. Very few of us are blessed with the "badass musician gene". Be patient and just kick back, play the bass and enjoy yourself. If practice ever becomes a hassle, then you probably need a new hobby.

 

[bassobrutto]

I don't have large hands. Yet the only necks I generally don't feel comfortable with are a P Bass that's 1 3/4 at the nut and 9.25" radius, as well as StingRays (though I'm ok with the new Classic StingRay, which has a slightly different neck). I've discovered that radius has a lot to do with my comfort. For example, I used to own a Mike Lull P with that was 1 3/4 at the nut -- which I normally run from -- but the bass had a 12" radius and my hand liked that flatness.

My experience too. My guess is that it is partly a matter of fretboard surface area. If you flattened a fretboard with a more curved 7.25" type radius, it would of course be a bit wider and thus tougher for shorter fingers to cover. I much prefer the flatter P bass neck to the more curved but supposedly "thinner" J bass neck, despite having puny fingers. But overall I find any short scale bass more comfortable than any long scale because of closer fret spacing. I recommend the OP look at short scales which get a fuller, humbucker-type sound, e.g., new Gretsch Junior Jet with two pickups, Hagstrom HB-4, or Gibson SG.

 

[Bassist Jay]

If your looking for a thinner neck bass due to having smaller hands but you also want a higher end quality bass, the Music Man Sterling's are really good or the Music Man Stingray's with the SLO neck which is basically a Sterling neck on a Stingray bass. You can find those used for somewhere in your price range or even a Sterling by Music Man SB14 new would be in your price range.

 

[slaphappychappy]

Victor wooten has the stumpiest fingers I've seen a bass player have, look at what he does.

 

[Catbuster]

Victor wooten has the stumpiest fingers I've seen a bass player have, look at what he does.

I think I would either win or give Vic Wooten a run for his money in that contest.

I think anything with a thin neck front to back has worked for me, but I have changed my technique to adjust to the bigger necks of 5 & 6 string basses.

Some examples would be a Squier Classic Vibe '60s Jazz. That thing is ridiculously comfortable after playing a Bongo six all day. Really, any Jazz bass is pretty good.

But as I said earlier, to be able to play many basses easily with midget fingers I've just adjusted my left hand to a vertical position without my thumb reaching over the fretboard when playing my E, B & A strings. This alternates with a classical guitar style with my thumb parallel to the neck for the higher strings.

I can comfortably play a six this way.

 

[JimmyM]

I have yet to ever meet a grown adult male with smaller fingers than me (no, the myth isn't true, wiseasses), and I'll play any size bass you have. That said, I do like slimmer necks, though my 76 P has a wide neck and I love it, too. But nothing wrong with short scale or medium scale basses, either. I have a couple and I use them often.

 

[newbold]

KEEP THE FLAT OF YOUR THUMB IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BACK OF YOUR NECK.

YOU WILL HAVE MORE REACH THAN YOU NEED AND ALL THE STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE POSSIBLE PLAYING.

This way you can still play a 36" scale bass with ease.

My apologies for the shouting but the OP's situation being answered with 'technique' and no description of said technique may not inspire research.

Our hands are designed to give us the maximum strength and dexterity in out fingertips and thumbtips. While we may anchor an object into our palm to press into that object directly (like squashing a tomato in our hands or popping a bunch of bubble wrap) from time to time, anchoring the neck of our instrument in our hands slows us down, wears our fingers out, and keeps our hands from moving up and down the neck AND fretboard.

While I'm not the fastest bass player, learning about this years back lengthened my playing time from 30 minutes to 5+ hours. When I started playing like this, the next lesson to learn was in holding my wrist to keep it from fatiguing. Not only is it easier to play, but I get a better workout from it and my overall tone improved. Better notes, better control, more finessed muting, and even more percussive hammer ons were all pluses. Lots of bass players hook their thumb over the neck and many other players only use the parts of their fingers with knuckles but I now have no idea why anyone would want to.

Shorter scales and closer string spacing should really be more about the way an instrument responds and the way we play songs/jam rather than having to pick a neck to fit you. Some string spacing lends itself to power chords and other intervals, others are better for you to slap or for thumbing the bass. Some scales sound fatter or clearer than others.

Nothing about the instrument itself should prohibit you from being able to play comfortably when you know better.

I do and now you do, reader.

Now there's no reason you can't be the last one standing at the all night jam, ready for the drummer in her second wind...and take her out again.

 

[slaphappychappy]

I guess I'm lucky as I have pretty big hands that seem to work well on bass and piano, and neck size has never been something I worry about.

 

[loopee]

Victor wooten has the stumpiest fingers I've seen a bass player have, look at what he does.

Vic might have small hands for a male but a 5 foot nothing woman still has smaller hands and fingers and shorter reach than him and he's not 60 years old with arthritis from playing for 40 years......you shouldn't force someone to use a long scale just because......

 

[slaphappychappy]

Huh? What does that even mean?

 

[JimmyM]

Vic might have small hands for a male but a 5 foot nothing woman still has smaller hands and fingers and shorter reach than him and he's not 60 years old with arthritis from playing for 40 years......you shouldn't force someone to use a long scale just because......

I don't think there's any force involved

 

[Duke21]

Victor wooten has the stumpiest fingers I've seen a bass player have, look at what he does.

Vic have fingers similar to a faned finger Gecko! Sometime I wander if he can climb vertical walls. But, mean his fingers can play!

 

[Duke21]

I have yet to ever meet a grown adult male with smaller fingers than me (no, the myth isn't true, wiseasses), and I'll play any size bass you have. That said, I do like slimmer necks, though my 76 P has a wide neck and I love it, too. But nothing wrong with short scale or medium scale basses, either. I have a couple and I use them often.

Short fingers - long nose- hair???
Look at Steve Bailey, almost smaller then his 6 string fretless jazz, no problems for him.

Viola basses have really small necks.

 

[Collider]

Depending on what you play a Hofner violin bass (or a decent copy like the Epiphone Viola) could be good. I have small hands and it works for me.

 

[Duke21]

Depending on what you play a Hofner violin bass (or a decent copy like the Epiphone Viola) could be good. I have small hands and it works for me.

I've a Eastone Viola/ Beatles bass, very decent Hofner copy, small neck, almost zero taper.

 

[atomicdog]

I have small hands (also a bad tendon deal on the left hand) and own an Ibanez SR750. If you like an active bass, and want to deal with the pros and cons of that, it's a sweet bass to play. It takes some experimenting but you can dial in a wide range of tones.

My other suggestion would a short-scale bass, especially a Danelectro Longhorn or or a Fender Mustang or a Hofner Beatle-style bass (or something similar). They're very easy on the hands and the shoulder.

 

[curt basner]

I, too, have EXTREMELY small hands. I used to think that having a very shallow neck was an advantage, but I've since decided otherwise. I discovered this primarily through my guitars. I have a 2004 Jimmy Page Les Paul which has the thinnest depth (that is, fret board to the back of the neck) of any guitar I've ever played. and I have the opposite extreme in a Les Paul R7, which has a huge, thick 'baseball bat' neck. I find that 'thick' necks are less of a problem for my small hands than are wide necks. I have Fender Jazz bass, which I got primarily because of it's narrow neck, and I have a 5 string F Bass, which is a significantly more challenging instrument for me to play, not due to depth, but because of width. I suppose that all of us have our own issues with what makes an instrument harder or easier to play, but to me, fretboard width is the most significant factor, perhaps even more than scale length. Then again, I've never played a short scale bass, so what do I know?

 

[loopee]

I'm so tired of hearing that technique will make my hands and fingers grow.....yes you will gain some stretch but comes a time when reason and common sense must be used.......small necks help short hands but if you have longer fingers then you have no problem with the long scale but if your fingers are very short then you really need a short scale.....ergonomically built instruments would make a lot of sense....don't understand why some people as so against them....why would they force someone to wear a size small when only a large fits them....clothes are made to measure why not instruments? There are more than one way to do things, why can't we do it OUR way since we are not YOU....open your minds and quit telling us we have bad technique.....my hands are short and my fingers are short.....I'm a 60 year young woman and have arthritis......I'm 60 and don't listen to nonsense anymore....I've been around long enough to know what works for me, quit telling me "technique" is the answer and forcing me to use an instrument that will cause me irreparable harm....long scale is NOT for me with my handicap.....let me do things my way and I'll let you do things your way

 

[jperala]

Jazz Bass