Les Paul or Strat for small hands?

[Anteater70]

Friend wants to learn electric guitar.
Wants a decent one. Price not an issue.
He has small hands. Which neck style will fit him better?
Thanks

[Jack Dotson]

The strat with a "C" shaped neck would be my recommendation. Have him try
several, he will know which one feels best to him.

Post by Anteater70
Friend wants to learn electric guitar.
Wants a decent one. Price not an issue.
He has small hands. Which neck style will fit him better?
Thanks

[James Doe]

Post by Jack Dotson
The strat with a "C" shaped neck would be my recommendation. Have him try
several, he will know which one feels best to him.

I'd think a slimmer(Gibson) neck, not a "C", would be better. That
frees up some finger length for shorter fingers. MHE.

[miker]

Strats typically have 1-5/8" nut widths, LP's are more often 1-11/16.

Post by Anteater70
Friend wants to learn electric guitar.
Wants a decent one. Price not an issue.
He has small hands. Which neck style will fit him better?
Thanks

[Kings_Avenger]

Post by miker
Strats typically have 1-5/8" nut widths, LP's are more often 1-11/16.

Post by Anteater70
Friend wants to learn electric guitar.
Wants a decent one. Price not an issue.
He has small hands. Which neck style will fit him better?
Thanks

I think LP's come with either 1 3/4" and 1 5/8" with the 1 5/8" only on the
slim taper neck. 3 neck sizes all together.
More importantly is the neck scale. Frets are closer together on the LP's as
compared to strats.
Rick Derringer obviously has small hands but it never stopped him from
playing a strat. Personally, I don't like the strat scale.

Avenger.

[Zorrro_2k]

Post by miker
Strats typically have 1-5/8" nut widths, LP's are more often 1-11/16.

Post by Anteater70
Friend wants to learn electric guitar.
Wants a decent one. Price not an issue.
He has small hands. Which neck style will fit him better?
Thanks

Nut width may make a difference to a person just learning to play, as
most of the playing will be down at the 1-3 frets. But can 1/16th inch
difference really MAKE a difference ? Of greater sifgnificance is the
wider fret and string spacing of Fender guitars vs. Gibson, and the
'rounder' Fender fretboard radius.

I'd recommend a more Gibson-like neck profile for smaller hands. Check
into various Epiphone models for a beginner, or the imported Hamer
models which are of good quality for the money. The "smallest" neck I
ever played was on an early Hamer Special I owned for a few years. It
was actually too small for my hands.

[miker]

Post by Zorrro_2k

Post by miker
Strats typically have 1-5/8" nut widths, LP's are more often 1-11/16.

Nut width may make a difference to a person just learning to play, as
most of the playing will be down at the 1-3 frets. But can 1/16th inch
difference really MAKE a difference ?

You bet. My hands are just the right size that 1-5/8" Fenders have worked
fine for years, but since getting interested in some more complicated chords
it's difficult to fit my fat fingers in there. (For a common example,
playing an open B7 is pretty crowded for me.)

My only wider guitar is 1-3/4 (i.e. only 1/8" bigger) and is wide enough to
be somewhat uncomfortable playing my more usual stuff. I've been planning on
getting a 1-11/16 replacement neck in a flatter radius to see how that works
out.

Post by Zorrro_2k
Of greater sifgnificance is the
wider fret and string spacing of Fender guitars vs. Gibson, and the
'rounder' Fender fretboard radius.

Also sifgnificant, yes.

[Zorro_2K]

Post by miker

Post by Zorrro_2k

Post by miker
Strats typically have 1-5/8" nut widths, LP's are more often 1-11/16.

Nut width may make a difference to a person just learning to play, as
most of the playing will be down at the 1-3 frets. But can 1/16th inch
difference really MAKE a difference ?

You bet. My hands are just the right size that 1-5/8" Fenders have worked
fine for years, but since getting interested in some more complicated chords
it's difficult to fit my fat fingers in there. (For a common example,
playing an open B7 is pretty crowded for me.)
My only wider guitar is 1-3/4 (i.e. only 1/8" bigger) and is wide enough to
be somewhat uncomfortable playing my more usual stuff. I've been planning on
getting a 1-11/16 replacement neck in a flatter radius to see how that works
out.

If you fingers are fat, then the narrower Gibson string spacing will present
more of a problem. FYI...vintage Fender nut width is 1.65" (43mm) and modern
nut width is 1.6875" (42mm). You might consider a Carvin guitar, which has
a very flat (15" radius) Fender-style neck: 1.71" @ nut, 2.22"@ 22nd fret,
25" scale, F-spaced strings.

[Ross M Stites]

Post by miker
You bet. My hands are just the right size that 1-5/8" Fenders have worked
fine for years, but since getting interested in some more complicated chords
it's difficult to fit my fat fingers in there. (For a common example,
playing an open B7 is pretty crowded for me.)
My only wider guitar is 1-3/4 (i.e. only 1/8" bigger) and is wide enough to
be somewhat uncomfortable playing my more usual stuff. I've been planning on
getting a 1-11/16 replacement neck in a flatter radius to see how that works
out.

Stop by sometime. My Jackson and Charvel necks are mostley 1 11/16" and
fairly fret radius (16" I think). You can bash on one for an afternoon
and see what you think. I've got a couple of a 1 3/4" and a 1 5/8"
sitting around too.

Btw, aren't newer Fenders 1 11/16" or am I misremembering...haven't played
one in a while.

Ross

[Ross M Stites]

Post by Zorrro_2k
Nut width may make a difference to a person just learning to play, as
most of the playing will be down at the 1-3 frets. But can 1/16th inch
difference really MAKE a difference ? Of greater sifgnificance is the
wider fret and string spacing of Fender guitars vs. Gibson, and the
'rounder' Fender fretboard radius.

Nut width difference makes a huge difference in my experience. It's
immediately obvious to me when I pick up a narrow 1 5/8" nut guitar vs.
the 1 11/16" and 1 3/4" nuts I'm used to. I play a lot of arpeggios
around the nut, so maybe it's exaggerated for me. Getting the open
strings inbetween fretted strings to ring true is an issue for me.

I agree that after you get up the neck a bit (3-5 fret) it doesn't make
much difference, but even experienced guitarists spend a pretty large
amount of time working around the nut in my experience.

Ross

[jtees4]

Post by Anteater70
Friend wants to learn electric guitar.
Wants a decent one. Price not an issue.
He has small hands. Which neck style will fit him better?
Thanks

Don't forget scale legnth. Fenders types are 25 1/2" long where Gibson
types are 24 3/4". Makes a big difference IMHO.


NEVER FORGET!!!
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0109/missing/files/toyen.amy.html

[Glenn]

Hi, I have small hands....tried a strat, it was fine, but I now have a Les Paul
and it is a lot better. I like the string spacing, but the scale length is
better for me. I not only have smaller hands, but shorter arms. The Les Paul
is almost a perfect guitar for me. Hope this helps. The Les Paul is heavier
I think, but you can get used to that easier than the string spacing and scale
length. Take care.

Glenn

[John S. Shinal]

Post by jtees4

Post by Anteater70
Friend wants to learn electric guitar.
Wants a decent one. Price not an issue.
He has small hands. Which neck style will fit him better?

Don't forget scale legnth. Fenders types are 25 1/2" long where Gibson
types are 24 3/4". Makes a big difference IMHO.

I agree the LP style scale length will help when playing barre
chords, especially the typical hammer-on styles in rock and blues.
Making that reach with the 4th finger is more of a stretch on Strats.

Have him check out the Fender Toronado - LP scale length, dual
humbuckers like an LP, and a really nice playing compact guitar.



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[Melvin]

This post might be inappropriate. Click to display it.

[Mark Keith]

Post by Melvin
I have a... er, my friend has a small penis. Which guitar should I...
er, he get?

Refer to my earlier post pertaining to geetar with extended pecker included...MK

[James Doe]

Post by Mark Keith
Refer to my earlier post pertaining to geetar with extended pecker included...MK

I'd suggest a Flying V-agra.

[Joseph Jester]

I suggest having your "challenged" friend try out both guitars, and
getting the one that is most comfortable. Forget scale lengths, nut
widths and all that. Get the guitars in his hands and say, "okay, are
all the strings playing okay when he frets a chord? can he reach all the
strings properly without inadvertly fretting any out? can he reach the
first fret just as easily as the 12th fret?" You get the idea.

Joe

p.s. It's not the size that matters. At least, that's what they want us
to believe.

[s***@gmail.com]

Post by Melvin
I have a... er, my friend has a small penis. Which guitar should I...
er, he get?

The one that feels better for you Melvin.