Acoustic recommendation for small hands

Denverdave

Denverdave

Resident Ragamuffin
My 12 year old step-daughter is wanting to start learning acoustic guitar. My in-laws will buy her one (for Christmas), but I need to pick it out.

My main concern is her short fingers at her age. She is a small 12 year old. I am thinking a parlor body size will be perfect (looking at an Orangewood parlor), but the neck width is my main concern.

Anyone have any experience with this and have any suggestions?
 
Yamaha FG jr

got one for my daughter at 8 or 9. At 14 she’s outgrown it. I still play it. It’s a bad ass little guitar.
 
DinoMikeSr said:
Would look at nylon strings too.
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typically nylon string guitars have wider spacing on the neck. Not ideal for small hands. You can get nylon strings with ball ends for a regular guitar though. Have to tune them more, which can be difficult for beginners but easier to play for sure.

That’s how I set up the FG jr for my daughter when I first got it for her.
 
A parlor guitar is a good idea. The Gretsch Jim Dandy is a great guitar, especially given that it only costs $179. I think it comes stock with .014s but .012s work fine.

A few years ago Epiphone launched a line of acoustic guitars with smaller electric style necks, I’m not sure if they still make them but one of the staff at a guitar shop might know.
 
I got my daughter a Martin LX1 but the steel strings were too hard on her fingers.
I ordered her a Yamaha CGS103 that works much better. It's 3/4 size and plays very easily.

Yamaha-CGS-Student-Classical-Guitar-Natural-1-2-Size-BLEM.jpg
 

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A lot of young girls play classical guitars with nuts just a hair under 2" - I really think neck shape is more a matter of preference than anatomy. I think whatever you get her she'll love. I hope she takes to it and keeps at it.
 
We went to Guitar Center on Saturday so she could look at a couple things. Yes liked the Yamaha 3/4 sized FG, but really liked a Fender Parlor the most. that might be her Christmas gift from the In-laws.
 
Denverdave said:
We went to Guitar Center on Saturday so she could look at a couple things. Yes liked the Yamaha 3/4 sized FG, but really liked a Fender Parlor the most. that might be her Christmas gift from the In-laws.
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I had a fender parlor that served me well in a jug/string band setting for many years. They are so incredibly cheap that the bridge pins are non-standard, so when one got stuck and the top snapped off, I pretty much had to write the whole thing off. But that was after 5-10 years of abuse. The sound is a little thin, but it played like a dream.
 
Chicken Man said:
I had a fender parlor that served me well in a jug/string band setting for many years. They are so incredibly cheap that the bridge pins are non-standard, so when one got stuck and the top snapped off, I pretty much had to write the whole thing off. But that was after 5-10 years of abuse. The sound is a little thin, but it played like a dream.
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The ease of playing is really one of my two main concerns in which guitar to get her. While she was looking at it I showed her how to play a 'G' chord and her fingers managed fine, so the neck width is not an issue.

I have also been looking at the smaller bodied Orangewood guitars, but not being able to see one in person is an issue. They have a very good reputation though.
 
I bought my 12 year a baby Taylor years ago. Great for small hands but still good as a travel guitar for people with hands of all sizes.
 
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