7 Best Short Scale Electric Guitars for Small Hands

The Fender Player Duo-Sonic doesn’t look like your typical Fender guitar. It sits somewhere between a vintage and a modern indie guitar.

I really like the look of this guitar. It is still very distinctly Fender, but it sets it apart enough to be its own thing.

But of course, looks aren’t everything. The Duo-Sonic plays about as well as you would expect a Fender too, and that is very good.

The guitar has a lot of that Fender twang, but isn’t quite as chimey. The sound is a bit sweeter, and there is a bit more color in the mids and the bottom end.

Turning on the gain, the Duo-Sonic is also a bit thicker than something like a Strat. It growls quite a bit harder and has a very punchy midrange.

I really like that Fender has also included a coil-split on the humbucker. This gives you a bit more versatility.

You aren’t just locked into that aggressive humbucker sound. You also have a pure double single coil version of the Duo-Sonic available, if that is your preferred style.

This is also a very comfortable guitar to play. The body sits comfortably enough against you. It isn’t shaped at the back, so the fit isn’t completely snug, but tight enough.

The C shape neck is fast and smooth, with enough grip to prevent slipping. The scale length is on the longer end for short scale necks, but the medium jumbo frets make it more than playable for both small and large hands. It also has a generous cutaway for easy access to the higher frets.

My only real issue with the guitar is that it is a string thru design. That means no whammy bar, unfortunately. But otherwise, this is an excellent guitar with no real downsides, only ups.

Ibanez might be best known for their premium guitars like the JEM or their RG series. But they also make affordable, entry level guitars.

Their miKro series is aimed directly at beginners, especially younger beginners. The GRGM21 is one of the best in this entire range.

Ibanez hasn’t skipped out on quality, even on such an affordable guitar. It is built to the same high standards as any of their premium guitars.

The GRGM21 is a very well-built guitar. I didn’t notice any issues with how the guitar was put together. I didn’t see any defects in the hardware or finish.

The sound quality is on the same high level. It sounds like an Ibanez as much as it feels like one.

The tone is thick, crunchy, and loud. It distorts quite nicely and doesn’t break a sweat, even at high levels of gain.

The clean tone isn’t all too bad either. But it certainly doesn’t sound as nice as even other guitars in the same price range.

The clean tone is a bit too flat for my liking. I would pretty much only ever play this guitar with at least a bit of gain on it.

As for playability, the guitar is incredibly great. While it isn’t the lightest guitar around, it is still more than light enough for a very comfortable playing experience.

It has a 3/4 scale length neck, so it is prefect for younger players. The medium jumbo frets make it great for both small and larger hands.

Ibanez has packed 24 frets onto this fretboard. For someone like me with larger hands, that does make playing the 23rd and 24th frets a bit difficult. But for smaller hands this is perfect.

The fret radius is a bit much for my liking, but that is just personal preference.  

Everyone has heard of the Stratocaster. It is one of, if not the most, recognizable guitars in the world. But not everyone can afford a Fender Strat. Luckily, Squier makes Strats at an affordable price, without majorly sacrificing on quality.

Which brings me to the Mini Strat. What is it?

Well, the Mini Strat is pretty much exactly what you think it is. It is a Squier Strat, but scaled down a bit.

But what are the downsides? Surely you can’t scale down a Strat and still get the same quality?

That was my initial thought as well. Surely this can’t be at the same standard as even a full-sized Squier. But to my surprise, it feels, plays, and sounds pretty much the same.

Tone wise, it sounds like a Squier Strat. There is enough of that Strat twang, but with a bit more emphasis on the mids.

The guitar doesn’t sound quite as vibrant as a full-sized Strat, but there is enough liveliness so that it doesn’t sound bland. The extra mids also give it a bit of a smoother and punchier sound.

Switching over to distortion, the Mini Strat still manages to have quite a bit of crunch and attitude. It isn’t as thick as its big brother, understandably. I did notice that the sound becomes a bit fuzzy when you turn the gain up really high.

I actually don’t see this as too much of an issue. If you are going for that dirty The White Stripes sound, this is actually a bonus.

As for playability, the Mini Strat also performs really well. The neck is smooth and fast, and the scale length is perfect for beginners.

It is only 20 frets, a bit few for my liking, but perfect for anyone starting out. Enough to learn some fancier solos without becoming overwhelming.

The Squier Bullet Mustang is about as budget as a guitar can get, at least in terms of Squier guitars. The Bullet Mustang is pretty much Squier’s most entry-level guitar.

But just like the Mini Strat, the Bullet Mustang is in no way a cheap guitar. The quality is just as high as you would expect from any other Squier guitar.

Right out of the box, the Bullet Mustang surprised me. It feels solid, with now imperfections, at least not on the one I tested.

The hardware is also solid. The tuning machines are sturdy, although they were a bit loose. The only thing that really felt cheap were the control knobs and the selector switch, which were a bit plastic feeling.

But other than some cheap controls, the Bullet Mustang feels great. The sculpted back provides a comfortable fit against your body. The guitar also has the sculpted top so that your arm can rest comfortably while playing.

The neck and fretboard are also fantastic. It plays fast and smooth, with 22 medium jumbo frets. The scale length is short enough for younger players, while still feeling comfortable with more experienced players.

The guitar is a bit too light for my taste. It feels a bit awkward to play while standing, but the lighter weight makes it perfect for younger players.

The guitar also sounds great. It is a bit warmer than you would expect from a Squier.

It definitely leans to a more bluesy tone. Especially with the gain turned up.

The clean tones aren’t overly exciting. They don’t lean to any particular direction, not overly bright, not very bottom heavy. They are very middle of the road.

As a beginner guitar, the Bullet Mustang is great. Super affordable, highly playable, and great blues sound.

Just like Ibanez, Jackson is more known for their higher-end guitars. But just like Ibanez, Jackson also offers their same high-quality design and sound in a much more affordable package.

The Jackson Dinky Minion JS1X is an excellent little guitar with a big attitude. Perfect for any budding shredders.

The build quality on this guitar is great. The body and neck are both solid, and all the hardware feels high-quality.

Playability is also on par with any more expensive Jackson. The body fits comfortably against your body, and the neck is a pleasure to play.

Even though the neck is a bit thicker than what I like, I didn’t find it uncomfortable. It still plays really smooth and fast.

Jackson has also packed 24 frets onto the 3/4 scale neck of this guitar. But luckily, they have also gone with jumbo frets. So, the higher frets are still easy enough to play for anyone with larger hands.

But the frets are also still comfortably spaced lower on the neck by the headstock. This means that it will still be easy to play for beginners and kids.

My only issue with the neck is the nut. Jackson has gone with a plastic nut. These wear out quite easily, and their tone isn’t as great as synthetic bone.

Speaking of tone, this guitar sounds fantastic. It pretty much sounds like a Jackson should, rough, aggressive, and sharp. I get a lot of that ‘80s Metal attitude from this guitar.

One thing I did notice was that the guitar does sound a bit “small”. It is a very loud guitar, but the sound feels smaller than a full-sized Jackson. Maybe the guitar’s small side is just playing tricks on my mind.

But I certainly love this guitar. It is an absolutely fantastic little shred machine.

The second Fender on this list, the Player Mustang is unlike the Duo-Sonic, even though they look similar.

The two guitars are actually quite similar in a few regards. They have very similar designs, same radius C shape necks, 22 medium jumbo frets, 24-inch scale length. The neck has that same sweet spot where it is great for both small and large hands.

That means that the Player Mustang plays almost exactly the same as the Duo-Sonic, which is fantastic. Their bodies are also the same on both guitars, even made from the same alder wood. That means comfortability is the same here as well.

I do prefer the scratchplate on the Player Mustang. It gives it a more vintage look, which fits its more vintage sound.

And the sound is what sets these two guitars apart. Where the Duo-Sonic is more of an indie rock guitar, the Player Mustang pulls double duty as a mean rocker and a fat blues machine.

The P90 pickups in this guitar make it quite a different beast from the other Fender and Squiers on this list. The sound is much more vintage.

The clean tones still have a lot of that fender brightness and twang. But I hear a nice touch of a warmer blues tone coming through as well.

The real show starts once you turn up the gain. The Player Mustang absolutely roars with attitude. This is a mean sounding guitar, and I love it.

The sound is just as loud as it is punchy. This guitar just blew me away.

This is just an all-out fun guitar to play. The price puts it a little above entry-level, but I think it is more than worth the few extra bucks.

Here we have probably the second most iconic guitar, the Les Paul. The Epiphone Power Players Les Paul is another scaled down version of an icon.

But just like the Strat Mini, Epiphone hasn’t skipped out on quality. This guitar plays and sounds just as great as a full stack Epiphone Les Paul.

But this isn’t a straight scaled down Les Paul. Epiphone has made some slight changes to the traditional Les Paul design.

The biggest change comes in the form of the bolt on neck in place of a set neck. I don’t have a preference either way, but I know some guitarists aren’t too fond of one or the other.

The second change, also on the neck, is that it has a Slim Taper D shape. It also features a sculpted heel.

Unlike the bolt on neck, this isn’t a feature I can’t see many having a problem with this. Both making for a very comfortable and smooth playing experience.

Combined with the 3/4 scale neck, this guitar is also perfectly suited for small hands.

The rest of the guitar is what you would expect from a Les Paul. It has that iconic body shape. And it is not just the body shape that Epiphone has kept intact, it is also the sound.

While the Mini Strat sounds similar to a full Strat, it isn’t completely there. But I was very surprised when I plugged in the Power Player for the first time.

This guitar sounds almost exactly like a full stack Les Paul. The cleans are that nice and warm bluesy sound.

Turn up the heat with some distortion, and you are getting the full Les Paul experience. Thick, meaty, and aggressive. This is a really big rocker in a very small package, a combo that I had a blast playing.