quote:

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Originally posted by Ticklingsolesmaster:
can a person with small hands still be able to play a Acoustic Guitar or Bass Guitar?

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Oh yes, people with small hands can definitely still play. I'm a guitar player by trade, and I've long held the belief that large and small hands each have their own unique advantages. I myself have large hands with long fingers, the benefit of which is an ability to stretch across a great distance and thus cover more fret territory whether it be across the freboard or thumbing around the top of the neck a la Hendrix.

However, I've known and worked with quite a few killer guitar players in my day who had small hands with fingers on the short side of the spectrum. Because of their small hands, the two guys in particular that I'm thinking of had the ability to be really speedy on the fretboard because there was literally less finger getting in the way between them and the notes they wanted to play.

Bass guitar can sometimes prove a tad more challenging to someone with small hands because it's a physically larger instrument with a longer scale neck and it contains frets that are spaced much wider apart than a guitar's. As such, long arms & larger hands generally better facilitate the bass guitar, but none of these rules are etched in stone. I've taught people with small hands to play guitar & bass, so there really are no physical limitations in my opinion if you set your mind to it, and there are certainly tons of professionals in the music world who've been a testament to that.



Calico Jack
 

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Posted by TwistedMethod (Member # 13216) on :
 
Yeah you should be able to do it bro. I'm a bass player and only 5'6 so I'm sure I don't have the biggest hands in the world. Some brands of basses are larger and have longer necks than others so you pretty much kinda gotta go and try some out.
 

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Posted by Ticklingsolesmaster (Member # 14850) on :
 
Thanks for the advice Calico Jack and TwistedMethod. What's easier for first timers to start out on Acoustic or Bass? or Is does it make much of a difference?
 

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Posted by TwistedMethod (Member # 13216) on :
 
I personally don't have any experience with guitar really, but I thought bass was pretty easy to learn. I think it's just more of a preference of which you'd like more. After all they all have the same notes

And on a side if you play bass you can opt for the bumper sticker and pick up line of "You know what they say....Bass players finger best" tried and true my friend lol
 

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Posted by ledaemon (Member # 198) on :
 
I started on bass guitar and switched exclusively to guitar about 6 years ago. If the size of the instrument is a challenge for you you may want to go to a music store and hold a 3/4 size bass or guitar which are made for kids and may be able to accomodate smaller hands. My first bass guitar was like that, but I eventually traded up to a normal size as I learned to play.

I would suggest an acoustic guitar would be the best choice of instrument to learn to play on. Highly portable, no need for a power supply, plus you must learn how to play properly without having effects like distortion hiding mistakes. Playing on an acoustic as opposed to an electric will also strengthen your fingers and build callouses on the tips faster than an electric which is going to happen when you practice alot.

Best thing to do is I mentioned before, is go to a music store and hold different instruments and find the one that feels most comfortable in your own hands. Since you're a beginner I would suggest taking along a friend that is a player that can help you pick a decent axe to start with. A good setup on a new instrument will also help your playing too. After you get the basics down with an acoustic and if you are still into it after a few months then I would invest the dough into the electric guitar, the amp, and all the other goodies that will max out the plastic in your wallet.

A few toys in my "playroom"

 

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Posted by Ticklingsolesmaster (Member # 14850) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by ledaemon:
A few toys in my "playroom"

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Wow nice set up there ledaemon

Thanks i'll def take all of your advice and suggestions into thought and think everything over man. Thanks again.
 

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Posted by TwistedMethod (Member # 13216) on :
 
Yeah actually Fender has a brand by the name of Squier that makes smaller sized instruments. Also I think older like 80's early 90's Fenders and Ernie Ball Music Man basses were built smaller. Just something to check out.
 

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Posted by ledaemon (Member # 198) on :
 
The first bass I bought was a second hand Hohner I picked up like in '89. Apparantly harmonicas ain't all they make! It was a smaller size too.
 

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Posted by oscarthemonkey (Member # 1692) on :
 
I would agree that the proper model of instrument makes a difference- I have smaller hands and have no problems. I have played some Fenders with huge necks that did not work. My son has a Schecter Studio Exotic Bass that has an amazingly thin neck-as do most of the Studio and Stilletto lines from Schecter. He has big hands however.

LeDaemon is right in suggesting that if you go with guitar instead of bass to start with acoustic rather than electric. My daughter has a 3/4 scale Daisy Rock that plays very well.

The world needs more bass players, however.

And- don't buy your instrument from some corporate place like Guitar Center.

LeDaemon- was that Honer a Jackbass?
 

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Posted by oscarthemonkey (Member # 1692) on :
 
Here's what I'm playing these days-

http://img7.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc235&image=63465_guitars.jpg
 

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Posted by Bondo (Member # 1403) on :
 
Sweet line up of guitars guys! I'll have to take a snap of my babies.

Small hands huh? I sort of have a similar issue with somewhat shorter fingers. Being able to master the neck is in your strength and agility. Warm up exercises are very key, and practice ALOT.

"Practice" is only a negative word if you don't enjoy what you're practicing. Also, I've learned that a metronome is an excellent tool to utilize. Slow down, solidify, speed up.

Look at Spud Webb. He overcame his size difference (5' 7") in the NBA and could slam dunk with the best of them.

Bondo
 

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Posted by ledaemon (Member # 198) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by oscarthemonkey:


LeDaemon- was that Honer a Jackbass?

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Gawd, don't get me lying to you about that. I bought that thing back when I was in college in the late 80's. The only surviving record I have of that guitar and old Crate amp I had were from some pics I took of an girlfriend from back than that I had come over in various states of dress to take "art pics" for practicing for our drawing class. The ulterior motive was to take lots of pics of her feet pushed into my face.

It wasn't a Jack Bass. I think those are the goofy looking ones without the head on them. A punk pal of mine had one of those around that time. Here's the girl and the bass after I had broken the g-string on it. The guitar not her swimsuit...


What a majority of those old pics were really of...

 

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Posted by oscarthemonkey (Member # 1692) on :
 
My first guitar was a folk sized Honer acoustic.

Great strategy on those art photos. Her soles look pretty tasty. I think the next pedicure my wife gets I'll do a feet and guitars photo set.

Hey ticklingsolesmaster- after we've told you to start with acoustic guitar- I'm actually selling that white Strat in the pic of my guitars
if you are interested....
 

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Posted by Bondo (Member # 1403) on :
 
My first gee-tar was a Charvelle Charvette with the reverse headstock for easy underhanded tuning. It was great for heavy handed crunchy palm mutes, but that's about it.

These days I play a Joe Satriani series JS1000 Ibanez. That baby plays like buttah. I also have a Kramer NightSwan and the meanest, ugliest looking B.C. Rich bitch the world may have ever seen.

Actually, here's a shot I took of Layla Mercedes with my B.C. Rich. I call this photo "Beauty and the Bitch"...and just to clarify to keep any rumors from starting, Layla is the Beauty (like there was any doubt).



Bondo
 

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Posted by oscarthemonkey (Member # 1692) on :
 
Bondo- You are a metal madman!!

What are you using for an amp?
 

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Posted by Bondo (Member # 1403) on :
 
When playing live and loud, I play through a Lexicon MPX processor into a Crown amp through a Marshall stack. When I'm at home, I plug my processor through a 4-track sound board into the sound card in my computer.

Bondo
 

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Posted by oscarthemonkey (Member # 1692) on :
 
Tickling soles master- What did you decide to do? We all got sidetracked!
 

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Posted by martinmatte (Member # 319) on :
 
I'm a lefty,I play upside down and I've got small hands.I can't really wail on a p-bass so my weapon of choice is my trusty beatle bass '76 reissue.



I've had it for 17 years and it still kicks ass.Not only is it an extremely versatile instrument but it helps you gaining confidence in your playing abilities.

One last thing I'd like to add.Jazz great Django Reinhardt got badly injured in a fire wich left him with something like two fingers to play.


It's not really the hands,it's mostly brains.Cheers mate!
 

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Posted by ledaemon (Member # 198) on :
 
Martin I played around with one of those basses at a music store one time back in '89 or so when I was shopping for my first bass. That bass "square wound" strings which was extremely odd feeling and I've never seen any others out there like that since then. Of course, I ain't actively searching for basses these days either!

Aside from Django I can think of blind guitarist Jeff Healey playing his guitar laid across his lap with all his fingers on top of the neck to form the chords rather than holding it in his hand. Its interesting to see how different people we would consider disabled can compensate and overcome their disability!
 

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Posted by ozkar (Member # 13264) on :
 


my noisemakers

Play both. Start with acoustic guitar and build some strength and agility simultaneously. Use the strength on your bass and the agility on your electric later.

and a tip that helps out those with smaller hands... push your wrist out away from you a bit and you'll be able to reach everything better. Think of it as trying to make an acute angle between your forarm and your palm. This is exactly opposite what you see most guitarists doing, and it won't be long before you don't do it either, but it will help at the start. If that doesn't work, play lap steel.
 

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Posted by ozkar (Member # 13264) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by martinmatte:

One last thing I'd like to add.Jazz great Django Reinhardt got badly injured in a fire wich left him with something like two fingers to play.

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An irony surrounding Django's injury was that it occured during a violent flash fire that broke out in his parent's gypsy wagon, full of fake flowers and fake flower-making materials. At the time fake flowers were made from ultra flamable celluloid, which is a derivative of nitrocellulose. Celluloid was and is used extensively in guitar picks and pick guards, and nitrocellulose is used to lacquor high quality instruments.
 

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Posted by martinmatte (Member # 319) on :
 
Ledaemon: You'll also notice that another thing that separates Healey from us is that he uses his thumb also which gives him extra range.I can only play slide in that fashion with the guitar on my lap.

Ozkar: thanks for the info on Django!!!
 

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Posted by ledaemon (Member # 198) on :
 
I bow to your collection Ozkar! That little bass is the exact style my bud had. I remember him playing it through a huge Carvin amp in a club years ago. I don't know if that guy is even alive anymore... Jeeze...

Yer right Martin. I do remember him playing that way when he was the opening act for Bonnie Rait when I saw her in the late 80s.
 

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Posted by ozkar (Member # 13264) on :
 
I have a love -hate relationship with the headless bass. It's absolutely wretched by all physical standards, but it sure sounds nice. I wouldn't trade it for anything else.
 

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Posted by ozkar (Member # 13264) on :
 
If it's got a bolt on neck and didn't cost a leg or two it could be a Big Baby. They've got thin necks.
 

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Posted by sayonara (Member # 5497) on :
 
Hi guys, i m play electric guitar for 20 years, i love punk, new wave, and metal 80 s, my first guitar is a aria pro ii, very excellent, in 89 jackson black(metallica), i sold the guitars, in 1995 a vintage guyatone(mosrite)60 s,aria diamond jaguar japanese 70 s, very good, i built a copy ibanez rg with dimarzio humb and single fender....and my strato samick.... in bass a vintage holland 60s.....also keyboard casio 80s.....
 

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Posted by Rich666 (Member # 17057) on :
 
Hi there, I just came home with this about 3 hours ago!! (Not my actual one, I don't have a camera at the moment, but it's the same model)



Seven string ESP LTD Viper 407. I've been waiting about a month for it, but it was worth it. The wider neck takes a bit of getting used to, but it sounds really good The satin black finish looks so damn evil

Just wanted to show it off
 

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