Nathaniel Murphy is a great player! He does a lot of guitar demos for Chicago Music Exchange.
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Hmm 3/4 size electric guitars are relatively rare. Ibanez has a āmikroā line. And Fender has the Squier āminiā line. I have never played a 3/4 size guitar, but I can vouch for the general quality of budget Ibanez and Squier guitars.
If you are looking for something nicer than budgetā¦ boy, I think thatās going to be tough to find. 3/4 size guitars are usually ābeginnerā guitars, so they are pretty much always budget priced.
Edit: @LAMPED is correct. Jackson has a āDinky Minionā guitar as well.
I will say, for the prices of all the ones I listed, you really cannot go wrong. Budget guitars nowadays are very high quality (relatively speaking). You will get an instrument that lasts and is very playable. There are very few truly awful guitars made nowadays.
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Maybe not quite as small as you want, but my recommendation would be a Fender Mustang. They look cool too.
With it set up for low action and lighter strings (maybe 9s), I bet it would be a breeze to play (very easy on the hands).
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Oh hell yeah, those are AWESOME
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Thankyou. These look perfect
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Iāve always wanted one myself. They look like a lot of fun! Lots of famous guitar players have used them over the years.
If you have arthritis, definitely talk to a pro about having it set up as easy to play as possible. It will make a load of difference. I have my main guitar set up with low action and pretty light strings these days as well.
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Cheers. Yes a few famous artists used the Mustang i read. Its a shame to quit because of dexterity. So these look a great way to keep rockinā!
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I like Mustangs in general, and there are lots of good reviews of this current Made in Mexico model in particular. I saw it compared to a Les Paul Jr/Special because of the pickups. I used to have a two p90 Les Paul Special and it was incredible. Never should have sold that one.
I think I remember that you are a punk/post-punk fan. If so, you canāt go wrong with this one, IMO.
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Yeah I am in agreement with @DimensionsTomorrow
Mustangs are great guitars. Very fun to play, have their own sound, and they are very affordable to boot. The Made in Mexico stuff is really good quality for the price. Even the most expensive Mustang available right now, the American Performer model, is just $1400 brand new, and it looks like many retailers are selling it for $1260. I have played multiple American Performer guitars and they are better than guitars twice their cost.
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Also, if he looks used, he might be able to find a used Fender Japan one. That model has been super popular over here for a long time, so lots of have been made over the years, and Iām a big fan of Made In Japan guitars.
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Is there a āgo toā guy/place to restore older fujigen Ibanezās?
I havenāt been in guitar circles in decades and would like to get something restored back to its former glory
(That classic white is a nice yellow now)
Will a lighter string gage help?
Everyone hates playing my guitar because the heavy gage wears them down (or so they exaggerate).
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Im sure it would James. I think the problem is the strings on the guitar ive got are high off the fretboard. Im not an expert but ive seen videos where the frets are very low so the strings dont take much effort. Do shops charge much to lower the strings?
Itās not super expensive to get a professional setup, although it will depend on where you live. With used guitars sometimes it requires some extra stuff like filing the frets or changing the nut to accommodate really low action. If you donāt need that, it shouldnāt be too bad. If you are buying a new guitar, sometimes the tech will adjust the action for you, but in my experience a professional setup is well worth the money.
Itās also good to get the guitar setup if you plan on changing the string gauge as sometimes the truss rod will need adjusting.
If I were in your situation, I would definitely switch to lighter strings (8s or 9s) and have the tech lower the action as much as possible without getting fret buzz. It will play like a dream.
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Good to hear that there is an answer. I always thought i was fighting against the guitar which is a cheap Harley Benson. The Fender Mustangs look much better. Cheers.
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Lower action (height of strings) will improve playability but may also increase buzzing if the setup is not done correctly. There are a few parts that will affect string height: the height of the bridge, the truss rod setting of the neck, the nut and its ridges (depth & width of them), as well as pickup height (pickups too high in a low action setup can cause buzzing and mess with the sound in more ways than one). The other thing about lower action is that the guitar tends to produce less harmonics, so thereās that to consider as well.
Itās not an impossible task at all and can be done at home with a little self-study and a few cheaply available tools, but it does take time and a lot of tinkering, especially if the whole process is new to one.
A professional setup will be fairly affordable and probably a good deal if you value your time and donāt want to learn a new skill (ie instead: set and forget the action).
Also note: the feel of a guitarās action can change depending on weather conditions and temperature. The solution here is to adjust the truss rod, not the bridge or nutā¦which a lot of beginners do unfortunately. Best is to have it set once and then, if it ever feels off again, experiment with 1/4 turns on the truss rod.
Re string gauge, thereās a lot of fuss on blues forums about how thicker strings sound betterā¦I have to say that I personally donāt really feel that wayā¦I have a ES335 with thicker strings and the increased difficulty in playability eliminates any possible sound improvements there might be. I feel one should pick string gauges that are playable first, especially on electric guitars where the electronics / amplification makes up so much of the sound.
On classical guitars and acoustic guitars itās a slightly different story, but ultimately even there personally Iād choose playability and finger health over a gauge or two fatter any day of the week.
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My poor martin. Our new (5years) house is awful on it. Constant buzzing and fret edges when seasons change. Iām thinking there is to much humidity.
My old house, my Martin mainly lived outside in a semi finished garden shed I called an office. No issues what so ever, go figure. Funny how the environment can wreak havoc on stringed instruments.
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Hi,
if you are willing to spend more money I can recommend some luthiers who do custom/ergonomic/vibey guitars.
Other that what I wouldnāt go for 3/4 guitars as they are usually targeted at kids with corresponding lower quality. Rather look at shorter scale lengths (I like 23.5 inch, 22.0 inch would be the shortest Iād go for). Then, as others have suggested, go down in string gauge or keep the string gauge but tune down. Then Iād go to a store and test different body (Tele vs Strat vs Jazzmaster etc) and neck shapes (thickness, U/V/C etc). Keep in mind that people with arthritis oftentimes prefer thicker necks as pressing thumb and index finger together oftentimes causes pain. And finally, get a professional setup with as low/easy string height as possible for your playing style and try to sit/play as ergonomically as possible (eg warm up before playing, donāt cross your legs, sit straight, get a Dynarette cushion, donāt bend wrists, etc).
I have chronic wrist problems and above pointers have helped me out a lot.
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I can only echo the above advice.
Call around asking costs for a string change to 8ās or 9ās plus low-ish action set-up (bridge, nut, trus, intonation).
Once you see what the āidealā set-up is, youāll have a good idea of what to aim for doing it in future for yourself.
Donāt worry about string buzz, just get any Fuzz pedal and call it ācharacterā.
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Thats for telling me about Dynarette cushions. I didnt know and it would help immensely.