Source
r/Guitar•
TouchofRed

[NEWBIE] Did I get the right size guitar?

NEWBIE

I purchased this Fender Squier beginner kit on Amazon for Christmas. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CVP6C6L/

I've been going through the beginner course at Justinguitar.com and I'm really loving it. I'm 31 and used to play Trumpet and know some music theory. I'm just getting to the point now where I've learned some Major 7th chords and I'm working on getting the dreaded full bar F at the moment.

My question is, did I get the proper size guitar for an adult? I don't have the largest hands and so far this short scale guitar seems to feel like a good size. Is this one actually smaller or is it just the neck is a little shorter? Will it be harder for me to switch to larger guitars in the future?

I mostly listen to Indie/folk rock and some metal if it helps. Thanks!

Posted Jan 24, 2019, 5:36 PM UTC

313
patricksbarnard•

There’s not really a right size for a guitar. You can play whatever size you want. Also try and learn the f barre as a hendrix chord.

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TouchofRedOP•

I thought that might be the case, just wanted to make sure it wasn't designed for kids or something. Is that with using your thumb for the low E string? I want to give a shot at learning the full F barre since I imagine it will help me later on with other barre chords.

2
Guy_In_Florida•

That effin F was the road block I hit on several prior attempts to play guitar. This time, every time I pick the guitar up, I bounce around that F. When I put it down, 3 or 4 times. As I leave for work, 3 or 4 times. After a couple of months, my brain and fingers shook hands I guess and now I mash out an F just like any open chord, which all still needs work. So start now, every time you can.

1
TouchofRedOP•

yeah, I just started practicing it yesterday. I can just barely get it to play cleanly a few times before my index finger starts bothering me. I'm sure it just needs a lot of practice.

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Guy_In_Florida•

Yep, the side of my index finger is white from all the chaffing. Don't eat the elephant in one bite, nibble at it.

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Rcrai18•

Imagine yourself playing that F throughout the day. Your fingers just curl over the fretboard and just the tips land perfectly in position making clean ringing strings. It works then practice it

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w0ng3rPRS Core Cu24•

As long as you didn't buy a kids guitar, you are fine. full neck lengths range from ~24" long to 25.5. This affects the tone of your guitar. beyond the neck length, there is also the radius (curvature) of the neck on the back, how wide the neck is, and even the frets themselves.

For now, just keep what you have, the important part is getting your hands used to navigating up and down the fretboard.

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You can eventually try out different guitars, and you will probably find one that makes you go "wow this is what i want"

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2
jfcarr•

The one you bought has a 24" scale length which is a decent enough to keep intonation well in standard tuning with regular strings. This is the same scale length as most of the Fender offset guitars (Jaguar, Jagmaster, etc) so it's good for all ages. It is shorter than the standard Strat and Tele (25.5") or the standard Gibson length (24.75").

You'll feel some difference if you get another guitar with a different scale length but, with some playing time, you get used to switching them around.

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kisielk•

Jazzmaster is 25.5"

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jfcarr•

Oops. I meant to say Jagmaster. Edited...

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TouchofRedOP•

Thanks for the detailed explanation. That makes a lot of sense.

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mike_e_mcgee•

Scale is the distance from the nut to the bridge. One could make a short scale guitar using a normal size neck as long as they moved the bridge forward, and fretted it correctly. That last bit is the trick, shorter scale necks have the frets closer together, longer scale necks have the frets further apart.

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It may sound like giant hands would want long scale instruments, but I've not found that to be the case. Fender's standard scale is 25.5", and Gibson is 24.75". That 3/4" makes a bit of difference in feel, but not much. I have a baritone with a 27" scale. That guitar was a serious adjustment. I have to splay my fingers out way more to get the chord grips right. It requires a lot more flexibility.

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You may feel constrained trying to get your meat hooks to fit in the short scale frets, but you may find a long scale equally hard, or harder by requiring more flexibility.

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I think it's fine and won't cause you any issues down the road. I was switching between gibsons and fenders without issue before I even knew they had different scale lengths. These days I've added ukes, and full on bass guitars to my arsenal. Switching scale lengths around has only ever bothered me when playing slide. My muscle memory did not match the notes when I started sliding on the baritone. I'd jerk the note up to pitch and ended up pulling some muscles until I got used to it. I got used to it though, and no longer have issues playing slide on a 27" scale neck.

2
AeroSigma•

'Proper' doesn't matter. If you like playing it for whatever reason, just enjoy that. For example, most metal players prefer longer scale lengths, even beyond the standard offerings into baritone range, but this really hit home to me when I heard Rob Chapman talk about how he loves shorter scale guitars because of 'the harmonics'.

Eventually you'll get good enough that you'll start forming more opinions, at that point, just play a lot of different guitars (go to a shop every few weeks when, or when you need new strings or something and spend some time noodling on different guitars. That way when you're ready to upgrade, you'll know what you want (and thus why you're upgrading :p)

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