Epyon6
Well-Known Member
My girl wants to play a 5 string bass but has small hands, what are some bass's that she can fit her hands around better then some others? Just mainly looking for suggestions. Thanks.
5 String Bass for a girl with small hands
- Thread starter Epyon6
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Ibby basses tend to have dinky necks with narrow string spacing. I find the G&L neck (USA) I played to also be very thin. For reference sake I however play a 5 string with 19mm spacing and a neck that goes from 1-3/4 to 3" at the body, and is about 1" deep, assym carve.
somniumaeternum
Well-Known Member
As SirMyghin said, the ibanez basses i've played have felt pretty thin (but in a good way). The Fender ones are fairly huge but still a nice feel.
A lot of people say "oh my hands are too small so I can't play xxxxx". It's true up to a point but a lot of it is just practice. My hands are definately not Vai or Gilbert size but I can get around a 7 string pretty well. A lot is balanece between taper, width, radius, etc..
What about down tuning a 4 string?
A lot of people say "oh my hands are too small so I can't play xxxxx". It's true up to a point but a lot of it is just practice. My hands are definately not Vai or Gilbert size but I can get around a 7 string pretty well. A lot is balanece between taper, width, radius, etc..
What about down tuning a 4 string?
CMNDandCTRL
King Pin
I own an Ibanez SR505 and I have small stubby hands cause I'm 14. I play a lot of tech death and progressive metal so I do a lot of tapping and fast stuff and even with my small ass hands I can play comfortably. For SR basses, they don't have a huge width for the fretboard so it is easy to go from a 4 to 5 string. When I played a 4 string SR504 it felt like the thing should only have 3 strings it had such a thin fretboard. Yeah definitely check out Ibanez. Hope she finds a good one 
TemjinStrife
Power Metal Cellist
I'd go with an Ibanez SR305, SR505, or SR605. Narrow (16.5mm) string spacing and slim necks make for easy reach.
MassNecrophagia
has no friends
I'd go with a soundgear, narrow string spacing and relatively thin necks, 34" scale too
Epyon6
Well-Known Member
Damn thanks guys much appreciated 
. Do you guys know if the sound gear bass's are similar to the ESP 155DX bass, mainly the with of the fretboard? She likes this one alot cause of the body syle and the dark purple. lol what can I say shes a chick, but can 
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ESP LTD F-155DX 5-String Bass Guitar and more 5 String Electric Bass at GuitarCenter.com.
. Do you guys know if the sound gear bass's are similar to the ESP 155DX bass, mainly the with of the fretboard? She likes this one alot cause of the body syle and the dark purple. lol what can I say shes a chick, but can !ESP LTD F-155DX 5-String Bass Guitar and more 5 String Electric Bass at GuitarCenter.com.
MassNecrophagia
has no friends
I have a couple F-205s, not sure about string spacing, but the neck feels more... substantial, would be the word.
It will also be the longer 35" scale.
I don't have massive hands, and I find the esp bass necks comfortable.
It wouldn't hurt to find one and have her try it out, but i know that can sometimes be difficult
It will also be the longer 35" scale.
I don't have massive hands, and I find the esp bass necks comfortable.
It wouldn't hurt to find one and have her try it out, but i know that can sometimes be difficult
Epyon6
Well-Known Member
Yea it is a little hard around here guitar centers and sam ash's are about an hour and a half to 2 hours away lol. We only got small local stores here. Thanks for all the input.
About the LTD you are looking at, I Own it! (Although in black)
It feels great for the price, and the neck should be no problem, It's back home so I couldn't give you the low down on it right now, But I re-call it being quite easy to play.
If it helps, I had an ex who had the same bass except a 4 string, I re-call being shocked at how small the neck was so it must have been perfect for her, Bumping it up to a 5 string was no biggy.
Best of luck!
It feels great for the price, and the neck should be no problem, It's back home so I couldn't give you the low down on it right now, But I re-call it being quite easy to play.
If it helps, I had an ex who had the same bass except a 4 string, I re-call being shocked at how small the neck was so it must have been perfect for her, Bumping it up to a 5 string was no biggy.
Best of luck!
Bevo
Well-Known Member
Check out Warwick as well, tight spacing and some with smaller bodies.
Just watch for neck dive with some of them.
Just watch for neck dive with some of them.
TemjinStrife
Power Metal Cellist
Jogeta
Well-Known Member
Really? I find 'wicks generally have wider spacing and GARGANTUAN neck profiles
Warwick standard offers 16,5 mm spacing, quite tight if you ask me. Some of the necks on wicks are baseball bats though...
thedarkoceans
Banned
man,the best choice you have (IMO) is buy a five string fender jazz made in mexico.i have one and is fvckin' confortable for my small hands. i'm 13 years old.i payed it 580 euros.
Goatchrist
Well-Known Member
Ibanez ar good for small hands, works for me (I own a sr305).
Yesterday I talked with the Ingested bass player and he said that his Schecter 5 string has a thin neck, so check those out!
Yesterday I talked with the Ingested bass player and he said that his Schecter 5 string has a thin neck, so check those out!
Epyon6
Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the input guys, I ended up getting a Ibanez SR305, dont need anything crazy awsome, but somethin for her and me to play around and write music with, she ended up wanting to play guitar anyways....women cant make up their minds lol.
Changing their minds to not want to play bass is pretty standard, I mean, nobody cares about the bassist so it's understandable
<---- I'm a bassist, I know
Epyon6
Well-Known Member
Lol
XylemBassGuitar
Owner, Xylem Guitars
Changing their minds to not want to play bass is pretty standard, I mean, nobody cares about the bassist so it's understandable
I don't know...female bass players are fairly rare and are usually idolized by any male bass player...
...OK, I see your point, who wants a bunch of fans that are bass players anyway
