Guitar w/ Deep Resonance/Tone for a Short Person?

[hansterDw]

Hey all! I'm looking to take up the acoustic guitar as a beginner, and I'd like to get a guitar with deep resonance and tone. In my research I've found that dreadnoughts have the type of sound I'm looking for, but I'm a pretty small person (5'2) with small hands. Would a dreadnought be beyond my reach? Are there more manageable guitars that might be able to give me similar depth? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, especially as we're all stuck inside unable to test instruments out ourselves

(If it helps, I'm hoping to eventually learn to play folk/soft classic rock!)

[Trinity13]

My wife is tiny...like barely 5' tall and tiny hands and likes using a dreadnought. She uses an OM most of the time which has really deep bass for its size but feels very comfortable with a dreadnought, although she did have to get use to it. At first it felt huge to her

Nothing like Dreadnought Bass...imo

[KevinH]

Steve Goodman was 5'2" and played a dread, among other things.

If you think you might want a smaller guitar, look for a 12-fret. They tend to have boomier bass than 14-frets.

[egordon99]

I am barely 5'1" and I have no problems with dreads.

[joeld]

Maybe try a 12-fret 000 . 12-fret means that the neck meets the body @12th fret rather than the more common 14th fret. 12-fret guitars tend to have a deeper voice than 14-fret guitars. 000 is the same size as OM.

[McCawber]

I mostly play dreads but bought a Martin OM-28V that had a very resonant bass. Not quite what the dread was, but still a boomer. I thought it was an incredible smaller body guitar . . . until my brother got his OM-28 Authentic. That guitar can keep up with my D-28 Authentic!

[ssynhorst]

Easily done! A small body 12 fret to the body design; the better ones are designated as 00 or 0 body design. A short scale one (short string length) would be better.

Such guitars can be more lightly constructed so they make more sound with less force applied to the strings. The big Dreds can make a big noise but they have to be struck hard to get it.

A solid top one would produce more sound than the cheaper laminated wood top ones but they cost more. However Recording King makes such a guitar (only 14 frets) available at under $200 new. I got one lightly used for $140 and it makes a big bass sound with little effort.

This is a classic design dating back 150 years and the high grade ones are some of the loveliest sounding guitars ever. Do a little research on the 00 and 0 sizes. - Steve

[Bob from Brooklyn]

The only way to know would be to try one. There are other variables besides height.

[Misifus]

Handling a large body guitar is partly a function of how you hold the guitar. I’m not terribly tall (5’4.5”) and I began on a dread. I always use a strap to support the guitar, and play standing up. If you want to play seated, placing the instrument on your left or fingering knee can help accommodate the size.

When players put the guitar on their right knee, they often find that they have trouble with their right shoulder. This is often worse for smaller players.

So, yes, a big guitar can be easily managed with some thought.

[Osage]

It's all up to personal taste. I'm 5' 11" and typically find dreads to be a bit big for me. Although I own a couple, my smaller guitars get much more playing time.

[Scolaguitar]

I'm small too. I prefer the sound of Dreads. Not the most comfortable but it's not impossible. Slope shoulder guitars feel a little better.

[TBman]

Try Martin's 000-15M all hog. The nut is 1 11/16 though.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...00-15m-natural

[Yendoggy]

I have probably taught close to 1000 students at this point. And I Think that pretty much every single one of them has said they have “small hands”

[emoji38]

[Alan Carruth]

A 12-fret 000 is about as long as a Dread, but an inch narrower. Body length has a lot to do with bass response, and not much bearing on comfort. Of course, you might want 14 frets on the neck.

I don't know of any production guitars being made with a 'wedge' body, but you may be able to find a used one from an individual maker at a reasonable price. The wedge (often called a 'Manzer wedge', after the luthier who popularized it), is shallower on the bass side and deeper on the treble. It has the same overall box volume as a regular guitar, but it's a lot easier to hold. The sound is not affected noticeably.