# Is the size of your hand an issue to play ERG's?



## lucasreis (Jul 19, 2013)

I was wondering and I thought about making this thread. 

Whenever I bring up the fact that I play 7 and 8 string guitars, some of my friends say that they wouldn't really handle them right because their hands are small. 

I began to notice that I do have big hands. I don't know the measure in feet, but I have 1.75 meters of height (not that tall, not that short), and I don't really know the size of my finger (I never measured them). But I noteced that my hands are significantly bigger than the hands of my cousin who is at least 10 centimeters taller than me. He says he struggle playing guitar and he is comfortable with 4 string basses because of his smaller hands. 

To me, 6, 7 and 8 string guitars all feel natural, and basses with more strings are also really easy for me to play, to digit, etc. 

Is this really an issue or is any kind of hand adjustable for playing ERG's?


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## Andromalia (Jul 19, 2013)

Size of hands is relevant, only insofar as it is a factor of your optimal playing position. Playing low-slung with short fingers is calling for wrist problems.
If you adopt a proper playing position, you can play 8s with the smallest girly hands you can find.


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## Tordah (Jul 19, 2013)

True dat. I probably have the smallest fingers you can imagine (every girl I've been with has always had larger fingers than me if you can believe), and I've played for a little bit on an 8 string.

All I did was go classical position, lower my thumb a little from the centre of the neck to reach the low F, no worries.


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## lucasreis (Jul 19, 2013)

Tordah said:


> True dat. I probably have the smallest fingers you can imagine (every girl I've been with has always had larger fingers than me if you can believe), and I've played for a little bit on an 8 string.
> 
> All I did was go classical position, lower my thumb a little from the centre of the neck to reach the low F, no worries.



This is exactly what I imagined. 

Proper position does wonders. 

Even though I have big hands, I like to play with the guitar in a not so low position (not Tom Morello high as well), because if I do, my wrist hurts fast. hehe


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## thebunfather (Jul 19, 2013)

I've always heard that size isn't an issue. It has more to do with how you use it... 

Seriously, though. I don't have huge hands, by any means, and I can play an 8 string just fine.


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## lucasreis (Jul 19, 2013)

thebunfather said:


> I've always heard that size isn't an issue. It has more to do with how you use it...
> 
> Seriously, though. I don't have huge hands, by any means, and I can play an 8 string just fine.



My guess is that some people are kinda scared of more string, but if they do try, they would be fine playing these instruments.


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## AxeHappy (Jul 19, 2013)

I have tiny little bitch hands. 

As in when I have female elementary school students who complain about their small hands making it harder I make them compare with them and they are often near the same size. Bigger on occasion. 

And I have no trouble on 7 or 8s. Or 6 string basses. 

Size is irrelevant.


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## Evil Weasel (Jul 19, 2013)

I found it relevant. I had an 8 string Agile with 28.625'' fretboard and with wide thick neck it was super uncomfortable to play. I have very small girly hands. My middle finger is about 7.5cm long. The fretboard on the 8 was almost as wide! Chords were a big problem.

I've yet to try a shorter scale 8 with a slimmer neck though. I may be able to manage an RG8 or equivalent fine!


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## Hollowway (Jul 19, 2013)

No, but studies have shown that ERG players have huge penises. I play a 10 string, btw.


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## Clydefrog (Jul 19, 2013)

Oddly enough, I can play my 6's and my 8 just perfectly fine, no discomfort whatsoever (Ibanez SZ720, Carvin DC600, Carvin DC800), but every 7 string I've ever owned (countless 76XX's, Carvin DC727) have been a nightmare on my hand. There's just something about a 7 neck that unfortunately just doesn't work with my left hand.


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## nicktao (Jul 19, 2013)

Jess Lewis - Wonderful Slippery Thing 'Live in the Studio' (Guthrie Govan) - YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak_dA_8fMBU

Hand size has become irrelevant.


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## jonajon91 (Jul 19, 2013)

... nope


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## lucasreis (Jul 19, 2013)

jonajon91 said:


> ... nope




Great find!


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## BigPhi84 (Jul 19, 2013)

I'd say it has more to do with armspan. I have average-to-large-sized hands and playing my RG2228, I could hit all the notes, but the length and width of the neck put my wrist at a really awkward & painful angle. Changing my strap-height, angle-of-neck, playing position, etc. did nothing to alleviate the pain, thus I had to sell the guitar. Saddens me just thinking about it.


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## Matthew (Jul 19, 2013)

I don't think it's an issue, but you definitely have to adjust to larger necks if you have smaller hands. Things like wrapping your thumb around the neck on a 6 makes 7s feel awkward until you realize what you're doing and stop the habit. I've spent a few hours jamming on an S8 (27") and, while the fret spacing was a bit much for me, the width of the neck didn't matter. At first I definitely had to remind myself that it was an 8 and adjust, but that'll come naturally with time.

Now, scale length gets pretty uncomfortable for me above 25.5" (to be fair, I've only played 25.5 and 27, so 26.5 might be cool). However, I can rock a 30" 5 string bass without issue. I would hazard a guess that the bass is fine because I'm only focusing on single notes that low on the neck, since chording farther up is just fine.

Also, Sarah Longfield rips her 8s and makes me want one. Small hands be damned!


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## Given To Fly (Jul 19, 2013)

Assuming we are talking about adults (I don't think an 8 string would be good for a 9 years olds hands), I think longer fingers can help when playing an 8 string. One thing I noticed is Tosin Abasi's hands on an 8 string look like most people's hands on a 6 string. Also, his ring finger is almost as long as his middle finger which I think makes guitar playing easier in general.

Having said that, I don't think people with long fingers can play anything that people with shorter fingers can't. I just think it might be easier for them at first.


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## Hollowway (Jul 19, 2013)

BigPhi84 said:


> I'd say it has more to do with armspan. I have average-to-large-sized hands and playing my RG2228, I could hit all the notes, but the length and width of the neck put my wrist at a really awkward & painful angle. Changing my strap-height, angle-of-neck, playing position, etc. did nothing to alleviate the pain, thus I had to sell the guitar. Saddens me just thinking about it.



Yeah, I agree with that, but with the caveat that it had a lot to do with the construction of the instrument. I've got some 8 strings that feel very awkward, and some that are easy to play, and it appears to have very little to do with the scale length. Like, my Intrepid is 28 5/8", and its a breeze to play. But I have a 27" 8 that feels like I have to scrunch up my body to play. So where the neck is (ie how far through the body the bridge is) makes a pretty big difference as well.


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## InfinityCollision (Jul 20, 2013)

jonajon91 said:


> ... nope


Sarah's palms are tiny but her fingers are decently long. You can see in that video, she can easily reach the lowest string without stretching her hand out over the fretboard.



Hollowway said:


> Yeah, I agree with that, but with the caveat that it had a lot to do with the construction of the instrument. I've got some 8 strings that feel very awkward, and some that are easy to play, and it appears to have very little to do with the scale length. Like, my Intrepid is 28 5/8", and its a breeze to play. But I have a 27" 8 that feels like I have to scrunch up my body to play. So where the neck is (ie how far through the body the bridge is) makes a pretty big difference as well.





Pushing the bridge towards the end of the body and adjusting how the instrument hangs can make a ton of difference in comfort level when playing an instrument.

Which is going to be more comfortable from a reach perspective:












They're both 36" on the bass end, but you're going to feel it a lot more on the first one because it's basically a 25.5" guitar with extra frets tacked on at the nut. Knuckle Quake basses are another good example, 39.55" scale but part of the extra length is pushed towards the bridge end so you don't have to reach much further than a typical 35" bass to get to the first fret.


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## sniperfreak223 (Jul 20, 2013)

I have short little sausage fingers, but I have no trouble with my 8, any of my 7's, or even my 30" baritone. It's all about your hand positioning and adapting your wrist position, and having some experience playing bass definitely helps.


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## TRENCHLORD (Jul 20, 2013)

Totally depends on what you're wanting to play.
Wide-stretching hammer/pull sequences near the nut might be very hard on an ERG for someone who barely pulls it off (p.i.) on a standard 6-string.

On the other hand, there's no reason you couldn't just write the riffs in a way that's conducive to the guitar's stature to begin with.
There's always plenty of fretboard up higher for the whirly stuff, and you can always utilize opens anyways.


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## Damo707 (Jul 20, 2013)

I have small hands.. There I said it. 
I have to change my technique slightly, eg more transitions between 1-5 frets and even 7-9 for some chord shapes. That was on a 29 scale 8 string. 
I have a 27 scale Ibanez which feels perfect for the way I play, I don't need to transition as much or at all.


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## sniperfreak223 (Jul 20, 2013)

Hollowway said:


> No, but studies have shown that ERG players have huge penises. I play a 10 string, btw.



I'd bet the opposite is actually true  I'm a six-slinger...no need to compensate.


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## dudeskin (Jul 20, 2013)

The smaller hands you have on your instrumen, the bigger it looks.haha


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## patata (Jul 20, 2013)

7 strings are great to me.More ''meaty''.
8 is okay I guess,from the little time I spent on them,I can't really hit the string I think I'm hitting.


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## Dayn (Jul 20, 2013)

It can be an issue. Personally, I'd be comfortable with an 11-string without any stretching, but my friend on the other hand... her hands and fingers are tiny, and can barely do many reaches on her Strat, let alone reaching for just the 7th string on my guitar.

So yes. It most certainly can be for some people.


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## DrZoidberg (Jul 20, 2013)

For me, it took more getting used to the difference in scale length than the width of the fretboard. It can strain the wrist some if you don't make adjustments.


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## Explorer (Jul 20, 2013)

I play with the neck almost upright, like playing a Chapman Stick or a classical guitar, a stance/position I adopted after I went through some hand problems quite a while ago. I haven't had a repeat in the years since.


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## BusinessMan (Jul 20, 2013)

I would imagine that anyone could play an erg but their reach wouldn't be the same as say on a six or seven. I have really large hands myself and erg feel more comfortable than erg's to me since I have big hands.


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## danger5oh (Jul 20, 2013)

I'm only 5'6" with about average hand size for my height, and I stayed away from anything with more than 7 strings and anything with a scale length longer than 25.5", assuming that those guitars would be too difficult to play well. I recently got a 28" scale 8 and I quickly realized that my original assumptions were wrong.


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Jul 20, 2013)

In general, I don't think it matters that much if at all. Players with smaller hands probably invented clever tapping techniques to replicate Holdsworth's (who has probably the largest hands I have ever seen) large stretched legato runs. 

I went to an Al DiMeola live concert once, it was in a club so I got the chance to get closer to the stage. I was about 10 ft away from him and he has small hands, but he is a monster player.

As far as ERG, playing barre chords near the nut could be challenging for 27" scales and up if you don't have large enough hands, but there is always another voicing that would be easier to play. 

Same question gets asked in the piano world, and the answer is more or less the same. Rachmaninoff had humongous hands, but one of the best contemporary players Ashkenazy has small hands.


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## CMNDandCTRL (Jul 20, 2013)

I don't think it's too relevant. My fingers are essentially chodes, and when I got my 8 string, I just cranked the strap up high and for the first while all I had was a bit of pain where my thumb meets my palm when holding bar chords for a long time but after having it for a few months I no longer have any pain.


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## Skully124 (Jul 21, 2013)

i have really small double jointed fingers and hands that make playing sorta tough, but i have a easy time playing on my RG8, the 27 in scale hasnt proven to be much of hurdle for me, I actually find the RG8 easier to play than the RG7321, and it all boils down to the neck width in my opinion. I find gibson esque necks extremely uncomfortable, but my RG8 is like a dream come true, i also play in the proper classical position so that helps, i think it boils down to technique and how your hands just handle the neck.


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## vansinn (Jul 21, 2013)

I feel it's very much a matter of how the instrument fits playing style, i.e. shape of neck, balance, neck width - especially the taper.

My pinky could be longer, so playing the 8th string beyond 12/14th fret or so is troublesome.

Same on my 7-string bass, where I have problems beyond 8/9th or so.. however, this bass has a wider taper than I prefer and is a Bit neck heavy, both not giving me the best of neck angle.


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## Nosedevil (Jul 21, 2013)

From my personal experience, it's on the shoulder. When I made the transition to ERG (28.6"), my shoulder suffered a lot, but I got used to it in about a week or so. Then changing back to 25.5" it needed some readjusting. 3 days were enough to get the groove on again.


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