# 5 String Bass for a girl with small hands



## Epyon6 (Jun 20, 2011)

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.


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## SirMyghin (Jun 20, 2011)

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.


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## somniumaeternum (Jun 20, 2011)

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?


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## CMNDandCTRL (Jun 20, 2011)

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


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## TemjinStrife (Jun 20, 2011)

I'd go with an Ibanez SR305, SR505, or SR605. Narrow (16.5mm) string spacing and slim necks make for easy reach.


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## MassNecrophagia (Jun 20, 2011)

I'd go with a soundgear, narrow string spacing and relatively thin necks, 34" scale too


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## Epyon6 (Jun 20, 2011)

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 !

ESP LTD F-155DX 5-String Bass Guitar and more 5 String Electric Bass at GuitarCenter.com.


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## MassNecrophagia (Jun 20, 2011)

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


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## Epyon6 (Jun 20, 2011)

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.


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## Lasik124 (Jun 21, 2011)

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!


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## Bevo (Jun 26, 2011)

Check out Warwick as well, tight spacing and some with smaller bodies.
Just watch for neck dive with some of them.


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## TemjinStrife (Jun 27, 2011)

Bevo said:


> Check out Warwick as well, tight spacing and some with smaller bodies.
> Just watch for neck dive with some of them.



Really? I find 'wicks generally have wider spacing and GARGANTUAN neck profiles


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## Jogeta (Jun 27, 2011)

+1 for the Ibanez SR recommendation.

more specifically the Ibanez SR 300


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## deevit (Jun 29, 2011)

TemjinStrife said:


> 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...


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## thedarkoceans (Jul 5, 2011)

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.


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## Goatchrist (Jul 5, 2011)

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!


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## Epyon6 (Aug 14, 2011)

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.


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## Murmel (Aug 15, 2011)

Techdethdrummer said:


> 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


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## Epyon6 (Aug 17, 2011)

Lol


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## XylemBassGuitar (Sep 4, 2011)

Murmel said:


> 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


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## Murmel (Sep 5, 2011)

^
You have a point.








I have to get me an Epiphone EB-3... Those things are HOT.


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## Yaris (Sep 27, 2011)

I don't mean to derail this thread, but are there any ibanez basses with relatively large string spacing or a relatively wide neck? Cause I love Ibanez but I have gigantic hands lol.


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## iron blast (Sep 27, 2011)

Yaris said:


> I don't mean to derail this thread, but are there any ibanez basses with relatively large string spacing or a relatively wide neck? Cause I love Ibanez but I have gigantic hands lol.



btb's are abit wider


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## AdAstra2025 (Sep 28, 2011)

Cort Curbow 5...It's a bit weird looking, but it is one of the most comfortable basses on the planet. It has an active Bartolini pickup, active EQ, and a fairly slim and comfortable neck.


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## engage757 (Oct 2, 2011)

Cort Curbow, Ibanez SR series. HAve you thought about scale length?


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## TheBloodstained (Oct 6, 2011)

Last time I tried a Schecter Stiletto Studio I was surprised at how easy it was to play (have small hands myself), so maybe that's worth looking into? it's a 35" scale though 

Maybe you should bring her to a music store and try some different 5 string basses, and based upon what she likes we'd be able to give a better advice? 

Remember to either make her post a NBD thread, or do it yourself!


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## Solodini (Oct 16, 2011)

If she learns to play with her thumb behind the neck the. Most things should be fine. My hands are smaller than most women's (I'm ~5'4") and I cope fine with 6string basses. Have her try Jazz Bass types as I find their necks to be slightly narrower and rounder in radius which seems to make things easier.


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