More women than are guitar players nowadays. More luthiers and guitar manufacturing companies are paying attention to the needs of smaller female players, their playing styles, and their sense of style and design. What exactly is a girls/woman’s guitar and what are the differences one might expect to find in a guitar described this way?

Guitars made to fit the female form are becoming more fashionable than ever. The first time I picked one up to play I noticed it weighed less and had a nice but smaller feel that adapts well to a smaller hand without loss of tone or sound quality at all. I would not hesitate to recommend this sort of guitar to anyone who is smaller than the average man, including the up and coming virtuosos, and rock stars; children. Although your favorite nephew may not appreciate a pink guitar like the Squier Hello Kitty Electric Guitar.

Playing an instrument that feels right may help you to achieve your emotional and creative goals more easily. Wrestling with a guitar that is too big or heavy takes away from the concentration and comfort needed to perform at a high level.

The major players in bringing Girls Guitars to the public are limited, but include Squier, Gibson. Epiphone, Luna and Daisy Rock. These are just a few of this type of companies known to this author, catering to this new niche. There are a range of models to fit taste preferences as well as budget. It should be noted that Luna, which is one of the smaller companies listed above is owned by a woman who is an artist whose bass player mother inspired her to create a guitar to better suit her mothers needs. It is clear in looking at a Luna guitar that it is a beautifully crafted instrument.

Lets get to it, here are my personal picks for the best guitars for smaller players:

1. Luna Muse Parlor Acoustic Guitar is a brilliant acoustic guitar that is beautiful in design and is very comfy for any player. This is a particularly *affordable model, and plays easily and has great tones, including some very pleasing deep bass tones. It has a lovely soft matt finish, and some clean well crafted Celtic knot style wood inlays in various places, as well as moon phase inlays of pearl (pearl like appearance) on the fretboard. The tuners have a really lovely matt grey metal finish. This guitar plays like it wants to be played.

2. Luna Andromeda Phoenix Bass Guitar. It is noticeably lighter in weight than the majority of bass guitars I have examined with out losing any of the tone and pop heard from any good bass guitar. It is also a very affordable guitar.

3. The Squier Hello Kitty Stratocaster Electric Guitar is an extremely affordable solid body electric guitar, The friendly face of Hello Kitty is painted on the custom kitty head shaped pickguard on either a bubble gum pink or a black Stratocaster style guitar. This is a decent first guitar for an aspiring rock star gal in your life. Squire also makes an even less expensive Hello Kitty Mini Stratocaster Electric Guitar . It is smaller, has three single coil pickups, a 20 fret neck, and simpler Hello Kitty Graphics on the guitar body. It comes in black and Pink.

4. Daisy Rock Candy Series Daisy Rock Guitars guitar company was established in 2000 by Tish Ciravolo. The company manufactures and markets guitars designed specifically for girls and women. The Daisy Rock Candy Series includes several models of solid-body electric guitars with a single-cutaway body, similar to the body outline of a Gibson Les Paul or Paul Reed Smith “single-cut” guitar. They sound great and are easy to play. A top quality guitar that allows you to express yourself with great clarity.

5. Daisy Rock Short Scale Guitars. The Heartbreaker Short Scale is proof evolution still is alive in guitar design with a uniquely cut feminine body and a 22-1/2 scale neck making the guitar comfortable for smaller guitarists while still holding on to the the soul of a rockin’ guitar. Top quality features include a rock maple neck, basswood body, beautiful pearloid heart inlays, and shiny chrome hardware.

6. Minarik Inferno Electric Guitar Endorsed by Shred-mistress Rynata. It has an unusual body design and top notch electrics along with beautiful hardware, manufactured using advanced design techniques. Most women players agree that it has a great feel and super tone.

7. Gibson Les Paul Goddess delivers the same pure tone of a traditional Les Paul in a light, streamlined body. Comfortable enough to play for hours, tough enough to shake the house down. Typical Gibson quality and sound. Uniquely crafted light weight mahogany body with a figured maple top & narrow nut. The slim ‘60s-style neck is really slippery along with hi powered translucent 490R & 498T humbuckers you can wake up the neighborhood. The slim reduced body size is designed for optimum fit and performance for smaller body sizes. This is a real top line guitar for serious players.

8. ESP Horizon 3 Girl Electric Guitar. The ESP Horizon 3 Girl Electric Guitar is an unbelievable custom axe that incorporates a breathtaking emerald green see-thru finish over a figured maple top with an anime girl graphic. It’s an excellent partner to the sleek Horizon 3 body, with it’s scalloped double cutaways, large upper horn and jet black headstock that follows the body’s curves. This guitar doesn’t stop at great looks. . In addition to the maple top, the Horizon 3 Girl features a solid mahogany body and maple neck to ensure great tone and sustain. Two EMG81 humbucker pickups means this young lady has a very powerful voice, one that will growl on your chunky chords and wail high and clear on your solos. All of the hardware is black including high quality Sperzel tuners, a tone-enhancing Gotoh bridge, volume & tone knobs and a 3-way pickup switch. This guitar is an amazing high quality guitar for the accomplished player, or performer.

9. Epiphone Emily the Strange SG Electric Guitar. The limited-edition Epiphone Emily The Strange G-310 SG features Emily’s face and other graphics from the Cosmic Debris character including, of course, one of Emily’s black cats. This axe delivers everything from warm distortion to all-out scream with 2 hot-wired humbuckers. Crafted with select hardwood body, bolt-on mahogany neck, and rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays. Also features tune-o-matic bridge, stopbar tailpiece, and chrome tuners.

10. Taylor Baby Taylor Mahogany Top Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar is a 3/4 scale guitar. It has a perfectly symmetrical design and is like a full sized guitar. it is not designated as a womans/girls guitar, however it’s unique size and the usual superior Taylor quality will surprise smaller people with it’s perfect sound and feel. The Taylor Baby Taylor is a great slightly smaller guitar at an affordable price .

11. Fender Custom Shop Bonnie Raitt Model . This particular guitar is excellent. It is one of the sweetest guitars I have ever played. It is a Stratocaster in every way. Primarily, the biggest difference between this Strat and a stock American Strat is the nice narrow neck and terrific manufacturing job performed in The Fender Custom Shop. This guitar is not in production now, and must be acquired used. It is a great find if you come upon one.

I hope this makes the differences between guitar types more understandable. If you have questions about any guitar, please make a comment at GPC. Stay tuned in for full tests and pictures on each model described above.

*the author defines affordable as any guitar which costs under $550 when new.

Robert Johnson Guitar player. Died August 16th 1938

The tale of Robert Johnson is a fascinating one. A forerunner of the Blues movement in the 1930’s, his music was to influence everyone from Muddy Waters to Led Zeppelin. Perhaps his alleged deal with the devil at the crossroads helped more. The story goes that one day, as Johnson was traveling, he came across a set of crossroads where the Devil appeared to him. A deal was struck whereby Johnson sold his soul and in return would be given the talent of playing the guitar masterfully. The story did form the basis of a song called ‘Crossroads’; a Johnson song later revived by Eric Clapton.

The story of Johnson’s demise is straight out of a movie script. In a bar one night he was offered an open bottle of whisky to drink out of. His friend knocked it out his hand, seeing instantly what the danger may have been. Johnson was not happy, saying ‘don’t ever knock a bottle out my hand’. Later on that night someone else offered him an open bottle and forgetting his friends earlier advice, Johnson drank from it. It had been laced with strychnine. Interestingly though, in later years, this happening was dismissed because strychnine has such a pungent smell that it would not have been disguised by the liquor, in fact it was such a strong and distinctive smell that it would have been instantly noticed before being drunk.

What ever happened, the world had lost arguably one of its major musicians at the age of 27; had he not died, the music we know today could have been so different.

Why not make your own guitar? Well I can think of more reasons why not, than why you should. For the most part, building a guitar is for advanced woodworkers. I don’t mean a general contractor who builds houses either.

A guitar maker is called a ‘luthier’, and by any standard a luthier is considered to be one of the most crafty wood workers jobs of all.  Obviously different types of guitars have different degrees of difficulty to  make.  Basically, for all practical purposes, (Is making a guitar practical?) you have electric solid body guitars and a variety of hollow body guitars. From acoustic, acoustic-electric and some electrics to classical guitars that have hollow body’s.

A common characteristic that exists between folks who play the guitar and someone who makes a guitar is “patience”. Obviously, having the proper equipment is a must. The equipment needed depends partly on whether you buy a ‘kit’ or ‘build it from the ground up’. Other variables to consider equipment wise may be the type of guitar you build. Meaning that an acoustic guitar utilizes more tools and types of tools than an electric solid body guitar. Patience will be your most important tool.

Something that Popeye The Sailor used to say that cracks me up is “Me has so many patients, me should have been a doctor” (patience, as opposed to Dr’s. patients), holds true to the art of guitar making, no matter what avenue you take. Myself, being a guitar maker and having a repair shop has similarities to something else I have done at a high level, rebuilding car transmissions. The precision and attention to detail are similar vibes, every piece of work performed must be done with a calm and focused  approach to detail. And, being able to stop and correct, or take as much time as necessary to spend on even the finest details. No grease of course, which is refreshing after rebuilding transmissions for 25 years.

Buy a kit or build the whole thing. Both ways require a certain amount of tools. Some of the tools are: big clamps, table or radial arm saw, band saw, joiner, planer, router/s, drill press, wood jawed vice and sanding equipment. Sanding meaning power sanding tools, all the way down to elbow grease. Including some special luthier tools for some of the assembly, and the final setup of the guitar after completion.

No matter how you look at it, it is a lot of work, and for most home guitar makers, a labor of love.  If you have what it takes to make your own guitar, both personality wise and tool wise, don’t cheat yourself and go for it. Building a guitar may be one of the most satisfying things you ever do. Enjoy.