Smaller Guitars?

[mattyk]

Hi Everybody!

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a smaller sized Selmer style guitar. I'm totally new to the style, but have been a professional player in other genre's for yours. I'm a shorter fellow and travel quite a bit, so I'm looking for something small and not too expensive. Any advice?

[swing68]

Are you sure that's what you're after?

The reason I ask is that most selmer macs come in two standard (and very similar) scale lengths - longer scale tends to equal better tone and, in a purely acoustic setting, tone is king. There are 3/4 length student/child models, but they're tuned much higher than the normal EADGBE as a rule. In an electric setting you can get away with it, but acoustic playing is pretty unforgiving and you'd get string buzz, a general lack of 'fizz' off the guitar and all sorts.

BUT there are ways to make life easier:
- choose a guitar with a slim neck (others will know which makes, I don't have, and haven't had, enough guitars to compare fully)
- get the lowest possible bridge to lower the action (within reason - again, tonal considerations mean that GJ guitars are set up with a higher bridge). Just to take examples I'm familiar with, Manouche guitars (now JWC guitars) offered 19, 21 and 23mm bridges. I understand that other makers go much lower.
- a GJ guitar might ship with an 11-gauge string set; swap it out for a 10.

Finally - where small hands meet large guitar

Best, swing68

[mattyk]

Swing,

Thank-you so much. Great advice and GREAT vid. Thanks again!

Mk

[Phydeaux3]

There are guitars out there with shorter scaled necks but still 14 frets to the body. Years ago I bought a Chris Eccleshall Oval Hole (He also built a D hole ) hat was handmade and built under the instruction of Mario Maccaferri. It was shorter in the neck than others I had seen. It had a really sweet tone and projected well. It also had reverse wound SB Tuners. In a fit of madness I sold it to a Gypsy at Samois!
I think because of the Selmer Plan sheets a lot of guitars nowadays are built to those specifications which I presume would be the 'correct' neck length.