Kid Guitars

When describing electric guitars for kids what comes to mind is a “Short scale guitar or a ¾ sized guitar ” but that really isn’t the whole story.   Some short scale kids electric guitars are longer than others, so it’s important to look at the specific scale length, and whether that’s right for your child. A three quarter sized scale length for a kids guitar can be anything from a 22.2 inch scale length to a 24 inch scale length. The scale length may vary even more for kids acoustic guitars. Scale length is defined as the distance from the bridge of the guitar to the nut. Therefore a kids electric guitar with a short scale length means that the frets on the guitar are closer together, allowing for small hands to reach across more frets. An advantage of using an electric guitar on a short scale length, is that the strings need a lot less tension to be tuned up to pitch, making it so much easier to press chords and notes.

For a child from the ages of about 6 to 10, a short scale guitar with a 22.2 or 22.7 inch scale length will work very well. Of course the size of the ten year old makes a difference.  It is possible that for a 10 year old, a 24 inch scale length will be a good fit.  Most kids around the age of 12 years old don’t need to think in terms of kids electric guitars anymore.  They can begin to look into adult sized guitars and can consider purchasing a guitar with a 24.75 inch to a 25.5 inch scale.  As always, best of luck!