If you’re considering a new guitar either for yourself or your partner, there are many acoustic and electric guitars that would easily qualify as a great guitars for women.

What to Look for in a Guitar for a Woman

Let’s start with some obvious assumptions:

• The guitar should fit a woman’s body reasonably comfortably
• The guitar’s neck should be comfortable for smaller hands
• The sound should match the player’s taste in music
• The guitar’s price should fall within an expected budget
• And finally, it’s gotta look good!

Granted, the above list isn’t exclusive to females guitars for women or girls.

Compared to guitars for guys, finding a perfect fit in a guitar for a woman or a girl will have its own variations. In other words, a guitar that might appeal to a guy doesn’t necessarily mean it works for a woman.

Still, finding a perfect guitar for a female player is easy – if you know what to look for.

To help you make a better informed decision, we’ll weed out the junk and stick to better choices available from reputable sources – and that’s what we’re here for.

Women Know, Guitar is Not Just for Dudes

Reacting to a slump in guitar sales, guitar manufacturing giant, Fender, saw an opportunity in marketing guitar playing to women – and why not? There’s no reason guitar playing needs to be male-dominated.

In December of 2018, GuitarGirlMag.com published an article reporting:

“Fender Study Reveals Women Continue to Account for 50% of Emerging Guitar Market”.

Then a couple of years later, thanks to a pandemic, even more women started picking up the guitar to kill time while the storm blew over.

Fender Blazes New Paths for Guitar Girls

In a recent article from Forbes, Fender has also been keeping up with the latest in social media trends. Tops on that list is TikTok:

“It’s way more female and a lot younger than it used to be even 20 or 30 years ago.”

Fender Chief Marketing Officer Evan Jones

Women Guitar Players That Lead the Way

It doesn’t take much to conjure up a host of famous female guitar players. Well recognized personalities such as Bonnie Raitt, Joan Jett, Joni Mitchell and Sheryl Crow have been sources of inspiration for decades.

As musical styles have continued to diversify over time, so have the number of names attached to female players.

In more recent times the landscape has given way to landscape to popular names like Orianthi, Samantha Fish, Nita Strauss and St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark).

In terms of overall musical inspiration, let’s not forget Taylor Swift. Early on in her career, we saw a huge uptick in young female players picking up the guitar after being influenced by her songwriting, performance and creativity.

How to Choose the Best Guitar for a Woman – What to Look For

What Size Guitar is Best for a Woman?

While most women can easily adapt to with a full-sized guitar, you might want to consider guitars with slightly smaller bodies and shorter scale lengths of 23.5″ to 24″.

Otherwise, here are a few typical body sizes to choose from:

• Parlor
• Concert
• Classical
• Auditorium
• Contoured Electric

The long and short of it is, depending on your own physical body type, the best size guitar for a woman can be slightly different person to person.

Are You a Young Beginner or Upgrading?

Another factor to consider is where you are on your guitar playing journey.

Are you a female beginner who’s new to the instrument? Or are you looking to upgrade from an entry level guitar you’ve been using for some time.

Depending on your age, the size and type of guitar can be directly related to your age and body size.

As a gender-specific example, a typical teenage boy may be looking to upgrade to a full-size dreadnought whereas a young girl may be moving from a 3/4 size guitar into a more professional grade small bodied instrument – a guitar that will last her right through to adulthood.

Acoustic vs Electric

When you’re first starting out, choosing either an electric or acoustic guitar is a major consideration and will be directly related to your own taste in musical style.

Are you drawn more to acoustic oriented music? Or does the electric vibe suit your senses better?

There’s no right or wrong answer.

In comparison, acoustic guitars are a superb choice for beginners due to their simplicity. Being self-contained, you’re ready to go right out of the box.

Electric guitars on the other hand need extra purchases like an amplification and hook-up cables.

One important point to make between acoustic and electric guitars is the fact that some electric oriented songs don’t translate well to acoustic guitar. But an electric guitar can cover acoustic material rather convincingly with the right approach.

In a sense, you get the best of both worlds.

Having said that, there is the acoustic-electric type of guitar which, as the name implies, has one foot in each sonic camp as well. Though they do tend to lean more towards the acoustic side in terms of body style.

Overall Sound

Ultimately and as mentioned, the biggest deciding factor will be your music taste. Your sense of what speaks to you as a female guitar player has an impact.

If you want to thrash and noodle with high-gain metal, you’ll have to go electric.

With electric guitars, a major consideration is in the pickups. Being the engine of an electric guitar, they’re responsible for reproducing the the natural energy of the guitar.

Variations in different pickups types will produce more or less bottom, midrange and high end, while others will centered around warmth or modern clarity.

Plus endless combinations of all possible features designed to satisfy virtually any musical taste.

If your musical tastes lean more towards the lighter side, such as folk, you might want to go acoustic.

With acoustic guitars, the tonewoods themselves, particularly those used for the top of the instrument, become the major driving factor in sound.

Traditional top materials such as solid sitka spruce, cedar and mahogany will influence the natural tone of the guitar.

Depending on the structure of the guitar, the sound can vary from full and rich, to something like a tissue box with rubber bands!

Either way, regardless of whether your guitar is electric or acoustic, it should sound reasonably good to you.

Body Style

The design, size, and color of the guitar body, being the largest element, can make or break a decision.

Since beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder, it makes sense that your choice is based on visuals. Whatever your gender, you want it to look good!

Editor’s note: I’ve personally passed on some incredibly great playing and sounding guitars – near perfect 10’s – just because they were butt-ugly!

Style Factors Worth Considering:

Body Size: Depending on your own body type, the best size guitar for a woman can be slightly different person to person.

While most women can easily adapt to with a full-sized guitar, you might want to consider the various body styles mentioned above.

The different shapes, scale lengths, and necks are all factors that contribute to buying a guitar you’re sure is comfortable for you.

Body Type: Most female beginners will generally find a more natural fit with relatively small bodied electric guitars.

If you’re leaning more toward acoustic instruments, Parlor guitars, Concert size guitars, and Auditorium guitars would be most comfortable.

Dimensions: Body width and contour will have a significant impact on comfort. Edges that dig into your ribs or are uncomfortable under your elbow can be a deal-breaker.

Performance Style: Are you more of a rhythm player or go for leads? A guitar body with a cutaway will help you gain easier access to the upper frets allowing you to play higher notes in a killer solo.

Tonal Versatility: Do you need sonic variety? If you want versatility, consider guitars with controls that modify the output of the guitar.

With more switching combinations, you’ll have more opportunities to shape your tone.

Playability

Many factors contribute to a guitar’s playability. For instance acoustic guitars use heavier strings which, compared to electric guitars, are much stiffer to play.

Along with build general build quality, there are a few inherent properties that have a direct impact on what helps qualify a good guitar for a woman.

Scale Length

A guitar’s scale length, which is the distance between the nut and the bridge, is very much associated with the size and style of the instrument.

Generally speaking, the smaller the guitar ,the shorter the scale length.

Technically speaking, a scale length below 24.75″ can be considered a short scale, whereas a long scale would be 25″ and over.

Here’s a few examples of common guitar scale lengths:

24″ – Fender Jaguar and Mustang

24.75″ – Most Gibson and Epiphone models

25″ – PRS, Carvin, and Danelectric models

25.5″ – Most Fender, Squier, Ibanez, Jackson, Kramer and Schecter models

30″ – Short scale bass guitars

34″ – Standard length bass guitars

“What difference does scale length make?”

Simply put, the scale length will have a huge impact on how flexible the strings are to play.

Compared to long scale lengths, shorter scale lengths will feel more “slinky”. In other words the strings will feel more loose.

A short scale length combined with a smaller body style can in many cases, make a perfect size guitar for a woman.

Neck Size and Radius

The neck radius, which refers to the curve of the fretboard, is much less important than the overall shape of the neck itself.

For someone with smaller hands, a slender neck will be much more comfortable.

Most women would find guitars made Ibanez and Taylor, and many others, produce excellent instruments with player-friendly necks that are easy to get used to.

As for the neck shape, the most comfortable guitar neck profile for a woman would be the modern “C” and “D” shapes.

General Setup

When you first pick up a guitar, it should at least be playable right from the start.

A good setup will ensure the guitar is easy to manage – for instance the strings aren’t too high, and that all the controls are functioning properly.

Better guitar suppliers will offer this service for free. Plus many of the better manufacturers make sure their guitars leave the factory in great playing condition to start with.

Still, regardless of quality control, it’s not uncommon for guitars to need adjustments after the fact.

The beauty of this is, as a female guitar player, you can have the instrument tailored specifically to your playing style.

Build Quality and Materials

A guitar’s build quality can be directly related to, but not exclusive to its price point.

The brand name will also have a huge impact on the quality and materials used – and warranty.

Generally speaking, established brands like Gibson, Fender, Taylor, PRS and others exercise higher standards of quality control to ensure their customers get a better built guitar.

Whether the guitar is made in north America or overseas, you can find the right combination of quality, materials and price point that works for you.

For instance, Fender’s Squier Classic Vibe series offers an excellent value dollar for dollar. But the Squier series is not necessarily made in North America.

On the whole, look for trusted brands and buy from reputable, recommended sellers.

Price

Like the saying goes – “You get what you pay for.”

Still, there are some great deals out there. In a highly competitive market, better guitar companies want to make sure their customers are getting a good bang for the buck.

Most major guitar manufacturers will have their signature brand guitars as well as sub-brands that cover lower price points.

Here are a few examples of major guitar companies and their related brands:

• Gibson – Epiphone
• Fender – Squier
• Ibanez – Ibanez GIO
• PRS – PRS SE
• C.F. Martin – Sigma Guitars
• Takamine – Takamine G-Series
• Ovation – Jasmine

And many more.

If you’re just starting out, you might want to stick to a relatively low budget – somewhere between $200 and $400, or around the $300 mark. This is the “sweet spot” for entry-level acoustic and electric guitars.

If you have a little more to spend, the next level would be around the $600 price point.

Looking to upgrade? There are many fine and professional grade instruments starting in the high hundreds and going well up into the thousands.

Acoustic and Electric Guitars for Women – Treasure Hunting for the Eyes And Ears

Our Top 3 Acoustic Guitars for Women

1. Yamaha FG800 Dreadnought

Known for building excellent quality instruments for nearly every price any price point, Yamaha’s FG800 represents one of the greatest values in beginner acoustic guitar.

Featuring a solid top, it delivers a rich, full-bodied tone usually found in more expensive acoustic guitars.

The smooth feeling neck is extremely playable and comfortable – perfect for players just beginning their musical journey.

2. Martin LX1E Little Martin Acoustic Guitar

With well over 150 years of experience, Martin certainly knows how to build acoustic guitars. The small bodied LX1 is no exception.

Though it’s not full size, it still projects a powerful full tone, plus it benefits from Martin’s expertise in building quality instruments.

With two versions to choose from, one with electronics and one without, the LX1 hits a home run in the lower mid-hundreds sweet spot.

3. Taylor GS Mini-e Mahogany Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Not that long ago, Taylor set the bar much higher for the competition. Using innovative build methods combined with superior materials and design elements, it’s no wonder the GS Mini gets the acclaim it does.

In terms of sound and projection, this little powerhouse easily stands up to instruments sporting larger bodies, plus it plays like a dream.

Better yet, thanks to forward thinking design, Taylor guitars are also very easy to maintain compared to more traditional acoustic guitar construction.

Our Top 3 Electric Guitars for Women

1. Squier Bullet Mustang HH

Considering its entry-level price point, the Squier Bullet Mustang is without a doubt one of the best electric guitars for women looking to start playing.

With its broad sounding electronics and relatively small size, it’s fully capable of providing a truly enjoyable – and fun, playing experience.

As a well established brand under the umbrella of guitar manufacturing giant Fender, Squier is known for making electric guitars tailored to smaller budgets, and the Bullet Mustang is no exception.

2. Squier Classic Vibe ’50s Telecaster

Squier’s Classic Vibe Telecaster is hands down one of the best values in a vintage-style guitar you can get.

With it’s traditional styling and high levels of quality control manufacturing, this electric guitar represents an excellent value right out of the box.

Since its parent company, Fender, had the good sense to use really good pickups to start with, there’s very little you need to upgrade to get an instrument literally worth twice as much, plus It’ll easily last a lifetime!

3. PRS SE Standard 245 Electric Guitar

Paul Reed Smith guitars are known for exceptional build quality, astonishing playability and killer sound. The PRS Standard 245 Electric holds true to that ideal.

Though it is a more cost-effective version, the company sourced one of the absolute best offshore firms to reproduce its iconic designs to maintain the standards the PRS customers expect.

Overall the PRS SE series is, without a doubt, one of the best imported electric guitars you can get for the money – period.

Final Words

Regardless of your inspiration, guitars for women come in wonderful combinations of different body shapes, scale lengths, and necks.

All of these features should be considered to ensure you’re buying a guitar that’s the right fit for you.

All of these factors should be considered to ensure that when buying a guitar, you’re getting one that’s the right fit for you.

The post Guitar For A Woman – How To Find The Perfect Fit first appeared on GuitarNiche.

Why Should You Get A Pro Guitar Setup?

Even if you’ve made a modest investment in a single guitar, a pro guitar setup can help curb the effects of wear and tear that eventually take their toll on your instruments and your patience.

Eventually you’ll experience breaking strings, going out of tune, scratchy electronics, and the list goes on.

Before we get to that little detail, here’s a top ten list of benefits that come from the relatively minor investment in a professional guitar setup.

Let’s just say, it’s well worth the money.

Performing a professional setup on a Fender Telecaster

1. The Instrument Retains It’s Value

Better made guitars and antique instruments, like anything in the collectible world, are simply more desirable if they’re in better condition. While an exceptional painting may hang for years not needing any significant maintenance, things that are mechanical – cars are good example – need regular maintenance to keep them functioning properly.

Food for thought: given the condition of an instrument that is in tip-top operating condition versus an identical one that’s got problems for the same price, which one is likely to sell?…

Regular trips to the guitar mechanic will help keep a significant investment from going south, and I’m not talking about your ex heading off to Brazil with the proceeds from selling your ’62 Tele on Reverb because you got caught with your hand in the cookie jar.

Keeping that axe in as cherry a state as possible will maximize your investment – and perhaps even fund your divorce proceedings.

Detailing a Les Paul bridge during a Professional Guitar Setup

2. The Instrument Lasts Longer

Things wear out, no doubt, and getting a problem fixed early will save you grief and dollars. Time, friction and particularly pressure take their toll on guitars in an insidious way.

The imperceptible creep of the constant pressure from the strings is as about as nasty as it gets in debilitating a guitar. You might put a guitar away for a couple of months only to bring it out and find the strings high enough off the fretboard to consider finding an arrow to see if you can use the guitar as an archer’s set.

Or maybe the instrument has sat in a humid basement long enough to start seeing the tell-tale brown fuzz that forms around screw heads and small metal parts. They’ll seize up tighter than a camel’s butt in a sandstorm.

3. Full Functionality

Bee stings are nasty, but have you ever been stung by a string? Snapping strings will easily pierce flesh or slap you so hard you’ll think you’ve been stung by a wasp. The shock is often followed by the most wonderful blue streaks of creative profanity. Not to mention you can have an eye taken out – no goggles please.

Professionally Setup Fender Jazzmaster

The solution?.. change your guitar strings regularly, a minimum of a couple times a year. Save the air!

Then there’s sketchy electronics.

Do you know what a loose guitar jack does to a speaker with a couple hundred watts behind it? Nothing remotely good – sometimes we call it “catastrophic failure”. I’m sure you’ve heard it before.

Get that thing fixed!

4. Better Adjustability

Modern instruments are designed to be adjustable to accommodate variations in players styles and to cope with changes in environment. This does not mean it’s a “set it and forget it” luxury that’s been designed into your guitar. They’re there for a reason.

An instrument left to it’s own without attention to the little gremlins that take roost over time will develop sticky bits, and those sticky bits will add up to frowns due to extra service costs. As mentioned previously, seized parts like fine adjustment screws are often found in bunches and are no fun for anybody.

As luck would have it, while writing this article I received a call about the sale of a bass that had exactly that problem – a seized saddle screw. The buyer was concerned about it affecting the cost of the deal. My response? Of course it would. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a tiny little thing like that turn into a major pain. So I had to defer to experience and advise him that it may be an issue, and an indication of other potential problems.

The point? He has a decision to make which could ultimately sink the deal – over a little detail that the owner could have easily had taken care of.

A well maintained guitar is not only a happy guitar, it’s also a joy to play. Keep things in good working order and keep that smile on your face.

If you’re interested in doing it on your own, you can find a comprehensive list of guitar setup tools here.

5. Superior Playability

Having your guitar fine tuned by a pro coaxes the max out of the instrument. By reducing the amount of effort it takes to physically play, your enjoyment level rises allowing you to fully experience what it is to just… play.

Entry level instruments?.. all over the map. If your local music store doesn’t offer to throw in a setup, demand it. It’s absolutely critical to give new players a tool that will not sour their first experiences.

Taking Measurements for a Pro Guitar Setup

Having said that even pro level instruments are not immune. Fresh out of the box, even the best made guitars need a little help to be fully tailored to the end user.

Virtually all major brands will be manufactured to a set of generalized tolerances which then need to be tweaked once they’re in the player’s hands.

This is good stuff to know especially if you’re considering stepping up to the next level of guitar goodness and investment dollars.

Loaded with tips and details, here’s a full-length video which covers the full setup process on a Fender Limited Edition Vintera 60’s Stratocaster:

6. More Volume And Sustain

Chattering, sizzling, buzzing, soul-sucking looseness will rob your guitar of the energy that’s supposed to travel from the strings, through the rest of the instrument and on out to the amplifier.

That energy you’re losing?… we call that tone.

Do you want a guitar that’s rock solid and dependable giving you everything it has to offer? Or will you settle for a clap-trap thin-voiced guitar shaped object that barely qualifies as an instrument.

Ok, that last statement might be a little harsh, but it’s a fact: maximum volume and sustain can only be achieved when all the parts have been nailed down, finessed and had the bugs worked out.

Not only will a loose part drive you nuts like a steel bucket full of cicadas in August, but the loss in transferred energy can destroy your guitar’s most beautiful voice.

Batten down the hatches and turn it to eleven!

7. Increased Stability

If you live in an area of regular seasonal change, you will have to deal with the natural changes in humidity that affect guitars. Neither acoustic nor electric instruments are immune to the swing of the seasonal pendulum.

And that’s exactly how you should picture it.

Now imagine being able to reduce the swing of that pendulum, gradually, over time so that it’s effects are minimal throughout the whole year.

When an instrument is first manufactured, it can be an uneasy marriage of wood, metal and plastic elements that have to come to grips with being in a new shape that we refer to as a guitar; more of a collection of parts than a cohesive unit.

With regular service, those heavy swings from one side to the other become less and less as the little variations causing all that grief get reigned in. Eventually the guitar becomes much more stable requiring less heavy lifting on the service end and only requiring trips to the clinic for general maintenance.

8. More Reliability

You’re in the middle of your second set, in the middle of a wicked solo and wondering if that high E is going to pop like it has been for the last few shows.

Totally unnerving.

A good technician will make that pain go away, and ease the worry of any other nags in your preferred axe.

As an aside, one of my favourite challenges is punk-proofing guitars for some of the local rockers. They are brutal on their instruments and they have to hold up.

Loose strap buttons? Nope.

Noisy, loose jack? Nada.

Scratchy pots? Uh uh.

Pickup ring chattering? Taken care of.

And the biggie? Tuning?…

That one’s SO big it get’s it’s own designation:

9. Stays In Tune Better

Tightening tuner bushings

Nothing, I mean nothing is more annoying than a guitar that won’t hold it’s tune.

The reasons can be many; tuners, saddles, strings, operator error… The list goes on.

They’ll all go away with a proper setup (well, at least most of them – operator error knows no bounds). The tuning gods will smile and there will be harmony in the guitar universe.

And finally,

10. Maximum Self-Expression

Beyond all the physical manifestations of having a guitar set up properly, one thing stands out in my mind as a clear winner – the why.

Why do we as guitar players even pick it up in the first place? Why do we want an instrument that’s trouble free?

To play.

To exercise our primary musical voice without restrictions, without the baggage of a compromised instrument.

The net result is a guitar that’s much more stable, predictable and dependable. and an extension of your true emotional self.

The Most Common Question: “What does a guitar setup cost?”

This is by far the most common question I get from those who I haven’t worked with.

For a tip-to-toe nuts and bolts setup you’re looking at an average fee of $85 (CAD) or so depending on the level of work involved, style of guitar etc.

For a full rundown on the cost of a guitar setup and other common repair fees, check out the GuitarNiche service rates page.

The post 10 Benefits Of A Pro Guitar Setup (And Why You Need One) first appeared on GuitarNiche.