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We all want to have a guitar that is comfortable to play with. This is particularly true for acoustic guitars as they come in various shapes and sizes and differs in playability. In the case of electric guitars, this can boil down to a few shapes, neck profile, or ones with headstock or without it. In this article, we will try to understand what size guitar should you get.

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Acoustic Guitars

I am sure we all know what an acoustic guitar is. It is a hollow body guitar with a top wood which is also called the soundboard. The top wood is bound together with wood on the sides and the back giving the guitar a distinct shape and size. You can check this article for an in-depth understanding of acoustic guitars, the different components, and how they affect playability.

Guitars also come with different scale lengths. Reduced scale lengths lead to frets being put closer on the fretboard improving playability. Also longer is the distance from the bridge to the nut, the higher is the tension.  

Lastly, neck profiles of acoustic guitars also play a part in the ease of playability.

With this understanding, now let’s try to understand which guitar size is best for you.

Jumbo

The jumbo guitars are larger than the Dreadnoughts. These guitars are larger in size and are great for chordal play. Jumbos are a lot boomier than a Dreadnought. These were mostly used for the country style but now are used across different genres of music.

These guitars are best played sitting down rather than strapped and hanging. These guitars do excellent in the hands of seasoned guitarists. Smaller built individuals will find it difficult to play a jumbo including kids.

Gibson guitars have some iconic Jumbo models like the J200 and Super Jumbo. Some other manufacturers who also make Jumbo are Ibanez, Takamine, Guild, etc. Taylor and Martins also have some Jumbo models but this space is generally ruled by Gibson.

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Dreadnought

The Dreadnought is perhaps the most common guitar shape and is considered as an all-rounder of a shape. This was originally designed by Martin in 1915 and was released in 1935 keeping the country musicians in mind. Over time the Dreadnought has become one of the most popular body types. It encompasses the boomier sound of the Jumbo but at the same time also appealing to fingerstyle guitarists.

The dreadnoughts are large size guitars but not as large as a Jumbo. These are normally fine to be played by any adult. Children might find a Dreadnought difficult to play as the thickness of the body might pose a challenge to strum the guitar.

Dreadnoughts have been played by the most famous musicians of all time like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Jody Mitchell, and many more. Gibson also made some of the most famous Dreadnoughts including the iconic Humming Bird used by the likes of Keith Richard. These are incredibly versatile guitars and are used by a variety of genres of music from country, blues to rock.

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Auditorium, Grand Auditorium & Orchestra

The Auditorium and the Grand Auditorium are mid-sized guitars. The grand auditorium has a skinnier waist than the Dreadnought. This is also called the OOO size. These guitars are great for fingerstyle guitarists and are the best for singing and songwriters.

These are not that bass-heavy and boomy like the Dreadnoughts and Jumbo but have good mids and highs. These guitars have a good balance and volume. Due to the combination of great playability and powerful volumes, it is a favorite for live performances. Eric Clapton used the Grand Auditorium in the Unplugged Sessions

Notable are the Taylor Grand Auditorium, Takamine Pro series 3 P3MC, or Matin 000-45.

Due to the smaller shape, these guitars are great choices for beginners as well who find it difficult in balancing the guitar and playing. It is played by many artists including Taylor Swift and Simon Neil.  

The Orchestra Model is very similar to the Grand Auditorium but is slightly bigger than the Grand Auditorium. They are in essence very similar guitars shapes and sizes.

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Concert & Grand Concert

These are smaller than the Grand Auditoriums but slightly bigger than the Parlor Guitars. Being smaller in size and shape, these guitars have incredible playability. They are equally good for players of smaller stature as well as bigger players. The smaller size of these guitars make them an ideal candidate for guitars for kids.

Grand Concert guitars are not bass-heavy guitars and have a pronounced mid and high. These guitars are best used for intimate play and are great for fingerstyle players. Grand concert guitars also work very well in studio environments where you require a more balanced sound. They work great in live concerts as well.

These guitars are lightweight and are very easy on the hands to play. The Martin 00 series are some of the most popular guitars in this category. Takamine GF30CE is also a good option for a grand concert guitar and is great for beginners. John Mayer uses a Grand Concert. Bob Dylan played a Martin 00-17 for some time as well. You cannot go wrong with the Grand Concerts.

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Parlor

These are the smallest body size guitars. Due to the smaller size of these guitars, they are not very loud and do not pack a lot of bass. These are brilliant little instruments with good mids and sparkling highs. Parlor guitar shine under a fingerstyle guitarist.

Some of the notable Parlor players are Jon Baez to modern musicians like Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, and John Mayer. The small size of these guitars are perfect for smaller hands and women. These guitars are also great choices for beginners guitar for kids as the size of these guitars are perfect for those little hands.

These guitars again do very well in the hands of a singer and songwriter. The incredible portability of these guitars helps them to be carried while traveling. It is perhaps best used by a singer and songwriter to escape from the city to a quiet location for creating beautiful flowing music.

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Travel or Mini

Travel or Mini guitars are another series of smaller guitars. In shape, they are slightly different from that of the Parlor. These guitars are crafted keeping in mind portability, durability and at the same time providing great tonality. Due to the smaller body of these guitars, these are not very loud and shine on their mids and highs with a controlled base.

After being the best companion for travel, the mini guitars are great beginners’ guitars for kids and also for women. Mini guitars are perfect for smaller hands. The lightweight nature of these guitars are great to be carried by a young musician on the back without any fatigue.

Though these guitars are for travel and great for kids and players with smaller hands, they are equally good for professional players as well. Mini guitars are in no way inferior in quality or tone. These can give their bigger counterparts a run for their money in the hands of the right guitarist.

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Electric Guitar

Unlike acoustic guitars where the body plays a crucial role in the production of the sound and the tone, in the electric guitar, the sound is produced by the pickups and the loudness is dependent on the amplifier. Electric guitars can perhaps be further classified as Solid Body, Semi-Hollow, and Hollow Body.

Solid Body

Solid-Body electric guitars are made of a solid wooden body with either a bolt-on neck or a through neck. These guitars differ by the number of frets they hold and can go from 21, 22, or 24 frets. The size of these guitars does not vary much but what varies are the cutaways on the body which helps you to access the higher frets on the fretboard and the neck profiles. These two features have an impact on playability.

Strats, Super Strats and the Rest

The most popular model among the solid-body electric guitars are the Stratocasters. The modern generation take on Strats, called the Super Strats are an improvement on the older Fender Stratocasters by bringing slimmer neck profile for faster playability, scalloped fretboards for better hammer and pull-offs, and deep cutaways of the body to access the higher frets on the fretboard among many other changes. The other common models are Gibsons Les Paul, Flying V, Fender Mustang, Jazz Master, etc  

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Headless Guitars

The headstock of a guitar is where the strings end on the tuners. A headless guitar loses the headstock and the strings are locked to tuners behind the neck. By losing the headstock the guitar becomes smaller ending at the top nut and also less heavy. This is preferred by many guitar maestros like Allan Holdsworth, Eddie Van Halen, Sting, and also modern generation players like Plini, Yvette Young, and Aaron Marshall.

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Semi Hollow  and Hollow Body

The semi hollow body guitars retain the sustain and top end of a solid body electric guitar but at the same time lose some of the weight of a solid body guitar. This also has an impact on the tonality of the guitar.

Allan Holdsworth considered having a semi-hollow body guitar for some time. The semi-hollow body guitar could be slightly larger than a normal solid-body guitar. These guitars normally have an arched top.

Hollow body guitars on the other hand are generally preferred by Jazz guitarists and older rock n roll. These again have larger bodies than normal solid body guitars. If you are into Jazz then these guitars can provide a nice fat tone.

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Summing Up  

The shape and size of a guitar have a huge impact on the playability and your sound as a guitarist. The variation of shapes and sounds are a lot more in acoustic guitars as the body of the guitar has an effect on the kind of sound generated.

On the other hand in an electric guitar, the sound is generated by the frequency being captured by the pickups and converted to sound by the amplifier. The size of most of the electric guitars are mostly the same except in cases of a headless guitar or some hollow or semi-hollow body.

This article guides you on what you can expect from the different guitar types and hope this helps you in choose the size which fits you the best.

Last update on 2024-05-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API