Guitars for girls, real ergonomic need or marketing BS?

[spideyjg]

On another forum there was a thread about basses for girls and there are a few companies marketing instruments supposedly tailored for girls in the ergonomics.

So to the 3 exceptional Maidens on strings, and any other ladies that play guitar or bass, is this real or marketing bullcrap?

I think this has been discussed before but I can't find it.

Especially Liz, when you made your guitar in luthier school, did you do anything highly unusual to customize it for yourself?

On the bass side it is funny to see guys with big hands love a skinny Jazz neck and guys with small hand sometimes like a wider P style neck.

My hands are a fair bit bigger than Wanda's. We both have 5 string basses in the arsenal and I have played her model in Buffalo Brothers. Guess what, mine has the smaller neck.

Jim

 

[Metallicat180]

I think apart from the obvious girly colours alot of them have, the main difference is the weight and the neck size. They tend to be made lighter with a smaller neck to be easier for girls to play. Personally I don't have that problem being nearly 6ft tall and hands like 2 bunches of bananas!! I have never played any girly guitars myself as they don't really appeal to me and my "none more black" colour scheme so I can't say for sure!!

 

[RoboCaster]

Here's a good one for chicks with small hands:

 

[Rendclaw]

I think it comes down to the physical dimensions that a girl/woman has.... I remember when I was living in Orlando I met this folk music duet, both female. One of them was very elfin (barely 5 feet tall, and slender), and she had small hands, so she needed a guitar with a smaller neck. I just couldn't see a girl with small hands playing say, an Yngwie Malsteen Strat. I think it falls in between marketing and ergonomics. It also goes back to the thread we had talking about girls in rock. It might be somewhat of an attempt to say "Rock isn;t just for boys anymore. Cmon, you can do this!". I know, its a bit altruistic, but hey.

And it also comes down to personal preference and comfort. I love Ibanez guitars because the neck is very comfortable. I get one of those in my hands (a somewhat rare thing considering I'm left handed, but thats another topic for another day) and I can play it all day long. Les Pauls are too bulky and heavy for me. The SZ520 I have is an almost perfect mix between Strat and Les Paul: I get a nice, rich tone and the playability is excellent without it feeling like I have 30 lbs of rocks hanging from my shoulder.

Jenna, tsk tsk. 2 bunches of bananas? Cmon, now.

 

[Metallicat180]

Jenna, tsk tsk. 2 bunches of bananas? Cmon, now.

Tis true I tell you!! I have my dad's hands unfortunately! Still doesn't make me play any better tho!!

 

[MiniMurray]

Here's a good one for chicks with small hands:

what kinda guitar is this are the slack strings supposed to help?

 

[Kenneth R.]

marketing BS gets my vote. Girls can rip it up and anyone who says otherwise is just envious.

 

[MiniMurray]

hahha love the banana quote! my hands are big too - i don't like playing teles cuz of that. ovations either. yeah gibson has a les paul out that's lighter and daisy gots the hello kitty line - hahha my brother took a pic with last namm hahha so cute! two different ends of marketing bs IMO - granted there's room for it tho cuz there's enough skulls out there huh. in the last three years i've seen daisy grow (at namm) from a little booth within a booth to a large one just off the main strip. that's awesome cuz i do believe their line makes playing guitar or bass more accessible to female musicians by making it "fun" - altho i'd prefer a hello kitty skull muahhahahah
hey i knew a girl who had her p bass reduced cuz her boobs got in the way. maybe that's why i play my guitar low. necessity - the mother of invention!

 

[Schmidt_Rubin]

Musicians naturally buy what's right for them to begin with. Smart musicians anyway I like big wide necks but even on my 6 string bass a Cm9 chord can sometimes be challenging. Try everything you know on the guitar before you buy it, if it isn't right keep shopping around.

Shooting is becoming more popular among women so now these firearms companies are making handguns with smaller grips. They'll be there for the people that want them.

 

[Lord of Delusions]

what kinda guitar is this are the slack strings supposed to help?

Sheesh, I thought a guitar player as accomplished as you would recognize a dropped "F" tuning... I hear its all the rage in Belguim.


In all seriousness, its probably 50% marketing, and 50% ergonomics. If there wasn't a market for it, they wouldn't do it. Anytime you can open a door and invite more people to take part in something that would otherwise be out of their reach (no pun intended!), you're going to take a chance. It looks like they did, and it seems to be working out pretty well.

 

[nlukes]

This month's edition of Guitar Player has a woman by the name of Amy Schugar from Phoenix in it. She is endorsed by Daisy Rock and is a fine lead guitar player. I think Heart also endorses these guitars. So Marketing BS or not, whatever helps get more females to pick up the guitar is not a bad thing.

 

[BassPhantom]

www.daisyrock.com

Some of the styles are just fucking ugly (the daisy and heartbreaker come immediately to mind), but not a bad idea I suppose.

 

[Lord of Delusions]

www.daisyrock.com

Some of the styles are just fucking ugly (the daisy and heartbreaker come immediately to mind), but not a bad idea I suppose.

Its almost like "If Barbie were to have a guitar, what would it look like?". Though if I remember correctly, those two were the ones that launched the company...so somebody has to be buying them.