Building a nice shortscale for kids

MattK · Post by **MattK** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:57 am

A friend came over yesterday and his daughter, who's 8, asked to play my Jaguar which she really enjoyed. Afterward she said that's the kind of guitar she would like to play for herself - she's still learning, so something like a vintage MusicMaster would be way over the top in terms of investment. It started me thinking, what's the cheapest way to build a short-short scale which still plays nicely? I'm thinking 20" or 22", the 24 was definitely too big.
I have a 6-year-old myself and thought maybe I could do a couple of guitars as a project. Ideally I'd like to go the MM/Bronco/Duo/Mustang vibe - maybe daphne / MOP / rosewood. Hope you don't have a copyright on that combo Mike. I may have a couple of MIJ Jag pickups available if my plans work out, so I could use one for each guitar.

mezzio13 · Post by **mezzio13** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:21 am

90's RI Duosonic's are cheap and the scale is even smaller than a MM/Duo/Jag/'Stang at 22.7". I actually took one of those and put the nick on some plywood that Nick gave me. The body was 3/4 the size of a strat, so the overall guitar is tiny. But those DUo's are a good start.

Also Rondo has 24" Strat's that are cheap and somewhat ok.

MattK · Post by **MattK** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:28 am

What kind of money are we looking at for a Duosonic RI?

Will · Post by **Will** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:29 am

A 90s Duo would be a good choice - it could be modded a bit to look classier. Squier also used to make a mini Strat - don't know if they still do.

If yr gonna build, I think a shrunken Jag would look awesome.

Will · Post by **Will** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:31 am

MatthewK wrote:What kind of money are we looking at for a Duosonic RI?

I've seen 'em for $150 or less. eBay is a little inflated as always, but I'm sure you could find something in that range.

MattK · Post by **MattK** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:38 am

Sounds good - although being in Australia it is always tricky to find decent gear at a decent price. I'll be in the States briefly in November, though, might be a good time to shop.

luke · Post by **luke** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:26 am

How about a Squier Strat Mini? It may not be an offset, but I'm pretty sure the 8 year old daughter didn't like the Jaguar for its offset stylings and mysterious rarity.

If you look hard enough, you can probably find her one of these:

If not, check this out. I'm pretty sure I found an Australian site here:

http://rmcmusic.com.au/index.php?main_p ... cts_id=193

MattK · Post by **MattK** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:33 am

Hey - nice! Strats kind of make my skin crawl but as you say, she's not an offset freak like me. I will pass on the tip. And I have put in a bid on an old Duosonic neck on the Bay - just to see what happens.

luke · Post by **luke** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:41 am

MatthewK wrote:Hey - nice! Strats kind of make my skin crawl but as you say, she's not an offset freak like me. I will pass on the tip. And I have put in a bid on an old Duosonic neck on the Bay - just to see what happens.

I don't think anything would be cooler than a custom shortscale, but at 20.75" scale, that Mini Strat sounds like just what the doctor ordered. Just make sure when she gets old enough, you take the thing off her and point out that it's time to play something more tasteful. I think I'm selling it to myself now, I might have to pick one up if they're really that cheap.

Good luck with the auction!

bassintom · Post by **bassintom** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 10:59 am

A couple years ago I built a mustang with a 22"neck for my daughter.She loves it and still plays it.And when she gets bigger I can stick a 24" neck on there.

Billy3000 · Post by **Billy3000** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 11:45 am

I teach guitar to a couple 8 to 10 year olde who have the squier mini strat and its actually really nice. I had to give them all a proper setup and once you get them used to playing the terrible 9s that come on it and work them into some thicker strings it actually sounds pretty good.

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 1:09 pm

Squier mini strats. I have one, they play great, sound great. Why would you want to give a child a nice guitar when they don't know how to play it??? Wait until they've proven they can play and will be into it, then for a birthday or xmas, buy a nicer guitar.

MattK · Post by **MattK** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 1:17 pm

But ... isn't it easier to learn on a decent instrument?

bassintom · Post by **bassintom** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 1:41 pm

But ... isn't it easier to learn on a decent instrument?

A mustang is a decent instrument...sometimes.

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 1:53 pm

MatthewK wrote:But ... isn't it easier to learn on a decent instrument?

The mini strat is decent.

Billy3000 · Post by **Billy3000** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:39 pm

More Cowbell wrote:
MatthewK wrote:But ... isn't it easier to learn on a decent instrument?
The mini strat is decent.

Agreed.

One of the kids I teach, when I started with him he had this terrible god-awful mini sized acoustic from Target... it was more of a toy than an instrument. The strings sat about half an inch off the fretboard, I'm exaggerating of course but honestly not that much, this thing was almost impossible to play for this kid. It could handle single notes but made his hand feel like it wanted to break in 86 different places. I recommended that his parents buy him an affordable well built instrument and I recommended the mini-strat and they bought it and the kid got ridiculously better as soon as he started playing it.

I gave it a good setup, and once he got used to the 9's I bumped him up to 10's and it actually sounds really good and it's easy for him to play.

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 7:51 pm

I put 10's on my mini strat...BobAc played it/heard it.

MattK · Post by **MattK** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:13 pm

More Cowbell wrote:
MatthewK wrote:But ... isn't it easier to learn on a decent instrument?
The mini strat is decent.

Ohhh ... I misunderstood, I thought you meant don't buy a mini Strat until she learns how to play. But you meant get her something *actually nice* after she learns on the mini. 100% agreed!

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 12:40 pm

MatthewK wrote:
More Cowbell wrote:
MatthewK wrote:But ... isn't it easier to learn on a decent instrument?
The mini strat is decent.
Ohhh ... I misunderstood, I thought you meant don't buy a mini Strat until she learns how to play. But you meant get her something *actually nice* after she learns on the mini. 100% agreed!

Yeah, they are teh best for the money. They are already cheap on the price. It will just need to be setup, I had to radius the bridge saddles/string height, adjust the truss rod and raise the pup's to the best distance from the strings, but it really does sound great like a strat should sound. Perfect guitar for the beginner, they can really get any sound out of it so they won't get bored, unlike everyone always being told to get an acoustic first, then they are limited to a certain sound and get bored right away because everyone when they start on guitar wants to do one thing...ROCK...and you can't get rock out of an acoustic.

bassintom · Post by **bassintom** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 5:45 pm

teh 22.5 mustang is a much better choice IMO because of the neck configuration.Easier on the smaller hands and fingers.