- Half-sized guitars are great for children, small hands, or those who need something portable.
- We’ve rounded up the best half-sized acoustic guitars that money can buy!
- Also check out the 7 Musical Instruments For Kids (Safe & Easy To Learn)
- You may also want to check out our acoustic guitar buying guide!
In this article, we’re going to help you sort through different models and see for yourself which half-size guitar better suits your needs.
What Are The 7 Best Half-Sized Guitars?
The Fender CC-60S Concert Pack is our pick for the best overall choice, as it includes everything you’re going to need to start playing and learning guitar.
For those who are a bit more budget-conscious, the Yamaha JR1 is our best value option. If you want the best there is in half-size guitars, the Taylor Swift Baby Talor TS-BT is our premium option for this list. For parents with very young children, the Loog Mini Acoustic Guitar is a great option.
Here are our 7 candidates for the best half-sized guitars:
- Fender CC-60S Concert Pack
- Yamaha JR1 (Best Value)
- Taylor Swift Baby Taylor TS-BT (Best Premium)
- Loog Mini Acoustic Guitar
- Oscar Schmidt OGHS-N 1/2 Size Dreadnought Natural
- Fender CP-60S
- Fender Sonoran Mini Acoustic
1. Fender CC-60S Concert Pack
This is a great option for those that want to start their guitar-playing journey the right way. The CC-60S Concert Pack includes a Fender CC-60S Concert acoustic guitar, strap, picks, an extra set of strings, a gig bag, and a 3-month Fender Play subscription.
In other words, it has everything a beginner needs plus a wonderful resource for learning guitar with Fender Play.
Features
- A concert-sized acoustic guitar with a solid spruce top
- Easy-to-play nato neck with walnut fingerboard and rolled fretboard edges provide comfort
- 3-month Fender Play subscription
- Walnut bridge for enhanced tonal support
- Chrome die-cast tuning pegs keep you in tune
Review
The Fender CC-60S acoustic guitar is a good choice for those that are just starting out. It features a solid mahogany top, a walnut fingerboard with rolled edges for greater playing comfort, and a new neck shape that is easier to play.
This acoustic guitar features a mahogany back, sides to complement its solid spruce top for a warm sound and its concert-sized body offers a well-balanced tone. Overall the CC-60S features a more comfortable feel that is a good fit for smaller-framed players.
Besides the picks, extra strings set and strap, this starter package also features a free 90-day subscription to Fender Play. It’s a fantastic option for beginner guitarists as it offers hours of step-by-step video lessons, allowing you to learn and study at your own pace.
Fender Play’s Progress Tracking monitors your progress and is a great motivator to continue honing your guitar skills. With professional instructors, personalized lesson plans, and a fun, supportive community, Fender Play can be an ally in reaching your goals as a guitarist.
This package offers a Fender 2-year warranty and comes with the tradition and value that the Fender brand has offered musicians for over half a century, as can put you on the right track to becoming a good guitar player.
(Guitarists looking to learn online can also check out Guitar Tricks and JamPlay.)
2. Yamaha JR1
The Yamaha JR1 is a 3/4-size dreadnought guitar with a natural finish, modeled after Yamaha’s well-known FG folk guitar series.
It comes with Yamaha’s solid reputation and is a good steel string guitar for starting out. It offers fantastic value and is our budget choice for this list.
Features
- Spruce top, meranti back, and sides
- Nato neck, rosewood fingerboard, and bridge
- Opened Chrome tuning pegs
- Natural finish
- Includes a gig bag
Review
The Yamaha JR1 features a spruce top and meranti body, and despite being a half-size guitar, it’s capable of producing a tone that approaches full-sized guitars.
The smaller size makes it more manageable to get around the instrument and is particularly favorable for younger players as well as those with smaller hands. The JR1 is built with a rosewood fingerboard and bridge, with a string scale of 21 – 1/4 inches and a nato neck.
Yamaha based the JR1 design on its FG folk guitar shape with a reduced 3/4 size. This creates a nice balance in terms of being big enough to play comfortably, but small enough to use as a travel guitar or to just have around the house.
With the 3/4 scale, it can get a little uncomfortable for players with larger hands, but it is just right for beginners and smaller players.
The JR1 features the classic pairing of spruce as the tonewood of choice on the top, with meranti making up the back and sides, creating a nice balance. Being an affordable guitar, these are both laminated. Overall, the Yamaha JR1 is a simple but sophisticated little acoustic.
3. Taylor Swift Baby Taylor TS-BT
Pair one of the greatest guitar makers of all time with one of the most popular singer-songwriters of today and the result is this excellent half-size guitar. .
Taylor Guitars and Taylor Swift have joined forces to create the Taylor Swift Baby Taylor, inspired by Taylor’s memories of writing songs on her Baby Taylor. This guitar features superior sound, playability, and characteristics, making it our premium choice for this list.
Inspired by Taylor's memories of writing songs on her Baby Taylor, this guitar features custom graphics, big tone, and great playability. A Sitka spruce top and layered sapele back and sides give this guitar a tone that transcends its size.
Features
- Taylor Swift signature model
- 3/4 size acoustic guitar
- Sitka spruce top and layered Sapele back and sides
- Custom soundhole rosette
- Ebony fretboard and bridge
Review
The Taylor Swift Baby Taylor TS-BT is a 3/4-scale dreadnought steel-string guitar that feels comfortable to play and hold. This guitar features an X-braced solid Sitka spruce top paired with laminated dark Sapele back and sides, as well as an all-matte finish.
It features a distinctive visual element of screen-printed artwork that reads ‘Love, Love, Love’ around the soundhole, punctuated by Taylor’s signature just above the bridge.
This Taylor half-sized acoustic features a tropical American mahogany neck joined at the 14th fret, with a small 1-11/16” nut width, an ebony fretboard, and 19 frets with simple dot inlays. It’s put together in Taylor’s factory in Tecate, Mexico, and presents superb craftsmanship.
Because of its compact size, the volume is a little quieter than what you’d get from a full-size guitar, but it still has good tone.
The tonewoods combine to give you a well-balanced sound with sparkle and warmth. This is a superb half-size guitar from one of the most respected manufacturers in the industry.
4. Loog Mini Acoustic Guitar (Best For Kids)
As a guitar player, it is a bit odd for me to refer to an instrument that looks like a toy and has only three strings as a guitar.
But as a father of a toddler, I can see how the Loog Mini Acoustic Guitar can be useful to start a young child on their guitar playing journey, and not get destroyed in the process. This instrument is the result of a Kickstarter project, designed by an uncle that wanted his 6-year-old niece to learn the guitar.
Features
- Only three nylon strings
- Very small for small hands’ comfort
- Designed specifically for young children
- Durable, wood design
- Visually appealing to young kids
Review
The Loog Mini acoustic guitar features a very small body, which is of a similar size to a concert ukulele, but the string type and tuning are the same as a regular guitar (E, A, D), even if there are only three strings.
The theory behind this design is that once the child has gained a little bit of experience and confidence with the first three strings, playing a full-sized guitar will come more naturally.
This guitar is robust enough to put up with some abuse by an excited kid, but as opposed to a toy, the body, and neck made from real wood. The Loog Mini offers low action and comes with nylon strings. Nylon strings are used for classical guitars, which usually feature thicker necks, but this is not the case here.
Using nylon strings on a small body is a great advantage for little kids, as they are much gentler on the fingertips and easier for getting the first chords to sound right.
This makes the Loog Mini great for young children, as it offers great playability for small hands, allowing them to get the feel for playing guitar before moving onto a regular-sized guitar when they are ready. The best thing? It’s super affordable and could easily get your child hooked on guitar for life.
5. Oscar Schmidt OGHS-N 1/2 Size Dreadnought Natural
Oscar Schmidt guitars are under the umbrella of Washburn Guitars and have been a popular choice for acoustic guitars for beginners for a while.
The OGHS-N is a good instrument to learn to play and features the right guitar size and dreadnought body style to offer a comfortable experience that also delivers good sound.
Features
- Handcrafted quality
- Select spruce top
- 1/2 size dreadnought style
- Rosewood fingerboard & bridge
- Mahogany neck
Review
Oscar Schmidt guitars are quite popular among beginner guitar players as they offer all the features you expect from a budget guitar at a low price. The OGHS-N is a half-size guitar with steel strings and a dreadnought body style construction.
It features a combination of woods that sound very warm and pleasing for a starter guitar. The fingerboard and bridge are made of Rosewood, while the neck is made of Mahogany and the top is made of Spruce.
The Oscar Schmidt OGHS is a sound choice for children around six years old who need a comfortably sized guitar for practicing on. Its construction is also durable and capable of withstanding knocks and bumps.
6. Fender CP-60S (Best For Fingerpicking Style)
Parlor guitars have made a reappearance in the marketplace over the last few years. Now Fender has also got in on the market for parlor guitars with the release of the CP-60S.
The company used all of its expertise to make the CP-60S, one of the best parlor guitars today, with this being our choice for the best half-size guitar for fingerpicking, as well as being a great beginner guitar as well.
Features
- Spruce top with a laminated mahogany body
- Easy-to-play neck shape
- Rolled fingerboard edges
- Classic Design series Pearloid rosette
- Fender Dura-Tone Coated 80/20 Bronze (.012-.052) gauge strings
Review
The CP60S features a solid spruce top, which is complemented by laminate mahogany back and sides. Additionally, this steel-string guitar also features a slick glossy finish and Pearloid rosette and delivers a well-balanced tone.
Joined at the 14th fret, the neck (with a slightly smaller scale length of 24.75”) is made of gloss-finished mahogany with a rosewood fretboard, which is home to a total of 20 vintage frets. The CP60’s fretboard offers superior playability thanks to Fender’s easy-to-play rolled design, making for a smooth experience overall.
This acoustic guitar features a strong midrange, with the overall tone being tight and focused, making it a versatile choice for many styles of playing.
Overall, the playability, design, and sound of this guitar add up to a very appealing package for beginners and intermediates. The cherry on top is that it also comes with a very attractive price tag.
7. Fender Sonoran Mini Acoustic
This guitar is a mini version of Fender’s Sonoran acoustic guitar. It offers great value for money and is a fantastic compact instrument that you can take anywhere.
The Fender Sonoran Mini Acoustic is a good choice for beginners and singer-songwriters that need to have a good-sounding guitar right next to them for when inspiration strikes.
The Sonoran Mini is perfect for those who dig Fender's classic Southern California history and vibe but want it on a smaller scale. Whether it's a guitar to travel with, to leave at the office, or for younger Fender fans learning to play, this instrument is ideal.
Features
- Based on the Fender Sonoran acoustic guitar
- Ideal for traveling
- New round shoulder design for comfort
- Sapele body
- Nato neck
Review
The Fender Sonoran is a half-size guitar that is well built and ready for use. Its small size ensures that you can easily take the guitar with you wherever you need it. It also makes it ideal for kids and is equally suitable if you’re a beginner looking to dive into the world of guitar playing.
The Fender Sonoran mini guitar features a new round shoulder design to enhance the player’s conform and aid playability.
This acoustic guitar features a Sapele body, with a Nato neck and Walnut fingerboard for increased playability. Additionally, this half-size guitar features a Viking bridge, checkerboard rosette, and Strat-style headstock. Overall, this is a solid choice for beginners that want Fender tradition inside a half-sized guitar.
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