This post explores the best ¾ sized electric guitars on the market.
These small guitars are ideal for young or new players and guitarists with smaller hands.
They are even a great choice for the traveling or busking guitarist and are still good enough to be played by adults. Most people who play guitar start on a ¾ electric guitar at some point.
This article looks at the top ¾ sized electric guitars on the market, examining their features, advantages, and disadvantages.
Too small? If you are interested in reading about full-sized guitars, check out our post about the best electric guitars in 2024!
I tested 6 products and found the Squier Mini Strat to be the best ¾ sized electric guitar.
This mini electric guitar feels great to play, has a great tone, and has a surprisingly affordable price tag. It has a versatile sound, and an infallible feel, and quality.
We recommend this for anyone looking for a ¾ sized electric guitar, this is suitable for beginners and semi-pro guitarists. Don’t underestimate it, the Mini Strat guitar packs a punch for its size.
I’ve played guitar for years and years.
In this time I’ve used all sorts of guitars. Full-sized, half-sized, and ¾. I started off using a ¾ acoustic guitar when I was learning guitar as a child. I still play a ¾ sized acoustic guitar often to this day. They’re great for kids and beginners, but they’re a lot of fun for any guitarist to play with! I know what’s important, and what isn’t. So rest assured this guide contains valuable information
We loved the Squire Mini Strat ¾ sized guitar for several reasons.
The mini strat is a safe choice for most ¾ guitar situations. If you are buying a ¾ guitar, chances are it won’t be your main instrument forever. These are stepping stone guitars until you get big enough to play a full-sized one.
The Squier mini strat has all the features anybody needs to get to grips with electric guitars. You can learn everything you need to progress with one of these. The build quality is good enough to prevent any unwanted distractions during playing. The tuning is decent enough to last for long practice sessions.
This might not be the best choice for everyone though. Depending on your skill level, playing style, age, and budget, there could be a better pick.
If you’re looking for a more high-end guitar, you could always go for a Fender mini. If you’re looking for something capable of a heavier tone, try the Ibanez Mikro.
Keep reading for our full lineup of the best ¾ sized guitars.
Alternatively, check out our post about the best acoustic guitars under $400!
Best 3/4 size electric guitar in our tests
- Fender Squire ¾ Mini Strat
- Squire Mini Jazzmaster
- Ibanez GRG Mikro
- CNZ Audio TL Mini Electric Guitar
- Starshine Explorer 3/4 Electric Guitar
- Stagg ¾ Stratocaster
6 Best 3/4 electric guitar reviews in Details
1. Fender Squire ¾ Mini Strat
Product info
First up is the Squire Mini Strat by Fender. The Squire ¾ Strat is a fantastic entry-level mini electric guitar. It’s affordable but well made and fully featured.
The Squier Mini Strat comes with all the features you see on a full-sized guitar, packaged with a short scale length and smaller overall size.
This guitar is made by Squier, which is Fender’s budget-friendly sister company. Squier guitars still have a fantastic build quality for their price. Squier guitars usually beat other budget brands in terms of durability, quality, and sound. The Squier Mini Strat uses an alder body, with a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard.
Ideal for beginner guitar players and children, the Squier Mini strat includes 3 single-coil Stratocaster pickups, paired with volume and tone control knobs. This provides a huge amount of versatility in the tone of the guitar. From warm to thin, the Squier Mini Strat is capable of performing well in a variety of music styles.
This versatile guitar doesn’t hold its tune perfectly, but it still has a decent amount of tuning stability, particularly compared to other budget short-scale guitars.
The tuning issue mostly comes from the tremolo bridge when used excessively.
This guitar also comes with a starter kit including an amp, instrument cable, strap, tuner, and other accessories. This is ideal as it means you can start rocking right away and don’t need to worry about buying accessories separately.
Overall the Squier Mini Stratocaster is an excellent choice for anyone in need of a ¾ sized guitar and young rockers. This all-rounder will keep guitarists happy for many years. It makes for a fantastic first electric guitar for children under 12 years old.
It will help players learn guitar without splashing out for an expensive, full-sized instrument. This could be the best guitar for many beginners. Alternatively, check out some of the classic vibe strat series, there are a few other 3/4 electric guitar models in the range.
Pros and Cons
- Great quality for the price.
- Comes with accessories.
- High-Quality construction for the price.
- An industry standard for children.
- Average tone quality.
– – –
2. Squire Mini Jazzmaster
Product info
The Squier Mini Jazzmaster is a small but funky offset electric guitar with a 3/4 scale that makes it perfect for guitarists with smaller hands or those who are just starting out. It would even make a fun travel-sized guitar for adults.
It features Fender quality construction and Squiers wide range of tones, but also comes at a low price point. It’s nice to be able to find musical instruments with such high quality in the budget range.
Squier’s Mini Jazzmaster may be the perfect guitar for the rock and roll beginner. The Mini Jazzmaster might be mini, but it still packs a punch with 2 humbucker pickups and body contours that make playing up high and down low easy.
This great guitar is designed to be comfortable and fun to play. It also has a classic jazzy look thanks to its double cutaways, retro color scheme, and maple fretboard.
It’s made with all the love and care that most Squire instruments are built with.
It felt pretty playable straight out the box, although it may need some slight adjustment to the action.
These are more expensive than their Stratocaster counterparts, as they are made on smaller runs and with more complex designs.
This 3/4 electric guitar would make for a fantastic present for any guitar enthusiast or a brilliant, slick-looking first guitar for a beginner. If you think the size of the guitar could be quickly outgrown, it might be worth picking up the full-sized version of this guitar instead. The Squier Vintage Classics range has a Jazzmaster model, as well as some other offset varieties like the Jaguar and Mustang.
Overall, if you’re looking for a compact, unique-looking guitar with a retro twist, the Squire Mini Jazzmaster would be an ideal choice! This is an excellent guitar for beginners and pros alike. For similar retro-style instruments, check out the Epiphone Les Paul Express for a classic Les Paul vibe.
Pros and Cons
- Cool Offset body shape.
- Eye-catching finishes.
- Faithful homage to classic vintage guitar.
- A warm tone with humbucker pickups.
– – –
3. Ibanez GRG Mikro
Product info
Introducing the GRG Mikro, an Ibanez guitar designed specifically for beginners, and small-handed players.
With a 22″ scale length, low tension, and small body, the GRG Mikro is perfect for young players or anyone looking to downsize their rig. It’s set up like the full-size GRG models with 24 jumbo frets and an Edge-Zero II tremolo to keep you rocking out, in a 3/4 electric guitar format
Its compact size makes it easy to play for small players. The Maple neck offers low tension and saves your fingers from being too cramped. If you’re looking for a guitar that’s not only easy to play but enjoyable, the Ibanez GRG Mikro guitar is for you.
This guitar is perfect for rock and heavy styles thanks to its pickups. This could be used by adults or children and has a very high level of build quality. The sound is also excellent, with great dynamic range and clear articulation.
The cutaway of this guitar is also deeper than most, using a super strat style. This deep cutaway makes it easier to reach the upper frets, which is important for soloing and heavy shredding. It has a much better reach than 3/4 electric guitars. Most electric guitars in this category have a shorter upper fret reach.
The smaller size gives you the mobility you need to write at home or on your travels, and all of the tones are just fantastic. This guitar is perfect for people who want a quality instrument but don’t want to sacrifice portability. It still feels durable and will withstand years of guitar playing. This model uses the same high output pickups as larger guitars, so it really packs a punch.
Overall we recommend the Ibanez for players looking for a more professional instrument than one of the cheaper strat variations. This guitar is a league above the Squire models, but also in a higher price category. We particularly recommend these for any players interested in a heavier style of music, or beginner shred guitarists.
Pros and Cons
- Cool metal aesthetic.
- Heavy tone.
- Excellent Ibanez quality.
- Better access to high frets
– – –
4. CNZ Audio TL Mini Electric Guitar
Product info
CNZ Audio Guitar offers a ¾ electric guitar at an affordable price, in the style of the telecaster. We recommend this for beginner guitar players or those with a small budget.
The TL Mini Guitar is a guitar that’s perfect for kids and adults who want to learn how to play. It features a 20″ scale, a 1 ¾” nut width, and a 7/8″ neck width so it’s easy for beginners to get started on. It has a thin neck profile which will be comfortable for small players.
The CNZ Mini Guitar was created with a comfortable profile and a surf green matte finish. The sleek design incorporates chrome hardware for a polished look that’s sure to make it the envy of any player.
This 3/4 electric guitar has a maple neck, natural maple matte fingerboard, 3-way pickup selector switch, two single-coil pickups, and a white pickguard. All the hardware felt fairly durable. It should last many years of normal use.
This eye-catching telecaster model 3/4 electric guitar is ideal for youngsters and beginners. The build quality was pretty good for the price. It doesn’t quite compete with Squire instruments but is still a great value for money. Sound-wise, this guitar was decent too. It didn’t sound great when distorted, but with a clean, crunchy tone, it was good enough.
This is one of the most affordable 3/4 electric guitars on the market. Overall, The CNZ Audio Mini Guitar is a midrange beginner’s guitar that will be suitable for children and new guitarists. The quality is good enough for a few years of learning but will eventually be outgrown
Pros and Cons
- Affordable ¾ sized telecaster.
- Retro color scheme and eye-catching chrome hardware.
- Comfortable and easy to play.
- Decent build quality for the price.
- Average sound quality.
– – –
5. No products found.
No products found.
Product info
Ready to rock? Say hello to the Starshine Explorer 3/4. Whether you’re just starting or have been playing for years, you’ll love the Starshine Explorer 3/4 electric guitar. This guitar uses the classic look of the Gibson Explorer in a more affordable package.
With a classic and comfortable design, this guitar is a perfect fit for beginners, as well as experienced players. With 22 copper-nickel frets, a rosewood fretboard,dailyand a maple neck, this guitar has plenty of room to grow to match your skills or needs.
The Starshine Explorer 3/4 is a 34″ scale electric guitar with a solid body and a rosewood fingerboard. It has a powerful tone along with a beautiful appearance. Let this instrument ring true with the right amp.
It has a high-quality tone and resonance you’ll love. The sound is great for live performances, and the neck is very comfortable to play on. The pickups are humbuckers with a 3-way switch for different tones. It can be used for rock, blues, or even pop music. The tone is similar to a Gibson SG Special guitar, but with a lower quality sound.
This guitar features a full “C” shaped neck and vintage-style tuners. The H-H pickups give it a great sound and the 3-way pickup switch lets you tailor your tone to suit any musical genre
Starshine Explorer 3/4 could be the perfect electric guitar for those who want to explore the world of guitar and yet can’t afford to spend too much money.
It’s a best-selling electric guitar that comes with all the necessary accessories such as a quality gig bag and cable. You can play it as soon as it arrives at your doorstep.
Pros and Cons
- Classic explorer body shape
- Warm, punchy humbuckers
- Comes with accessories
- Smooth comfortable neck
- Body shape won’t be ideal for everyone
– – –
6. Stagg ¾ Stratocaster
Product info
The Stagg ¾ Stratocaster is a slightly more affordable version of a Mini strat. It is comparable to a squire mini strat, but lower in price, and somewhat quality.
These are still well-made guitars, and you get a lot of bang for your buck. They feature everything from the original Stratocaster design, although some don’t include the vibrato.
This budget guitar uses 3 single-coil pickups. The sound is mediocre but good enough for a starter or child’s guitar. It has a slightly honky, twangy sound, but this can be corrected with the right settings on an amplifier. The coloring of this guitar is slightly different from the Squire model, featuring more cream than white scratchplate, and different finish colors.
The sound and look are versatile, these aren’t specifically designed for one genre, so they work well for most styles of music. The tuning wasn’t as stable as the Squire Mini but still adequate for the price. The pickups had a fairly clean sound, although there was some hiss as expected. The feeling of the guitar was pretty good. You can tell there are some areas that could be refined more, but for a starter guitar, these details are not too important. One example of this is the sharp frets, which could be sanded down a little.
If you are looking for an affordable ¾ sized Stratocaster guitar, the Stagg could be a good choice. This is an, even more, budget-friendly version of the Squier Mini. We would recommend choosing the Squier mini over this, although often these guitars get outgrown anyway, so you may not need to splash out.
Pros and Cons
- Affordable, decent quality Stratocaster
- Faithful to original Stratocaster design
- Average sound quality
– – –
Things You Should Know Before You Buying a 3/4 electric guitar?
What to look for when buying this type of product
Accessories
As these are electric guitars, you will need some accessories to get up and running. You can play electric guitars unplugged, but the sound isn’t as good, and you’d be better off using an acoustic guitar.
There are some essential accessories and others that aren’t essential but definitely help.
The main ones are an amplifier and cables. You will need an electric guitar amplifier to increase the volume of the guitar and project its sound with speakers. These can be picked up online fairly cheaply, anywhere from $30-$50 is a good amount to spend for a beginner.
You will need a guitar cable to plug the electric guitar into the amp. These are called ¼” TRS cables and cost around $10. You only need one to start with, but you will need more if you plan on using guitar pedals.
It’s also worth buying some spare strings. It’s easier to snap a guitar string than you think. There’s nothing worse than having your practice sessions ruined by a lack of strings. Stock up on a couple of packs of replacement strings to keep on standby in case any strings snap.
Other important accessories are tuners and metronomes. Tuners are more important, and pretty much essential to getting your guitar to sound good. If your guitar is out of tune, no matter how well you play it, it’s going to sound off.
There are several different guitar tuner types available. I personally recommend using a smartphone app. There are many free ones out there, and it saves having to carry an extra accessory.
The same goes for metronomes. These are important to practice tempo, timing, and rhythm. So a guitarist should practice with a metronome as much as possible. You can buy physical metronomes, or use a smartphone app.
A guitar strap is also a useful accessory for electric guitars. They allow you to play them standing up. Guitar picks aka plectrums are another useful accessory, which makes playing the strings easier.
Guitar pedals are also a fun accessory. These change the sound of the guitar using processing circuits. Examples include overdrive, reverb, chorus, distortion, and delay. The best bet is to use these with pedalboards. Check out our post about the best pedalboards for electric guitar.
Features
Different electric guitar models use different designs, which in turn come with a variety of unique features. When choosing a ¾ sized electric guitar, make sure you get one that has all the features you want to use or need for your preferred genre. Below are some features to consider.
Bridge: Fixed / Vibrato
There are a few different styles of bridge available for guitar. The main categories are fixed or vibrato. Vibrato bridges have a lever mechanism that lets the guitarist bend all the strings in unison, up or down. This gives players the opportunity to use a specific style of pitch-bending technique. This whammy bar technique is used in many genres and is usually favored by lead guitarists over rhythm guitarists.
Fixed bridges do not have the ability to pitch bend. This may seem like a limitation to some, but ultimately these bridges have better tuning stability than their vibrato counterparts.
If you don’t see yourself using the vibrato bar, then opt for a fixed bridge. It will save you effort from having to tune your guitar more.
Pickups
There are tonnes of pickup styles and configurations to choose from.
For styles, you can choose between the single-coil, humbucker, and occasionally soap bar.
For configurations, guitars this size, usually use all the same pickup types for the guitar. So it’s HH or SSS, Meaning Humbucker+Humbucker, and Single+Single+Single respectively.
The style of pickups used on the guitar has a noticeable effect on the tone it produces. Single coils have a thinner, brighter sound. Humbuckers are warmer and thicker.
Humbuckers have the advantage of noise and hum cancellation thanks to the way they are wired. This means Humbuckers have a cleaner sound compared to single coils, which sometimes sound hissy or noisy.
When choosing this, it really depends on the type of music you want to play, and maybe to some extent whether you are a lead or rhythm guitarist. I’d recommend a single-coil model for most players. And if you are looking for something a bit heavier and more aggressive, a humbucker model might be worth looking at.
Problems
There are a few areas of concern when choosing a guitar like this.
First is the size. ¾ sized guitars will be too small for some players. Generally, an adult should play a full-sized guitar, unless they have small hands.¾ sized guitars should be a good enough size for most children. Although they may be slightly too large for younger children. In this case, maybe look at a half-size guitar instead.
Playing the guitar that is too small for you will cause issues, and make learning and playing much harder.
Another issue with electric guitars is volume. Electric guitars need to be amplified with an amplifier to get the full sound. Amplifiers are loud at the best of times, and when cranked can become incredibly loud. This could become a disturbance to others in the house, or neighbors.
The best solution for this is using headphones. Most amplifiers come with a headphone socket, which lets guitarists use the amp through headphones without the sound being projected out loud. This is a great choice as it allows guitarists to practice for longer, and late into the night without annoying people or damaging their ears. Just make sure you get the right adapter to plug your headphones into the amp.
FAQs
What age is a 3/4 electric guitar for?
Kids younger than the age of 8 should probably use a ½ sized guitar. These are even smaller than ¾ sized, and more adapted to the tiny hands of a young child. Younger children may find the strings of a large guitar painful on their fingers and may struggle to hold chords.
Children over the age of 12 may be large enough to play a full-sized guitar. Depending on how fully grown they are. It’s better to buy a larger guitar that the child can grow into, than a small guitar that they quickly outgrow.
Can adults use a 3/4 size guitar?
They might also be perfect for those who just want to try out playing an instrument without diving into an expensive purchase or committing themselves to lessons- you still get the experience of playing an instrument without having to commit too much time or money!
Many guitarists use ¾ sized guitars as their main instrument. This could be because they have small hands, or they just prefer the smaller format. They are also great for traveling and busking with.
Are 3/4 guitars good for beginners?
– 3/4 guitars are smaller in size and can be played with ease by younger students
– The strings that are used in this type of guitar are also thinner, making it easier to handle on a daily basis.
– For people who have small hands, they may find this guitar easier to play since it has a shorter scale length.
– The fretboard is smaller, making it easier to move between notes and hold chords.
Generally speaking, a ¾ sized guitar could be a good place to start for beginners.
Often these are the type of guitars you are given for guitar lessons.
They may find it more comfortable as their hands can slowly get used to stretching and holding chord shapes, without getting thrown in at the deep end.
It really depends on your hand size though.
If you have big hands or large fingers, a ¾ sized guitar may be too small for you to hold comfortably, which can become a barrier to learning smoothly.
Younger players may even be better off playing half-size guitars if they have small hands.
What is the difference between 3/4 guitar and full?
¾ sized guitars are literally three-quarters the size of a full guitar. This is usually reflected in all the measurement areas, such as scale length, body size, fret sizes, and body width.
The smaller size also affects the sound the guitar produces, having lower volume, and generally projecting over a shorter distance.
¾ sized guitars also lack some of the low frequencies produced in full-sized guitars, resulting in a slightly thinner, brighter sound, with more high-frequency resonance.
Conclusion – What is the best 3/4 size guitar?
Overall we thought the best ¾ sized electric guitar for beginners was the Squier Mini Stratocaster.
This small but versatile instrument packs all the features you would need to have a blast on the guitar.
Whether it’s for a child, beginner, or adult the Squier mini strat electric guitar will keep a guitarist entertained for a long time
We chose this because the build quality of Squire instruments is exceptionally high for the price. As the company is owned by Fender, they are using the decades of knowledge and expertise of the Fender guitar designers and factories. This is reflected in the surprisingly high quality of a mass-produced guitar.
The Squier mini strat electric guitar is a smart choice for many reasons other than the build quality though.
Principally, the sound versatility is exceptional. Thanks to the 3 single-coil pickups, 5-way selector switch, and tone and volume circuit, the sound of a squire strat can be shaped and sculpted endlessly.
The pickups sound pretty good for what they are. They can achieve a warm, full-bodied sound, and also be switched to something a little brighter and more aggressive. They did have a little hiss and noise to them, but only a minor amount, and this is expected from single-coil pickups.
The feel of the guitar was also high. The neck felt smooth and well made, with no sharp edges. It felt like a well-polished instrument. The body contouring is comfortable, and the overall weight is light.
Overall the Squire Mini Strat is a fantastic choice for anyone looking for a ¾ sized electric guitar.
There are definitely more professional models out there if that’s your thing. But I think at some stage, every guitarist owns one of these!
Check the Squier Mini Strat 3/4 electric guitar out online today!
Noah is an accomplished audio engineer with several years of experience producing music for major companies and independent artists. He enjoys sharing his vast knowledge of audio engineering topics to help musicians and music producers create great music.