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11 Best Guitars for Big Hands in 2024

Has your guitar playing ever felt sloppy and cramped? Do you struggle to play barre chords and solos on guitars with tiny scale lengths?

If so, you might be playing a guitar that is too small for your hand size! Luckily for you, I’ve compiled a list of some of the best guitars for big hands. 

Best Guitar for Big Hands

In this article, I’ll compare some of the best acoustic and electric guitars for large hands and explain some of the ways these will help you open up the fretboard. 

Below, I’ll give some of my top picks that will help you move beyond the world of clumsy guitar playing and toward a fluid and expressive playing style.

After putting 11 guitars through rigorous testing, I found the Gretsch G5260 Baritone to be the best overall electric guitar for big hands. 

It features a welcoming neck profile and expansive fretboard which, with its classy build, makes it the perfect electric guitar for anyone with large hands. 

The Cordoba C5-CET also stood out as the best acoustic guitar for large hands. With a nut size of 50mm, its wide neck offers plenty of room for fingerpicking!

best acoustic guitar for large hands

 

The Nuances:

There is a large range of acoustic and electric guitars suitable for players with big hands, so you shouldn’t feel you need to stick to one all the other. 

It is worth noting that some smaller models of electric guitars like Mustangs, Jaguars, and Telecasters have narrower necks which can be uncomfortable for guitarists with thick fingers.

Finally, you may have heard that the higher string tension in acoustic guitars can make it harder to fret chords and notes. However, in my experience, this isn’t an issue faced by players with large hands.

Keep reading for our top 11 guitars for big hands!

Best Guitars for Big Hands in our tests

List all the products as a table of content

  1. YAMAHA FD01S Solid Top Acoustic Guitar
  2. Cordoba C5-CET CD Thin Body Classical Acoustic-Electric Nylon String Guitar
  3. Alvarez AC65HCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar
  4. Seagull S6
  5. Cordoba C1 Classical Nylon
  6. Ibanez Art Core Wide-Neck Guitar
  7. Ibanez GRG
  8. Gretsch G5260 Baritone
  9. Epiphone SG Special VE
  10. PRS SE Custom 22
  11. Squier by Fender Classic Vibe 60’s Jazzmaster Electric Guitar

11 Best Guitars for Big Hands Reviewed in Detail

Acoustic Guitars:

1. YAMAHA FD01S Solid Top Acoustic Guitar

YAMAHA FD01S

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This is a budget-friendly acoustic guitar with a nice wide and long fretboard. The string spacing is adequate for larger players. This guitar feels and sounds decent for the price. This will satisfy beginner players up to intermediate guitarists.

The Yamaha FD01S is a decent beginner-grade solid top acoustic guitar. This has wider string spacing than some models. The wood construction felt decent and gave a versatile tone. The rosewood fretboard felt relatively refined. This would be ideal for a beginner guitarist with large fingers, who is in the market for an acoustic guitar. Anybody who has been playing guitar for a long time might prefer a more upmarket model.

Product Specifications:

  • Body Wood: Spruce top, Mahogany sides
  • Neck Wood: Mahogany
  • Fretboard: Rosewood
  • Fret Count: 21
  • Scale Length: 25 ¼ “
  • Nut Width: 43mm

Advantages & Disadvantages:

  • Good sound for the price
  • Feels Decent
  • Average quality fretboard
  • Buyers report factory damage on some models.
  • No electronics

What Customers Say About The YAMAHA FD01S Solid Top Acoustic Guitar

Aside from being easy on the wallet, the FD01S has also captured many customers’ hearts with how it suits beginner players dipping their toes into guitars!

The acoustic guitar’s solid wooden build and incredible sound quality give a playing experience that exceeds the guitar’s price point.

To some customers, this guitar even exceeds more expensive options like the Fender. That’s how unbeatable the FD01S is!

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2. Cordoba C5-CET CD Thin Body Classical Acoustic-Electric Nylon String Guitar

Cordoba C5-CET CD

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The Cordoba C5 range is a line of professional acoustic-electric classical guitars. These are very well-designed instruments, featuring a slimmer body than most acoustics. These use nylon strings for a beautiful warm tone, making this a great fingerstyle acoustic. 

The Cordoba C5-CET is a stunning, pro-grade classical style guitar.
With a mahogany neck and sides, and a solid Cedar top, the sound quality and tone of this guitar are beautiful. This is one of the best-sounding nylon-stringed guitars you will find in a guitar store. Nylons better than this tend to be custom-made.

The smooth cutaway allows access to the whole fretboard. The built-in Fishman LSys+ Electronics means this guitar can be plugged straight into an amplifier or recording gear. The  50mm nut width makes this a perfect guitar for players with short and fat fingers.

Product Specifications:

  • Body Wood: Cedar top, Mahogany sides.
  • Neck Wood: Mahogany
  • Fretboard: Morado
  • Fret Count: 20
  • Scale Length: 25.6”
  • Nut Width: 50mm

Advantages & Disadvantages:

  • Gorgeous sound.
  • Fantastic build quality.
  • Decent built-in electronic pickup
  • Slimmer body
  • Stocked nylon strings detune fairly quickly.

What Customers Say About The Cordoba C5-CET CD Thin Body Classical Acoustic-Electric Nylon String Guitar

Anyone who has tried this light acoustic guitar will fall in love from the first strum. 

That’s because not only does it have a fantastic build quality, but it also feels right at home with players of any skill level!

Other customers thought the guitar was perfect straight out of the box, with some slight tuning if necessary.

Overall, its loud sound, easy playability, and notes that some describe as blending together beautifully mean the Cordoba offers great value for its price. Like many other customersh have said, you really can’t go wrong with it!

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This is a high-quality guitar for professional players and fans of nylon-stringed guitars. Featuring a slightly brighter tone than the Cordoba, this is ideal if you have fat fingers and want to play guitar. 

The rosewood fretboard and wide neck make this a great acoustic model for players with wider hands and fingers. The neck feels wide enough to accommodate fat fingers, whilst still allowing room for thumb placement of the top string. (A technique popular with the classical guitar player).

The solid Spruce or Cedar top gives this instrument decent projection and tone. The built-in LR Baggs StagePro EQ and Element Pick Up make this suitable for electrification, on stage, or in the recording studio. Although some users reported a weak signal from the electronics.

Product Specifications:

  • Body Wood: Sitka Spruce or Cedar top, Mahogany sides.
  • Neck Wood: Mahogany.
  • Fretboard: Rosewood
  • Fret Count: 21
  • Scale Length: 25.6”
  • Nut Width: 48mm

Advantages & Disadvantages:

  • Piezo Pickup
  • Quality Construction
  • Advanced Bracing
  • Quiet pickup signal

What Customers Say About The Alvarez AC65HCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar

If you’re a fan of hybrid guitars, you’ll be pleased to know that AC65HCE is one of the best options you can get your hands on. 

Customers loved the guitar’s classic wooden finish and incredible build, and they loved it even more once they discovered its impressive playability!

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4. Seagull S6

Seagull S6

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The Seagull S6 is a stunning steel-stringed acoustic guitar with a wide nut and large scale length. The dreadnought design and top-quality wood selection give this guitar a large and defiant tone. Its wide neck gives players more space for their large hands.

The Seagull S6 is known to be a top-quality guitar, perfect for fingerstyle guitar playing. 

 Its Cedar and Cherry body had a fantastic warm resonance and long sustain. With a defined midrange and controlled low end, the Seagull S6 is a fantastic choice for beginners or pros. 

The neck and fretboard felt great and smooth to navigate with no unfinished sharp areas. The level of craftsmanship is noticeable.

This guitar rivals more expensive guitars and is on par with Taylors in the $2k+ range.

Product Specifications:

  • Body Wood: Cedar top, Cherry back, and sides.
  • Neck Wood: Silverleaf Maple. 
  • Fretboard: Rosewood
  • Fret Count: 22
  • Scale Length: 25.5”
  • Nut Width: 43.7mm

Advantages & Disadvantages:

  • Beautiful wood choice
  • Loud sound projection
  • No electronics

What Customers Say About The Seagull S6

User reviews gushed over the guitar’s impressive craftsmanship, so the S6 looks good while also sounding wonderful. 

Many customers were struck by how balanced the guitar sounds, even stating that it can hold its own against more expensive options! 

This acoustic guitar is also well-loved for its loud sound, great playability, and top-notch overall quality. If you had to choose one guitar to go with, the Seagull S6 absolutely won’t let you down.

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5. Cordoba C1 Classical Nylon

Cordoba C1 Classical Nylon

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The Cordoba C1 is a budget nylon string classical guitar. Ideal for beginners and intermediates, this is lightweight but still packs a wide neck. This guitar sounds good for the low price, and with the right strings can compete with more expensive instruments.

This budget-friendly acoustic is a solid choice for beginners with fat fingers or large hands. The 52mm nut gives more room across the neck. The neck scale is similar to some short-scale guitars, being a little shorter than normal at 24.2”. But what it lacks in length it makes up for in width.

This is a no-frills, reliable guitar for beginners with large hands. If you want to play guitar on a budget, this is a great choice.

Product Specifications:

  • Body Wood: Spruce top, Mahogany sides.
  • Neck Wood: Nato
  • Fretboard: Rosewood
  • Fret Count: 20
  • Scale Length: 24.2”
  • Nut Width: 52mm

Advantages & Disadvantages:

  • Lightweight
  • Affordable
  • Wide neck
  • Shorter scale
  • Complaints about bridge quality

What Customers Say About The Cordoba C1 Classical Nylon

The Cordoba C1 Classical Nylon boasts incredible tone and sustain despite its surprisingly affordable price. It’s no wonder the Cordoba C1 has earned its popularity among diehard acoustic guitar players! 

And if that’s not enough, many were partial to the overall finish and appearance, which is definitely a big part of the guitar’s charm.

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Electric Guitar

6. Ibanez Art Core Wide-Neck Guitar

Ibanez Art Core

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With a wide neck and thin body, the Ibanez Guitars ArtCore range is a slick and sexy option for electric guitar players with large hands. This is a semi-hollow body design, which gives it a sweet tone and lightweight build. Inspired by the Gibson ES335 range, but only costs 1/10th of the price.

Ibanez Artcore is a range of semi-hollow body electric guitars in the intermediate to professional range. These wide-neck electric guitars are fantastic for Jazz, Blues, RnB, and Soul. 

The wide neck shape gives this great string spacing which is suitable for fat fingers. 

The mahogany neck and maple fretboard had great action and felt smooth and easy to play. Many users describe it as a “baseball bat with strings on” thanks to its lightness, and quick imprinting on players’ muscle memory.


The included ACH Humbucker pickups had a warm, fat sound. The double-cutaway makes it easy to reach the highest notes. The maple body had a medium-thin resonance with a great decay.  A great choice for the lead guitarist with large hands and fingers.

This guitar sounds as beautiful as it looks, the flamed maple model is gorgeous!

Product Specifications:

  • Body Wood: Maple
  • Neck Wood: Mahogany
  • Fretboard: Maple
  • Fret Count: 22
  • Scale Length: 24.75”
  • Nut Width: 43mm

Advantages & Disadvantages:

  • Lightweight
  • Wide, long neck
  • Limited tonal options

What Customers Say About The Ibanez Art Core Wide-Neck Guitar

The Ibanez Art Core Wide-Neck Guitar is a great option for jazz and fusion guitarists with large hands. 

Ibanez’s ACH pickups (included) give it richness and clarity perfect for accompanying vocalists or soloing over a big band. 

It’s not just this guitar’s looks and aesthetic that customers love! The Ibanez Art Core scores high marks across the board, from its easy playability and warm sound to its incredible versatility. 

Strum the Ibanez guitar in virtually any type of setting and it’s certain not to disappoint.

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7. Ibanez GRG

Ibanez GRG

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A beefy shredding guitar for large hands. This is a wide neck electric guitar with high-output pickups and an extended 25 fret fretboard. The Ibanez GRG range is perfect for heavy-handed, heavy metal players!

Ibanez GRG guitars are a great match for players with a big attitude and big hands. With a solid mahogany body and maple neck, the resonant tone of this guitar is brilliant.

The aesthetics and sound design are suited towards metal and heavy rock.

The high-output IBZ-6 humbucker pickups can handle a huge amount of distortion and saturation

This has more room on the fretboard than most guitars, making it ideal for players with large hands.

We recommend this as a beginner’s guitar for heavy guitarists with large fingers and hands.

This beast also appeared on our best guitars for Rocksmith roundup!

Product Specifications:

  • Body Wood: Mahogany
  • Neck Wood: Maple
  • Fretboard: Rosewood
  • Fret Count: 25
  • Scale Length: 25.5”
  • Nut Width: 43mm

Advantages & Disadvantages:

  • High Output Pickups, good for distortion.
  • Expanded Fretboard
  • Deep cutaway for reach
  • No tremolo system
  • Limited electronic circuit controls.

What Customers Say About The Ibanez GRG

Another well-loved option from Ibanez, the GRG will capture your attention first with its sharp appearance. 

You’ll find that it never lets you go with its beginner-friendly playability, steady tune, and excellent feel. At least, that’s how it was like for many customers who tried the GRG out! 

For users with bigger hands, the GRG is a godsend. It stays out of your way and lets you play without requiring an awkward workaround just to hit the right notes.

Overall, if you’re looking for a great deal at a very low price, the GRG is a solid contender.

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8. Gretsch G5260 Baritone

Gretsch G5260 Baritone

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This Gretsch baritone guitar is a lower register guitar with a larger body and neck. Sitting between bass and normal guitar. We included this exquisite rarity thanks to its large construction and unique sound.

Baritone guitars are a lesser-known instrument but are a superb choice for players with larger hands.
It may not be completely obvious, but a baritone guitar is almost like a hybrid bass guitar. It still has six strings but is typically tuned to A-standard, a perfect 5th lower than normal.

Fueled by Dual Gretsch mini humbucking pickups, it produces thundering lows with a Piano-like attack transient. This sounds beefier than most guitars and is noticeably a different kind of animal. The string spacing is a little larger than typical guitars.
The mahogany body and bolt-on maple neck provide smooth access and performance.

We recommend this for players whose hands are too large for a normal guitar!

Product Specifications:

  • Body Wood: Mahogany
  • Neck Wood: Maple
  • Fretboard: Rosewood
  • Fret Count: 22
  • Scale Length: 29.75”
  • Nut Width: 42.8

Advantages & Disadvantages:

  • Baritone Range
  • Unique sound and design
  • Huge scale length and fretboard.
  • Different tuning, takes some mental readjustment

What Customers Say About The Gretsch G5260 Baritone

The G5260’s angsty solid gray finish isn’t the only thing customers love about this guitar! 

It takes you to heaven with its deep tones, and then steadily brings you back to earth with its perfect intonation. 

Users loved the guitar’s build and placed extra emphasis on its drop tunings. For some, this is the most comfortable guitar for players with large hands!

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9. Epiphone SG Special VE

Epiphone SG Special VE

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This is an industry-standard beginner’s guitar. Based on the Gibson SG, the Epiphone SG Special is an affordable wide neck electric guitar. With dual humbuckers and a double-cutaway, this is great for lead guitarists and rockers!

The SG design has always been favored by rockers and lead guitarists. This is mostly thanks to its distortion-friendly humbuckers, and expanded neck and cutaway.

In Comparison to a Stratocaster, these have more curved neck profiles, more frets, and a wider neck. These elements make this guitar slightly better for big-handed players than a strat.

We were pleased with both the feel and sound of this electric guitar. The pickups had a decent amount of versatility, it felt nice to play, and there were no completely obvious issues.

We recommend this for beginner guitarists with rockier tastes and chunkier hands.

Product Specifications:

  • Body Wood: Mahogany top, poplar with mahogany veneer.
  • Neck Wood: Mahogany
  • Fretboard: Rosewood
  • Fret Count: 22
  • Scale Length: 24.75”
  • Nut Width: 42.7mm

Advantages & Disadvantages:

  • Fat humbucker sound
  • Wide neck, long fretboard
  • Nice feel for the price
  • No tremolo
  • Average Pickups

What Customers Say About The Epiphone SG Special VE

The SG Special VE has plenty of things going for it. Among its reviews, users loved the guitar’s natural satin vintage finish, easy adjustments, light weight, and great bang for your buck value. 

Many customers pointed out that the guitar needs a bit of tweaking before you can make it sing, but there’s nothing overly difficult with the process. Once it’s up and running, you’re in for a premium experience you might not expect from such an affordable guitar.

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10. PRS SE Custom 22

PRS SE Custom 22

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Besides their fantastic quality, PRS guitars are known for their slightly larger fretboards.

Their mouthwatering artist-grade maple tops look as stunning as they sound.  

These guitars are masterpieces that belong in the hands of talented professional guitarists.

PRS guitars are so beautifully satisfying to look at they could be put in a picture frame and hung on a wall. Only to be admired from a distance.

But these sexy supermodel guitars are begging to be played! Being in a room with one, there’s a magic that pulls you in like a black hole. 

The feel and sound of the PRS SE Custom 22 range are second to none. These are super versatile thanks to their custom-designed S85 and S15 humbuckers. The blade selector switch, PRS patented tremolo and push-pull tone circuit opens up a vast amount of sound options.

The neck is half an inch shorter than a Strat but slightly wider. The fretboard widens as you get higher up, which is great for soloing and accommodates larger hands.

These are in a similar price range to a Fender Stratocaster, which is comparable in quality.

The cutaway and double octave neck make this great for big-handers. Musicians who can justify the price tag will not be disappointed!

Product Specifications:

  • Body Wood: Mahogany
  • Neck Wood: Maple
  • Fretboard: Rosewood
  • Fret Count: 22
  • Scale Length: 25”
  • Nut Width: 42.8mm

Advantages & Disadvantages:

  • Superior build quality – amazing feel
  • Incredibly versatile sound
  • Push-pull tone control
  • Don’t scratch me!

What Customers Say About The PRS SE Custom 22

The SE Custom 22 has everything customers want in an electric guitar. It’s a no-nonsense choice that sounds incredible, stays in tune, and has satisfying deep tones to boot! 

Several users have described the guitar as an experience in its own right; it clearly stands out from the many choices available out there.

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11. Squier by Fender Classic Vibe 60's Jazzmaster Electric Guitar

Squier by Fender Classic Vibe

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The Squire classic vibe range produces more affordable versions of their iconic Fender guitars.

This Squire Jazzmaster is an intermediate guitar with a vintage vibe. They feature a longer and wider fretboard than other Fender designs, making them ideal for bigger hands.

With wide, long fretboards, big-handed players may find Jazzmasters to be more of a comfortable fit than Stratocasters or Telecasters. 

The soap bar pickups have a distinct, instantly recognizable sound. These can be blended between using the 2 independent tone circuits.

The floating whammy bar kept the strings in tune even during large pitch bends.

The Squire range is a great choice for beginners, the quality is decent, they sound great, and are durable. I’ve been using a Jaguar model from the same range for nearly 10 years with no problems.

Alternatively, there are many Fender Jazzmaster models which are more appropriate for professionals. The Jazzmaster is probably the best Fender model for big-handed players, before looking at baritones and basses.

Product Specifications:

  • Body Wood: Poplar
  • Neck Wood: Maple
  • Fretboard: Laurel
  • Fret Count: 21
  • Scale Length: 25.5
  • Nut Width: 42mm

Advantages & Disadvantages:

  • Fender-designed soap bar pickups.
  • Floating tremolo system.
  • Flexible tone circuits.
  • Mediocre screw bridge, should be swapped

What Customers Say About The Squier by Fender Classic Vibe 60’s Jazzmaster Electric Guitar

This guitar is one of the most well-loved options out there, judging from the reviews it gets! 

Customers have so many things to like; perfect middle-ground weight, unmatched craftsmanship, premium build quality, easy playability, and more.

It can also hold its ground no matter where you play it. Customers have used this guitar from gigs to church worships and everything in between, proving the Jazzmaster’s impeccable versatility!

If you need an all-around guitar that you know will perform well every time, the Jazzmaster is a choice you can rely on.

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Buying Guide

Several guitar specifications are useful to look at when choosing a guitar with the right measurements. 

A good way to test these is to play a guitar you own. Get the feel for it, then look up its specifications. If you feel the neck is too narrow, look up that guitar model’s neck width, and look and look at guitars with a wider neck.

Neck shape: the shape profile of a guitar’s neck will have an impact on the way it feels to play it.
D and U-shaped necks tend to suit bigger hands better compared to C shapes.

Nut Width: This is a measurement of the nut size below the headstock. Larger nut widths result in a wide neck, which is advantageous for large hands.

Fret Radius: Ret Radius measures the angle of curvature across the fretboard. Bigger curves are easier for people with bigger hands. Flatter (smaller) curves are better for smaller hands.

Scale length: Describes the distance from the first to last fret. Larger scale lengths result in longer fretboards, which is more desirable for bigger hands.

FAQs

What is the best guitar for big hands?

The best guitar for big hands depends on preference. Although a baritone or tenor guitar may be more suitable than a typical concert guitar.
The best guitar for big hands needs to have a wide fretboard and wider neck.
Here is an exploration of different makes and their average neck sizes.

Stratocasters tend to have a neck size between 1.65” and 1.67”.
Telecasters’ neck sizes are usually around 1.65”.
Les Paul necks are around 1.65” – 1.7”.
SG Standard models are around 1.695”.
Ibanez guitar necks are around 1.692” wide.
PRS guitars have a neck width usually 1.687”.

Are wide neck guitars easier to play?

Wide neck guitars are easier to play if you have bigger hands.

Beginners, children, or people with small hands may find wider necks harder to play. These types of guitarists may struggle to reach across the fretboard properly without stretching their hands. Players with the smallest hands may struggle to play barre chords. Muscular over-extension can lead to strain or damage later on.
However, players with larger hands and fingers may find a wider neck easier to play with. A wider neck means more space between strings. People with wider fingers will find a wider neck less claustrophobic and cramped on the fretboards. 
In short, wide necks are generally better for bigger hands, small necks are better for smaller hands.

What electric guitars have the widest necks?

Out of the main brands, traditionally PRS, Gibson, and Ibanez favor wider necks. 
Historically these brands have produced guitars for heavier styles of music, which favor more fretboard concentrated techniques. 
These brands are also known to make guitars with extended ranges, either with larger fret counts, or even 7 or 8 stringed models.
Generally, Les Paul and SG models have wider necks than fender styles like Strats and Teles.
Here are the average neck sizes for each company:
— Gibson: 1.695”
— Ibanez: 1.692”
— PRS: 1.687”
— Fender: 1.66”

Conclusion

Our favorite electric guitar for big hands was the Gretsch G5260 Baritone. Ok, we know this is a baritone, so it will be different from what most players are used to, but this is huge. Literally and figuratively huge. 

electric guitar for big hands

This baritone guitar opens up new depths of sound. Not only were we swayed by Gretsch’s infallible quality control, but by the sheer excitement of this instrument. 

Baritones are interesting instruments, and seeing them in the Gretsch format is highly attractive.

A baritone is a great choice for big-handed players as they use a much larger fretboard and scale length. Even a 7-foot guitarist would be comfortable here!

We also thought the best acoustic guitar for big-handed players was the Cordoba C5-CET. For acoustic players, this Cordoba model is accommodating for big hands. Featuring one of the widest fretboards we’ve played, you could almost do a backflip on the neck. (Don’t try this at home…) The built-in electronic circuit places this firmly in the professional category. It sounds lovely alone or amplified. Its slim body is also very attractive and sets it apart from other instruments in its price range.

Cordoba C5-CET

Check out the Gretsch G5260 Baritone and the Cordoba C5-CET guitars on Amazon today!