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Building a 3-string for a little person (dwarf)... thoughts?

A buddy of mine is a little person - a dwarf.

He wanted me to build him a guitar so I figured I'd make him one with a neck that'd fit his hands easier than a standard 1x2. And since he doesn't play (yet) I thought a 3 string would be a great way to go - especially since there's a lot of 3-string videos and tutorials out there.

Here's what I've come up with so far:

3 strings

17" scale

3/8" between strings

1/8" overhang

If my math is right that'd make the neck 1" wide. After rounding over the back of the neck and adding a fretboard he shouldn't have any problems playing it, whether fretted or slide.

What do you folks think? Am I on the right track?

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Permalink Reply by Blue Collar Devil on May 14, 2013 at 5:14am

I think it's a great idea. 17" scale should work perfectly for the build.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on May 14, 2013 at 6:02am

Craig,

That oughta work. You could call it the Wee Mandoline.

>:-E

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on May 14, 2013 at 6:25am

sounds great .. you may want to keep balance in consideration if using a heavy neck like oak etc .. maybe even a counter weight in the body to compensate if needed . it's not as easy for them to lift a knee a bit or prop against the hip snug while playin .. i doubt you would have many issues like this on a 17 inch scale tho anyway . but it's worth keeping in mind .

good luck ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Kevin (Voodoo Rat) Hoelting on May 16, 2013 at 2:23pm

Glad you said that. I built twin 3-strings for my two daughters. They are pretty tiny, so the guitars were too. It was like trying to hold onto a flyswatter. I stacked two 6" neck scraps into the bottom of the box. Worked pretty good.

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Permalink Reply by Craig Mayhem on May 14, 2013 at 7:59am

Thanks, guys! I thought the dimensions would work, but just need a few extra set of eyes on them. Hadn't thought of the balance issue but that's a good point, Pick! I'll cook something up.

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Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on May 23, 2013 at 9:07am

Hey I put a counter weight on a bass I made for my wife using a bolt and a stack of fender washers that works very well. It could also do double duty as a strap mount or even a jack/strap mount if you use one of the long threaded ones from Gitty?? That thing was bear to hold w/o the weights but now is in perfect balance.

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Permalink Reply by Craig Mayhem on May 23, 2013 at 4:49pm

i checked that out. it's a good idea

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Permalink Reply by brad creacey on May 25, 2013 at 6:45am

my first build is made from an oak tv tray table leg which is 1 1/8" wide and 3/4" thick. i used some 1/4" poplar for the fret board. since i can't touch my thumb to my pinky playing a six stringer is quite difficult. this narrow neck three string cbg works great! cheap too!

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Permalink Reply by David McQueen on May 26, 2013 at 8:05am

I had a though on the frets. With a 17" scale, room is going to be at a premium on the fret board. You might want to go with Narrow Medium frets for this build. You are kind of getting down to mandolin territory in terms of scale length.