Back/Side Wood: Layered Koa / Top Wood: Hawaiian Koa
Fretboard Wood: Ebony
Neck Wood: Tropical Mahogany
Solid koa top
There are plenty of reasons why you may want to get your hands on a mini acoustic. Some want mini acoustic guitars for traveling, some people want a mini acoustic guitar for their children to learn to play guitar on, and others just think that small-body acoustic guitars look cool.
There has never been a better time to pick up a smaller guitar. The guitar world is packed to the brim with amazing small-scale guitars, many of which have a sound quality on par with a regular-sized acoustic.
Best Seller
Taylor GS Mini-e Solid Koa Top ESB w/Gig Bag with case
Editor Choice
SIGMA, Mini Acoustic Guitar, 37.25" Travel Guitar, Tobacco Sunburst, with D'Addario EXP16 Strings, Solid Spruce Top, Mahogany Back&Sides,Right(10MINI)
Best Budget
Fender Redondo Mini Acoustic Guitar, with 2-Year Warranty, Natural, Rosewood Fingerboard, with Gig Bag
If you’re in the market for a mini acoustic guitar, you’re in the right place. We’ve selected 5 of the best. We’ve got something to cover every single budget too.
Back/Side Wood: Layered Koa / Top Wood: Hawaiian Koa
Fretboard Wood: Ebony
Neck Wood: Tropical Mahogany
Solid koa top
Taylor Guitars produce a huge number of mini guitars. Every single one of them could have made this list of the best mini acoustic guitars. We went for the Taylor GS Mini-e, though. Not only is this a stunning-looking guitar (pretty much every single Taylor is, but it is a great guitar if you want to hook it up to an amp. It includes all your electrics.
Product Highlights
This is an acoustic-electric guitar. The Taylor GS Mini boasts a quality piezo that has no trouble picking up even the smallest of string vibrations. When it comes to sound quality, this is literally (and we mean that word quite literally), one of the best mini guitars that money can buy.
Since this guitar has been built by Taylor, you know that this is a well-constructed guitar. Every acoustic guitar player dreams of owning a Taylor guitar. They are a dream to play. They boast a comfortable neck, and easy movement over the fretboard. They are suitable for a variety of playing styles.
Of course, because this is a mini guitar on the more expensive side of things, it may not be for the younger players. This is a mini guitar designed for those that want a versatile guitar while traveling, and probably not the perfect guitar to put in the hands of a child.
Features
There are a variety of exciting features loaded into this Taylor acoustic guitar, including:
Body constructed from Koa wood.
Mahogany neck
Ebony wood fretboard
Ebony bridge
Have this in your hands, and it will feel exactly like one of the full-sized acoustic guitar offerings from Taylor. It blows other small-scale guitars out of the water.
What We Like About the Taylor GS Mini Acoustic Guitars
Taylor Guitars are known for their solid construction. They are known for their beautiful sound, and this acoustic guitar, even though it is a smaller guitar, still boasts all of that Taylor pizzazz.
Have this in your hands, and you could swear that you’re playing a normal guitar, even with the shorter scale length. It means that you can head out there on the road and still sound great, and you don’t have to worry about taking up a huge amount of space in your luggage. Although, honestly, this guitar is so beautiful that it could quickly become your ‘main’ guitar.
What We Don’t Like About the Taylor GS Mini Acoustic Guitar
The main issue is the price. This is not a cheap guitar, although smaller guitars rarely are due to how few are sold. However, you would also expect this from Taylor. They use the best quality components in the construction of their guitars, but the customer will be paying for that!
It does have all the electrics in it too, which adds to the cost of the guitar. If you are looking for an acoustic-electric guitar, then fantastic! This guitar is going to be the best that money can buy. If you’re looking for a pure acoustic, then you’re paying for a lot of stuff that you really don’t need.
Specs - Total Length: 37.3”; Scale Length: 23.5”; Total Body Length: 17.5”; Number of Frets: 20; Premium D'Addario EXP16 (Phosphor bronze) steel string; w/ Solid tuners; Item Dimensions: 37.3” L x 14.2” W x 3.8” H. Neck radius is 320R. (=12.6 inches); The diameter of sound hole: 3.38".
Handcrafted - The SIGMA acoustic guitar features handcrafted sturdy construction w/ solid Spruce top, Sapele (eastern Mahogany) back & sides. Rosewood fingerboard &bridge. Natural gloss polished body w/ protective top binding. Beautifully designed body.
Warm, Rich Tone - New SIGMA models give more than a generous nod to vintage instruments, but they have modern elements to their sound and produce an open, warm tone with lots of mids and bass. SIGMA guitar remains responsive and retains its tonal integrity, which are perfect for musicians-in-the-making or advanced players to play like the pros.
Quality, Attractive, Affordable - Exquisitely designed with about 37-inch length, comfortably befit both beginning and experienced guitarists. Every detail matters. SIGMA provides the best quality for everyone on the music journey.
30 Days Return Guarantee - Backed up by our Awesome Customer Support. You can rest assured to buy our products.
Guitar teachers looking to pick up guitars with a shorter neck suitable for their students may wish to recommend the SIGMA. While it doesn’t quite boast the flair that the Taylor does, this guitar comes in at a very affordable price and still sounds brilliant.
Product Highlights
The SIGMA Mini Acoustic Guitar has been designed for those that want a travel guitar, or perhaps a small guitar for children. It boasts a 23.5″ scale (20 frets), and the steel strings over a very warm tone on the smaller body.
Despite the lower price in comparison to some of the other smaller-scale instruments on this list, the SIGMA Mini Acoustic Guitar feels great in your hands. The solid spruce top works wonders, and the rosewood fretboard is great to tinker about on. It looks great too.
Surprisingly, despite the low price of the SIGMA, this is a handmade guitar. We really feel this helps to add to the overall quality. You can tell that it has been made with love.
Features
At 37.3″ long, with a 23.5″ scale length, the SIGMA really is a small guitar. However, it offers a tone comparable to that of a regular guitar, which is a testament to the effort that the luthiers have put into producing the SIGMA.
The SIGMA has been constructed from quality woods, including a solid spruce top, Sapele woods used for the back and sides, and a Rosewood fretboard and bridge. Most of this is solid wood, with no laminate in sight. This is surprising for a cheaper acoustic guitar, and we really feel that it helps this SIGMA to offer a better bass response than other guitars.
This guitar doesn’t feel ‘cheap’ to play either. It is highly responsive, and even the most experienced players will love moving their fingers around the Rosewood scale length.
What We Like About the SIGMA
We love that this is a handmade guitar. You can hear the love that was put into it. While it is evident that SIGMA was trying to build a guitar on a budget, they have not skimped on any of the materials they have used. Almost everything is solid wood.
Whether you are doing a bit of fingerstyle playing or want to play chords, this guitar really feels responsive. While we can’t say that the SIGMA will offer a better sound quality than some of the top parlor guitars, or even the bigger guitars, it is one of the most affordable acoustic guitars to still offer a great sound. We reckon this will be fun for those that are playing guitar for the first time.
What We Don’t Like About the SIGMA
Considering the cost, the only real issue is that this guitar is made by SIGMA. They aren’t one of the guitar makes known for their top customer support. Although, we suppose they had to make cost cuts somewhere. This isn’t really a guitar built to use for the rest of your life. You’ll be tinkering about with this travel guitar for a few years, then you’ll be searching for something a bit better.
In some cases, the more complex chords don’t sound brilliant, although you’ll probably have no issues hearing single notes, or simpler chords. Although, this is an issue with most mini acoustic guitar options. On the vast majority of them, the string spacing is very close, so things can sound very muddied. It can also make it difficult to get a good reach to the right strings without deadening a string that you really don’t want to deaden.
Spruce top with scalloped “X” bracing; mahogany back and sides
½ body size; 22 ¾” scale length
Nato neck with slim-taper "C"-shaped profile; walnut fingerboard and bridge
6-in-line headstock
Fender electric guitar options are varied. You have your beautiful Stratocasters and Telecasters. You have affordable ones and ones that are out of the budget of most people. One area where Fender has really thrived, and not just on their electric guitar options, is their ability to craft guitars for both low-budget and high-budget players. This is, in part, down to the various factories that they have. The Fender Redondo Mini is down on the low-budget part of the scale, but it still offers a cracking playing experience.
Product Highlights
The Fender Redondo boasts the iconic Stratocaster headstock, something which won’t be found on many of the other mini guitars on this list. This helps to give the Redondo a dynamic look to it, and one that is sure to be the envy of everybody when you pull out this travel guitar.
Interestingly, the Redondo also makes use of a scalloped X brace. This is unusual on cheaper acoustic guitars, or mini guitars in general, and really helps to bring out the bass in the chords.
Features
Almost everything about the guitar is made from mahogany, with the fretboard being made from Walnut. Since this is a cheaper guitar from Fender, it won’t be made in the US. Although, this is rarely a problem nowadays. Fender produces great guitars all over the world.
The half-body size and the 22 ¾” scale length make this perfect for smaller hands. In fact, this is the smallest guitar on this list so far. However, despite the smaller size, it is a dream to play. Fender has always been great about their tone.
What We Like About the Fender Redondo Mini
We love the quality that you get for this price. While Fender has had some issues with their cheaper guitars in the past, many of these issues have now been ironed out. So, when you pick up a Fender Redondo, you know that you are getting something from Fender that isn’t going to break the bank.
It is also perfect for children that need a shorter scale length when they are looking to jump into the guitar for the first time.
We also love the fact that it comes with a gig bag. You may not think this is necessary, but it is normally very, very hard to find a gig bag for smaller guitars like this. So, you’ll just love the fact that the Fender Redondo comes with exactly what you need to protect your guitar.
What We Don’t Like About the Fender Redondo Mini
It is very small compared to other mini guitars, so it may be a bit big for certain people to be tinkering about with. If you have a pair of larger hands, then the short scale length of the Fender Redondo Mini may not be for you.
The FG Junior is a 3/4 sized guitar modeled after the acclaimed Yamaha FG Series
The JR1 has a smaller body and shorter neck, perfect for young players or those with smaller hands
Yamaha craftsmanship and a spruce top give this compact guitar an authentic acoustic tone
Great for use as a travel guitar when space is limited
Gig bag included for safe storage and easy transport. Saddle material: Urea
As the name suggests, the Yamaha JR1 FG Junior has been designed with children in mind, although we reckon that this is one of the junior acoustic guitars that could make good playing for adults that need a cheaper travel guitar. One they aren’t afraid of bashing around a little bit.
Product Highlights
Yamaha, as you know, makes some tremendous instruments. The Yamaha JR1 is actually a slimmed-down version of their famed FG series. While it doesn’t quite boast the quality of the FG series, you can tell how much effort Yamaha has poured into attempting to replicate the FG series feel as closely as possible without compromising on their budget goals.
The tone of the Yamaha JR1 FG is authentic and is far superior to many of the other junior acoustic guitar options on the market, which we absolutely love. Normally, when you get 3/4 length guitars, they don’t sound quite right when designed for kids. We suppose because manufacturers feel that kids don’t care about tone. Well, they do.
It also comes with a gig bag to store the guitar in, which is nice since this is something built for taking on the road.
Features
With a 21.25″ scale length, there is a decent amount of room to dart around the string. It also makes good for a touch of fingerstyle playing, although do bear in mind that you can’t put nylon strings on this guitar.
In order to get the price as low as they have, Yamaha has had to compromise in some areas. For example, the body is made from laminated wood, although the fretboard is solid mahogany. Interestingly, the neck material is Nato wood, which is quite rare on guitars. We like it.
What We Like About the Yamaha JR1 FG Junior
It is one of those rare junior guitars that feels OK to play. A lot of the cheaper junior guitars are fun for noodling around on, but no serious play. The Yamaha JR1 FG Junior is a guitar that we can see even adults using as a travel guitar when they are in the mood for a smaller guitar to throw into their luggage.
What We Don’t Like About the Yamaha JR1 FG Junior
We are hard-pressed to find major issues with this one of the acoustic guitars. The biggest problem would probably be the laminated wood for the body, but even that isn’t a huge issue. We understand that the JR1 FG has been made to a very, very strict budget. It does dull the tone a little, but nothing too crazy. Nothing that you wouldn’t expect in a guitar at this price.
Pros:
Includes gig bag
Sounds fantastic
Great for children and adults
Ideal for fingerstyle playing
Cons:
Laminated wood body
Cordoba Mini II
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Weighing just 2.5 lbs, the Cordoba Mini II is a true travel guitar. It is the perfect guitar to take on the road, and it is surprisingly affordable too.
Product Highlights
The Cordoba Mini II is a travel acoustic guitar designed to be as light as possible, and Cordoba has clearly achieved that. It weighs just 2.5 lbs, but still has a rather lengthy (for a mini) 22.875″ scale length.
This is a nylon string guitar, the first on our list. Interestingly, it does offer electric-acoustic options, with an in-built pre-amp and all the electrics. There is even an in-built tuner. Bring this along and a mini amp along on your travel adventures and you’ll be ready to rock, or at least strum.
Features
The Cordoba Mini II is tiny, but it packs a real punch in terms of tone. This is, in part, down to the fact that it has been built from solid mahogany. Every part of it. It helps to add a real warmth to the tone.
As mentioned, this is a very lightweight guitar and one that you can just pick up and use whenever. It is also one of only a few mini nylon string guitars.
What We Like About the Cordoba Mini II
We love how lightweight it is, while still packing a real punch in terms of tone. We are also surprised at the fact that this Cordoba Mini II packs in all sorts of electrics without compromising on that weight.
What We Don’t Like About the Cordoba Mini II
Sacrifices have had to be made to get this guitar as light as it is. This includes a glue-on neck instead of a bolt-on, and the wood does feel a little bit ‘thin’, which does make it seem more delicate.
Pros:
Lightweight
Warm tone
Nylon strings
Cons:
Can feel a bit delicate
What To Look For When Buying Mini Acoustic Guitars
We figured we would wrap up by giving you a few of the things that you should be looking for when hunting down a mini acoustic guitar.
Size
Mini acoustic guitars will have a scale length of 22″-24″ (some can be slightly shorter). If you are an adult with a bit of experience, then you may want the longer scale length, while learners and children should opt for a shorter scale.
Wood
Ideally, you will want denser woods e.g. mahogany if you want a guitar that has a lot of sustain and deep tone. Lighter woods (and laminated woods) offer less sustain, but a brighter tone.
Strings
Steel string guitars (or bronze string, we guess) have narrower necks. They are perfect for offering brighter tone, and more power in the strums.
Nylon string guitars have wider necks, which can result in it being easier to play fingerstyle, or hit complex chords. They are also a bit easier on the fingers for younger players.
This YouTube video should give you more of an idea about the differences:
If you’re planning on hooking your mini or parlor guitar up to an amp, then you’ll need in-built electronics. a small piezo, pre-amp and a couple of controls will work wonders. If you have no plans to hook your acoustic up to an amp, ignore the electronics. It just adds extra cost to the guitar.
Manufacturer Support
We tend to recommend that you go with the larger brands. They offer much better customer support if something goes wrong e.g. warped wood, if you need spare parts, etc.
Our Verdict – The Best Mini Acoustic Guitar
The best mini guitar is, without a doubt, the Taylor GS Mini-e Solid Koa. It packs a real punch in terms of tone and quality. It is on the higher side of things when it comes to price, but it is more than worth it. If you’re looking for something a bit cheaper then you may want to look at the Fender Redondo instead.
Absolutely. In fact, mini acoustic guitars are perfect for use as a travel guitar. They are tougher to play due to the smaller scale, but still a lot of un.
What scale length is a mini acoustic guitar?
The scale length of a mini acoustic will be 22″-24″, with the overall size being about 3/4 that of a larger guitar. Some mini acoustics may be smaller.
SMALL SIZE BIG PUNCH: Featuring the choice of a spruce or mahogany top paired with mahogany back and sides, this guitar has a 24.1” scale length, but delivers the tone of a full-sized guitar.
FENDERS ELECTRIC LEGACY: Like all models in the California Series, the Sonoran Mini features a 6-in-line Strat headstock inspired by Fender's electric legacy
PREMIUM FEATURES: Other premium features include a walnut fingerboard and bridge, and Nu-bone nut and saddle
EVERYONE CAN PLAY: Whether you're a young, aspiring player looking for a smaller instrument, or simply looking for a top-notch guitar that's easy to travel with, the Sonoran Mini has you covered
EVERYTHING IN ONE BOX: Our exclusive bundle includes a Gig Bag, Clip-on Tuner, Strings, Picks, and Austin Bazaar Instructional DVD
♫ CARBON FIBER IS A THING NOW - Carbon Fiber has been there for some time in the guitar community. Carbon fiber guitars definitely has their own scenarios. You may be intrigued. But the high price of may throw you off a bit. Then you discover this Nova Go Mini. The price is quite accessible. You are seriously thinking about getting one, right? This is what we intended: bringing quality carbon fiber acoustic guitar, that’s of great value.
♫ BUILT FOR TRAVEL - Nova Go Mini is made of carbon fiber composite material, which means it's impervious to temperature and humidity change. Taking it to chill on a beach with the hot bright sun up above, or to a hiking trip deep in a mountain, or even further to shoot some beautiful Instagram posts in a snow land, Nova Go Mini would stay stable, with no warp nor cracks. The 1/4 size makes it super easy to carry around to anywhere. Just take it out on the road.
♫ FEELS REAL - We've been dedicated to bringing that wooden flavor into the tonal spectrum of carbon fiber acoustic guitars. Days and nights were poured into tweaking the bracing design of this Nova Go Mini acoustic guitar. Gladly, it paid off in the end. The sound is quite surprising for such thin-body-designed acoustic guitars. The sideway sound hole can amplify the volume that the player perceives when playing.
♫ SOLID BUILD & EASY TO PLAY - The body of Nova Go Mini is 1/4 sized (32 in"), molded all in one piece, meaning that the bridge is a cohesive part of the top, not glued upon like traditional acoustic guitars. It would never snap or fall off. Meanwhile, we've put a truss rod into the neck, giving your more adjustability for the string action, even though the factory setup is already optimum. Also, the "Zero Fret" feature is added to this acoustic guitar for smoother tuning.
♫ WHAT’S MORE - Also, the "Zero Fret" feature is added to this acoustic guitar for smoother tuning, and fret ends are polished to round edges for a more comfortable hand feel. 3 colors available: black, white, pink. Nova Go Mini comes with a custom thickened gig bag, and a hexagon wrench for adjusting string actions.
