Mini Guitar Shootout -
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- Опубліковано 18 жов 2024
- Ryan compares a Squier Mini, Harley Benton ST-Mini and an Ibanez GRGM21M-MGN Gio Mic. How do these 3/4 scale guitars compare and which is the best?
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I'll be a father soon and checking out mini guitars is my way of preparing.
K S best of luck to you mate congrats
Welcome to the club!
Did the baby arrive yet❓
As a guitarist with smaller hands wanting to get more into metal playing, I am so glad I ordered the Ibanez GIO Mikro.
I'm planning on getting my daughter the pink guitar for her 6th birthday in September. She's starting to show interest watching me play. I'm a happy dad for sure.
How'd she like it? I've got a 5 year old gonna be 6 in November and she wants to learn. The Vox SDC 1 Mini is another one I'm looking at.
Same boiz I ain't a dad but I got one of those mini ibanez ones already and I got my neice one of these strats it's the best thing ever kids love it. Well worth it even when they're asleep u know u wanna play it so it's for parents too 😅😅
I bought one for myself too hahah cause I've been playing since high school I just jam along with her and teach her the basics until she becomes a pro 😅
Man I remember my kid the first lick I ever taught my kid was the riff from school by Nirvana and and so far she's gotten all the way up to The Man who sold the world and serve the servants she now knows how to play Sappy
Man who saved the world.. Epic song 🙌 how sick was mtv unplugged hahahaha Alice in chains was good too then.
That pink mini guitar is everything I need in life
3/4 is great for me, I was born with a disability, spina bifida, and use a wheelchair, as a result Im a bit of a short arse, short torso, tried holding a full size Les Paul, didn't really work, this size just might do. And it's only for playing to myself so I'm not bothered about how it looks lol.
Keep up 🤟
Hey man, have you gotten one of these guitars, if so how’s it going for you
@@scaredycat8685 not yet, with everything going on since i commented on this, plus my own none coronvirus health issues this year i kind of forgot about getting one, might drop a few hints that id like one for christmas though lol
MarkoRollo good luck my friend! 😀😀
@@markorollo. Hey, Im in a similiar situation as you, disability since birth, in a wheelchair, short, short torso. I been looking in to these guitars for the same reason as you. Havent got one yet tho. I cant play, yet :) But I just want one lol. I have tried full size ones, just feel to big and hard to hold and they kind of dont fit well in the space the wheelchair allows. What amp would be a good starter amp?
I think what's also important for the adults is comfort when playing, for me personally 3/4ths just feel better, I've got shorter arms and smaller hands and while I can play a full sized guitar I think these work for me a little better than something larger. I dig that you mentioned gig playability as well, rather than disregarding all minis as simply children's guitars.
I'm going to go with the MiKro, probably the PGM because I mean its Paul Gilbert, because I want something a little crunchier, chuggier, and sludgier, but that HB might be something I get for my little brother who might want to learn as well.
Pretty sure that when Eddie Van Halen wrote Little Guitars anyone who was mocking mini-guitars pretty much got schooled. To see him play that live back in '84 as a young teen...holy crap.
64(1/2) years old, neck n back issues - the LP is outa my life - just ordered an Ibanez GRGm21 blem for $120 - looking forward to Rocking with it.
Ryan, with all due respect, you overlooked one serious reason an adult would purchase a mini. Besides, all my conventional units, I also own a Squier Mini Strat. I have suffered with arthritis in my left thumb for years now, in addition to being plagued with smaller hands. When the arthritis is bothering me, I will pick up the Mini. BTW, the scale is even longer than that of John Lennon's 20 inch Rickenbacker (at 21 inches). The flat fingerboard radius is fine, but the narrow neck at the first fret is what provides the most help. Play a barred F is no problem. However, the pressure on my thumb on other electric guitars (like Fender's 25.5 inch scale) is almost intolerable. If I had the scratch, maybe I would seriously consider testing a Rick. You were 100% correct when you said the Mini Strat would not stay in tune. Bad. I will have to get a competent tech to look at it. Thanks for a really great review.
I fall into categories 2 and 3 - I was looking for a novelty and I’m a short scale enthusiast. Just picked up a purple Ibanez Mikro - tried it in the store and couldn’t put it down. I know QC can be spotty on lower end guitars so when I felt the smooth fret ends and enjoyed playing it... I just went for it!
I wish there was a market for high end short scale guitars because I would make one my primary guitar if that was an option.
@ItsVictoriaG - check out the Fender, or Squier 24" scale Jaguars
I can play a full size as well, but between my short scale MARTIN LX-1, and having picked up a
How about the Chiquita?
Great unbiased review. I bought the Ibanez and am very happy with it!
I have a Jack & Danny mini Strat from Music Store in Germany for 77.- EURO. A fantastic mini Guitar for Home and Stage with one Single Coil & one Humbucker. I love Her.
I’ve got a Fender mini that I bought for my son years ago. I find that it holds tuning and for the size, it really sounds great. It has that Fender strat sound that most are looking for.
I got the pink strat for my daughter a few years ago, and to my surprise, it has been a very good instrument! Get a good set up, and it's a great starter guitar.
I was looking for something I could noodle on while hanging out on the couch instead of my acoustic. So I started looking at the Mikro's and I scored one today for $100 off of Marketplace. He had installed Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickups and a set of Graph Tech locking turners already. The parts alone are twice what you can score the guitar for! The frets need some work but I need the practice so I'm okay with it.
Not gonna lie. I'm not into the color pink, but that pink Squier is pretty sweet, and I may need to get one for myself.
Great review. The Ibanez sure is badass & sounds great too but the Harley Benton is what i call bang for your buck.
I love my Ibanez Mikro! The ends of the frets on mine needed to be dressed smooth. They were really rough. I don't know if this a QC issue or a one-off. But everything else was spot on. Very good quality on everything except where noted. Well worth the money. I've played the Squier (and I own three others) and I agree that it's not worth the money.
mine in on the way !
Have had two and they are great.
I just got a Vox mini for my 4 year old Grandson with a small Fender amp.
It sounds surprisingly good and very well made.
I'm looking at the Vox, I came here to see what the others are like. I love the Vox in red. I think I might order one tomorrow.
The HB might have had its strings stretched already and the other 2 not.
What you can't remember the Ibanez 116Gio859723RGz6 thats my favorite one! But I also like the Ibanez 334Pac871211RG49 its the only one with black and gold tuners! So theres no way you could mix it up with the Ibanez 334Pac871121RG49
I've been considering the Harley Benton's even-smaller model for my son - good to hear some positive things about it. it's not an unthinkable sum of money to spend on something for a child of his age, but I wouldn't want to spend it on something that's complete crap. Good to know it's not.
Thanks
I got the Jackson and keep it and a spark amp by my recliner. Regular sized guitar don't fit right in chair but these little ones do. I get some extra practice while watching the tube or even learn a song off UA-cam on the tv.
I go to my Mini Strat and my mini P Bass out of sheer laziness when throwing my 1 and 1/2-chord trash rock songs together oftentimes. The bass, especially, is right up there, and the Strat, it's basically a Duo-Sonic with a middle pickup.
Great review! Been looking for a while, got the Ibanez mikro for our 9 year old. The squire I really did not like the feel of it. The Ibanez is made alot better, I find it never goes out of tune. Ironically I love playing it myself. Harley Benton I will never touch, wont even look at them. Ibanez is great, good quality, good build and I use it personally.
EDIT: To all commenting about actually using the 3/4 on stage, I use the Ibanez Mikro alot, absolutely nothing wrong with it, it is a good guitar - dont write them off as toys. (Can only speak for the Mikro)
I cracked up when you said keep it next to the toilet and use a battery amp
I cracked up when he said play it in a on stage real gigging rig.
I believe that Fender updated the tuners on the mini this year.
My Mini Strat v2 (early 2019) had bearly managable tuners. I replaced them with Ratio tuners from Graph Tech just by unscrewing and screwing to get wonderful usability that I never experienced.
I just replaced mine with fender locking tuners...no prob now
But the vox mini guitar still kills all comers...
I put a set of Fender standard tuners I had in my parts drawer on a Squier mini I bought used for $60. Filed and lubed the nut. Great guitar now, and it's a ton of fun to play!
I lost the end of my index finger on my left hand and I'm trying to relearn how to play with just 3 fingers. I would love to try out a mini guitar to see if it is easier to reach with my limited fingers. I think the going out of tune is more of a string issue. New strings need to be stretched in before it will stay in tune. That apply to all guitars
Django Reinhardt had his hand burned by a fire. He had 2 or 3 fingers to fret with, but played great gypsie swing jazz.
Tommi Iommi in Black Sabbath lost the tips of his fingers and he uses rubber finger tips on his hands so you might want to look into possibly some rubber finger tips that they use for turning pages or something like that to help you with your finger. Also right now Guitar Center has a sale and they have the Mitchell mm100 guitar on sale for $79 and I bought one yesterday and I absolutely love it.
I don't know how much of your fingertip you lost but you might be able to stuff something inside the fingertips to make up for the extra length when you put these things on like maybe some clay and what it hard and inside or something that can make the shape in the length that you need.
What about the Jackson minions? 2/3 scale and I here they're great. The Paul Gilbert also?
I acquired a squire mini strat with the purchase of a really old crate 1. Having fun learning how to set up a guitar. Turners are total junk. Got a sealed set of tuners for 10 bucks. Sounds great!!
Thank you.
Interesting how the Harley Benton ST-Mini has 20 frets. I have the ST-Junior, the even smaller version with a scale length just shy of 20 inches. And it has 21 frets!
The smaller ST-Junior is a pretty neat little guitar. With normal guitar strings, it should be tuned up to A. However, I use really heavy .013-.056 strings and tune it to E successfully. This requires working the nut and saddles to compensate for thicker stings and intonation. Everything else works pretty well. The only thing I think you want to do, with almost any cheap guitar, really, is replace the jack with a good Switchcraft or Neutrik. The cheapies used on low end guitars always seem to crap out in short time. It's supposedly has a basswood body, but it's pretty heavy for such a tiny instrument. The pickups are ok, loud for strat-ish single coils, however with the fat strings, tuned down to E, the tone is fairly dark. Opening up the pickguard to try some alternatives revealed a swimming pool rout underneath. Kinda nice of you're one to make a new pickguard for other types of pickups.
Nice job Ryan as always. I'm in your camp as well. I am not a shredder. Thank you for the tips. I would be looking possibly for a shorter scale guitar that is lighter since I am in my early 60s.
Maybe they had new unplayed strings and stretched. I wouldn't put that on the guitars ability to stay in tune. They all sounded great though.
Were the strings new and not stretched properly on the fender when you went to play it? I bought a squire mini for my daughter about four years ago and it stays in tune great. I play it sometimes just to check in on her guitar and make sure it’s still working like it should.
I prefer the older mini Squire… there are noticeable differences. The new ones seem to have tuning issues… I’m thinking newer ones are made in China? The older Indonesian ones are solid from the ground up. Also the Ibanez is a fun guitar for sure… and the tuning is so so. That CAN be fixed typically at the nut. Very excited about the Harley Benton! Had not heard of it until now
I bought the Harley Benton ST-Mini for the sole reason that it appeared to stay in tune better than the others. However, mine won't stay in tune for long enough to get through one song with a light touch on the strumming and no bending...and that's after new (and stretched-out) strings and a professional setup. Otherwise, I can't complain at all about this guitar, especially considering the price. Maybe Ryan had one with better tuners than mine or maybe I got a dud...I dunno. I'd still recommend this guitar to anyone looking for a mini electric for a low cost but if anyone asked how it was for staying in tune, I'd have to say "not so good" to that one.
Heavier gauge strings will rectify the issue
@@89joshuadaviesThanks, I thought so too so I put on 11s with a wound third. I could step it up to 12s, I suppose.
You think maybe it could just be that the strings haven't been work yet stretched for the reason for them going out of tune?
It's very common yeah.
There is now a NEW Squier Mini v2. Orders are being taken now at online merchants. Time for another review! ❤️🎸
Thank you Ryan
The Harley Benton sounded really good. I had thoughts of buying a mini. Also I am the president of the non-tapping club, would you like to join? Cool shirt too.
sign me up!
Got a sick maple olympic white mini strat for work/travel and after throwing 11s on it and filing the fret ends it is a great guitar that stays in tune just fine. Putting mediums on is a great way to fix the inconsistent tuning and keep similar slack to full scale electric strings.
I need one in my RV! :-)
I'd buy the Squire if they would black out the pick guard and install nice black machine heads.
Think ima have to walk into my local guitar store and see if i can get one of those Ibanez's. Wouldnt mind a travel guitar like that. But that Harley benton wouldnt be bad either!
new strings? all these guitars still have the hang tag... I'm sure they all stay in tune OK.
Often people knock the tuners. I find tuners are okay, even inexpensive tuners. Locking tuners are not necessary. Check for no binding at the nut. Evident when tuning if the nut releases with a ‘Ching” sound.
I think my big question about the Ibenez and the Squire is how broke in were the strings? Is the tuning stability because of the guitar or the strings?
Thanks man! I really appreciate it, being here in the Philippines I can't test drive these before buying one. Great video!
I found the mini strat, the strings went out of time all too often for my grandson beginner. He liked the shape and color. I couldn't buy it for the tuning issues. Went with Epiphone les paul . stayed in tune much better from the get go.
Now that he's another year older and getting taller. He will fit into a full size guitar. He can pick it out.
I regret selling the Ibanez Mikro I had nice easy to play guitar,only thing I didn't like is lower frets close together hard to fret without buzz ect.other than this minor thing for 150 bucks can't go wrong
I plan to get another one as well as a Squier mini to learn on as I have carple tunnel in my one hand easier more comfortable to play and it does stay in tune the one I played in store did.
Brad, same here. I have carpal tunnel in my left ( dominant) hand and since I play right-handed, it's also my fretting hand. I think that a 3/4 size is the only thing allowing me to try and play and learn finally, once again. It seems as if my Squier mini stays in tune but I have toyed with changing the tuners to better ones - I guess ones by Rotomatic. I don't know if it's worth it or not but since I am likely to have to make this my 'main' guitar, despite having a few full-sized, much more expensive guitars, I am wanting to try and make it as good as possible. Did you make any mods to yours and overall, how is it vis a via the carpal tunnel? I have to restrict the amount of time I can practice at any one time so my progress will necessarily be slower than I would like. Anything you can share on how you are doing etc with respect to this would be most welcome. Thanks!
Thanks! Great info!
I bought a squir mini used for $60 with a soft side case but you can use any fender neck or strap Telecasrterr neck and make it a full size
I have an ibanez mikro guitar candy apple red one guitar tec Dave at KSM music in Logan Utah put black winter humbucker pickups in it for me and locking tuners on it and amber speed knobs on for me ......
great review
Thanks for confirming my Ibanez bias for quality ;-)
Too bad, I'll have to either find a red one or repaint it for my 5 Year old...
Thank you
Do these guitars do well with tuning up? The reason I'm interested in these is I'm looking for a tenor range electric that can tune anywhere from G-A Standard or higher. Is that possible on these guitars at all?
Anyone with this question check out the Vox videos. Big, long haired metal looking player tunes up to a Nashville sound on one. Absolutely amazing.
Ryan what is the tuning with 9s , still E standard and do they feel quite flimsy ?
Of course they do. But he is payed by Harley Benton. I just bought one. 09 strings on a different tuning. Immediately changed the strings for 010 Ernie Ball Slinky. And still. I have also the Ibanez Mikro. The best of the 3. Stays really well in tune.
I have a small electric tanglewood EE12 that is tuned to ukulele ADGCEA using a regular guitar strings of a slightly lower gauge. The string 6th and 5th is of higher tension. Otherwise, it sound great and has 3section transducer.
Your facial expressions says it all! 😁
Pity you didn't list the guitar model numbers in your blurb. Other than that, good review - thank you.
just to clarify if whoever strung those guitars didn't stretch the strings out then inevitably they will go out of tune when you bend them
Decent, cheers! Thinking of getting one for my kid. She has a fender 3/4 acoustic. Mmmn hard to decide, the acoustic isn't exactly great either..
The sea foam green guitar is the Ibanez Mikro mini guitar 22.5 scale
60 cycle him line of beard grooming products?!? Sign me up!
Peyote Pete haha agreed
i want the mini pink one omggg
I had the Ibanez guitar for two weeks and traded it in. I just could not get it to stay in tune. I tried tuning it up and then tried heavy guage strings. No luck. The number one thing I need from any guitar is tuning stability.
I'm surprised how well the Harley Benton held the tuning.
The HB is mechanically an amazingly well-built guitar. I spent a few hours fine-tuning and it's unusually stable compared to all other guitars I've owned.
Great video. It’s certainly given me more confidence in the HB.
The nut is no problem for me, got a set of nut files. The Ibanez looks real nice. I’m I interested in all these for my 7 year old daughter. I’m thinking for playability the Harley Benton might be best in case she loses interest, and If she keeps going upgrade to a better one later.
That said, I believe in the early days the best guitar you can afford is the way to go as it’s got to be rewarding to play.
I thought the Squier sounded best and I could make that stay in tune no problem but is it worth double the HB? Not sure....
I’d like to have seen the aria pro stg mini and the Epiphone Les Paul special mini in the line up too...
Get the one you like just in case it comes back to you
@@derekscott5366
My daughter has a Squier jazzmaster mini. Totally amazing mini guitar for the money
But in fact the Title of the video is misleading. The Harley Benton which is shown is a ST-Mini (3/4 22 inch) and the title says Harley Benton ST-Junior which is 1/2 (20-inch)... I just realized that after ordering an ST-Junior for my 7-years old daughter... Hope the size difference wont make a problem for a start...
I wasnt aware of a difference, ill look into the details and correct the info. Thanks!
long time ago, but how did the junior go?DOes it hold the intonation well? did you change the strings to 11s or 12s?
Harley Benton SC 200 mini and Jackson Rhoads Minion are supposed to be decent.
Did you try them?
Hi, nice video. I bought Harley Benton for my daughter but I can't make it tune in E standard... I just ordered daddario strings 10-46 but guitars which come from thomann need full setup, thrus rod, intonation etc. How did you make your one work? cheers
that was one i picked up off the show room floor at thomann, i didnt make any adjustments to it.
@@60CycleHumcast Oh I see, I guess all the adjustment had been done before you got it. Thanks for reply anyway.
a shame the smaller guitars have little to offer in visuals. They all pretty much look like either a Tele, a Les Paul or a Strat.
lol Hopefully you eventually figured out that the Ibanez is named the Gio Mikro (as in mico-guitar). Not such an awful name after all.
A really solid review of these three. I hear that Dolly Parton played live at the Rock n Roll HOF 2022 with a mini Mitchell MM100, and it sounded great.
One thing you failed to mention about the Harley Benton is the shipping cost. I bought a guitar for $130 ,with the shipping it costs $35 to ship it here. Plays into the value against th two others.
did you pre stretch strings equally on all 3 axes?
Likely wouldn't make a difference. 3/4th scale guitars usually ship with 9 gauge strings either because it's easier on kid hands or it's what manufacturers have laying around. If you bump the gauge up they stay in tune better. Can also get some cheap locking tuners for it as well.
SX short scale kills em all👍
Rogue makes a 7/8 scale guitar, which is larger than the 3/4 but still smaller than a standard.
That's the Jackson Dinky scale length essentially. A better compromise than 3/4.
Which guitar is lighter. Makes a difference for me.
I have a mini strat and I had to do some tweekin to get it to stay in tune ... But I have to say it sounds good
From the few videos on Harley Benton I've seen, everyone says good stuff but always says it's "For the Price" Also, the mini one is just under 70 USD. I do believe that, on the Squire, they cheaped out more on the tuners than the other parts even though the whole thing is cheap. Now, about the Ibanez, it's pronounced like Micro they just used a 'K' instead. Paul Gilbert has a signature Mikro and he plays it with three strings, a low E, a D string tuned up to E, and a normal high E string
I bought a Squier Mini in probably 2016. The tuners don't hold very well, the nut is soft-ish plastic and it really needs to have the fret ends addressed.
I picked up a used squier mini for $50 for my 9 year old nephew and noticed there's a huge tuning problem, largely stemming from a loose neck joint. Wondering if that's part of a build quality problem or just from abuse
el rosado para mi primita bryana de 7 años un regalo excelente.
"Keep it next to the toilet" - You read my mind
" I wasn't to be able to get it out of tune" is a joke. Most of us aren't be able to get it in tune.
I bought the Ibanez because it is tuning stable, despite the others. Sounding good, sturdy good build quality. But it is hard to get clean tones out of it. So I bought the HB Junior later. The Ibanez is still to big to travel. (My purpose for it) The HB will do, but I just got it and I have a lot of work to make it 'playable', like all the Harley Bentons.. I will soon put out a detailed review of the two.
what strings do you need for one of these mini guitars? i stuck standard ernie ball 10’s on one and it sounds totally off, can’t tune it for shit. advice would be appreciated
10s should be fine but the intonation might be off then. I would definitely try heavier (12s or 13s) on something this short scale though - steve
I'm looking for an electric guitar that's about the size of a tenor ukulele. Do you know of any like that? I know Ibanez makes an acoustic like that.
Look for a used Greg Bennett samich mini. 19 inch scale, great quality
Probably to do with the strings Squire hardware doesn't slip out of tune.
where is my Jackson Minion ?
is the nut with the same wide as the usual Squires? is it different to buy this compared to a Squired, for an adult.
I'm interested in the smaller guitars but Harley Benton charges minimum 35 dollar shipping fee.
Can't you locking tuner them to make them hold tune?
I think the minimum number of frets an electric guitar should have is 21, even for a beginner. If Ibanez can make a 24 fret mini why can't Squire or Harley Benton make a 21
Exactly!!!
The Harley Benton comes tuned differently from the factory, tuned to A I think…
Good points made on all of the models, could some of the de-tunage be a result of the strings needing a good stretch? Do these guitars have truss rods? Thanks.
The Squier Mini does have a truss rod. The tuning machines are just low quality. Mine doesn't hold tune very well. I'd wager you could get authentic Fender machines for it.
Tuning usually more to do with nut slots need cut better or lube required as well as saddle slots . Tuners make very little difference
I'm looking for an alternative to the Rickenbacker 325 but there aren't many options in short scale guitars that I know of.
Keep in mind that Lennon was buying a guitar he could afford at the time. Good luck to you.
i use mine only for on the train, waiting for somebody in the car! less than 23.5 inch neck and 9-42 strings wont stay in tune...and only standard tuning generally!
Looks like you're looking for guitars that come set up from the factory. I've bought at least 40 brand name guitars in my life and only one was set up ready to go, a Warwick Corvette 5-string bass. All the others needed some amount of nut, fret dress, bridge adjust, string gauge, string height, truss rod, pick up height, all the usual set up stuff.
are 3/4 guitars strictly for kids or are they ok for adults too?
Play what is comfortable. If a 3/4 guitar feels nice in your hands, go for it! - steve
I bought a Mitchell mm100 yesterday and i love it! Im 58yo and 6ft tall @ 230 lbs. I got short fingers and this works for me. I have full size strats and can play them but sometimes i like the 22.5 scale. Its a real guitar not a toy.
did they all have 8 gauge strings ?......or did the bentley have 10 gauge....