If you are a kid, a player with petite hands or a traveler wishing to play the guitar – the best short scale electric guitars more playable.
It has a shorter distance between nut and bridge (in the 22 inches – 24 ¾ inches).
Frets are closer together like in the 1958s ‘Capri’ series.
But, Just like in full-scale guitars, consider durability, sound quality, & reliability. Related: 7 Best Mics for Recording Acoustic Guitar
Reviews: 7 Best Short Scale Electric Guitars 2025
1. Fender Duo-Sonic Offset Electric Guitar – #1 Pick
Fender Duo-Sonic is smaller (equally portable) and has a shorter scale (hence more playable) with great tones falling between Tele and Strat. It has been used by popular players such as Tom Verlaine, Patti Smith, and David Byrn.
This Duo-Sonic has a relatively bigger offset body, in addition, to reverse polarity or reverse wind circuits to allow great humbucking. It gives very aggressive neck and bridge tones – as noted above are great for Strat squall & Tele twang.
The guitar’s shorter scale provides change to employ strings of heavier gauge – and thus has slinkier tension enables the strong to bend even for 0.014s or 0.013s allowing it to give great tone. It offers maximum note separation.
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2. Mustang 90 Short Scale Offset Guitar – #2 Pick
Fender Mustang 90 is an indie classic popularly known as the exceptional garage rock guitar. It has a small size, produces a fat Fender tone, and has a great aesthetic look.
With a 9.5-inch fingerboard radius and 24-inch scale length, this Fender Mustang 90 has a highly playable fretboard (better than a full-size guitar) and quality components. It has a great polyester finish in addition to the aesthetic alder wood.
It has a master volume, tone control, and 3-way pickup, which are all great for beginners. For additional resonance, the manufacturer included the 6 saddle string. It’ll work great for unconventional style and garage rock.
Fender Mustang 90 has a compact shape that makes it highly playable for kids or people with small hands. Also, it’s great for being easy to play has low action and short frets. Also, it’s highly portable and light with a 9.5-inch fretboard radius.
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3. Gibson SG Special 2016 T Electric Guitar, Satin Cherry – #3 Pick
Next up is the Gibson SG Special 2016 T, which in simple terms is durable, sturdy, and lightweight rock guitars. It allows versatile pickups with its great classic finish (a combination of modern and vintage).
Its mini-humbuckers allow thick-fat sound in addition to warm vintage tones. I loved that the guitar is resonant and clear. I noticed that it’s highly playable and comfortable in my hands with its beveled edges, smooth contours, and slimline designs.
Equally, this guitar has a 4-way rhythm or treble switch, in addition to separate tone and volume controls. In addition, it has a stop bar tailpiece and Tune-o-Matic bridge that will enhance tuning stability & sustain.
This Gibson SG Special 2016 T was popularly used by players such as Tommy Iommi or Jimi Hendrix. It has a solid mahogany body in addition to the 1-11/16″ nut width and mahogany neck.
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4. Epiphone G-400 Pro Electric Guitar with Coil-Splitting
Epiphone G-400 PRO is a 22-fret guitar that comes with superior hardware, alnico five magnet-triggered humbuckers, and coil-tap switching that means that the guitar is more versatile.
Compared to the earlier G-400 series, I noted that this G-400 Pro is more lightweight (with vintage-like buttons). Therefore, you’ll experience less neck dive and will have better balanced. It has powerful and thick pickups sound, which is allowed by the Boogie or Mesa Dual Rectifier.
Overall, this Epiphone’s G-400 PRO comes with key upgrades from the previous model. Notable features (again) are coil-tapping, versatile pickups, aesthetic looks, and better hardware.
In addition, for faster attack and tighter low-end, the guitar has alnico 5s magnets. Overall, this Epiphone’s G-400 PRO comes with key upgrades from the previous model. Notable features (again) are coil-tapping, versatile pickups, aesthetic looks, and better hardware.
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Conclusion
Why short scale electric guitars – portability, comfort, sound, and string tension. It has a 4-piece mahogany build that has Wilkinson 14:1 tuner and 500k Ω pots that have superior quality.