Friday, August 11, 2017

Yep, it's a pinky.

Pink, the new green.
Sometimes I just don't understand what I'm thinking but this thought has been with me for a while now. A short scale, very short scale, guitar but tuned higher than standard concert pitch. I like to think of standard tuning where A = 440 cps (top string 5th fret) as normal.
The 'normal' tuning for a baritone guitar is standard tuning minus a fifth putting the top and bottom strings down to B. i.e. regular tuning but from B to B. So why not have a soprano guitar? Enter the Squier MINI. These short scale instruments are really aimed at little kids, small hands, light weight etc. but there is no reason that a big kid can't have one. With a scale length of 22.75 it falls short of it's big (alto) brother, the Stratocaster, by 2.75 inches. To get these little devils manageable they really need to have heavy gauge strings which defeats the purpose of a kids guitar. This is obviously something the Squier gods haven't given much thought to. Fancy putting a guitar on the market that really is impossible to play in tune with regular 9-42's. When I saw this cute little pink Mini hanging on the wall I couldn't resist a play. Yep, just as I thought, it was impossible to play in tune let alone make any kind of pleasant music on it. That's not to say it didn't 'sound' fantastic through the Vox amp I had it pluged into. It sounded like a Strat. It was time to fiddle so I took everything up a minor third to G. As it wasn't mine I wasn't game enough to take it up a fourth to A but I'm sure it would have made it okay. Only tuned up to G the MINI sprung into life, there was now a lovely zing to a cowboy E chord, which was now Cowboy G. It was not unlike putting a capo at your third fret. I could only imagine how neat it would be if tuned all the way up to an A. I hear you thinking.. but why not just settle for a regular guitar capoed at the fifth fret?? Cool but you still wont have the range of a 20 fret neck as the MINI has. Imaging wailing away up there where only dogs can hear. Awesome. I was sold and the MINI is now on my 'want one' list. It's a unique instrument and tuned high produces a unique sound. Don't think of it as a kids pretend guitar, everyone should have one. There, the secrets out. And I must say, the pink one is to die for.
Available today, right now!

1 comment:

  1. Love it Dave. We should have a jam with Pinky and the Mikro Gilbert!

    ReplyDelete