Reply #11: I think Fender Mustangs came with a shortened scale [View All]

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

I don't know if they're hard to find now but the old ones are very decent guitars. I have a Gibson Flying V that seems to have a short scale and I never play it for that reason. I think Rickenbackers also are scaled down guitars with shorter distances between the frets. And the Silvertone guitars also were smaller.

But it looks like your daughter at her age is going to need something much smaller yet, not only because of the size of her hands but also because of the weight of even short scaled electric guitars. I would suggest starting her out with a lightweight classical guitar hand made for a child if you want her to play on something quite small but with good intonation, just to learn the fundamentals. They come in half size and even quarter size. If you want something made with precision and good intonation, it's probably going to cost you more than $500. And I think it might be easier for your daughter to first get around on nylon strings instead of steel, although she wouldn't be able to play at high volume for awhile.

Another possibility is the Applause brand made by Ovation (I think they're the Korean-made Ovations). They make a half size steel string acoustic light-weight round back guitar that's supposedly suitable for very young kids. Those will probably set you back about $200.