"Mini" Standard Model


Korina (Limba: Terminalia superba) downsized instrument.

Designer's note:

"The idea here is to build a reduced size instrument that retains most of the full scale length, so that it plays and sounds like a normal guitar. The History of the Mini Standard goes back to Rick Nielsen's #0132 which was built in 1979. Soon after that we made one each for Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. In the 1980s we fitted one with all black hardware and a Floyd rose! This one recalls the styles from the '50s.

The challenge is to make an instrument that stays faithful to the full-size version without looking like a toy. By utilizing a 23 3/8" scale the playability and tone are very close to a full size guitar."

(click each photo for a larger image)





Just like its big brother, the Mini gets the heel-blend treatment that we started in 1974.
Things get a little tight when the real estate is reduced, but all the controls are accessible and function perfectly.

   




The rosewood fingerboard ends with 21 frets. From this angle the guitar looks surprisingly like a "normal" sized Standard. The overall length of the entire guitar is less than 45". The slightly shorter scale enhances the fundamental, which, in contrast to its reduced size, really makes this little guy roar!
Once again, the shape of the headstock needed to be designed carefully to preserve the essence in a reduced size. Even the truss rod cover is smaller.