I would like to pick up an acoustic that is very thin bodied. My only acoustic is an Applause with that rounded back that looks cool and sounds fine but I am so fat that when the belly of that guitar rubs against the belly on my body I can barely reach the strings. I know of Godin (out of my price range), but who else makes a nice thin acoustic guitar that costs a little less?

Hmmm....I got curious as I've never heard of a thin body acoustic.

So....I did some perusing and this page has several scattered around.
Brands I haven't heard of and a couple Yamaha, Sigma and Ibanez.

This is probably little help other getting purchase price familiarity:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=thin+body+acoustic+guitar&crid=2XGJ0M5RE077Z&sprefix=thin+body+acoustic+guitar%2Caps%2C1151&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_25

Spend well....happy hunting.

How about a lap steel guitar? I will find the nearest exit now.....

My legs are so short I don't have a lap. When I want to use my laptop I have to put a throw pillow on my thighs to make a lap.

Hmm... this Yamaha catches my eye....

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-APX600-BL-...1151&sr=8-6

https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_custom_line_cla_16sce.htm

https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_custom_line_cla_28ve_wn.htm


I have the CLA28VE WN. It's a really nice playing and sounding guitar. Probably much better than the Yamaha.

It's a copy of the following Martin, but it doesn't cost $4,000!

https://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/standard-series/000-28/

I like that cutaway model a LOT. Those black bindings are cool. It doesn't really say how thick the body is though. The body width is the key here.

I just checked mine and it's 3-7/8 in thick on lower bout.

The cutaway should be the same since they are both auditorium size.

I am looking for a thinner DEPTH, Bob. From the pickguard to my belly. Is that what you mean? I have always known "bout" to mean the width up and down on the top face of the guitar.

Eddie,

I should have said the depth of the widest part part of the Harley Benton as measured twice is 3-7/8". According to the following website, the depth of the Yamaha is 3-9/16".

https://oldtimemusic.com/yamaha-apx600-na-thin-body/

So obviously the Yamaha is 5/16" thinner. I bought the Harley Benton because I was looking for a very good quality guitar in a smaller and thinner body than your typical dreadnaught. I'm also overweight so the HB feels very good to me. It's also got a solid spruce top, laminated mahogany back and sides, Fishman pickup system with a built in tuner, bone nut, etc.

The Yamaha is all laminated, has a Yamaha pickup instead of a Fishman, Urea nut instead of bone, but it is 5/16" thinner.

If overall quality is a consideration I'd recommend the HB. If the 5/16" of an inch thickness matters, go for the Yamaha, or something else.

I misread what you said. The issue is depth. I'd like it even thinner than the Yamaha. I just can't reach the strings at the proper angle to play it correctly. I am always reaching. My arms are that short and my gut is THAT big.

https://shop.fender.com/en-US/acoustasonic-stratocaster-guitars

I've seen those Bob and I liked them a lot. They make a Telecoustic too.

Eddie,

I'd love to have one too but there's no way I'm going to spend $2,000 on a guitar when I still have many thousands of dollars I need to spend finishing my cabin.

Hopefully HB will add a copy of this to their lineup sometime soon.

I've gotten 3 HB guitars this year for myself and 1 HB for my son. All 4 of them are very good guitars. The grand total for all 4 of them combined is less than a thousand dollars.

HB referred me to the Baby Taylor for a thinline acoustic. They run $550 new. Not right now, but someday maybe. Always loved the ay Taylors sound.

Eddie, Guitar Center has Baby Taylors for $369:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/search?typeAheadSuggestion=true&typeAheadRedirect=true&fromRecentHistory=false&Ntt=baby+taylors

But the body depth is 4":

https://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/features/shapes/big-baby

Yamaha has a JR2 3/4 size acoustic for $170 at Guitar Center but the body depth is 3.5".

ZZounds has an Ibanez thin body classical guitar with a 2.75" body depth for $300:

https://www.zzounds.com/item--IBAGA35TCE

Amazon has a number of thin body guitars that are in your price range:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=thin+body+electric+acoustic+guitar&hvadid=77790500402761&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&tag=mh0b-20&ref=pd_sl_887lbu6hi0_e

I hope this helps and good luck.

All good suggestions and I will research them all. I also stumbled upon an Epiphone Chet Atkins model and an Ibanez Talman, but I have to look at this from the perspective of someone who doesn't know what is considered "thin". I always liked the Godin and I have played one but I don't know how deep that one is yet. That's my next bit of research. I think my Applause if 4" deep. I would likely always play it plugged in anyway. It's just the body depth for ease of play that is the prime concern. I'm not a pure acoustic player. I may be able to get along with any thin guitar that doesn't have that round back. The round back on the Applause and the round belly it lays on makes it feel like it's always tilting away from me.

I just found that the Godin is 2 inches thick. That's what I'd like.

I have one of the cheaper "comfort" series Washburn guitars, very comfortable the sound "so so" but then again you probably do have to sacrifice a bit on the bass side with a thin body.

https://www.washburn.com/instrument-series/comfort-series/

I'll look at them. Thanks. In fact there was a neighborhood store run by a friend that featured Washburn but sadly he passed about 6 months or so ago. Tried really hard to get his dog to make sure she got a good home. (Any dog I adopt is a lottery winner!) I am going to have to hit a store with a tape measure in hand and start looking at these in person. Though that involves leaving my house and being around people.....

Eddie,

Why not go ahead and bite the bullet and get one of those Fender Acoustasonics?

You know you want one. LOL

Maybe you want something like a Gibson ES 335 copy but probably won't get much of a sound out of it unplugged, Did you mention a body depth of just 2 inches or is that in my imagination, I know my Washburn is more than that but still very comfortable to hold, and sound is loud enough unplugged.

Here is a Washburn comfort guitar, not the one I have though.

Washburn comfort guitar

I bought a few guitars on Amazon, keeping an eye on them over a few months I bite the bullet when they reached the price I could afford, though their packaging is terrible just the guitar in its cardboard box, no bubble wrap whatsoever, one came damaged.

But the price was right and I took the chance, so happy enough.

Bob, once my home refi is done and I don't have to worry about credit card balances, my perspective will change. At that point I might go ahead and buy that one. Or the Chet Atkins model Epiphone makes. Sadly I doubt if having a Chet Atkins guitar will make me play like Chet Atkins. He is either at or near the top of almost every "best ever" discussion. Man, he was smooth. The Godin is also in the running. VERY thin body at 2 inches. Buying a thinner guitar is WAY faster and easier than making a thinner me.

https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_st_acoustic_black.htm

You mentioned Godin, but have you looked at any Seagull/Art & Lutherie/Simon & Patrick? It's all the same company - they're all Godin products and made in the same factory. They make some "Folk" guitars, which are a smaller body and very comfortable to play.

Yamaha makes the APX series, they can also be very good in the smaller guitar range.

Going up in price, my favourite was a mahogany Taylor GS Mini that I owned for a while and is to date the only guitar I regret selling. Absolutely worth every penny.



Truth!

I am most interested in finding the thinnest guitar made on the planet. I had an Epiphone Dot once that was very thin, like 2 inches, but the 335 body shape was awkward for my short arms. That Godin that looks like a Strat is a really nice playing guitar. I'll look into all of them when it's close to time to get serious about it.

Eddie,

Did you look at this one?

https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_st_acoustic_black.htm

Another possibility would be this one:


https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_custom_line_nashville_steel.htm


I've never seen or played either of these so I'm not giving a personal recommendation. It's just a familiarity with the brand.

Oh wow!! Bookmarked and quite likely the winner!!! THAT is how thin I want it. I don't know how I missed that when I looked at their pages.

Eddie,

The best way to search through the Harley Benton's is to bookmark this page and then select a category;



https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton.html

For what it's worth, I have 3 HB's and my son has 1.

If I don't croak before then and remain mobile, I will buy more guitars from them.

I have been having fun playing 3/4 scale acoustics but it does cramp your fretting hand a bit. There’s also that Yamaha that was just the outline of a guitar body. Can’t remember what those were called.

long before we could buy strats or teles in the uk, hofner was a european maker and the verithin was their flagship

https://reverb.com/uk/item/34632451-hofn...AyABEgL_2PD_BwE

Incidentally the originals were spelt 'verithin' whereas modern reissues are 'verythin'

Lots of great suggestions here, but that thin body requirement is steering me toward the Harley Benton. The 3 7/8 deep guitars is pretty much what I have now with the Applause, and I can't play it. The 2 inch deep acoustic (since I will NEVER play it acoustic only anyhow) seems like the deal for me. Thanks to the ol' flatpicker for steering me toward it. The first time through the HB web page I didn't even see it.

Eddie,

Another possibility;

https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_custom_line_nashville_nylon.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIKIyLWQlfo&t=296s

If it would make me sound like THAT guy, sure!!

I am pretty convinced to get the one that looks like a Strat. I like the "Godin" look of it. May order it as soon as next week. Then another month and on to the Jazzmaster.

Its strange really how the shape of a guitar can put a person off it. I never really liked the look of the Les Paul or Strat, but the ES335 or Tele I do.

I like the look of all of them but the Les Paul is one of the most uncomfortable guitars I've ever played. The balance is way off for me.

The Strat is easily the most comfortable guitar I've played.

I agree that some of the really odd shaped guitars turn me off.

I also agree that the LP is very uncomfortable guitars to play.

The most comfortable guitar that I have ever played was my Fender Jaguar with its off-set waist. My Casio Strat MIDI controller has the same configuration as does my Tele copy, and both of my bass guitars.

I've never played a Jaguar or a Jazzmaster. I do love Tele's though.

The Jazzmaster would be largely for the nostalgia value that my first electric guitar was a Jazzmaster. That one didn't have P-90s, though they did already exist back then, and if it did have them they would have been lost on me. As it was that guitar was probably more guitar than a brand new guitar player deserved. I ended up working out a swap deal for a Telecaster 4 years later, much to my parent's dismay that I traded away a 4 year old Christmas gift. Yeah, I grew up in THAT environment....

Okay the dust has settled and I decided on this. Found it on Reverb.



Decided to go with a genuine Fender. It was a bit more than the Benton would have been, but this was what I originally set out to find anyway. So now I wait for it to arrive. As impatient as I am, as soon as I clicked the buy button I took a chair and went out to sit on the front porch to wait for it to arrive!!

MarioD, I'll third you on the Les Paul being uncomfortable, and generally most Gibson-style guitars. Definitely more of a Strat guy myself, although I primarily play Jackson and Ibanez guitars - Ibanez makes the best semi-hollow I've ever played, and Jackson tends to be lightweight which is great for my failing back!

I still say the most comfortable acoustic I've ever played was the Taylor GS Mini (and really most Taylor guitars), with a very close second being a Larrivee OM-03 with a 12-fret neck joint. In my price range, anything from Godin fits the bill. Take a look at the Godin A6 Ultra - great (plugged in) acoustic sound from an electric-sized body.

Nice! I have the telecaster version of that guitar, the "telecoustic". Idk that I'd call it a "genuine fender" though LOL. I mean.. it is but its made in China and no better or worse than a squire or a Benton would be in build quality or sound. Still a solid guitar though. You should check out this list of guitars https://www.guitarlobby.com/best-beginner-electric-guitars/
For semi-hollow guitars I usually recommend Gretsch. EXCELLENT value, owned by fender now so imo its every bit as genuine of a fender as anything foreign stamped with a Fender logo. D'angelico makes some pretty great semi-hollows as well.

Double0,

Welcome to the forum!

One small correction if I may. Gretsch Guitars is a family owned company. Fender handles distribution duties for Gretsch. You can learn more about the ownership +++ HERE +++ .