Yamaha GL1 Guitalele (Micro Guitar)

We've designed the GL1 to be an ideal small guitar for home or travelling use and it's great for beginners. Its body is almost as small as a ukulele's but as it's strung as a guitar (with 6 strings), chord shapes and patterns are the same as you'd play on a regular guitar. Because of its shorter fret length, the GL1 is tuned up 5 semitones (so playing an 'E' chord shape from a regular guitar on the GL1 becomes an 'A' chord in pitch).

Alternatively, for a travel guitar with greater dynamics and a lot more options, try our APX T2 Travel Guitar. The APX Series is our range of high quality electro-acoustic guitars. Most models have a full-length fret board and all have a relatively shallow body. The pickup system is superb on all (with better tone and control with each model up). The APX T2 is the travel version of our APX500III guitar and inherits its great tone and playability - but in a much smaller body (though still significantly larger than the GL1). Unlike the GL1, the APXT2 isn't up-tuned (and so an 'E' chord really will be an 'E' chord).

The GL1 Guitalele is an excellent choice for a four year old (and great fun for older guitarists as well). It has the same 6 string standard relative tuning as a full size guitar (albeit tuned a little higher on account of its small size) which makes it ideal for learning standard guitar chord shapes and patterns.

The GL1 is nylon-strung (like a classical guitar) which, arguably, makes the strings slightly easier to press compared to steel-strung acoustic guitars. There will always be a learning curve (at any age, on any size of guitar) but that won't be a barrier to learning and enjoying.

We highly recommend it!

Thank you for the question. We use a laminate top for the GL1 - this allows us to price it as affordably as possible. Nevertheless, the GL1 features an incredibly sweet tone and is very playable.