i too have small hands and short fingers ,,i got a p bass when i started about six years ago.wish i'd got a jazz instead of the p as i find the thinner neck of the j suits me better.but i didnt know any different at the time.
love Thains playing on the heep albums ,,,on the earlier keef hartley records you could hear him leading up to what he did with them. he also played a P towards the end of his time with heep