Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

I haven't played one, but I imagine they lose some of that Strat snap with the short scale.
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

PS: It certainly would be easier for me to play than a "regular" Strat, with my incredibly short fingers. Although I DO have nearly a dozen 25.5" scale guitars that I love.
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

Have not, although I have owned or played Fender short scale guitars in the past. Mustangs, Musicmasters....no problem with those.

That said, I am quite fine with my regular scale Teles and Strat.
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

Have not, although I have owned or played Fender short scale guitars in the past. Mustangs, Musicmasters....no problem with those.

That said, I am quite fine with my regular scale Teles and Strat.
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

I bought my kid a pink mini Squier that appears to be the same as that guitar in almost every regard aside from hard tail vs trem bridge. It goes out of tune very readily, if you do a few string bends, it will go way out of tune, no questions asked. Speaking of, string bends are super easy to execute due to the very short scale length. It's wild and fun to play for that reason, but after 10 mins or so I can't handle the tuning issues. It's brighter and louder than a typical Strat, with less low end. The distorted tone is really good, good thick tone and a decent sustain.
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

I wish they hadn't scaled the body down quite so much. It looks pretty unbalanced with the normal-sized headstock, and it doesn't sound (or look) like they went with a narrow nut width to accompany the reduced scale and size.

NO MORE HALF MEASURES!!
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

Fender Japan makes a great in-between Strat called "smart size". My complaint is that it's a unique pick guard and therefore not easily changed out for other colors or pickup sizes.
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

Looks funky with the downscaling. Wouldn't be particularly interested in trying one out though, the 25.5 scale is one of the best things about Fenders. Works for those looking to give their fingers a rest, but this will compromise some of the classic feel and tone of a Strat.
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

The Japan Fender "smart size" guitars are of the expected quality for guitars out of Japan? Thanks for any info you can share!
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

Absolutely, I have one.

The smart size Fender Japans look to be made at the same plant as the full sized guitars, the craftsmanship is flawless, the only difference is the size.
 
Last edited:
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

Interesting choice of bridge humbucker. Those were the Guild SD-1s, which Seymour Duncan briefly manufactured immediately after FMIC purchased Guild from the previous owners. FMIC recently sold Guild to the Cordoba Music Group.
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

Interesting choice of bridge humbucker. Those were the Guild SD-1s, which Seymour Duncan briefly manufactured immediately after FMIC purchased Guild from the previous owners. FMIC recently sold Guild to the Cordoba Music Group.

That is some neat info. They do feel nice to play and I liked the sound of the humbuckers. The single coils I could change out fairly immediately, but could be a neat little axe with a little TLC.
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

Since fender always sold instruments with lots of variations, I was always surprised they didn't offer the short scale strat. The only exception was the stratosonic with a wrap tail and p90s. I saw one and said long scale with p90s? Awesome! They fooled me, it was short scale.
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

I got the specifics wrong, the guitar shown in the OP is "Smart Size", and the short scale are the "M"s, or "medium" for example

"M" http://www.fenderjapan.co.jp/st57m-us.html
st57m-us_blk.jpg



"Smart Size" http://www.fenderjapan.co.jp/st57ss.html
st57ss_blk.jpg


You can get a sense of scale by looking at the jack plate size in relation to the rest of the guitar


Since fender always sold instruments with lots of variations, I was always surprised they didn't offer the short scale strat. The only exception was the stratosonic with a wrap tail and p90s. I saw one and said long scale with p90s? Awesome! They fooled me, it was short scale.

You have to go to Fender Japan to find any variety, check it out if you haven't already http://www.fenderjapan.co.jp/products.html
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

My experience with the short scale Fenders is they aren't as bright sounding, string tension is less and sustain is less. They are darker/rounder/fatter sounding and are more percussive.
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

Pretty ugly, and dumb electronics choices. I wish they'd have just brought the short scale Japanese models to the American market instead. They have a bit-chin' J and P, and maybe some guitars too IIRC. They keep them in proportion when they scale them down, and use "normal" pickups, so they retain the classic look...just smaller. I've been jonesing for one of the J-Basses for a while now.
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

I have a MIJ shorter scale "M" bass, the nut is about where the first fret is on a regular P-Bass. That extra couple inches less of scale takes a toll on the tone though. It's sounds a little too tight and little less thunderous, sort of like the difference between a grand and an upright piano.
 
Re: Fender Short Scale Strat & Tele

Played one at Guitar Center yesterday but I think a few hundred people beat me to it...strings were dead and the guitar felt pretty bad. lol
 
Back
Top