Scale length for guitars?

[aloha]

Re: Scale length for guitars?

I own both scales (25,5" and 24 ,75") ,and i have to say i even need a longer neck..
My next project (it's an 8 string) will be 27" ,and the string will be 007 to 70...So the low A would be as tight as an ant ass ,and the highest G will be as soft as butter!

That sounds like a cello blaster.

I have one that I leave tuned in 5ths. It's good for when I feel like a theory jock.

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: Scale length for guitars?

Hahaha.Yeah ,it's going to be 27 fretts (all scalloped for smoother play) ,so i will have 6 whole Octaves..55 Hz to 1,76 Hz...Schweet!

 

[guitarded]

Re: Scale length for guitars?

Talk about useless frets.... I have a Burns Brian May Red Special which is 24" scale and 24 frets.... My fat fingers can not really work well passed the 17th fret. It's a shame though because that guitar plays and sounds sweet, and it is fun playing out with because it also very light and it tends to attract a lot of attention. The other draw back is if you put down a Start or Tele with the same gauge strings and pick up the red special you will tend to bend sharp so going from a 25.5 scale to 24 is a quite huge difference.

I agree. There's very good reasons for Gibson (and many other companies) using a 24.75" scale.

The 24 fret neck has been discussed in the last few months, and there were a number of responses saying that the extra 2 frets were so narrow that they're next to useless, and the the neck PU is positioned in a different part of the string's vibration & harmonics, and loses some tone quality. On paper, a 24 fret neck sounds like a good idea, but in the real world most players like 21 & 22 fret necks better.

 

[Coltron]

Re: Scale length for guitars?

I like the gibson scale for chord work, but for some reason for lead stuff a fender scale just feels right.

 

[baritone]

Re: Scale length for guitars?

The string tension is a result of the balance between scale-length, string gauge, and preferred tuning. If you have 2 guitars, each with a different scale length, you can make them feel really similar by either choosing different string gauges or using identical strings and using different tunings. Most people who play on my baritone (27.75") say it doesn't feel too different from their 24.75" or 25.5", except for the fact that it's tuned a perfect 5th lower.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Scale length for guitars?

Hmmm...

25.5 / 24.75 = 1.030

We are talking about a 3% difference here. I don't think that this as such makes a real difference. Compare that to e.g. different string gauges. Going from 009 to 010 makes 11% difference.

Now, the Fender style instruments when compared to Les Pauls, SGs and flying Vs (but not Explorers) are different in that there is additional "bending material" between the nut and the tuner on the high E string, and there is a lot of string going through the body of a Fender style instrument where the Gibsons long had a stop tailpiece.

I think the scale length is highly overrated, in particular if you take into account how much more effect the different string gauges have.

 

[theodie]

Re: Scale length for guitars?

Hmmm...

25.5 / 24.75 = 1.030

We are talking about a 3% difference here. I don't think that this as such makes a real difference. Compare that to e.g. different string gauges. Going from 009 to 010 makes 11% difference.

Now, the Fender style instruments when compared to Les Pauls, SGs and flying Vs (but not Explorers) are different in that there is additional "bending material" between the nut and the tuner on the high E string, and there is a lot of string going through the body of a Fender style instrument where the Gibsons long had a stop tailpiece.

I think the scale length is highly overrated, in particular if you take into account how much more effect the different string gauges have.

I think they make a world of difference and a bigger difference than string guages alone. Ya just cant look at it from a standpoint of percentages. Rather than look at it, listen to it and that will give you the correct answer.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Scale length for guitars?

I think they make a world of difference and a bigger difference than string guages alone. Ya just cant look at it from a standpoint of percentages. Rather than look at it, listen to it and that will give you the correct answer.

My point was that what people reduce to "this is because of the different scale" is actually a combination of a lot of factors, with scale just being one. Just having a hardtail instead of a tremolo also changes the feel. But people have less exposure to hardtail Strat versus tremolo Strat than they have to Gibson versus Fender and then they pick the easiest looking single factor.

 

[theodie]

Re: Scale length for guitars?

I don't really like Gibson scale lengths, I feel cramped on them. Fender's 25.5 is nice, but I like my Martin's 25 the best.

I will have to check but, something tells me martin actually uses a 25.4 scale.

 

[theodie]

Re: Scale length for guitars?

My point was that what people reduce to "this is because of the different scale" is actually a combination of a lot of factors, with scale just being one. Just having a hardtail instead of a tremolo also changes the feel. But people have less exposure to hardtail Strat versus tremolo Strat than they have to Gibson versus Fender and then they pick the easiest looking single factor.

Got ya but, from my experience, the scale length is the single biggest factor that makes a Gibson sound like a Gibson.

 

[baritone]

Re: Scale length for guitars?

Put some slightly heavier strings on a Gibson, and the new tension will change the tone a bit.. But the shape of the neck, body contours, and electronics do it more than the scale length.

 

[vinterland]

Re: Scale length for guitars?

I own both scales (25,5" and 24 ,75") ,and i have to say i even need a longer neck..
My next project (it's an 8 string) will be 27" ,and the string will be 007 to 70...So the low A would be as tight as an ant ass ,and the highest G will be as soft as butter!

Hmmm I'm intrigued... it would basically be my current 7 string with a high G thrown on it and Drop A'd. Kewl.

You really hear the "grand piano affect" with a 27" scale.

 

[jmv]

Re: Scale length for guitars?

the difference in my strat and my les paul never used to bother me, till i had my les paul at school and the strat at home. Once i finally picked the strat back up, it felt very akward.