The Maillard Reaction
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/06 19:32:39
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I have various scale length guitars and bass guitars.
After having owned the range I have come to think of some of the implications of scale length that are not simply related to finger spacing.
Now I think of scale length as it relates to string tension.
I also think about scale length and possible difficulties of setting intonation on the string set you may prefer... for string tension reasons.
My bass guitars all seem to do ok although the short scale Gibson SG bass has a bridge placement that makes setting for good intonation with the low E difficult. Even when you do get that bass set up the saddles are all over the place... which implies that the each string will slightly deviate from true at any given fret other than the open and twelfth.
MY wife's Rickenbacker 325 v59 is a short scale guitar and it is notoriously hard to intonate and tune... and when you get strings that seem to make set up seem possible... you find they are so heavy and feel so taught that the guitar seems difficult to play.
Other than that I'll swap between a Gibson, Martin, Fender scale guitar maybe a few Basses just about any time I play.
Just babbling... first post after getting home. :-)
best regards,
mike
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spacey
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/06 20:34:30
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Janet
OK, I'll admit it...I had to look up 'guitar scale length' cause I had no idea what you're talking about. Unfortunately, the definition didn't help much either: lol
A guitar's scale length is the distance between the bone nut or zero fret and the bridge's saddle.
BUT, I'm up to playing 3 octaves on the bass now and having way more fun than I thought possible on a guitar. AND I've learned about 10 new chords on the guitar. I have no idea what size either of them are. I know there are better instruments out there, but until I see a need to I won't be buying anything for awhile. But it's fun. :) Anyway...thanks for the info, Michael, in case I do ever buy something else.
Janet imagine you tie a rope from that door on the second floor (and no porch) to a tree there in your back yard and tighten it up so when you take the bicycle handle bars and slide down to the tree it's tight enough you don't plant yourself in the yard....THEN imagine taking that rope from the door to a tree down by the lake....you can see it's going to take a lot of tension to tighten that one up. Janet the 12th fret on a guitar/bass is half of the scale length and actually the length is measured from the fretboard side of nut to the bridge saddle of the smallest string ( on the guitar or bass). The other saddles graduate in length longer than the scale length. ( when I'm locating the bridge position I like to leave a little ( @2mm) less scale length adjustment for the small string saddle.)
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craigb
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/06 20:45:13
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When I still had all my guitars there were several scales involved (24.75" - Gibson scale, 25" - PRS scale, 25.5" - Fender Strat scale and 26.25" Schecter baritone scale). I also had several neck profiles, but highly prefer the thinner necks with a small radius (like 14") - I can't stand the baseball bat or wide and flat necks (my Peavey Wolfgang was like 20" radius at the 12th fret - hated it!).
When we were designing my custom guitars, I put in all the parts that I liked from each guitar (25" scale, 14" radius, etc.). I chose the 25" (PRS) scale because it seemed like the best compromise between the usual Gibson and Fender scales.
Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
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Janet
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/06 22:06:37
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Thanks, Michael. I can imagine the 'flying fox' you described, but I guess I'm gonna have to learn the names of the parts of guitars. :)
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The Maillard Reaction
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/07 08:03:43
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Jonbouy
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/07 08:19:58
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After having owned the range I have come to think of some of the implications of scale length that are not simply related to finger spacing.
Exactly what I was trying to get at in what may (or not) have appeared to be a humourous post earlier. Length is going to affect resonance in some way.
post edited by Jonbouy - 2011/06/07 08:22:34
"We can't do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves" - Banksy
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SteveStrummerUK
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/07 10:18:27
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It seems to me that there are a lot of factors at play here. For me it's definitely reach (both finger length and hand width, or a combination of the two) that is the major factor. The Dean Dimebag V I recently sold was a nice guitar, but the fretboard was very wide compared to my Variax and my hand-made guitar. In the hands (literally) of someone with long fingers I would imagine the action would have been very fast, yet quite uncomfortable for the likes of me  It was also a factor in my selling my Precision bass and buying a Jazz recently - the thinner neck profile at the nut makes the JB a joy for me to play low down.
post edited by SteveStrummerUK - 2011/06/07 10:21:15
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Karyn
Ma-Ma
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/07 11:25:50
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the thinner neck profile at the nut makes the JB a joy for me to play low down. How is the neck profile affected by the length of your strap?
Mekashi Futo. Get 10% off all Waves plugins.Current DAW. i7-950, Gigabyte EX58-UD5, 12Gb RAM, 1Tb SSD, 2x2Tb HDD, nVidia GTX 260, Antec 1000W psu, Win7 64bit, Studio 192, Digimax FS, KRK RP8G2, Sonar Platinum
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craigb
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/07 11:29:01
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Karyn
the thinner neck profile at the nut makes the JB a joy for me to play low down.
How is the neck profile affected by the length of your strap?
Wow! Now that's getting a bit personal don't ya think Karyn? 
Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
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Karyn
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/07 11:38:42
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craigb
Karyn
the thinner neck profile at the nut makes the JB a joy for me to play low down.
How is the neck profile affected by the length of your strap?
Wow! Now that's getting a bit personal don't ya think Karyn?
I have small hands, anything I might say can only be a compliment...
Mekashi Futo. Get 10% off all Waves plugins.Current DAW. i7-950, Gigabyte EX58-UD5, 12Gb RAM, 1Tb SSD, 2x2Tb HDD, nVidia GTX 260, Antec 1000W psu, Win7 64bit, Studio 192, Digimax FS, KRK RP8G2, Sonar Platinum
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SteveStrummerUK
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/07 11:43:56
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Karyn
the thinner neck profile at the nut makes the JB a joy for me to play low down.
How is the neck profile affected by the length of your strap?
♪♪♪ Cheer up sleepy Jean... ♪♪♪ 
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SteveStrummerUK
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bapu
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/07 11:49:40
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SteveStrummerUK
As can a quick conversion from inches to centimetres dollars to pounds
JB'd.
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SteveStrummerUK
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/07 12:32:26
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Lord Flashheart: Whuuh Nursey! I like it firm and fruity..... am I pleased to see you or did I just put a canoe in my pocket - down boy, down!
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Russell.Whaley
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/07 12:57:03
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I'm looking forward to the day when I get a custom guitar so after however many decades I've been playing, I can have a guitar neck that is suited to my hand size: in US-scale glove sizes, a XX-L glove is almost comfortable!
When I got my 5-string bass (35" scale, 24 jumbo frets) a couple years back it was the most comfortable instrument I'd played since playing double bass in high school. So... if I can find an electric guitar with something in that neighborhood, I'd be interested to see if it is as comfortable as the bass.
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Jonbouy
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/07 13:15:36
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bapu
SteveStrummerUK
As can a quick conversion from inches to centimetres dollars to pounds
JB'd.
I'm glad I got your interest...
"We can't do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves" - Banksy
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Slugbaby
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/07 15:23:07
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I've never given much concern to neck scale. Some guitars are comfortable, some are not, and I'll get used to each with some practice.
The only one that has been a problem was when I bought a headless Steinberger bass. The first 4 frets were spaced too far apart (and i've got creepy-long fingers), and it was uncomfortable enough to be pretty much unusable.
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Crg
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Re:Guitar scale length...
2011/06/07 19:32:35
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I guess it's a hand thing really. If you have small hands ( short fingers), a short scale neck might be easier to play. If you have fat fingers you might prefer a long scale neck. I know I can't quite get the pinky over six frets comfortability on a strat when making a bar chord F on the first fret. It was easier on a Les Paul Jr. I've never quite figured out the calculation of the rule of 18 in placing the frets. Once again I'm enticed to try a short scale.
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