View Poll Results: What is your favorite Scale
- Voters
- 126. You may not vote on this poll
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24.75 like on Les Pauls, 175 ...
45 35.71% -
25 like on PRS, Benedetto ...
19 15.08% -
25.5 like on tele, L5, Tal ...
52 41.27% -
others
10 7.94%
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Cool. I've never played a fanned-fret guitar, but I've always been kind of intrigued by them mostly because of Charlie Hunter.
Originally Posted by rob taft
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12-01-2017 07:30 PM
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While having the distinct advantage of coming from piano, it's a blessing not having any guitar memory. I see a guitar and simply play it. Although, my preference is for 25.5 but only because that's been the scale length of the many archtops I've owned. I've purchased guitars while giving no regard to their scale length.
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Originally Posted by neatomic
You can add the Fender Mustang, DuoSonic, and MusicMaster to the list of Fender 24's thought they started as Student guitars with 22 inch scale.
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yeah man..super short scale...even gibby and guild made 3/4 guitars....rickenbacker!! (john lennon)... Originally Posted by docbop
danelectro and a few other "oddball" (but great!) makers also had guitars with super short scales..and bass guitars too!
and ric a 12 string!
cheers
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I own guitars with the following scales: 24.75, 25, 25.5, 25 5/8 and 26 3/8
I prefer the 24.75 because it is both the easiest to play and the warmest.
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I have some of each of the choices, and I voted 25.0 just because it's in the middle. I switch between any of my guitars without even thinking about the scale, and I really have no favorite. I also play a mandolin, and a mandola with a 16,25" scale. At some point on the fretboard, the frets are going to be the same distance apart as they are on any other scale length, at some location. It's just like playing in a different key. I think that the zing depends as much on string gauge as scale length, and changing string gauges gives a different tone, on any fretted instrument. If you want more zing on a shorter scale, use thicker strings, to get higher tension. From my limited experience, on many different scale lengths, there really isn't much difference, and it doesn't matter to me at all.
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For rock and blues and if i'm going to bend, it's the 24.75 for sure. But honestly I don't care for that too much anymore.
The 25.5 produces more overtones and is just much richer. It's what I play 99.99% of the time.
But I think my preference really might be the custom length of 25.25 or 25 1/4, on a one-off Benedetto.
Thinkin' about it. Thinkin' about it.
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I prefer 24.75 for all-around ease, but I've played so many necks of various lengths and widths that it takes about 2.2 seconds to find comfort. The only necks that give me any problems are classical necks, which are pretty wide, or early-70s Gibson necks, which aren't. Tele necks, too. And I'll still work on those, just not in my own comfort-zone.
Played 12-string acoustic for two years with nothing else in the stable ... that learnt me.
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Favorite scale for my guitars? They prefer the bathroom scale as it is less accurate and some of them are sensitive.
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I like the sound of 24.75" scale best- round, warm. In terms of playability they are all fine.
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My take for years was that I couldn't play 25.5. But, when I got a guitar with a thin enough neck, it felt fine. I think they sound a little better, on average, but, obviously, many players have gotten great sound out of 24.75. Originally Posted by Ray175
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Sound wise i think every scale has its niche. Playing wise i prefer the shorter 24 3/4 scale, except for funk style strumming, where i prefer the 25 1/2 scale. I really see a difference in acoustic guitars, where shorter scale ones are much easier to play for me, both in terms of fretting and tension.
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I have both the Gibson ES1x5 guitars with the shorter scale, and the L5 type, with the longer, and I like them both. My subjective impression is that the longer scale has lower tension, and though the reaches are longer the fretting is easier. But the shorter scale seems to give a more compressed, thunky tone. I find if I play one for a while, when I move to the other, I actually like the "other" better, which ever it is. The challenges of one seem to be relieved by the advantages of the other. For example, playing up around frets 10-15, the longer scale is definitely easier for me-more room for my fingers to negotiate. But down low, the shorter scale is easier in some ways.
But so far, I like them both. If I had to choose just one, I love the ES1x5 type guitar so much, that's likely what I'd stay with.
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I think you have something else going on with the tension like headstock or tail piece angle. A longer length string should take more tension to achieve the same note as a shorter one.
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It is what it is but the tension should be higher on your L-5
Originally Posted by lawson-stone
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I think the longer scale length feels easier even though there's more tension, perhaps because of other, unrelated factors?
That said, I do play one gauge lighter on Fender-scale guits than 24.75s -- .010s instead of .011s -- to minimize the differences in feel.
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I like the more defined bass and perceived complexity form the longer scale guitars. It's a preference, but I don't mind other scales 24 3/4 25" etc.
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I'm 6'3" and my hands are like shovels. My thumbs are sooo big my nickname at school was 'Spoons'.
I'm more suited towards the longer 25.5" scale just so I can get all me fingers together for close voiced chords.
I find the 24.75" scale manageable for blues and rock shapes, more for the 5th and 3rd voicings. Any further extensions need single coil pickups for clarity.
I also need to spend more time concentrating over chord shapes with 24.75" as my default setting is the longer scale. I often get bum notes on the shorter scale.
Another factor I found was the thickness of an archtop guitar makes a difference. On 24.75" ES175 type guitars just feel awkward where the longer Epi Emp Reg is a breeze. A recent afternoon spent on a Godin 5th Avenue was not onlydelightful but a true revelation. I put this down to the whole designed package.
Another factor i discovered where 24.75" scaled guitars is the neck placement in relation to the leg cut. ES 335's are easier to play than Les Paul's.
But after all said and done my J Mascis Jazzmaster is the one; long scale, P90 pickups, tweaked electrics, Jazzbow set up and the most comfortable solid bodied guitar designed for sitting. I consider meself lucky to have found what works for me.
Yayyy me......
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So scanning thru the titles of new posts this morning I saw this one and thought about something I think related. Do different scale lengths feel different based on guitar type to you?
What I mean is does a long scale Fender/solid body type feel the same to you as a long scale archtop. For me I switch to my long scale archtops they don't feel that different from regular length scale guitars. But when I switch to Fender-style guitars I definitely feel the length difference and might take a minute to adjust. Even switching from long scale archtop to a Fender the Fender feels different and there's a moment of adjustment.
Just a thought when scanning thread titles.
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Nope. One thing that does make a difference, though is the size of the body and where the neck attaches to it. Mostly I go back and forth between my Ibanez (24.7) and my Tele (25.5). I find that because the Ibanez's body is so much bigger, that the neck sticks out farther to the left. So sometimes my position is off when I switch, just because of that little visual thing. My Joe Pass on the other hand attaches much closer to the 12th fret, so despite having a big body, it feels shorter. (Too lazy to look it up. I assume the JP is 24.75) Originally Posted by docbop
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I can get comfortable with pretty much any of the standard variations, but my favorite is a 25" scale with a 1.75" nut width.
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I just dug an old Squier Jagmaster out of the basement and man it feels great. Alder body, 24" scale and 22 frets. it is so easy on the shoulders and hands. I had a SD 59 and SD JB laying around so dropped them in the Jagmaster and it sounds fantastic. I think the scale length contributes to the sound and have noticed that 24" tend to sound warmer and rounder. Replaced the nut also. I have trouble with my hands, wrists and shoulders (carpal, tendonitis etc) and this will be my go to guitar until I heal up a bit.
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25.5" L5.. my fingers are on thicker side, 25.5 feels more comfortable for chords vs 24.75.
Plus tension and tone.
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25.5
Reasons:
My #1 is a tele, has been for 25 years.
My old #1 from my youth, the one I "paid my dues" on, is a 25.5
I like the higher tension of 25.5, I play kinda' hard, and I like the guitar to "fight back" a little. If I were a soft-touch player, maybe I would prefer 24.6
I think 25.5 has a little increased clarity (a "piano-like" high end) that 24.6 doesn't.
>altho when I want thick RNR tones, the 24.6" on a LP or LP Jr is hard to beat, tone-wise... the LACK of piano-like clarity lends itself well to thicker rock tones, imo.
I had a Broadway for awhile, and while I sold it (it was just too damned big for me), I preferred it's 25.5 to my Grestch's (which I still own) 24.6"
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I prefer Fender scale, 25.5" but I don't mind Gibson scale, 24.75". However, my actual favorite is the 670mm (26.38") on my Dupont. I'd love to get an electric with that scale length some day. Maybe a conversion neck on a Tele...
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