What has a 24" scale length?

[Jim Soloway]

I'm really enjoying my little Emerald X7 with its 24" scale length. I like really low tension on my guitars. That's one of the reasons I like to tune down, The X7 is the only guitar I've had in standard pitch in recent years but I'm thinking it might be nice to be able to do the same with a true electric rather than an amplified acoustic.

I'm making a list of candidates and so far there's the three Fenders (Mustang, Duosonic, and Jaguar), the vintage Harmony/Silvertone H49 Jupiter, and the Warmoth 7/8 body with a Mustang neck. There are lots of Mustang and Duosonic reissues these days, so I could pick one up cheap. The Jupiter is a vintage guitar and priced accordingly. The Warmoth would be a project that would require a bit of time and money bit it's available with either Strat or Tele shape and I would get to pick all the hardware so it could be pretty cool.

Any other options? (And no Byrdlands please. They're too expensive and I can't handle a 17" body).

[mr. beaumont]

I dunno, but im totally going to end up with a Firemist gold Mustang...

[jazzkritter]

Oh memories... I had a pre CBS Jaguar in Firemist Gold Metallic. In ‘73 a guy talked me out of it for.... 200$. (Needed money fast). What a beautiful finish when new! Could barely give them away at that time.

[John A.]

The Martin Junior series of acoustic guitars have 24" necks (Martin Dreadnought Junior Guitars (DJR) | C.F. Martin & Co.). You could put a soundhole pickup in one and get a more electric sound (fairly close to your typical very clean sound, I imagine).

John

[MAJackson]

the vintage Harmony/Silvertone H49 Jupiter

A lot of the catalog guitars had 24" scale lengths, not just the Jupiter. Bobkat, Rocket, Meteor, Mercury, etc. With a proper setup they can be a lot of fun.

[coolvinny]

Somewhere out there is my old Holst laminate 16 x 2.25 archtop which was, I think, 24.4" scale...

[TedBPhx]

My Taylor GS Mini is 23.5” scaled. Not that I’d recommend it for jazz. But it is fun to play. Stretch chords become possible but the tone can be most charitably described as... loud.

[rpjazzguitar]

My son recorded a pop album using a Little Martin Ed Sheeran model with a 23" scale. The guitar sounded great on everything.

The action is too high for me to play jazz on it -- but it doesn't bother my son, so it stays. A shame, because there's something to be said for making stretchy chords easier.

[Hammertone]

Jim:
An old Hofner Club 40 or Club 50 fits that bill.
There's lots of misinformation about the scale lengths of these guitars.
I have a few knocking around here somewhere and will check, but I think 24 1/4" or close is about right.
Something similar to this:
Club 50 Guitars | Fretted Americana Inc.
Nice demos of a '59 Club 60 blonde and a '60 Club 60 sunburst (same as Club 50 with more inlay and binding):

By '59, these had laminated tops, but earlier versions up to @'57 came with carved tops.
Easy to find these in Canada for way less than most posted ad pricing.

[Michael Neverisky]

A 2017 American Special Mustang showed up at my local emporium a couple of weeks ago. I love it.

[Gitfiddler]

A lot of the catalog guitars had 24" scale lengths, not just the Jupiter. Bobkat, Rocket, Meteor, Mercury, etc. With a proper setup they can be a lot of fun.

Those old 24" scale Harmony/Silvertone/Kay 'student' guitars were perfect for small hands wanting to learn to play. My 6 year old niece loves to wank away on my old H48.

Interestingly enough, the reissues from Harmony (built alongside Heritage Guitars in Kalamazoo, MI) are 25" scale.

[Jim Soloway]

Jim:
An old Hofner Club 40 or Club 50 fits that bill.
There's lots of misinformation about the scale lengths of these guitars.
I have a few knocking around here somewhere and will check, but I think 24 1/4" or close is about right.
Something similar to this:
Club 50 Guitars | Fretted Americana Inc.
Nice demos of a '59 Club 60 blonde and a '60 Club 60 sunburst (same as Club 50 with more inlay and binding):

By '59, these had laminated tops, but earlier versions up to @'57 came with carved tops.
Easy to find these in Canada for way less than most posted ad pricing.

Let me know what you find. These look very cool.

[citizenk74]

I dunno, but im totally going to end up with a Firemist gold Mustang...

My first American-made electric guitar was a red Mustang that was on it's last legs(50 bucks, negotiated down from 75). I filed the frets and made it playable. Had an awful lot of fun playing through an FET-equipped amp from Monkey Wards playing in a band called "The Sound Seekers". Gigged a bit, made a little dough. In the fulness of time, it went away. Then one day, Mrs. k spots this red Mustang in a shop and you know what happened next. Plays like a dream, sounds bitchin'. Life is good.

PS Firemist sounds cool.

[Hammertone]

Let me know what you find. These look very cool.

Will do. Here's one:

[Jim Soloway]

Will do. Here's one:

Lovely. I went looking and found conflicting scale length info. I assume that one is 24.25"? What are those pickups? Neck profile? Nut width? Hollow or Semi? Body width? Depth? Case????

[rob taft]

Since you are cataloging, there is the Brian May guitars at 24" scale length and 1.77" nut. I own a 94' Guild Brian May and the nut width and scale length specs are the same

The BMG Special LE ? Tangerine Dream

[neatomic]

fender jaguar was leo's top of the line...mustang and duosonic were student/budget line

a nice jaguar can be a thing of beauty...comfortable shape, easy ss neck and wonderful pickups with super flexible tone circuit...



cheers