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DISCLAIMER: I may have a commercial interest in this topic. Nothing certain as of yet and I'm not at liberty to disclose any details but...
I picked up a MIM Mustang a couple of weeks ago and set it up with the same strings as I usually use but tuned to standard pitch (I'm usually tuned to D standard). I've really enjoyed playing this guitar. As I've gotten older I find that I struggle a bit with almost anything 24.75" and above tuned to standard pitch but 24" seems to give me very similar tension levels to my longer guitars tuned down using the same strings. I've looked at the short scale alternatives and the pickings are incredibly slim: other than the Mustang, the Byrdland (which is way out of my budget) is the only obvious answer with other possibilities mostly being obscure and hard to find. I know I can't be the only one who would like a nicer guitar than a Mustang in a short scale length. So my question is really simple, just how many people might be interested in a nice 24" guitar? Is this a viable commercial project?
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12-25-2021 06:30 PM
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I don't know if they're commercially viable, but I think they're very fun. Lowers the tension and gives it a bit different sound.
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Thanks. I should probably specify viable within the context of a small scale builder. That probably means 10 to 12 short guitars out of a total of about 40 guitars a year.
Originally Posted by Clint 55
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I like short scale guitars and have three high-A 7-strings with short scale lengths, all of them custom-built. What I dislike about Byrdlands is the narrow nut/string spacing. I could be interested in a thin-bodied 24 or 23.5 inch scale 6-string with fingerstyle-friendly string spacing, depending of course on other aspects of its construction and price.
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Standard spacing would be 1 11/16 at the nut with a 1 3/4 option and a 2" thick contoured mostly hollow body with a 14" lower bout.
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Disclaimer: Scott from Birdsong, just answering a question - one builder to another.
Jim, my hit song was my SS bass - but even with that, if I had the build capacity, I know I could move probably 20 medium-high end 24 guitars a year. If a guy with your skills, knowledge, and reputation can't place a dozen I'd be shocked. It does take some video demos and reassurances that the missing 3/4 of an inch doesn't turn it into a completely different guitar or toy... but 24 is a GREAT scale for a jazzy electric, some of my highest end "side builds" (guits instead of basses) are 24s, and I totally encourage you to test the waters.
Happy to share anything I may have with you that may help.
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Sounds a bit like a shorter-scale version of the cedar Forshage you used to own … Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
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Interested..
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the best electric clean tone I ever heard
is Anthony Wilson on his Birdland
So yes I think you’re onto something ....
something like an es140 ?
with a decent nut width .... yes cool
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speaking as a long time byrdland owner:
most guys are pretty dogmatic about this kinda thing. it's really hard to win people over and try anything out of the narrow mainstream tradition, be they hollowbodies, short scale guitars, bigsbies, ergonomic shapes, headless guitars, and so on. that kinda changes over time, but it'll always be a fairly niche thing.
which doesn't mean it can't work for you. just that most people (who've never even played a short scale) will see it as a curiosity, a "sometimes" guitar, or at worse, something that needs to be overcome ("tiny necks" and "tiny fret spacing" etc). even me, who's had one for like a decade now, don't fully know or grasp the differences and advantages of a short scale guitar, and i don't really care, either. i just liked the guitar, so i bought it.
if you can reach the right people, educate them on the many advantages and selling points of the shorter scale, and all the unique quirks and bits that you'll put in it, i think you could move a few a year, sure. but you're fighting a war on two fronts: you're combatting prejudices and ignorance while also trying to sell guitars. just carpet bomb the internet with influencer demos like everyone else and it'll be fine.
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I would buy one tomorrow if I could find a lefty. Preferably an es140 style.
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A couple thoughts:
1) The John Lennon Rickenbacker is 20.5" scale or so? Another super-expensive short scale guitar
2) Jim Campilongo has some short-scale Fender (student model I think) that he plays now and then on YouTube
Good luck with your project!
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Personally, no. Short scale instruments are too “tubby” on the wound strings for my tastes. I actually prefer a much, much longer scale length, like gypsy guitar 670mm. But to each their own!
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OTOH, I think Tim Leach has one of those short scale Teles and tunes it up, which is a pretty neat idea!
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Jim, what about fingerstyle spacing (1 13/16)? Is it going to be available?
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Right now the max is 1 3/4 but maybe eventually. Originally Posted by ksaric
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Basses with shorter scale have gained in popularity these years. Could become the case for guitars as well?
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" So my question is really simple, just how many people might be interested in a nice 24" guitar? Is this a viable commercial project?"
As an aging player with occasional tendon problems, I'd certainly be very interested. As for your second question - it would, for me, come down to cost.
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I'm not the one who will determine the price (probably a good thing from a business perspective since I almost always set prices too low) but it would be an American made guitar made in limited quantities amd the price would reflect that. Based on what other similar guitars sell for, I would expect something at least in the $3k range, probably a bit higher. Originally Posted by reventlov
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Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
These are attractive specs.
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Thanks. I think so too. A few other details that I finally feel comfortable talking about: Originally Posted by vintagelove
6150 Stainless Steel frets
Roasted Maple or Mahogany neck
Roasted Maple or Katalox fingerboard
12" or 12 to 16" compound radius
D shaped profile .825 at the first fret to .915 at the octave
25.5", 24.75" and 24" scale lengths
That's about all I can say at this point but things are finally starting to move fairly quickly so we should know for sure if this is going to happen in the next 30 to 60 days and if the answer is yes, then I would expect to see the first few guitars by about May.
I should also mention that my role in all of this is limited mostly to consulting and guiding the process.
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How about a Fender Jaguar?
I recently had the idea of getting a road guitar for when I have to fly. An alternative to my Gibson 330-L that is short scale, light, sturdy, and not to precious. I've considered this a lot and have become excited about getting a Jaguar. I've been kind of seeking them out here and there and have played about six of them over the last couple of months. Some new and some "vintage" and MIJ ones ranging in prices up to around $2K which is way more than I'd pay for one but I played them just to compare.
I really fell in love with them. Fun to play and there are a wide range of sounds available with the unique wiring configuration. Oddly, of all the guitars that I played, by far the best one was a Squire Jaguar on sale for $399 at a Guitar Center. I should have bought it but I talked myself out of it. "A Squire is just silly right? I'll have to replace the frets it in nine months and upgrade everything else in the meantime and in the end I'll still be left with a Squire after spending as much money as for a real Jaguar." Then why do I still think about it? No, I should have just bought it.
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Additional target buyers:
1. Persons with small hands
2. Younger beginners looking for a higher-end instruments (maybe with even younger siblings to pass on to)
3. Mandolin, ukulele, violin and oud players looking for a less drastic transition to guitar as a second instrument.
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I'd be interested. I don't mind the 24" scale at all.
(Also note the Fender Jaguar and Duosonic have 24" scale).
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I played an original vintage Duo-Sonic that had a 22.5" scale neck which was just too small. I think they offered an optional 24" scale model at some point. Originally Posted by va3ux
Still...fun though in its own way but very expensive.
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