Stew Mac notched straight edge doesn't fit Eastman

[voyage]

I bought the steel notched straight edge with the short scale side and the long scale side. They say it will work with a 25 inch scale, and the Eastman is a 25 inch scale. But neither side fits over the frets all along the neck. The notches are not spaced to fit over the frets on a 25 inch scale. Has anybody else had this problem? I can't imagine it's something I'm doing wrong and I also can't imagine they would say it would fit when it doesn't.

[Bobby Timmons]

That's a dumb thing for them to say if it clearly doesn't work for 25. Why would it? lol

[Cunamara]

What is the distance from the nut to the center of the 12th fret on your guitar?

also, I noticed in their photographs that they do not start their measurement from the nut for some reason, but from the first fret.

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tool...ew-43860426657

are you doing it that way or are you setting the end of the straight edge against the nut (which is what I would intuitively do, I don't really know why they do it this way).

[voyage]

Well I moved towards the nut and the longest portion fits against the wood but then about five frets down it no longer goes in between the frets. If I slide it the other way the same thing happens. No matter how I do it or even if I start at the 2nd or 3rd fret there's no way to find a position where it falls between the frets all the way down the neck. And they said it fits a PRS 25 inch scale. Seems to me if 25 inch scale is a 25 inch scale and it should work with all 25-in scales if it works with any. Of course they don't take phone calls so I have to just wait until they get back to me.

[daverepair]

The S-M notched straight edge is intended to be set on the fingerboard, so the left end is between the first and second frets, not between nut and first fret. Is that what Voyage is doing?

I looked at my own SM notched straightedge: I had filed small chamfers into each corner of each 'tooth', and this made it possible to use on a 25" scale length fretboard. Photo to follow.

[Dennis D]

....There was a scale length thread here, somewhere...

And what I learned about measuring a guitar scale, and what someone may mean vs. what they say, is that when they say ' 12th fret ' and 'center of the 12th fret',
they don't mean ' 12th-to-13th fret spacing', they really mean the ' center of the 12th fret * wire * '........

So, start at the nut, count twelve fret wires, and multiply by two.

I'm not sure how we mere mortals were ever supposed to know that's what they meant, but oh well......

Hope that helps.....

[voyage]

That is what I was doing, between the nut and the first fret. I'll have to take it back to my office where the guitar is in try between the 1st and 2nd frets. Thanks.

[voyage]

Yes, I tried again, and if I place the first part between the first and second fret, it fits, and lays on the wood fingerboard, skipping over the frets. Dumb me, but it sure doesn't make sense. If you are paying $100 for a high precision straightedge wouldn't you want to include the area between the nut and first fret? I wish they'd respond and tell me.

Three messages to Stewmac, and still no response.

[Cunamara]

There are a number of guitar tech/luthier type folks on this forum and maybe they can answer that question. Intuitively, I would do what you did and place it against the nut, because if I wanted to check the trueness of the fingerboard, I would think that I would want to check the trueness of the entire fingerboard.

[Alter]

There's always the case that the scale of the guitar is inaccurate, so check with another guitar if you can, or count the scale of the guitar yourself.