25 1/2" Vs 24 3/4"

[macmeda]

Where exactly is the 3/4" push?
Is the neck shorter/longer (fret-space different) or is the bridge to nut measurement the only difference?

[Rhys]

it's both: the nut to bridge measurement is 3/4 shorter and the frets are proportionally closer together--has to be that way for the intonation to work out right.

[macmeda]

I've only played 25 1/2"'s my whole life.
Is it hard for most to adapt to the shorter scale?

[tom]

most don't have much trouble going back and forth, especially if the rest of the guitar is not radicly different. on ours, the 22nd fret is in the same place in relation to your body, so the guitar hangs about the same. i have heard some people with fat fingers say they struggle with being crowded on the shorter scale. mostly it's a feel and sound preference.

[Pietro]

I have 2 shorter scale and 5 longer scale guitars. I never notice the difference really. Except that I like 11s (at least) on short scale and 10s on longer scale (I do have one guitar long scale with 11s, but that's another story.)

And the sound is very different imho, too. I like a strat in regular (longer) strat scale. I've played a Cobra and not liked it for me (although it played like butter), I think because of that. But a les paul always felt great in my hands, which is why if I every get the dough, my next guitar is an atom (plus I LOVE the tones the Crowder Band gets out of them live and in the studio).

I want lots of BOTH!

[Pietro]

I meant I never noticed the difference in playability and spacing, btw. What I mean is, I don't feel like if I play 25.5 in guitars and then play a 24.75 that my fingers will be all off. I don't feel like I need to adjust.

Some better players may disagree.

[macmeda]

Thanks for all the help.

[michaelomiya]

I've only played 25 1/2"'s my whole life.
Is it hard for most to adapt to the shorter scale?

for a playing perspective, not at all. In fact, the only real impact is sonically - more PUNCH.:D

[guitarzan]

I switch back and forth between songs and don't really notice anything. if nobody told me, I wouldn't even wonder what was different. Sonically, I hear a big difference, but that's probably because I'm going from a strat to a Cobra Special. With exception to both having single-coils, they're totally different animals.

-c

[Sir Ricardo]

....when I try and play my DTC I can't! Or rather, my fingers are no longer used to the wider fret spacing. It is a really odd feeling.

Moral of the story: don't stop playing your TAG. :D

[michaelomiya]

....when I try and play my DTC I can't! Or rather, my fingers are no longer used to the wider fret spacing. It is a really odd feeling.

Moral of the story: don't stop playing your TAG. :D

...and PRS' are right in between at 25"!:D

[dannopelli]

You won't notice a difference I bet.

[AndyK]

I can clearly FEEL the difference in string tension from short to long (or normal) scale length! The same gauge string will feel stiff on a Strat, and soft on a Les Paul. To me, sound is also snappier on a 25.5 scaled guitar vs. the shorter scales.

[mbrown3]

I can clearly FEEL the difference in string tension from short to long (or normal) scale length! The same gauge string will feel stiff on a Strat, and soft on a Les Paul. To me, sound is also snappier on a 25.5 scaled guitar vs. the shorter scales.

FWIW, I agree 100%. I've always been able to tell a difference in both feel and tone. Not good vs. bad, per se, but different. And I like them both!

[Pietro]

I can clearly FEEL the difference in string tension from short to long (or normal) scale length! The same gauge string will feel stiff on a Strat, and soft on a Les Paul. To me, sound is also snappier on a 25.5 scaled guitar vs. the shorter scales.

I agree! And I also like them both!

What I've always done is put 10 - 46 strings on my 25.5 scale gtrs and 11 - 50-something on my shorter ones. The feel is similar (but still different) and I love them both!

[spitalny]

In my humble opinion, the shorter neck makes it a little easier for me to do vibrato and bends, quite noticeably when I compare the two guitars I have (one is long and one is short). I have thin fingers and have wondered if my fingers are weaker than someone with, say, bigger fingers. So, maybe someone with stronger fingers wouldn't notice the difference...

[mbrown3]

Well, I have massive hands (actually, most of me could be called "massive"...not in that buff, muscle-bound sort of way, but in that flabby, I drink too much beer sort of way), and I definitely notice a difference. And contrary to some others, I don't really have a preference, I like them both. They're just different, but both usable to me.

[Pietro]

I find that when you string a 25.5 with 10 - 46 strings and then put 11 - 48 or 50s on a 24,75 that they feel very similar.

10s on a short scale drive me nuts, I end up bending strings off the neck.

The sound, however, is VERY different... so eventually I'd like to have about 4 or 5 of each, just to be safe.

:cool:

[AndyK]

...not in that buff, muscle-bound sort of way, but in that flabby, I drink too much beer sort of way),

Ha! That's great - gotta love the candor on this forum!

On a Les Paul, 9's are way too light. 10's feel just right to me. On my TA (and other 25.5" scale guitars), I find 10's are also nice. To me, 9's don't allow the body wood to get involved in the tone. Not sure if that is backed up by physics, but that's how I see it.

11's would mean a 4th spring on my Floyd - don't like too many springs because the trem feel is too hard.

To each his own though!

[dannopelli]

I have seven short scale electrics and 16 longer. While I can definitely "feel" a difference, if I am looking for it, I find that difference to be all part of the difference of just going from one guitar to another. In other words, I notice that I am playing a Les Paul vs Strat, and the "feel" is part of that overall difference, but not the only focus.

In other words, the overall sensation is no different going from a Strat to a Tele, or from my M equipped Hollow Cobra S with 1 11/16 TACO neck to my M equipped Hollow Drop Top Classic with 1 5/8 62 RB neck.

That is what I meant by you won't notice a difference. Not that you won't "feel" it per se, but that it will be just a part of the overall difference.

[Casper]

I find I have to mentally adjust for the length when I go from Classic to Atom, especially if I have to start a song off with a particular lick (ie: Soulman)..I guess everybodys different. My large fingers have a little bit of difficulty in the upper frets on the Atom, but I am getting used to it. Still love it!
Shaun