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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2016 10:05:12 GMT
And willing to offer their thoughts and reasons why. I'm currently playing on a guitar with a 25.5 inch scalelength and managing ok (ish). But it's always in the back of my mind that a shorter scale length may be better to play for my little hands/fingers. A friend has let me have a go on his electric guitar which has a 25 inch scalelength.....and that feels nicer to play fingerspan wise. Please advise folks.
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Jul 14, 2016 10:19:34 GMT
Hi there, and welcome to the Forum @stanleyaccrington !
I have acoustic guitars with 648mm (approx 25.5 in.) and 630 mm (approx 24.8 in.) scale lengths. I don't notice any great differences when changing between these. I play one piece with a 6th string 3rd fret, plus 1st string 7th fret simultaneously - it is noticeably easier (ie my success rate is higher!) on the shorter scale length guitar.
If you have a 25.5 in scale guitar, why not just put a capo on the first fret and see if the stretches are noticeably easier for you?
Keith
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Jul 14, 2016 10:58:15 GMT
to the forum @stanleyaccrington I also have smallish hands/fingers, and find some stretches and shapes more difficult. In saying that, I still prefer the sound and feel of a full length/scale guitar, albeit slightly shorter scale guitars (like a Gibson for instance) don't give up a lot in terms of sound/feel and might be a little easier to play. If you were considering a truly short scale guitar, I'd be inclined to follow Keith's advice above first of all and just capo up, to see how you like it there.
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leitrimnick
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My main instrument is: Fylde Oberon
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Post by leitrimnick on Jul 14, 2016 11:25:19 GMT
Just a thought. My main guitar is a Fylde Oberon quoted as 629mm or 24.75" scale length. Seems a perfect fit for me although I have fairly large hands or at least longish fingers. Worth remembering that the guitar which feels right probably is, regardless of its physical spec. When I first tried out a Fylde (decades ago) I was thinking of buying a Falstaff but somehow the one I played just didn't feel comfortable. I tried an Oberon and everything fell into place.
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davewhite
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Post by davewhite on Jul 14, 2016 13:23:28 GMT
I play this one with a 17.3" scale length
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matt237
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Post by matt237 on Jul 14, 2016 15:33:25 GMT
I currently play a 24.75" scale. I don't find a huge difference in feel or sound to 25.5". Maybe the bass is more 'piano like' on a longer scale. All things being equal, the string tension will be slightly lower on a shorter scale, which could make it feel easier to play. As others have said, try a capo on the first fret. If you detune your longer scale to e flat and capo at the first fret, it will effectively give you standard tuning with the same feel as a 24.75" (i thinks!). You could also try playing in e flat or try some lighter gauge strings - all might help.
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Phil Taylor
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Post by Phil Taylor on Jul 14, 2016 16:01:32 GMT
And willing to offer their thoughts and reasons why. I'm currently playing on a guitar with a 25.5 inch scalelength and managing ok (ish). But it's always in the back of my mind that a shorter scale length may be better to play for my little hands/fingers. A friend has let me have a go on his electric guitar which has a 25 inch scalelength.....and that feels nicer to play fingerspan wise. Please advise folks. I play guitars with 630mm scale length because my finger stretch is lacking. You should try a short scale length out. By the way are you the 'real' Stanley Accrington', singer/songwriter/comedian Phil
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2016 16:12:57 GMT
I am a singer, songwriter and comedian....but I'm not the 'real' Stanley Accrington. This name situation is rather unfortunate. Could a mod allow me to either change my forum name or delete my membership please?
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Jul 14, 2016 17:08:36 GMT
I am a singer, songwriter and comedian....but I'm not the 'real' Stanley Accrington. This name situation is rather unfortunate. Could a mod allow me to either change my forum name or delete my membership please? Your username will remain the same, but you CAN change your display name, just by going into your profile (edit profile). hope this helps
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Post by geddarby on Jul 14, 2016 18:50:47 GMT
Stanleyaccrington or whoever you are now please stick with the forum your humour and musical expertise will be much appreciated by the members.
Concerning your question about scale length, I have a 000 size 12 fret Martin with 25.4 and Martin 0021 wth 24.5 inch scale lengths. The 0021 is actually noticeably easier under the fingers.
That's my two'penneth.
Ged.
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Post by vikingblues on Jul 15, 2016 7:44:37 GMT
Hi Stan. An interesting question. Every time I have thought I've worked out what makes a guitar that suits me - wood types, scale length, frets to the body, body size, etc - a guitar comes along that disproves my assumptions. In general I would say that the smaller your hands the more you'll notice the difference in scale length - I speak as someone who would have been in the petite plucker class in a forum thread way back before I joined here about hand size / finger length. If you suffer from joint pain the extra scale length of the 25.5" can certainly be a major obstacle to enjoyment and comfort. I have 5 steel string acoustic guitars just now and three are shorter scale. With the other two, one is full 25.5" and one is 25.25". I do notice the extra stretching needed on the 25.5" much more than on the 25.25". In reaching this collection and trying out a lot of guitars I have found that I am more likely to find a shorter scale guitar to feel comfortable, but I feel that the neck shape and thickness is another major factor, as is the string spacing. So while I will find a wider nut, thick neck, longer scale guitar uncomfortable to play, it may only need one of these aspects to change for it to be OK for me. Lighter gauge strings can help. But the rigours of the longer scale can also be mitigated to some extent with lower tension strings and I find that a more successful remedy. But unfortunately when testing guitars out in a shop it's not possible to try them with alternative strings! I say this with 6 sets of Newtone Heritage strings sitting in my guitar accessories drawer. They have made my guitar playing experience a much less painful experience! Mark
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2016 9:11:33 GMT
Thanks for the replies folks. The information offered has made me realise that there may be more to a guitars feel and playability than just it's scalelength. Construction, string gauge, neck profile, nut/fretboard width, relief and string 'action' and maybe a plethora of other variables come into the mix. Maybe my cheap but loved acoustic could play better....but isn't so bad to play anyway. But I always keep thinking that it might play even nicer! Maybe I need a second guitar!!!!
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Jul 15, 2016 9:24:02 GMT
............ Maybe I need a second guitar!!!! That's the spirit! Keith
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2016 15:41:56 GMT
I have played my guitar with a capo on the first fret as previously suggested so as to give me a chance to experience playing a shorter scalelength. And I think that I prefer to play the original scalelength (25.5 inches). However, what I have found whilst I was playing with the guitar capo'd was that it was easier/more comfortable to fret the usual first position chords (Em..C..Am..F). Would this indicate that my nut/string slots might be a little too high?
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Jul 15, 2016 17:59:46 GMT
Yes!
Your strings are too high at the nut - the slots need deepening to bring the strings lower over the fingerboard.
You can check like this - fret each string at a time in between frets 2 and 3. Look at fret 1 - there should be an almost imperceptible gap between the string and the highest point of the fret. If you can see the gap then the nut probably needs attention. If there seems to be no gap, tap the string over the first fret and you should hear a slight "ping" - indicating that there is indeed a tiny gap - in this case your nut is probably OK for that string.
If you know what you're doing (and there are plenty of resources on the www to help)then it is a simple matter to sort this, but if you don't, then best let someone who does know what they are doing have a look at it. It would be as well to get them to check the neck relief first before doing anything.
If the remedy is only paying some attention to some nut slots it won't be too expensive, though it always possible that there may be other issues affecting playability that need dealing with, and in doing so, other problems may come to light...
But do bite the bullet and get some attention - almost every guitar can be made to play pretty easily with a bit of TLC.
Keith
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