Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Michael Cuell on March 4, 2015 at 4:12pm

I'm in the same boat as many here. I have relatively small hands. Although I play a 25.5 inch acoustic guitar regularly, I'm going to be building my boxes at 24 inch scale. Incidentally, there's several professional musicians that have had custom scale guitars made just to accommodate their hand size.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on March 4, 2015 at 4:17pm

Yes I say definitely shorten it to 23.5 or so.  Nearly every open tuning you'll want to experiment with has a perfect fifth (7 fret interval) in it somewhere.  Guitars are made for fourths (a five fret interval)

Hawaiian steel guitars were typically always 22"-24" and a lot of players prefer the 22" ones for slants and stuff.

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Permalink Reply by Mike on March 4, 2015 at 4:47pm

Thanks for the reply I will look to make a shorter one. I don't understand what you mean by the fifth and fourths though. I need to learn more about this stuff. Is there some recommended reading I should do?

Thanks again!

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Permalink Reply by Mike on March 5, 2015 at 8:26am

Thx, I am going to try it at that length and see if better for me.

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Permalink Reply by TN Twang on March 5, 2015 at 5:32am

I keep talking about shorter neck scales, but never actually build one. You all have started me to wanting a 22" just to see what happens. I guess shorter is only better in fretted instruments. Slide accuracy is improved with longer strings. (I can't play "slants" well enough to judge whether closer frets would help.)

If my physics is right, a shorter scale would reduce the amount of string tension required to reach pitch--which would be good for our necks with no truss rods.

On the other hand, I saw a commercially built 20-inch "child's" 6-string that buzzed like crazy because the strings were so slack. It could probably be fixed with heavier strings and an improved set-up, but I think the poor kid just gave up and ditched the instrument as junk.

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on March 5, 2015 at 11:54am

That leads back to the link above T N

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Permalink Reply by Jo Jacobsen on March 5, 2015 at 6:02pm

Just as a comparison of sorts, the Little Martin is a 23 inch scale guitar. I used to have one and found it very comfortable with my small hands - not that my normal sized Taylor 412 isn't comfortable as well, and the scale on that is 24 7/8, oddly enough. I'm thinking I'm going for 24 inch.

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on March 6, 2015 at 3:44am

For fretted,  I like 22 to 24 inch.  Easier to play for smaller and arthritic hands.    The downside to shorter scales is that the shorter you go, the harder it is to get the intonation right or at least acceptable.   A tenth of an inch error on a 25.5 inch scale is not as major as a tenth of an inch error on a uke or mando.

On the other hand, for fretless slide....  longer scales are easier to play.  Good sounding long slides and you can be off a bit and have it still sound good.   My license plate guitar is nearly 28 inches in scale.

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Permalink Reply by TN Twang on March 6, 2015 at 4:56am

Uncle John,

What kind of strings did you put on a 28" neck? Extra extra light?

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on March 6, 2015 at 5:19am

Being a non-meticulous craftsman and a hack musician, I use whatever strings I have on hand.  Usually cheap and usually electric.

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on March 6, 2015 at 5:17am

Well said.

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Permalink Reply by TN Twang on March 6, 2015 at 5:55am

I agree about using what you've got. That's the point (?) of this exercise. But there comes a time (around 18-20 inches) when you have to admit the thing is a ukulele and go get some nylon strings or weedeater twine. (Hey, I've got nothing against ukuleles. Their nylon strings sound better than buzzy metal ones that are way too slack.)

While I'm on that rant, you need to try a U-bass. Better stores have 'em in stock. Ask for a trial.

http://www.kalabrand.com/instrumentsU-bass.html

These things are built on a baritone uke body with jacketed strings as thick as you can imagine. The sound is remarkably good. Great for old guys whose limited reach can't handle a 34" scale bass. I actually got put onto these by a professional player who liked that he could take it as carry-on on a plane and still get a mellow, thumpy sound on sessions.

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