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Newbie Question..... Will a 23 inch scale work for slide on a 3-stringer?

I am building my first cigar box and it looks like a 23 inch scale will fit really nice as far as the bridge placement goes.... I would like to do slide work on this guitar as well. My question is will this 23" scale work or will it cause me string problems? I probably can squeeze out a 24 inch scale on it if I have to. Secondly, what is the most used scale length?

-What a great forum we have here and thanks for any thoughts on this basic question.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on May 11, 2011 at 7:10pm

23 will be fine, no worries.

I do 90% of mine at 600mm which is 23 5/8.

dont let the scale length alone determine the bridges position, this is determined by the neck join as well. I join mine (i do mostly cookie tins, but same thing) at the 25th fret position most of the time, ie i do 24 frets clear of the box. This shifts the bridge more towards the centre, which I think makes for a louder soundboard. Look in my pics. I think a lot of these guys around here make a mistake by joining at fret 14 or so,(and thereby putting the bridge right on the edge of the box) but its only an opinion.. I know, I know the fingerboard running up over the box does look cool, but how easy is it to actually play? compared to having 24 frets clear of thee box like i do i mean..)

for a general rule of thumb you need a neck blank 1.5 x the sale length for a thru neck, to allow for a head and tail, therefore make the scale 2/3 of the length of your stick...

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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on May 11, 2011 at 7:59pm

I have always used a 25.5 inch scale for all my builds, my smallest box is 10 inches in length. I originally used a pre-cut fretboard from a luthier supplier and made a permanent fret ruler from it which has proved very successful, all the frets especially those high up the neck need to be spot on!

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on May 11, 2011 at 9:49pm

23 inch scale will be absolutely fine (a lot of the old-time lapsteels were 22 1/2" scale). You might need to tune to a higher pitch or use heavier strings to ensure you get enough tension at that scale, but otherwise it will be AOK.

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Permalink Reply by Keni Lee Burgess on May 11, 2011 at 11:18pm

An important consideration about scale length is the size of your hands. Shorter scale lengths are better if you have small hands. Additionally, I have found that tunings like GDg, require longer finger stretches between frets to play 2 note doublestops than on a regular guitar in standard tuning. I have large hands, but I now prefer a 22" scale on a CBG. Although, I do have CBGs with standard scale lengths too. It works, but just not as easy. I hope this helps. Enjoy, Keni Lee

Please watch this video where I mention this point:

http://www.youtube.com/user/KeniLeeBurgess?feature=mhee#p/c/5E31B57...

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Permalink Reply by Don Goguen on May 11, 2011 at 11:48pm

I know it is a personal choice and different players will be more comfortable with what they are used to. That said, I also have fairly large hands and have also settled on 22" as what is the most comfortable for me. The last instruments I've built for myself have been 22".

I discovered this because I had been playing around with a short scale 4 string banjo and was amazed at how much I liked the combination of short scale and narrow neck. This was surprising to me as I typically like my fat neck classical and hollow body jazz guitars.

For me I think it is about width/length ratio and find it more comfortable when the two are somehow proportional.

Keni Lee Burgess said:

An important consideration about scale length is the size of your hands. Shorter scale lengths are better if you have small hands. Additionally, I have found that tunings like GDg, require longer finger stretches between frets to play 2 note doublestops than on a regular guitar in standard tuning. I have large hands, but I now prefer a 22" scale on a CBG. Although, I do have CBGs with standard scale lengths too. It works, but just not as easy. I hope this helps. Enjoy, Keni Lee

Please watch this video where I mention this point:

http://www.youtube.com/user/KeniLeeBurgess?feature=mhee#p/c/5E31B57...

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Permalink Reply by Dave Onastik on May 12, 2011 at 12:50am

Just curious, what gauge strings do you use for a 22 inch scale?

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Permalink Reply by Keni Lee Burgess on May 12, 2011 at 1:00am

Yes, this is a very good point too. On standard 6 string guitars, I prefer a 1 7/8" nut. This is an older style wider than the more common 1 3/4" nut. String spacing in another consideration. As a finger picker, the wider nut / string spacing offers room for me to fit the fingerpicks in between the strings easier. I often find for my style, the thinner nuts / string spacing is problematic. I can't comment on what flatpickers might prefer. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy.

Don Goguen said:

I know it is a personal choice and different players will be more comfortable with what they are used to. That said, I also have fairly large hands and have also settled on 22" as what is the most comfortable for me. The last instruments I've built for myself have been 22".

I discovered this because I had been playing around with a short scale 4 string banjo and was amazed at how much I liked the combination of short scale and narrow neck. This was surprising to me as I typically like my fat neck classical and hollow body jazz guitars.

For me I think it is about width/length ratio and find it more comfortable when the two are somehow proportional.

Keni Lee Burgess said:

An important consideration about scale length is the size of your hands. Shorter scale lengths are better if you have small hands. Additionally, I have found that tunings like GDg, require longer finger stretches between frets to play 2 note doublestops than on a regular guitar in standard tuning. I have large hands, but I now prefer a 22" scale on a CBG. Although, I do have CBGs with standard scale lengths too. It works, but just not as easy. I hope this helps. Enjoy, Keni Lee

Please watch this video where I mention this point:

http://www.youtube.com/user/KeniLeeBurgess?feature=mhee#p/c/5E31B57...

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Permalink Reply by molinee on May 12, 2011 at 2:24am

A big thank you guys for all the great info. I will continue on with a 23 inch scale and see where that takes me. I will either end up with a real home-made CBG or some real nice firewood for this upcoming winter....