Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm new here so forgive me if this topic has already been talked to death. I read about short scale (24.5) land long scale (25.5) guitars and the hugh differance in tone between the two. I know I don't have the best ears in town but I can't see how an inch can make that much differance. If if is the tension then a string gauge change would either counter the change or make it even bigger? If I tune down my long scale guitar a half step and capo it, will it sound like a differant guitar?

Try it and see! I bet it sounds different.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I don't think there is a big difference in tone,
or playability.
Then again,
I adapt to what I'm playing.

The problem is that by the time I retune and put on a capo I can't remimber what it sounded like before enough to tell if there is a differance. I may go to Guitar Center and find two identical guitars to do the test on.

There is no such thing as "two identical guitars". The capo test is your best bet.

And really, if you can't tell the difference after the time it takes to re-tune and put on a capo, does it really matter at all if they sound different?

Is "different" bad? Two guitars can sound totally different and both still sound totally awesome !!!

M

I know differant isn't bad. I have read many time that scale lenght is a major factor in tone. I can't seem to tell that. I think thing like bridge placement (14 fret or 12 fret), bracing, wood selection, and top thicknes are much bigger factors. I read an article once thta said scale lenght was the biggest factor. I just wondered if anyone here could explain that theroy.

No, it will sound like your long scale guitar tuned down a half step with a capo on it. Your guitar may sound slightly different, but it is simply what that particular guitar will sound like with that particular setup. As the other members have pointed out, there are a lot of variables that come into play. Maybe if you had one guitar body and two necks, one with a short scale and one with a long scale, the two necks being otherwise identical (which is, of course, an impossibility), you might be able to somewhat compare the affect of scale length on tone. But even doing this wouldn't imitate reality because a luthier would alter too many other variable heavily linked to scale length (bridge placement and differences in bracing that would inevitably change in relation to bridge placement, etc.).

Additionally, when builders talk about hearing a big difference in tone from guitar A with ___________ (insert variable here: a long scale, made from wood X, etc.) to guitar B with (a short scale, made from wood Y, etc.), know that generally they have years of experience trying to decipher very subtle tonal differences in darn near everything (just ask how many folks have knocked on a hardwood coffee table to hear its taptone ). To folk that don't spend as much time worrying about such things, tonal differences between even extremely tonally different guitars (like Maple compared to Brazilian) seem to largely go unnoticed. Most things in life are relative. The perception of sound is certainly one of those things.

Aaron

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Aaron Craig

Well, I certainly wouldn't say that scale length is the major decider as to tone, but it sure makes a difference in playability. They don't feel at all the same. Go to your local guitar big box and sit with a j-45 and a d-28 side by side you'll see. Long reaches on the Martin will literally be more of a stretch. Whether you like it more or less will depend on your hands.
However, to generalize, and I do mean generalize, caveat...
If you were able to magically transform the scale length on a given guitar without changing any other factor, the long scale would be brighter, bouncier, treblier, overtonier, and more strident and tighter feeling, whilst the short scale would be warmer, smoother, rounder, softer, more relaxed feeling. That is just my opinion and my .02 cents...