Question about scale length and 24 frets

[TheGuildedAge]

Forgive me as this is probably a dumb question.

I have smaller hands and have always preferred the Gibson scale length necks, although my 25 inch PRS isn't too bad. Loved my Rickenbacker but that won't work for this.

I'm in the market for a hard rock guitar. I want pretty much pure shred: high output pickups, flat radius, and a floyd. I want the most playable speed guitar I can get my hands on.

I was trying to look at 24.75 scale length first, but then got to thinking, if a 25.5 length neck has 24 frets, does that mean the length between the frets is less and I wouldn't notice the scale length as much.

It seems like a minor thing, but I find some of the stretches and reaches on a strat harder than on a Gibson. Plus the strat I have has a 9.5 radius.

 

[Member 995]

Number of frets has nothing to do with scale length.

 

[vintagelove]

Forgive me as this is probably a dumb question.

I have smaller hands and have always preferred the Gibson scale length necks, although my 25 inch PRS isn't too bad. Loved my Rickenbacker but that won't work for this.

I'm in the market for a hard rock guitar. I want pretty much pure shred: high output pickups, flat radius, and a floyd. I want the most playable speed guitar I can get my hands on.

I was trying to look at 24.75 scale length first, but then got to thinking, if a 25.5 length neck has 24 frets, does that mean the length between the frets is less and I wouldn't notice the scale length as much.

It seems like a minor thing, but I find some of the stretches and reaches on a strat harder than on a Gibson. Plus the strat I have has a 9.5 radius.

Look at Carvin, 25" with 24 frets. If you can find an OLD one, they are 24.75?.

Good luck.

 

[TheGuildedAge]

Number of frets has nothing to do with scale length.

I understand that, but is my line of thinking correct?

If you are cramming 24 instead of 22 into a 25.5 inch neck, the frets have to be closer together, right? Would it be a noticeable difference?

 

[TheGuildedAge]

Look at Carvin, 25" with 24 frets. If you can find an OLD one, they are 24.75?.

Good luck.

Not a fan of the pickups or electronics, but those are easy swaps. The few Carvins I have played have had such gorgeous necks.

 

[mc5nrg]

HM strats with the Kahler floyd variant and different logo came with several pickup combinations and a 25" scale. Great necks.

 

[bob-i]

I understand that, but is my line of thinking correct?

If you are cramming 24 instead of 22 into a 25.5 inch neck, the frets have to be closer together, right? Would it be a noticeable difference?

No, fret spacing is the same, the fret board is extended 2 more frets and the neck PU is moved more toward the treble PU.

 

[vltjd]

I understand that, but is my line of thinking correct?

If you are cramming 24 instead of 22 into a 25.5 inch neck, the frets have to be closer together, right? Would it be a noticeable difference?

No. As you probably know, the scale length is the distance between the nut and bridge. On any guitar, the 12th fret will occur at one half the scale length. So on a 25.5" scale, this would be 12.75", on a 25" scale this would be 12.5" and on a 24.75" scale (which may actually be 24.625") this would be 12.375". The number of frets is the same, but the distance between them will be different.

On a 24 fret guitar, the 24th fret will occur at one half the distance from the 12th fret and the bridge. So on a 25.5" scale this would add 6.375" for a total of 19.125" from the nut for 24 frets, on a 25" scale this would add 6.25" for a total of 18.75" from the nut and on a 24.75" scale this would add 6.1875" for a total of 18.5625 inches.

But all have 24 frets yet require a different distance.

I used to feel the same way about 25.5" scale guitars, but, consider this. If you take a 25.5" scale guitar the distance from the first fret to the bridge is about 24.1"-even shorter than the 24.75" scale guitar!

My experience has been that 24.75" and 25" are easier to play on lower frets but 25.5" are easier to play on higher frets, particularly above the 15th fret. On 24.75" guitars, the frets get to be too close up high and are comfortable down low while things are the opposite on 25.5" scale guitars.

 

[swiveltung]

I understand that, but is my line of thinking correct?

If you are cramming 24 instead of 22 into a 25.5 inch neck, the frets have to be closer together, right? Would it be a noticeable difference?

The fret spacing is the same no matter how many total frets the guitar has. So at the 15th fret, the spacing will be the same on a 21 fret or 24 fret neck. Get a conversion neck for a strat for your rock n roll

 

[bloomz]

HM strats with the Kahler floyd variant and different logo came with several pickup combinations and a 25" scale. Great necks.

There's yer ticket, I have one and it's a shredder - if I only knew how to shred. Way flatter radius, 25.1 scale, 24 frets. Floyd (Kahler) trem, locking nut

Mine is just like this one (except the bridge pickup) tho they come in a variety of configs

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1988-Fender...933754?hash=item3f56aa307a:g:aWUAAOSwhcJWOn7R

 

[Stig Ø]

Forgive me as this is probably a dumb question.

I have smaller hands and have always preferred the Gibson scale length necks, although my 25 inch PRS isn't too bad. Loved my Rickenbacker but that won't work for this.

I'm in the market for a hard rock guitar. I want pretty much pure shred: high output pickups, flat radius, and a floyd. I want the most playable speed guitar I can get my hands on.

I was trying to look at 24.75 scale length first, but then got to thinking, if a 25.5 length neck has 24 frets, does that mean the length between the frets is less and I wouldn't notice the scale length as much.

It seems like a minor thing, but I find some of the stretches and reaches on a strat harder than on a Gibson. Plus the strat I have has a 9.5 radius.

If I understand your question correctly, you're asking if the distance between the frets on a 24 fret neck with 25.5 scale length is different from the distance between the frets on, say a 22 fret neck with the same scale length? It isn't. There's just more frets, so it pushes the neck pickup a tiny bit towards the bridge. The distance between e.g. the fifth and the tenth fret is the same on both necks. If you're comparing to a 24 3/4" neck, then the distance between the frets change.

 

[majordanger]

Something else to consider is that longer scale length guitars will require more string tension for the same tuning as a shorter scale. It's all personal preference, but lots of people find higher tension makes playing fast and precise easier. Not to mention that lower tunings are easier.

Of course you may prefer the slinkier feel of shorter scale, and all this can be compensated for with heavier strings.

 

[AudioWonderland]

I understand that, but is my line of thinking correct?

If you are cramming 24 instead of 22 into a 25.5 inch neck, the frets have to be closer together, right? Would it be a noticeable difference?

No. The finger board would be longer to accommodate two more frets. The number of frets has nothing to with scale length

 

[TheGuildedAge]

Thanks everyone, I get it now.