7/8 tele

[DarkPenguin]

So....

I kinda want a tele and I kinda want a 24 fret guitar.  So I'm thinking of a 7/8th tele.  This begs a few questions.  Does a 7/8 tele still sound like a tele?  And are all 24 frets on a 24 3/4" scale playable?  In other words if I build this do I end up with something that doesn't sound like a tele and isn't a usable 24 fret instrument?

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Well, for comparison, I have a Baritone Tele with 24 frets, and it sounds very "Tele" and I have complete and comfortable access to all 24 frets, and I do use them.

 

[bagman67]

Stick some Tele pickups in there, and you'll be in pretty good shape.

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

I'd say it's a matter of preference about the distance between frets.  I'm assuming your technique already incorporates using all 24 frets, but it will still be kinda hard to get up there.  But the simple fact is that a shorter scale will mean less distance between frets.  Seriously, I don't even know how mandolin players do it; I look at a guy like Chris Thiele (who's as tall as I am, and looks to have fingers my size as well) and my mind is blown. 24 frets with a 15" scale!

I'd try to hunt down one of the newer Gibson SGs with 24 frets.  That's the only 24 fret guitar with a 24.75 scale that I know of.

 

[DarkPenguin]

I'll hunt down that gibson.

Thanks, all.

 

[Ace Flibble]

Schecter and ESP also make lots of guitars that have 24 frets and 24.75" scale length, though they also have much bigger frets so that will make the higher frets seem closer together, too. 23rd and 24th frets on 24.75" scale don't really feel any different from the 22nd fret, but if you like very large fretwire then you're going to notice them being much smaller.

You could of course simply put together a normal 25.5" scale Tele with a 24 fret extension; the only thing that changes then is moving the neck pickup a little, though with a Tele that is a particularly minimal change.

Otherwise, yes, a 24.75" scale Tele does sound exactly the same as any other Tele, assuming you also keep the woods, hardware and electronics the same. Obviously, the more you change the more the sound will change, but if you're only changing one thing then you're going to retain 99% of the same sound. A bolt-on guitar with a Tele bridge and a Tele bridge pickup is going to sound like a Tele, regardless of if it is 27", 25.5", 24.75", 24" or 22".