Body Scale?

[PitchShifter]

Hello All,

I'm looking to create a guitar similar to the Fender Jaguar Baritone:

http://www.fender.com.au/electricguitars/otherinstruments/jaguarbaritone.php

It's 28.5" scale with a jaguar body.  I just figured I could whack Warmoth's baritone neck on any body shape that took my fancy.

However, I notice that Warmoth's Jaguar body has a 24" scale, and the Jazzmaster 25.5".  What impact does this have when assembling a guitar?

I need the bridge studs around 28.77" from the nut. Can Warmoth rout a custom bridge location?

 

[Nando Vallart]

As far as I know, the body of the jaguar from Warmoth would not work, because the body is routed for 24" but you could use the Jazzmaster body and put a Baritone neck from Warmoth on it, because it's design to work with Warmoth bodies...
But is quite fair a guess :icon_biggrin: (but not totally, I've read something about it once)...
You'd better send a email to Warmoth sales representants or wait to Gregg or Eric answer it here! 

 

[-CB-]

By lengthening the neck and altering the fret spacing, W uses the baritone option on 25.5 scale routed bodies.  I'm almost certain that the Jag will NOT work with baritone neck.

 

[tfarny]

I'll bet a baritone Jazzmaster would be cool, though. I also think a baritone jaguar would be likely to be very unbalanced, with the smaller body and bigger neck.

 

[-CB-]

The Jazz and Jag are almost identical in body size

 

[tfarny]

Really? I'm confusing it w/mustang then. Sorry.

 

[PitchShifter]

I think I'll playe it safe and just safer to stick to the larger scale bodies.

I'm curious to know what determines scale, though. Is it the width/length dimensions of the body, which in turn determines the placement of the bridge and pickup routings?

 

[tfarny]

No, it's simply the length from nut to bridge, nothing more. The widths between the frets get proportionately farther apart as the scale gets bigger. Common scales range from 24" (mustang) to 34" (the standard bass scale). All else being equal (string mass), to achieve a given pitch you need more tension as strings get longer. So smaller scales are easier to bend on but longer scales have more 'pop' or whatever, until you get up to a bass where the sting tension is pretty serious. The same principle is what makes the baritone scale guitars more suitable for lower tuning; given the longer scale, you can tune the strings lower and they still have adequate tension.
I'm sure CB or somebody will come up with the physics equation if you're interested but that's the basic idea. You don't even need much of a 'body' on a guitar  at all: http://www.gibson.com/products/steinberger/

All the warmoth guitars have their bridges routed in the perfect spot for THEIR necks, so you can pick any body and any neck (of any scale, 24.75, 25.5 or baritone) and it will automatically be fine, scale length-wise. The ONE glaring exception is the 24" mustang body and neck. Those go together and not in combination with anything else, UNLESS you are willing to measure and drill your own bridge.

 

[PitchShifter]

:hello2:

Excellent response.  Case closed!

Cheers for your help guys!

 

[-CB-]

Physics?  Not without coffee....

 

[Rick]

Yes, hurumph, hurumph very good ... case closed.