Is a 24.75" neck easier to play than a 25.5"?

[lafromla1]

The reason why I bring this up is that I have been having some issues playing barre chords and stretching down to pump the chord (spanning 5 frets), and I happened to pick up my friends '75 Les Paul, and it seemed easier to get to the areas that I needed.  Before I go and buy a conversion neck to try out, I was wondering if it just happened to be a figment of my imagination or if there is any truth to my thinking.

 

[Cagey]

Absolutely. The change in tension is enough to feel as though you've gone up (or down) a gauge set, and while the fret-to-fret separation distance difference isn't much, it adds up when you're reaching across 5 frets, so the shorter scale is easier to play. Finally, the lower tension on the shorter scale helps sustain, although you'll lose a bit of clarity. Try it. You'll like it. Just be aware that for some it's an all or nothing thing. You get used to one, and playing the other gets tough to the point where you avoid it.

 

[lafromla1]

I was thinking about the string tension as well.  Maybe its just a matter of having to push down harder going across 5 frets, especially when I use hybrid strings to try and get a little more boost out of the bass side when strumming. Before I do anything drastic, my strings need changing anyway, so I may drop down a gauge and see if that helps.  I am sure a lot of it has to do with technique as well and that is something that I need to continually practice until I can't get it wrong.

 

[Cagey]

If it's just a tension thing, then dropping a gauge will help. Plus, it'll allow you to keep the longer scale, which is nice. You can always grunge up or darken a clean, bright guitar, but it's tough to clean up or brighten a grungy, dark one. That's why Strats and Teles are so popular.

Also, don't think dropping a gauge set is such a bad thing, or that it will cost you the ability to get tone/sustain/grunge/whatever. Look at Billy Gibbons. Nobody would ever accuse half the string section of ZZ Top of not being ballsy, and he plays 8s.

 

[Volitions Advocate]

Keep in mind the type of guitar you are playing as well.  If you went from some kind of fender or jackson or something to a Les Paul that has an archtop and an angled neck, that would significantly change the feel of playing.  I find an archtop guitar to be much more comfortable to play regardless of other factors, so that may be the case here as well.

I prefer my 25.5 scale though,  All my Warmoth guitars use it, even the Les Pauls. That and..  basically what Cagey said.

 

[Tempest]

The smaller spacing gets in my way far up on the neck.  17-22 are really hard to play on a 24 3/4 for me.  I also like the tone of the longer scale a little better.

You can always grunge up or darken a clean, bright guitar, but it's tough to clean up or brighten a grungy, dark one. That's why Strats and Teles are so popular.

This ^

 

[Ace Flibble]

I say, forget the difference in tone and anything else. Nothing matters as much as your ability to play well. The guy who can play well with average tone will always sound better than a guy who has great tone but keeps screwing up. Always prioritise your playing ability; if that means using a scale length or a string gauge that is considered traditionally inappropriate for the music you play or the tone you want, so be it.

24.75" isn't objectively easier to play. Everybody has different hands. What one person finds easier, another finds harder. If you find 24.75" scale is easier to play on, stick with it. Perhaps even try out a 24" scale guitar, or a 25" one. Don't worry about tension, tone, gauge or any of that.

On that note, a little correction to what Cagey said above: the difference in tension between 25.5" scale and the same string gauge on 24.75" is not like going down one gauge. Shifting 1.5" in scale length evens out tension equivalent to 0.0005 gauge. In other words, a 0.010 string on 24.75" scale does not feel like a 0.009 string on 25.5" scale. 24" scale makes a 0.010 have roughly the same tension as a 0.0095 string on 25.5". Obviously, 24.75" scale is even less of a jump than that. There certainly is less tension on shorter scale lengths, obviously, but it's not a whole gauge worth of difference.

Bear in mind too that the brand/construction/material/coating of your string, as well as the break angle over the nut and saddles, also effects the feel of the strings a lot. Then there's resistance based on the fret material and size. In other words, a whole load of things can effect how comfortable a guitar is for you. I'd suggest you try lots and lots of different guitars and writr down what it is you like or don't like about each one. Then go online and look those guitars up so you can see their full specification and you can start to build up an idea of what it is that would suit you best.

 

[vtpcnk]

The reason why I bring this up is that I have been having some issues playing barre chords and stretching down to pump the chord (spanning 5 frets), and I happened to pick up my friends '75 Les Paul, and it seemed easier to get to the areas that I needed.  Before I go and buy a conversion neck to try out, I was wondering if it just happened to be a figment of my imagination or if there is any truth to my thinking.

the standard strat fretboard is 1/2 inch longer than the les paul fretboard and most of that is in the first four frets - which i personally find it difficult to stretch and play on a strat.

so i prefer the playability of the 24 3/4 scale.

 

[nickmv]

I just finished a Firebird build last week, and I gotta say -- I like 24.75" scales a LOT better than my Strat's 25.5".

I've played 24.75's before, but only in-store, and for short-periods. I never seemed to care much for them, but now that I've got one, it truly feels easier to play. I def notice the increased tension, as my fingers got worn out for the first time in a while, but a few more days and that should go away.

 

[oldmanriver]

I'm not sure if you were playing another singlecut guitar before you tried your friend's Les Paul, but if not then it could possibly be that the position of the upper strap button on the Les Paul also contributes to comfort. Something about the way a Les Paul rests when I'm wearing it with a strap; the neck seems closer to me or the guitar feels higher or something. Maybe it's because the axis created between the two strap buttons is more parallel to the neck on a LP than on like a Strat because of it's long upper horn. I don't wear my guitar's really low anyways but I always felt that playing barre chords all over the neck was easier on Les Pauls and other singlecut guitars.

 

[Tempest]

I just finished a Firebird build last week, and I gotta say -- I like 24.75" scales a LOT better than my Strat's 25.5".

I've played 24.75's before, but only in-store, and for short-periods. I never seemed to care much for them, but now that I've got one, it truly feels easier to play. I def notice the increased tension, as my fingers got worn out for the first time in a while, but a few more days and that should go away.

Increased tension?  It should have less tension than a 25.5.  The difference in tension is probably coming from something else if it's really higher than on a strat.

 

[bagman67]

Try it. You'll like it.

Not necessarily.

Just be aware that for some it's an all or nothing thing. You get used to one, and playing the other gets tough to the point where you avoid it.

QFT.


I dumped a really, really nice sounding Gibby LP Special because I couldn't get used to the shorter scale length.  Having played Fender-scale-length guitars my whole life as a guitarist, coming to the LPS was a frustrating event.  It sounded awesome, and sold me on the mystery and majesty of P90 pickups - but I was continually winding up in the wrong place on the fretboard because of the difference in scale length.  I gave it six months of serious effort, and ultimately had to give it the heave-ho.


So I built the Hog.  All is well with the world now.

 

[Cagey]

I'm hoping that doesn't happen to me. I bought a super-nice all-rosewood conversion neck for one of my VIPs thinking I wouldn't have much trouble with it. I do get to play Gibbys every once in a while, as one of my buddies is a thrall, and I don't have any trouble with them, but I also can't play like I used to be able to. So, if the day comes where I regain that dexterity, I may find I need the consistency of a single scale length.

 

[clearerphish]

I recently bought my first 24.75" scale guitar and was shocked at the way it played. My PRS is a flat 25" scale and I never saw much difference between the strat and the PRS, but there is even less difference between the PRS and the LP copy and it just feels like a whole nother world...slinkier, softer...I've got 11's on it so it can't be string gauge. It's also the first guitar I've had jumbo frets on, but I don't think that's it.

As of yet I have not found any real issues switching between any of my guitars

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

If the OP is interested, tune the guitar to E flat standard and capo the 1st fret.  This will shorten the scale length, lower the tension, and give you insight to how your guitar might feel with a conversion neck.

 

[lafromla1]

If the OP is interested, tune the guitar to E flat standard and capo the 1st fret.  This will shorten the scale length, lower the tension, and give you insight to how your guitar might feel with a conversion neck.

I'll give it a try and see what happens.  Thanks

 

[Justinginn]

Also, I've found that a tremolo (assuming it's unblocked) will also seem to drop string tension when you're playing because there's a little more give than a fixed bridge. That might contribute to your thinking process. YMMV, of course.  :doh:

 

[KaiserSoze]

I'm a convert.  Fender scale for years but ordered a short scale neck for my last project and wouldn't go back.  Just feels better to my hand size and the fact that I prefer 11s and they still bend pretty easy.  It's really just preference though.

 

[swarfrat]

I love my conversion neck... but I did it for a specific sound. For sparkly bell tones I still want a baritone strung up to standard pitch - 2 semitones. You really notice the shorter scale doing things like the open-A shuffle thing. Lately I've been playing a lot with two note voicings of chord melodies - and having an absolute blast with it - but one thing I notice is that any interval I need is at hand in any position. And even crazy interval stretches are a piece of cake when you're only playing diads. (Distorted 3-r can be really raucous)