Warmoth 7/8 neck for small hands

[colaiza65]

Hi everyone. Just a pole here to see if a Mustang/Jaguar neck (24") on a 7/8 strat body would produce a sound radically different from a regular strat (Yes it fits even though they don't advertise it, ask Spike). Let me know your thoughts.

 

[Rick]

Radically?  You know string length has great impact, all things being equal.  I say go for it.

 

[stratamania]

You need Logrinn for this question.

In the meantime here is a video of him with his 7/8 with Mustang neck.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF5IN4YjARg[/youtube]

 

[Logrinn]

I’ve got 3 7/8-bodies with 24” necks, two Strats and one Tele, and the notion that they sound different than a normal size Strat or Tele is a complete myth.
The difference in sound comes more from things like pickups, playing style, effects, pedals, amps, speakers and picks.
If you took a 7/8-Strat and a normal Strat, both equipped with the exact same parts and material, you might hear a very small difference.
BUT - you would probably hear a small difference (if you tried) between two ”identical” normal sized Strats too.
Just yesterday I was reminded of the difference in sound when I was playing (on my Jaguar - also a 24” guitar) just by where I was standing in relation to the speaker. I had this beautiful sound where I was sitting and then I stood up and moved closer and more in front of the speaker and the sound was totally different. Much more high end.
Just by turning my head continously the sound would change.

So - all in all - it’s a myth. A myth I tell you!

Just look at my handle:
”24” sounds good”
ccasion14:

 

[Logrinn]

Thanks Stratamania.
I can always count on you.  :icon_thumright:

 

[stratamania]

Thanks Stratamania.
I can always count on you.  :icon_thumright:

One does what one can  :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

I’ve got 3 7/8-bodies with 24” necks, two Strats and one Tele, and the notion that they sound different than a normal size Strat or Tele is a complete myth.
The difference in sound comes more from things like pickups, playing style, effects, pedals, amps, speakers and picks.
If you took a 7/8-Strat and a normal Strat, both equipped with the exact same parts and material, you might hear a very small difference.
BUT - you would probably hear a small difference (if you tried) between two ”identical” normal sized Strats too.
Just yesterday I was reminded of the difference in sound when I was playing (on my Jaguar - also a 24” guitar) just by where I was standing in relation to the speaker. I had this beautiful sound where I was sitting and then I stood up and moved closer and more in front of the speaker and the sound was totally different. Much more high end.
Just by turning my head continously the sound would change.

So - all in all - it’s a myth. A myth I tell you!

I think perhaps calling it a "myth" might be a bit strong. As usual, there are a lotta things to consider when evaluating an instrument's tonal character.

Much of what you say is true. Pickups, neck material/configuration, bridges and their mechanical design/material/mounting configuration, picks and playing style, etc. are all powerful influences - arguably the largest. But, there's no question that to vibrate at a given frequency, all things being equal, the length of the string will dictate the tension of the string. This is part of why shorter scale guitars require less effort to play. A 24" scale guitar will have less tension on the strings than a 24.75" scale, which will have less than a 25.5" if all 3 instruments are tuned to the same pitch.

As anyone who's tried to get "Les Paul" sound out of a "Strat" or "Tele" will tell you, seemingly regardless of all the usual suspects (pickups, bridge, playing style, etc.), you just can't get there from here. Unfortunately, there are other things often left out of the equation such as substantial instrument construction design issues that preclude any possible comparison. So, it's still tough to blame or credit scale length. Still, there's something to be said about how different scale lengths ring. Look at ukeleles. Despite the similarities in construction, no matter how you tune them, they sound substantially different from a guitar and it doesn't take a trained ear to hear it.

So, I don't know. I'd love to drop another 3/4" off my scale length and get the same sound. Between declining strength and reduced reach due to age/arthritis, the less work I have to do to get the same results, the better I like it. But, I'm not sure I can get there from here. As they say - there ain't no such thing as a free lunch  :laughing7:

 

[Cagey]

All that said, one need only watch the video toward the start of this thread to hear that the shorter scale is hardly any kind of detriment, real or imagined, to a great sound  :icon_biggrin:

 

[AirCap]

Just watched the vid, and it's a got a terrific, chunky tone without a fullsize humbucker. Impressive! Great playing, too.

 

[Rick]

To me it's a different sound, but bad, no way!, that's why I say go for it.  For me I have to go in the opposite direction, with a wider neck, do wider longer necks sound bad, no, of course not, just different.  For me the lodestar in selecting a neck is comfort, if you play an uncomfortable neck, your not doing yourself any favors, in fact it's a recipe to make yourself miserable.

 

[Logrinn]

Thanks guys ccasion14:

 

[spe111]

Based on my experience, scale length does make an audible difference on guitars that are otherwise similar. Not huge, but not irrelevant. Better or worse isn't really a label you could apply though, just different. As most things, the more overdrive/fuzz/distortion there is the less you hear that kind of difference.

You can really hear it in electric bass guitars. Also acoustic guitars. I always thought Martin D-18 vs Gibson Hummingbird was a good comparison of scale length because they're pretty similar in a lot of ways other than scale length.

 

[BroccoliRob]

In a mix with other instruments you and the audience could probs (probably) never tell the diff. Alone in your bedroom, yeah maybe you can hear the subtle diffs (differences). Its really NBD (no big deal) and you should just get it turnt up BWS (big willy style)

 

[zebra]

My 2 cents here is that the difference is less about sound and more about feel.  There's something reassuring to me about the string tension of a 25.5 scale guitar when I give the low e string a solid thwack.  If you think you might miss that going to 24, you could always increase your string gauge to compensate.  Or, you could enjoy the lower string tension while laying into bends and vibrato.