Hypothetical case...

[onewilyfool]

Hypothetically, two Gibson guitars, same tone woods, same top wood, but one has long scale and one has short scale, all else relatively the same (bracing adjusted for scale length)....what would you expect to be the differences in tone, volume, sound, playability, etc between thee two guitars. Oh yeah, and if one had the pickguard showing the rosette, and the other had the pickguard covering the rosette??? I'll take my answer off the air.....

[J-1854Me]

Hypothetically, two Gibson guitars, same tone woods, same top wood, but one has long scale and one has short scale, all else relatively the same (bracing adjusted for scale length)....what would you expect to be the differences in tone, volume, sound, playability, etc between thee two guitars. Oh yeah, and if one had the pickguard showing the rosette, and the other had the pickguard covering the rosette??? I'll take my answer off the air.....

 

I had short scale and long scale J-185s for a few years, one being a roughly 1990-91 version (which is when they built that model to a long scale). These guitars were, build-wise, the "same" guitar.

 

Aside from a slight tendency for the long-scale version to be ever-so-slightly better intonated, there wasn't any appreciable difference in tone or volume between the two. Interestingly, I also never found much of a difference in playability, even though the long-standing concept is that long scale takes more effort and short scale is easier to play.

 

Wish I still had the early 1990s one....

 

Fred

[zombywoof]

I never gave scale much thought until I picked up a 1950s Kay Jumbo with a 26" scale. I swear that long scale turbo charges the top. I would love to hear something like a 26" scale J-200. That might just be one aggressive guitar.

[RusRob]

I have done a bit of research on this topic mainly because I prefer short scale guitars. The biggest difference you will notice between the two would be playability. A short scale doesn't put as much tension on the strings as a long scale so it is easier to press the strings down. Because the short doesn't need as much tension it will also be a little bit quieter since it isn't putting as much tension on the saddle/bridge. It should also have more of a tendency to be more "tonally challenged". Meaning it will have more of a mid-range tone than a long scale guitar. By putting more tension on the strings in a long scale guitar it is getting more vibrations into the soundboard so it should be brighter with more pronounced bass.

 

Now that is the theory... I think if you put two identical guitars side by side, one long scale one short (which I have never done) I would assume the only real difference would be the short scale guitar would be a little easier to play. You would also be able to do bends easier on a short scale guitar because of the reduced tension.

 

Now the pick guard issue:

 

If you cover the rosette with a pick guard it will completely destroy the sound of a guitar since the rosette is what actually makes the sound..... ummmmm..... errrr.... well.......

[RusRob]

I also forgot to add that if you get use to a short scale guitar and switch to a long scale it will feel completely different because of the slight different lengths of the fret spacing. It is something you can adjust to in just a few minutes but it is noticeable.

 

I am not a big guy and my fingers are short so when I switch it is pretty noticeable to me.

[Hogeye]

Hypothetically, two Gibson guitars, same tone woods, same top wood, but one has long scale and one has short scale, all else relatively the same (bracing adjusted for scale length)....what would you expect to be the differences in tone, volume, sound, playability, etc between thee two guitars. Oh yeah, and if one had the pickguard showing the rosette, and the other had the pickguard covering the rosette??? I'll take my answer off the air.....

 

Just capo a long scale guitar at the first fret and it will become a short scale guitar. If you do this on a guitar with a covered rosette you will of course increase the volume and sustain. Be careful as the dowel under the bridge may shoot up thru the bridge and cause folks in the first three rows to run for cover.

[blindboygrunt]

Just capo a long scale guitar at the first fret and it will become a short scale guitar. If you do this on a guitar with a covered rosette you will of course increase the volume and sustain. Be careful as the dowel under the bridge may shoot up thru the bridge and cause folks in the first three rows to run for cover.

 

lol :D

that was funny