Do you prefer short or long scale for fingerpickin' ?

[EuroAussie]

This is sort of my regular thread as I continue on the pickin' path, learning, exploring, surprising myself and expressing thoughts.

 

After learning some finger patterns and related songs (sort of) Ive started enjoying some passages of basic country blues with alternating bass and basic melody. (Blind Blake style for example)

 

And as this slowly develops Ive noticed that now my clear guitar preferance for fingerpickin' has become my Aaron Lewis SJ. Because country blues sounds wicked on it, but more importantly Im really enjoying the short scale and looser tension. I find I can play and learn passages quicker on the SJ than for example the long scale J-150 or Songwriter. (although I found the J-150 records the best fingerpicked)

 

So, for me pickin' and short scale is a match made in heaven, especially for a relative notice to this game.

 

Was wondering how it is for you, do you prefer short scale, long scale or it really dont matter as long as it sounds good !

 

EA

[tvguit]

For me it just depends on the guitar. I used to have a '36 L-00 and it was an absolute joy to fingerpick on (it was the 24 3/4" 14 fretter). After I sold it I usually just fingerpicked on my J-45 with light strings and it certainly did the trick.

 

I picked up an old Kay 17" Jumbo and to my surprise it had a 26" scale length! I didn't like it at first. It felt like I had put rebar on the guitar in place of strings. Then I tuned it a full step down and gentlemen, the TONE. I love it. It is certainly one of my favorite fingerpicking guitars. It has a solid, one piece flame maple back with a solid spruce top. There is a little video of it on my blog but I only had my mac microphone so the quality is poor.

 

Maybe you should try tuning down a half step on the J-150? Maybe those old bues guys weren't playing at concert pitch either...

[ParlourMan]

Maybe those old bues guys weren't playing at concert pitch either...

 

or in tune a lot of the time.... it's almost half the romance of those old tunes.

 

Both for me, small adjustment in technique and force used but only takes a second to readjust.

[dchristo]

I really cant tell enough difference between long and short scale to have a preference

 

I mostly play Travis style, and not much difference between D-18 and J-45 other than the tone

[Markini]

I'm with you on this EuroAussie. I prefer my shortscale Hummingbird for fingerpicking, but for recording prefer my Hummingbird Pro longscale. Longscale handles the mix better for some reason, but cant match the Bird shortscale for strumming or picking in a "live" situation.

 

IMO

[MissouriPicker]

I don't pay a lot of attention in regards to short or long scaled. Don't even know if I know the difference..lol...My J150 was setup in Bozeman. I talked with someone at Gibson before the guitar was shipped and told them I did a lot of fingerpicking and that I wanted the lowest setup possbile. The guitar is just as I received it. I don't know what the string height is in relationship to each fret, etc. All I know is that it is extrememly easy-on-the-fingers. And to be honest about it, I don't know if the guitar is long scale or short. It's just a dream to play. I had an Epi Texan that I'm told was long scale, and I didn't like it. However, I believe that was more a neck issue than anything else. The neck was a bit narrow for my comfort level............Good topic.

[zombywoof]

Blind Blake's thumb slip is a must for all fingerpickers.

 

I have been playing with my fingers all my life and do not really care whether the guitar is long or short scale. I would say for me, nut width is a bigger factor.

[flatbaroque]

Yea scale length doesn't affect me at all...but a narrow nut is no fun for finger pickin'....

Blind Blake! that's ambitious EA...some complex things in his stuff....but at least you aren't blind so that will help!

[vincentw]

long scale sounds better, to my ears, for fingerstyle guitar.

[duluthdan]

For this sloppy finger stylist, shortscale has been a true blast.

[CrazyHeart]

I'm a +1 on the nut width too. I find my Martin OM-28V long scale easier to fingerpick than my J-45.

[Rambler]

Well, I heart my National (25, 1.825). Its the right mix of string tension and fretboard access (am in the hunt for an acoustic soul-mate). With the 25.5 scale (AJ/Blues King) you trade volume (+) for string resistance (-1). Going strictly by metrics, a J200 (25.4 , narrow neck) is the worst of both worlds, but Ernie Hawkins works wonders with his, so go figure.

[Guth]

I used to think nut width was the most important thing, but lately I've found the overall neck shape and fretboard profile to be just as important if not more so (within reason). In general, I prefer a 1 3/4" nut width, but can live with a 1 11/16" if the guitar has a beefier neck profile and the edges of the fretboard are such that the strings can be placed closer to the edges of the nut and therefore play closer to the edges of the fretboard. This seems to be dependent on the profile of the edge of the fretboard or fretboard binding and the finishing of the fret ends. Like Rambler, I'm also happy fingerpicking on my National Delphi which has an even wider nut width.

 

As far as scale length goes, as long as the guitar is setup well, I can (and do) live happily with scale lengths from 24.75" to 25.5".

 

I'm at the point where all of this stuff has been worked out with the guitars that I currently own. These days I'm more worried about how long (or short) the nails are on the fingers of my picking and fretting hands.

 

You know EA, just for fun (if you haven't already done so), you could throw a slide into the mix. That will give you all kinds of additional variables to play around with. :)

[EuroAussie]

Yes, in terms of nut width I also definitely prefer 1 3/4 or the Gibson 1.725 size to 1 11/16. Find fingerpickin much easier and the fingers dont trip over themselves. On my 69'er the nut is 1 11/16 and a pencil thin profile and find this a really tricky pickin' guitar, one has to be really precises. Although the 00-15 also has 1 11/16 width but I think the string spacing is wider and profile a bit chunkier which makes it more forgiving.

[Versatile]

I agree with the general consensus...

 

Short or long is reasonably OK...wide is best

 

I swap between 3 acoustics and an electric or 2 for F/S

 

Even the narrow necked's like Ovation can be OK due to other tone benefits...

 

V

 

[E-minor7]

I used to think nut width was the most important thing, but lately I've found the overall neck shape and fretboard profile to be just as important if not more so (within reason). In general, I prefer a 1 3/4" nut width, but can live with a 1 11/16" if the guitar has a beefier neck profile and the edges of the fretboard are such that the strings can be placed closer to the edges of the nut and therefore play closer to the edges of the fretboard. This seems to be dependent on the profile of the edge of the fretboard or fretboard binding and the finishing of the fret ends. Like Rambler, I'm also happy fingerpicking on my National Delphi which has an even wider nut width.

 

As far as scale length goes, as long as the guitar is setup well, I can (and do) live happily with scale lengths from 24.75" to 25.5".

 

I'm at the point where all of this stuff has been worked out with the guitars that I currently own. These days I'm more worried about how long (or short) the nails are on the fingers of my picking and fretting hands.

 

You know EA, just for fun (if you haven't already done so), you could throw a slide into the mix. That will give you all kinds of additional variables to play around with. :)

It's not because I want to sound casual EA, but scale length doesn't matter that much to me when it comes to f-picking. My philosophy is to go with the guitar – my experience is they all work fine when you approach them right. Width is another thing* – everything under 5/8 is troubling.

 

Like Guth, I focus a lot on shape of nails (health, strength and actual shape/length). A small ants-hair crack could mean crises ahead. A broken horn is a 'disaster'. Especially if it's the thumb.

 

*Then again there was an incident where the finger positions were of such character, that the rather narrow 12-fret here offered the best access to the tune.

Exactly for that role the slightly too tight spacing of that guitar became ideal.

 

[Mojorule]

I bought the Woody firstly because of the hog slope shoulders' capacity to do growl when driven hard, to do sweet, almost classical warmth when fingerpicked gently, and the full tonal range in between. But the second consideration was that my left hand was aching a lot after any significant amount of practice on my beater, which is unusual among cheap dreads in that it has a nut width in the 1.75 range as well as the typical 25.5 scale. I just found that the two bigger dimensions together were too big a stretch when moving swiftly between the complex, shifting chord shapes that instrumental fingerpicking tends to involve because of the need to do melody, bass and harmony at the same time. Sure neck profile, string tension and body size and shape are all significant factors too - I never really struggled with an even wider nut and 25.5 scale on a classical, but the nylons are not so tensed, and the smaller body shape and flat neck profile make reaching notes easier. Given the tension of steel strings and the bigger body that gives good growl, I figured that a short-scale dread would work better for my main diet of instrumental fingerpicking. It does. My hands don't ache nearly as much. But there are times when I prefer my old beater, despite the pain and the less than splendid tone. The Gibson definitely wins for country, jazz and jolly, raggy, piedmontesque blues fingerpicking. But the extra tension in the beater makes it cut better for harder, deltaesque playing. I have to hit it hard to get it to do anything, and that gives a better feel for aggressive blues, despite the added growl in the Gibson. I just can't hit the Woody hard enough to get that growl when fingerpicking. The strings bend before I get there. If I were doing nothing but hard blues, I'd go for heavier strings and probably be happy. But I like 12s for just about everything else. Clearly I need a National Delphi too. Fat chance.

[zombywoof]

Well, I heart my National (25, 1.825). Its the right mix of string tension and fretboard access (am in the hunt for an acoustic soul-mate). With the 25.5 scale (AJ/Blues King) you trade volume (+) for string resistance (-1). Going strictly by metrics, a J200 (25.4 , narrow neck) is the worst of both worlds, but Ernie Hawkins works wonders with his, so go figure.

 

 

Yeah, I love my '32 Duolian. As well as the generous nut there is just something about the feel of a good chunky neck, 12 fret slothead.

 

Never really worried about string tension - just means you have to fight the guitar a bit more. That tends to bring the best out in me. One way to go though, expecially if you prefer heavier guage strings, is to slap on strings wound on a round core rather than the more traditional hex - less string tension.

[Rambler]

. Clearly I need a National Delphi too. Fat chance.

. Deals can be had. Mine came in for less than a grand.