Scale Length Comparison: Fender vs Gibson, What's the Difference?
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- Опубликовано: 22 июл 2024
- How do Fender and Gibson scale lengths compare? In our Scale Length Comparison we look at the 4 main differences between these two classic scale lengths.
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Thanks for watching y'all! Hope you enjoyed it.
I prefer 24.75 scale length. It seems easier/more comfortable to navigate the fretboard with my shorter fingers.
Yes, it helps to have little girl fingers as well
@@Group_Anonymous I have big hands but I still prefer 24.75. I've been a long time strat player but I recently picked up a Chibson and really like it
This exactly the video I was looking for. Concise, thoughtful, and as objective as a musician can be 😅. But seriously, thanks for making this. I really do appreciate it 🙏
Extremely informative & well presented. Slightly embarrassed to say, after these years as a sometime hobbyist, I didn't know much about this topic all. Comprehensive in 11+ minutes. Very clear and concise, one of most useful 'gear' videos have seen. Bravo and THANK YOU!
GREAT explanation! Thanks for taking the time and Effort to clearly explain this phenomenon, you’re a very good teacher.
Thank you for that clarity. Well played...on many levels.
Peace
Hey man thanks for the explanation!
I understand an heck of a alot more about scale length than I used to now...cheers dude!
Great presentation, thanks. I settled for a PRS to 'get the best of both worlds'. Love the feel - and just enough 'bite' in the tone.
I use both as well, I just was setting up a guitar and when I got to the end, this is when I set the intonation. Because I am so anal, I NEEDED TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIFFERENT BRANDS. Very happy that you came up first, so I subscribed and hit the bell. Thank you for the information. Well spoken and easy to understand. Please stay healthy during these uncertain times in our history. Looking forward to more of what you offer.
Mike @ Glarry Music Canada, Mods and Customs.
very useful video, thanks buddy!!!
So well explained! Thanks!
Great comparison and contrast. Exactly what I was looking for. A problem I encountered was that the high E string on my Les Paul has a tendency to roll off the edge of the fretboard much easier compared to my Tele and my Strats. So, I have to be more careful with the notes on the high E string when playing the Les Paul so this doesn’t happen. Being mindful of string tension/scale length has also helped. I now run 10s on my Les Paul and 9 1/2s on my Fenders. This keeps me from having to modify my playing technique too much.
I liked this info, for me it was very informative, thanks
Thank you, very informative, often wondered why these guitars were different..
Thanks for watching!
Excellent explanation. Well done
Thank you, Scott!
Best content I’ve come across in this topic. I’ve played Fenders all my life, and I’ve always hated the string tension. I personally don’t like Gibson, for a multitude of reasons. So I’m going with a PRS, with either their Goldilocks 25”, or possibly their “594”.
Nice! A video that cover most (all?) things regarding the differences in scale length.
But I would argue that the difference in sound and the difference in tension (totally irrelevant imho) often gets too much attention. An attention that can often be seen in the comments in videos like this.
More important is the relationship between the scale length (as well as the neck profile) and your hand size. If you have to play big intervals requiring wide stretches, like for instance on the same string at the lower frets, you either have to have larger hands (and/or longer fingers) or better yet, a neck that is better suited for your size.
Look at it the same way you do when you shop shoes. You can see a nice pair of boots, but I'm pretty sure you try them out before you buy them, or otherwise you might end up with boots that don't fit. The same thing should be taken into account when trying out a guitar.
Personally, I only play 24" scale guitars nowadays, and I'm able to feel the difference in scale length, when picking up an unknown guitar, just like I can tell if shoes I try in a store are too small or too big.
i downtune my stuff, so every instrument i have benefits from a longer scale. i went as far as building a 30 inch scale neck conversion for my strat. its almost comically long. with the strat having that like 5 inches of wood behind the bridge for purely comfort, with a 30 inch scale its basically the length of a bass side by side. got some stringjoy strings on it, 125-15 custom gauge for super high tension in drop D1 and i intentionally flattened and mirror-polished the frets so it has a slight string buzz on every string, every fret. sounds like a death metal sitar. i friggin love it. Now on a bass, if you tune lower than B, your really need a 35+ scale length to get any clarity.
Agreed all around!
I went 25.25 on my Tao T-Bucket because I always find the 24.75 vibe for anything Fender-ish leaves me missing that upper harmonic content. Even PRS at 25" misses it for me, but I wanted something just a hair shorter than a typical Fender so that first position one-finger-per fret was a natural resting state without the little bit of stretch I do on a Jazzmaster. Worked out really great.
Love both scale lengths. There is a slight noticable feel in the different scale lengths but it's minor and at the end honestly both sound amazing anyway so I say people should get both. Get both and experiment with different tensions for different attributes that the guitar can fulfill.
Nice explanation. FWIW, I once changed Warmoth necks going from 25.5 to 24.75. The difference is much as you describe. The lowest strings had a bit more of a "piano" quality if that makes sense. Obviously same body, pickups, etc.
That's awesome Rick! I need to get two Warmoth necks so I can do a side by side.
So which one is better for you. 24 or 25 .
@@noky8746 I am stuck in a rut learning to play as I am still on the first module for six months only now I have horrible wrist pain plus my hand falls asleep. Why? I have small hands (6.5in from wrist to the tip of the longest finger, and 7.5in from tip of the thumb to a fully spread out hand's tip of the pinky) so to reach the top half of the strings (especially 5 and 6) I have to bend my wrist which is giving me carpal tunnel. What would help as the Squire is too much for me?
Having said the above I would love to have a 24.75 on with Fender everything else. Not because, like Angus Young, I can reach on it better, but it just sounds beefier to me.
Great video thanks!
My question is, in terms of comfort and ease of playing, does the closer action of the longer scale length make up for the increased tension? I like my strings to be as easy to fret as possible and I'm not sure if slightly less tension but slightly further action would be easier to fret, or slightly more tension but slightly closer action. Please inform me!
Hi! Thanks for an amazing video. I have a question. How to have a balance between string length adjustment and intonation? On my telecaster I have individual saddles for the strings which can be moved back or forth. However this would change my octave frequency on the 12th fret. Any comments?! 😊
Would love to see a real world comparison with a strat or tele then 2 identical wood warmoth necks. One 24.75 AND ONE 25.5, AND bonus a 25 scale to get that PRS thing in there.
I am stuck in a rut learning to play as I am still on the first module for six months only now I have horrible wrist pain plus my hand falls asleep. Why? I have small hands (6.5in from wrist to the tip of the longest finger, and 7.5in from tip of the thumb to a fully spread out hand's tip of the pinky) so to reach the top half of the strings (especialy 5 and 6) I have to bend my wrist which is giving me carpal tunnel. What would help as the Squire is too much for me?
It makes a difference in your playing comfort and tuning stability more than with the sound
What point of the bridge would you measure to if you want to confirm your bridge is positioned correctly? (Potential issue on cheaper guitars that won’t intonate)
i like 8-9s on my tele and jazzmaster but i did throw barritons on my old cheap tele and stuffed it !!!!!! but on superlights i luv how i can bend whole chords gives you a signiture !!!
It would be lot better to aim a camera at the fretboard & bridge so people can see exactly where you're measuring at/to & so on. Some people figure you measure from the center of the 12th fret & not from the 12th fret bar - 12th fret wire.
Sometimes I just check out video's to see if they help out a novice or a player who usually has all their work, [setups] done by a local Luthier. I do my own setup's so I'm pretty well versed on measuring out a Strat, or a Les Paul type of guitar....
Some chords are easier to play on wider scale for me. Fingers seem to jam up and mute strings I want to ring unless I fret very awkwardly.
Great video but unrelated question, I was just wondering what gauge string would you recommend for a Fender jaguar? I'm not that great with guitars
Personally I love our Balanced Mediums on Jags!
I got a strat with a gibson scale length neck and ebony fretboard. Flatter fretboard radius too. Love it. Thanks warmouth.
watching this made me realize why i always struggled to progress on my electric.... cuzi was playing on a 72 tele thinline w/a scale of 25.5... IE not good for solo
ing but good for strumming
Plenty of the best soloists of all time played on 25.5". A 24.75" may be easier for some players, but neither scale is holding you back from doing whatever you want to on the guitar.
Jaguar tuned down a whole step with 12-52 strings, wound G. It's a strange setup but it works so well for me.
I bet it works great!
I thought the shorter scale could tolerate the lower action better. I think I had that perception because of the low wide frets on a Gibson that made me perceive the action as lower. Interesting.
I have large hands and still love Gibsons 24.75 scale but I love Fenders also.
Does the space between frets get smaller?
Example, a 22 fret guitar in 24.75” length has smaller distance between frets than a 25.5 guitar scale?
(which would translate to a more comfortable playing if I have small fingers)
Edit: lol I stopped to write right before you mentioned what I asked... Ha!
I've always wondered, does the harmonic content vary greatly between a Fender and a Gibson? And I believe this may contribute to Fender's so-called "chiming bell like" single coil sound.
Well.
Pickup design
Longer scale length is where it's at, IMO. 27" is the way to go, for me. Jericho's default length is 25.75" (full inch longer than Gibson).
cool. thanks
I always liked the Fenders scale length better until about 5 years ago when I got cubital tunnel syndrome. Now it's hard for me to play a Fender. So now my go to guitar is my SG and my Strat sits in the closet.
This might help you as well:
1) ruclips.net/video/Awl6Q8Ef-RY/видео.html
2) ruclips.net/video/HTjwvwCZmRo/видео.html&feature=emb_logo
@@TheSilence1 Thanks
@@smitty31560 You're welcome. I hope it helps.
I feel like every guitar feels and sounds different, even within the same models. But yes, I can definitely tell the difference in scale lengths.
I was born at a very young age so naturally like a shorter scale length.
Can unopened strings go bad? Like if I buy a packet of strings, and don't open them for 5 years, will it rust?
They can (even with the barrier shielding tech we mostly all use these days), but that doesn't necessarily mean they will. I have some old strings in envelopes (unsealed) from Fender in the 1960s that still look great, and I opened a new set from a competing brand just the other day and saw rust. So it can be a bit of a crapshoot.
Sorry, one other thought. If you like a more similar tension between your Fender and Gibson scale guitars, I've found that using 10's on my Gibsons and 9.5's on the Fenders gives you a bit closer feel in that regard.
Yep! We use this exact example at the end of the video
@@Stringjoy Oh oh. Just got caught out on not watching all the way :-)
Haha no it's all good, you were right after all!
I only came here to say i want that 339!
How about bass guitar scale lengths? They seem to vary much more widely. I've seen as low as 28" on an Ibanez Mikro to as long as 36" on some high-end customs - an 8" difference! Typically we see 34" scale as "standard" but Rickenbacker uses 33-1/4". Then there are "short" and "medium" scale basses at 30" (e.g., EB-3) and 32" (some Alembics, Kubicki). The Ibanez BTB line is 35". I assume the same principles apply; all things being equal, a longer scale will give a tighter, higher tension string with different tonal characteristics than a shorter scale length.
Hey Mike, great question! Same principles apply, I'm a 32" bass player myself so I've wanted to do a similar bass video for a bit.
There is more variation in basses because the first commercially successful electric bass was designed by Leo Fender. The scale length chosen for any stringed instrument is a compromise between tone and playability and he selected the 34 inch scale length as being less cumbersome than the 43 inches of a double bass (the size of a double bass has always been a problem for portability) but still long enough for a tone with prominent upper harmonics, Even at 34 inches some players struggle with the fret spacing and agility so basses with shorter scales that also happen to be more portable are available. Very short scale basses, like the Beatle Bass can be a bit dull and thumpy.
Great comment Terry!
man i dont what to think...i grew up with a strat and i assumed i like fender scale better. 5 months ago i had a schecter hellraiser hybrid pt, an MIJ ibanez rg521, an ltd M-1000 KOA, an ibanez AZ242f, and an ibanez js24p. i got G.A.S for a carvin really bad(25" scale) and got a dc400. after playing it for about 2 seconds i got super wide eyed and thought to myself, "oh shit all my other guitars were just ruined for me!" i didnt think id be able to find another guitar that compares...lol a few days later a guy who won a guitar from "the art of guitar" channel wanted to trade the bc rich mockingbird he won for my ibanez rg521. i was shocked to find the playability was basically identical. the mockingbird has 24⅝ scale. i later traded the schecter for another dc400 so i have 2 now. iv tried to go back to my other guitars hoping id like them again, but they all seem inferior. the notes just bend so much easier. everything else seems like im fighting it while playing. the carvin/bc rich are the only guitars iv played that i feel allow me to play to the best of my abilities. the only thing i can think of is the scale...
It give for lidl hands like lidl womans or childs (or lidl mans) the gibsons with 3/4 big frets!!!! Its a 1/4 " lower in complete length of scale!!! But not not sure if gibson make that today, but on vintage it have give it on juniors and es125!!! And other models! Its build for Children but also a man can youse it!!! Fine for jazz cords!!! Thay can be wide!!! About 4 or 5 frets!!!!
For those, like myself, who have broken fingers, a short scale might be something to look at. My pinky, the last bone leading to the fingernail, is bent down at nearly 45 degrees which makes fretting on a normal scale rather hard ( a real pain in the ass ). So hard in fact that i just gave up in my 20's playing guitar. 51 now and covid introduced me to a shortscale. I wish i knew about them 30 years ago when i stopped playing. I have far less issues fretting on shortscales. Far less.
The sideview of you talking is really off putting. I have seen two of your clips now and you do it in both so that is me a gonner now. Just too weird.
"...half way from the nut to the bridge... its nut!!!!" ( sorry that made me giggle... my brain hear dad joke too much often xD)
play that pentatonic lick one more time, I dare ya!
The gibson scale was folse!!! Is not 12 3/8 thats to low!!! 24,74" is the Complete so it muste be 12,37" thats more than a 3th of 1" and not 3/8
Sorry!!! Forget what i say have meen you have sayed 3/16 that was my faile!!!!! Im from europe austria and know inches cose im a drumer (international cymbals and drums in inches! But europ vintage drums and cymbals like the expensivesd one in World like the "old k" i have is build in cm but now it were give on as inch rpund up or down only its a half inch than its 19,5 inch like some old cymbuls) and guitarist but in this case i have made a faile cose i forget its 16 parts to one inch! !!! Sorry!!! You are right!!! Sorry!!! Im not a bad youtuber who look on failes!!! but this i was thinking its one and should it say that people are not confused :D but the only here was i who was confused :) hahaha!!! big fail from a man who lerned and have made a job as construction and drower for house build in Architecture Companies!!! ...but i finde cm better! So you have it easyer as with inches!!! Cose you dount need the " / " and can make it with " , " how its make very easyer to work!!!! Sorry for that!!!
Greetings from Austria ...phil
RADIO GAH GAH RADIO GOO GOO
“I want my different guitars to sound exactly alike”
Said nobody ever
meanwhile, I'm playing my agile 9 string 30" scale lol
Djackoff
This was annoying. A lot of overkill and beating to death the obvious. But the most irritating thing was his habit of saying one thing and then immediately contradicting himself or saying "sort of." It was ok but not that informative.
Way too much talking about things no one cares about. Get to the point.
edit: Took him until 5:39 to get to the point.