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  #16  
Old 10-11-2007, 09:33 PM
Rainbow Rainbow is offline
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The scale length really does make a BIG difference to me. Now I have a guitar which is 25.7" and am struggling with it. Basic Chords wise not too much of problem but when it comes to more trying chords and even stretching, my short fingers just refuse to stretch further. Well, can only blame the guitar....

Anyway, I felt that no matter how good tone a guitar has, if comfort is an issue, I will find myself not picking it up as often as compared to one that has better comfort level.
So best is to find one with great tone and great playability.....
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  #17  
Old 10-11-2007, 10:25 PM
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rick-slo rick-slo is offline
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You do more or less get used to different scale lengths and with my current set of guitars I alternate between 25.5" on the steel string guitars and 26.17" on a classical guitar (with the long scale and wide fingerboard on the classical some stretches do get to be a real challenge). The pressure of fretting and barres does not make much difference to me if the guitar is set up with the right action but then again I string with a mixed set of lights and mediums. I think people with less hand strength (perhaps as they get older and develop some early arthritic symptoms) really do benefit from a shorter scale in a big way.
Rick
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  #18  
Old 10-12-2007, 01:24 AM
buddiesorg buddiesorg is offline
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I don't think I notice when a guitar has a short scale length or not, at least not as much as nut width or spacing at the saddle when I change from one extreme to the other. For example, this year I read on Goodall's site that the Parlour is a short scale. I haven't measured mine, but if it is, I never noticed it while playing, and I've had it for quite some time ... perhaps it's because it's a small guitar, so I just adjust to it. I'm pretty sure the Norman Blake is a short scale, too. I'm not sure if I have any other short scales ... it's just not something I notice while playing ... just something I read on spec pages.
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  #19  
Old 10-12-2007, 02:16 AM
jhchang jhchang is offline
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I think you're particularly blessed as you may not know... Your situation would never happen to me. I'd never buy a guitar w/o knowing or specifying the scale length. Actually I have to learn the spec inside out before I would buy any guitar. I won't rely on my feeling because feeling is like clouds: come and go.
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  #20  
Old 10-12-2007, 06:03 AM
jmat jmat is offline
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For me the biggest difference is in the right hand not the left. Tension can have a big impact on right hand technique, esp if you are using a classical style transferred to steel strings. With less tension it is easier (for me) to get more balance both in volume and tone between rest stroke and free stoke. Less tension allows me to dig in when you needed providing more dynamic range and allowing more expression with techniques that don't have as much excessive power such as tremolo. An example where volume balance is needed is where you move from strumming to single string work, with rest or free stroke. I find these things harder to do on a dread with med gauge strings but easier on a 24.9 OOO.
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  #21  
Old 10-12-2007, 07:32 AM
buddiesorg buddiesorg is offline
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Well, I am blessed, but that's not the reason I didn't know which guitars had a different scale length. At the time, I purchased the guitars, I did not know guitars came in different lengths ... I bought them because I played them and thought they were great guitars.

Same thing with nut width and spacing at the saddle ... at one time I knew steel string 6, steel string 12, and classical had different measurements, but I didn't realize that they differed within those categories as well. After I started reading the more technical posts on the AGF and UMGF a few years ago, I decided to find out what I had, and I was surprised at how much they varied ... and it explained why it sometimes took a few moments before my technique cleaned up after I had played a certain guitar for a long time and suddenly switched.

Certainly now I look at these specifications, and if I were to have one built, I would tailor them to my preferences. But years ago, I just went to the guitar store and played until I found something I liked ... some of them I still have, others are gone.
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  #22  
Old 10-12-2007, 10:14 AM
Kabalan Kabalan is offline
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hi
in classical guitar, now, almost everybody likes small instruments 65cm or
64 cm. i have big hands but with short scale it is easy to play complex polifonic music, like J.S. BACH
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