Is it lazy to just play short scales?

[rllink]

Originally Posted by SecondCity

The Yamaha has a 25 inch scale. The other one is 25.5. Admittedly, they are my first and second guitar respectively, so I don’t have a ton of experience with other instruments, and I intentionally got the second one as different as possible from the first (I bought it used) so I could live with it and try to see which specs from each I liked better.

Seems like a similar story maybe. The reason I ask is because I started out this latest foray into guitar playing by pulling my wife's old dreadnaught out of the storeroom and playing it. It didn't feel good. I did not rationalize it, measure it, or do anything to analyze it, it just didn't feel good. So I bought a Taylor GS Mini which has a 23.5" scale length, but that didn't mean anything to me at the time. It felt better and I didn't question the why. But then I started seeing posts about scale length and other guitar players that I know started telling me that the 23.5" scale length was too short and that I needed to get something with a longer scale length, at least 25" and presumably that would be better. But I guess I hadn't realized that the Yamaha was a short scale length as well. Regardless, I play the Mini more than the Yamaha.

[gmel555]

Is it lazy playing Les Pauls with their 24.75” scale vs playing 25.5” Strats and Teles? Is playing lighter gauge strings lazy? No, not in the slightest.

[Br1ck]

Only problem I see is if you crave the snap a long scale provides. If you have a J 45 and want a more forceful sound of a D 18, it's a problem. If you're playing a D 18 and crave more warmth, it's a problem. The answer is, of course, both.

[Dave Hicks]

No, and using a capo is not cheating, either.

D.H.

[Tannin]

Originally Posted by Guitarplayer_PR

The softer, floppier feel of short scale guitars doesn't have anything to do with the strings, but with the scale. Shorter scales feel softer given that the gauge is the same compared to a longer scale guitar

That is what I said:

Short scale = soft, flopppy string feel and dull sound. (Or soft, delicate feel and warm sound, depends on your point of view.)

Long scale = difficult, tight feel and harsh, shrill sound. (Or taut, snappy feel and crisp, ringing sound, again depending on your point of view.)

[Tannin]

Originally Posted by gmel555

Is it lazy playing Les Pauls with their 24.75” scale vs playing 25.5” Strats and Teles? Is playing lighter gauge strings lazy? No, not in the slightest.

Anyone who has stood up and played a 5 kilo Les Paul for more than half an hour is not, repeat not lazy!