asm Posted August 6, 2004 Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 i just tried to order a 22 fret prs style template from guitarbuildingtemplates.com, ill be building the whole thing from scratch also. the problem is the wait on the 22 fret is 10 days. he however has a 24 fret on hand. is there any difference in the body size shape, neck pocket dimensions, neck width, ect. i think i heard someone say the only difference is the heel size, but i could easly shape that to my liking. what should i do? i needed these plans yesterday and 10 days + shipping doesnt sound appealing right now. thx! t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted August 6, 2004 Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 up to you...i would go with the 24 fretter because of personal preference....but 10 days really means nothing in a guitar building at home context Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asm Posted August 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 true, thats the thing though, personal preference. i never play high up so 24 is out of my league. 10 days is alot for me, hopefully i can get alot of it knocked out in that time, i dont have a long time of the availability to some tools right now, so im pressed on time. but if scale is the same on the 22/24 fret. cant i just reduce the length of the fretboard at the heel end and it will work? thx for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted August 6, 2004 Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 but if scale is the same on the 22/24 fret. cant i just reduce the length of the fretboard at the heel end and it will work? thx for the help. wait for the 22 fret template.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asm Posted August 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 i could understand if someone was trying a 24 to 22 fret conversion or vice versa on an existing, but starting off from scratch wouldnt i have the ability to modify the plans anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted August 6, 2004 Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 i reckon you coould cut the heel end down, if they are the same scale length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asm Posted August 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 you mean tenon length? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted August 6, 2004 Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 i reckon you coould cut the heel end down, if they are the same scale length. you cannot cut the heel down...that will mess up the bridge placement look,if you are going to modify all of what you would have to modify to make a 24 fretter into a 22 fretter,then why even buy a template?the whole reason behind a template is to cut down on the possibility of errors in measurements...a 22 fret prs is different in the following ways....neck pocket,pickup placement,bridge placement neck length...understand?if you change all that,then the template becomes alot less worth the money anyway that is my opinion...you asked for it,you got it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 i thought he was talking about getting a completely bare fretboard, i know obviously cutting a neck will muck it up royally! if it was a totally bare fretbaord with 24 frets it is perfectly possible to remove the last 2 and put it on your own neck for a 22. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 well if you open this picture, and then the next one in the same browser and just press forward and back a couple of times you'll see exactly where an why these guitars are different. http://www.prsguitars.com/showcase/current...s/lg_stan24.jpg http://www.prsguitars.com/showcase/current...s/lg_stan22.jpg I looks to me that the 24 templates would not be suited for a 22 fret guitar, BECAUSE, the 24 fret neck is longer, cutting the heel a bit short would not do the job, it would most likely lead to a loose joint, and like wes said the bridge, and bridge pickup would also need to be slid back the according ammount, although you could measure this and reset the template after routing the neck pickup and body contour, again like wes said, the whole point of getting the templtes is to start off on the right foot, not the wrong foot with a crutch Sorry, but if it was me i'd probably wait. Although, if you only have access to the tools for a limited time, and feel you can perform the above accuratly, then it's up to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asm Posted August 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 i guess ill just wait. not worth it and ill never make a 24 fret so ill be patient. wood will have plenty of time to get here too. so thats a plus side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litchfield Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 Good idea. Wasnt that the first answer anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Librero Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 so, is it a choice between 10 days of anxiety and an eternity of regret? let me think hard on it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank falbo Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 For a 22 fretter, PRS moves the neck into the body farther, and moves the bridge and the bridge pickup back. Then, because of that, he moves the knobs back, too, so they're in the same relation to your playing position. It's not "too much" to modify from 24 fret plans, but it's not worth it. If you've made enough guitars that you can do without templates entirely (I've never used them) then you could feasibly just steal the pertinent info from the 24 fret one and do everything else by hand, but like I said, it's not worth it. If it were me, I'd be putting a smooth "all access" heel on it that contoured into the back of the guitar, then I'd put a toggle or two on there, and make it a 25 1/2" scale. So the template would be nothing more than wall art! Finally, if all else fails, just stay here and discuss it at length for 10 days and you wait will be over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 Frank, I'm curious why you prefer 25.5" scale over 25" ? I'm not sure what to think about the 25" scale. So far, when I play a guitar with that scale, it's like the tone is "neutral" , " has less personality". I don't have loads of experience with it, tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted August 8, 2004 Report Share Posted August 8, 2004 Frank, I'm curious why you prefer 25.5" scale over 25" ? I'm not sure what to think about the 25" scale. So far, when I play a guitar with that scale, it's like the tone is "neutral" , " has less personality". I don't have loads of experience with it, tho. i find 25" to be "buttery" sounding...but that may be the walnut strips on either side of the neck thru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank falbo Posted August 8, 2004 Report Share Posted August 8, 2004 I just prefer the longer scale because the notes are cleaner and stronger. It's not something I feel like there's a right or wrong answer to. Except for the mathematical reasons why the notes are clearer, but what I mean is that doesn't make it "better". Just better for me. I have a strong grip and a snappy pick attack, so I don't need the reduced string tension for my playing comfort. I'm too lazy to cut my own fret slots (plus it's sooo cheap) but if there was a board with a 26" scale slotted I'd probably use that a lot. I just recently figured out that there's enough width for a guitar on a Stew-Mac or LMI fretboard that's slotted for the banjo scale. The problem with the Stew-Mac one is it's only 3/16" thick. So I'll have to use LMI if I want to make a long scale guitar. I wouldn't use it for baritone though, I'd tune it to concert pitch. The "buttery" sound of a shorter scale is a reality, but mostly contributed by the string tension per gauge. I've always said you can't compare the 24 3/4" to 25 1/2" with the same string gauge. You have to adjust the gauge so that the tension is the same. The 9.5 or 10.5 strings are good to use for that. I find that if you get the tension to be the same between the two scales, the notes are still cleaner on a 25 1/2 with the thinner gauge because the string is longer. So a set of 10's on a 25 3/4" scale sounds better to me than a set of 10.5's on a 24 3/4". Even though we're talking about a 25" scale vs. 25 1/2 here, I was just using the LP vs. Strat scale to illustrate the point. It's all preference though, like I said. I don't assert that it's better for anyone else but myself. And it's coming from me as a player, not a luthier. As a luthier, you build to whatever the player wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sindlei Posted August 8, 2004 Report Share Posted August 8, 2004 i also prefer longer scale, i play 25 1/2" and 24 3/4 just doesn't seem right to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.