Scale?

[Resodude]

I'm a newbie on building guitars etc. Anyway... I've seen many people ask about what scale length the should use. Like on an Ukulele, someone answered 17 inches.

From where do you meassure this?

And, is it important to have it exactly? (If yes, then Why?)

[verhoevenc]

oh god.... oh dear god.... if you have to ask that question... play guitar for several more years, figure out how the things works, ie: intonates, tunes, etc....

And only THEN come back and try to build something.

Chris

[Resodude]

verhoevenc;

Yeah, I probably should. But hey, I'm learning now dude. And this was just supposed to be a school project.

Atleast tell me this;

Is it the length between the bridge and nut or from the nut to the 12th fret?

Edited May 1, 2006 by Resodude

[mikhailgtrski]

Is it the length between the bridge and nut or from the nut to the 12th fret?

The scale length is the theoretical distance from the bridge to the nut.

You can have any scale length you want, but the frets spacing has to be correct for the scale length for the instrument to intonate or play in tune.

Stewmac has a calculator to help with this: fret calculator

[verhoevenc]

An even easier way to have answered that would have been "go measure you're guitar and see."

Chris

[Nitefly SA]

you know, you have to learn sometime chris,there IS a first time for everything, just because he doesnt know is no reason to treat him like an inferior

[verhoevenc]

ok, the original question I can fogive. but the second one asking whether it was the bridge to the nut or the 12th fret? that was just laziness. he could have EASILY gone, "hey, my guitar is a 25" scale" taken out a ruler and measured himself from the bridge to where-ever and found out the answer.... OR... he could have used the search?!

Chris

[Vinny]

oh god.... oh dear god..... no offense.... if you have to ask that question... play guitar for several more years, figure out how the things works, ie: intonates, tunes, etc....

And only THEN come back and try to build something.

Chris

Saying "no offense' before you answer is not a free ride ticket to slam the guy.

-no offense, -Vinny

[verhoevenc]

"no offense" edited out

Chris

[marksound]

It's true, a lot of noob-type questions can be answered before they're asked by just holding an actual guitar in your actual hands.

Two cents, no charge.

[shimmy]

How was he to know what scale length the guitar was?

Instead wasting time slamming him someone could have just answered the question simply -

"the distance between the nut and the saddle on the bridge is the scale length". "the distance between the nut and the 12th fret should be exactly half that scale length."

He can figure out the complicated side of it later compensation and what not.

[verhoevenc]

granted he wouldn't have known.... but most people kinow scale lengths are between 24 and 26 in... therefore, if he had mesaured from the bridge to the 12th he would have seen that's nowhere CLOSE, and thus been able to deduce that it's the other option.

Chris