Short Scale Guitar

[-martin-]

Hi!

Just wanted to share the project i started the weekend, its a 19.7" scale guitar for my 4yr old son (one wasn't enough for him ).

Borrowed some design elements from METAL MATT

Anyone knows where to buy necks in this scale and other small parts?

//Martin

Edited September 7, 2008 by -martin-

[ElysianGuitars]

could always build the neck yourself

[Tim37]

i think warmoth makes a short scale neck.

Edited September 7, 2008 by Tim37

[-martin-]

could always build the neck yourself

Thats an option, i've never made a neck though. Guess I can use a mandolin truss rod.

[WezV]

for something small like this i would just put a CF bar in the neck without any truss rod, although a mandolin rod is a good option if you do want one

[John Abbett]

I just finished a 19.10 scale guitar. I made the neck and had the fretboard slotted so I didn't have to worry about getting it right. I used standard width parts. My daughter can't fret the base strings, but she can reach the other four. She will grow into the other two.

-John

[-martin-]

I've decided to try to make my own neck for once

Going for a carbon fiber rod, seems simple.

Forgot to mention the woods in the body. the middle part is rosewood(jacaranda) and the outerparts is scrap wood i found lying around. Probably Spruce.

the neck will be maple with a rosewood fingerboard (maybe skull inlays or something like that).

Edited September 8, 2008 by -martin-

[ElysianGuitars]

the outer wood kind of looks like pine...

[John Abbett]

For a truss rod, I used some threaded rod from the hardware store. Cost a couple of bucks. Works like a champ.

I put three nuts on the one end, and torc'd them against each other to lock them in place. Then 5 minuted epoxy'd them in the channel. The other end has a washer and nut.

Carbon fiber will cetainly give you rigidity, but you could add a truss rod fo two or three bucks just to be on the safe side.

Oh, I just ran it into the pickup cavity. You have to remove the neck pickup to adjust it. Take a minute or two but I can get a wrench on it.

I did the truss rod because the neck is pretty thin. I wanted to be able to pull it back if the strings put too much force on it. I don't know if the shoter neck means you need more or less tension to put the strings at standard pitch, but I didn't want to take any chances.

-John

[avengers63]

the outer wood kind of looks like pine...

I was thinking that too. Odd that you'd include the knot. An extra 30 seconds of planning might have prevented that.

Unless that's what you wanted.

[zyonsdream]

can't you just buy a pre slotted board (stew-mac or something) and cut frets off the nut end to shorten the scale length to what you need? In short (ha ha) just chop off the first 3 frets and have a go at it?

[killemall8]

if you cut the first 4 frets off of a gibson scale board, thats about a 19.5" scale.

[-martin-]

Progress pics

headstock sketches:

Not too shabby being built without template, and painted with regular aerosol cans

[ToddW]

Ahh, so you were planning to paint it. I didn't realize that. Looks good.

I'd go with the inline headstock but cut a curve from just past the high e tuner to the point next to the tip. Sort of a scalpel look. My kids bang the headstock into everything (including my guitar) so I think that'd be safer and still look really cool. I used a non adjustable steel truss rod in my son's short scale, but the string tension is so low, a carbon fiber rod would probably have worked fine.

Looking forward to seeing more progress pics

[ae3]

I like the second headstock, probably because I dislike any and all BC. Riches

[Mitch]

I think the left hand head would work better. But both look like they would be capable of impaling someone. If you don't want to buy a carbon fiber fixed truss rod then you could get a half inch square steel bar and use that instead. It should be easier to work and the dust wont be as bad for you. Just an opinion.