vildskud Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 My daughter has developed quite an interest for my guitars, and she has a tendency to "slap" them. So it occured to me, that a bass must be just the thing for her. Now comes the problem. She's not yet two years old, and I don't think that a ½-scale is small enough for her. Is there any kind of a formula for calculating the ideal scale length for any person? I know that this might seam like an insane project, but I'm determined to build one for her. You know..... what if...... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFly Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 http://www.stewmac.com/FretCalculator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Build a 20" scale mini bass with four guitar strings and a 1 1/2" wide neck...won't be able to tune it like a bass,but it is about all a kid that age might be able to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vildskud Posted October 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 http://www.stewmac.com/FretCalculator That calculator can be helpfull as well. However my problem is more about deciding what scale length I should use. I was wondering if there was some golden rule how to find that out. Something with height, arm length or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vildskud Posted October 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Build a 20" scale mini bass with four guitar strings and a 1 1/2" wide neck...won't be able to tune it like a bass,but it is about all a kid that age might be able to work. Yeah. That's something like that I had in mind. Many years ago I tried a set of strings mad by Warwick. They were quite thin and soft. I was thinking that perhaps that sort of strings might work. But Guitarstrings would be just as good. Afterall it's all about giving her the opportunity to bang her thumb against the strings and learn how to create sound. I'm sure that she'll learn to play as time goes by. Thanks for the advise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Well I have tried to show kids chords and scales and stuff before.I never realized how impossible it was for them until I saw it for myself. There is always the odd 10 year old on youtube,but for the most part you really need a completely custom instrument,and I am guessing it would only last a few years until a new one was needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vildskud Posted October 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 (edited) Well I have tried to show kids chords and scales and stuff before.I never realized how impossible it was for them until I saw it for myself. There is always the odd 10 year old on youtube,but for the most part you really need a completely custom instrument,and I am guessing it would only last a few years until a new one was needed That's actually the whole idea. What do you call it acomodating with her development? (I'm danish, so I don't quite know the right terms) Edited October 23, 2010 by vildskud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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