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Topic: 23.5” scale? |
Dave Zirbel
From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
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Posted 24 Aug 2022 10:44 am |
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Have any of the steel manufacturers used 23.5” scale length? Just curious..🤔
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 24 Aug 2022 11:55 am
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That's a bit short - I'd be surprised.
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Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Dave Zirbel
From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
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Posted 24 Aug 2022 2:15 pm
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Early 1960’s Fenders we’re 23”. I have an early Marlen 8 string that is 23” also.
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 24 Aug 2022 3:26 pm
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I admit I know little about those early guitars - I was thinking of modern ones. The one I built a few years back was 24", because that was the length of the 60s pull-release D10 I copied most of the measurements from. 24¼" seems popular now. My Excel U12 is 25½" to prevent the bottom strings from being too flobby and it sounds great, but getting the 3rd string G# up to pitch requires nerve 
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 24 Aug 2022 3:41 pm
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| The earliest Fender model 1000 and 400 were 24.5" scales, and they were reduced to 23" in 1963. (The short-lived Fender PS-210 was also 23".) Of course, the non-pedal Fender steels were 22.5" and 24.5" scales, with the vast majority being the shorter scale. I once played a 22" scale pedal steel of unknown make at the Ozarks Club in D.C. back in the 1960's, and while it didn't have a lot of sustain, the sound was pretty neat; kinda "plinky". |
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Dave Zirbel
From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
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Posted 24 Aug 2022 4:04 pm
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Donny, I think Red Rhodes had Sierra build him a 22.5” scale pedal steel in the 1970’s.
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps |
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Michael Sawyer
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 24 Aug 2022 4:29 pm
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| Donny Hinson wrote: |
| The earliest Fender model 1000 and 400 were 24.5" scales, and they were reduced to 23" in 1963. (The short-lived Fender PS-210 was also 23".) Of course, the non-pedal Fender steels were 22.5" and 24.5" scales, with the vast majority being the shorter scale. I once played a 22" scale pedal steel of unknown make at the Ozarks Club in D.C. back in the 1960's, and while it didn't have a lot of sustain, the sound was pretty neat; kinda "plinky". |
Donny i have an old blonde 400 ,22.5 scale.
Same as your comment above,super tone,zero sustain
mainly above 12th fret.Plinky is the perfect description of mine up high. |
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Bruce Derr
From:
Lee, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 28 Aug 2022 4:41 pm
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| GFI was making a flight guitar, the Aero, that had a short scale, 23" or somewhere around there. I don't know if they still make it. |
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J D Sauser
From:
Wellington, Florida
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Posted 29 Aug 2022 3:02 am
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| Ian Rae wrote: |
| I admit I know little about those early guitars - I was thinking of modern ones. The one I built a few years back was 24", because that was the length of the 60s pull-release D10 I copied most of the measurements from. 24¼" seems popular now. My Excel U12 is 25½" to prevent the bottom strings from being too flobby and it sounds great, but getting the 3rd string G# up to pitch requires nerve |
High G# on E9th:
It's not scale length but total string length which governs tension.
On E9th, the high G# is usually the 3'rd string, which puts it at the 3rd tuner a good 1+ inch further away than what it is on a "keyless". Thus the tension of that string on a 25 1/2" keyless guitar should be about the same or less than on a 24 1/2" keyed guitar.
It's the middle strings which are less tensioned, even with the longer scale length, as they don't have the added string length into the far end of a key head.
... J-D.
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__________________________________________________________
Was it JFK who said: Ask Not What TAB Can Do For You - Rather Ask Yourself "What Would B.B. King Do?"
A Little Mental Health Warning:
Tablature KILLS SKILLS.
The uses of Tablature is addictive and has been linked to reduced musical fertility.
Those who produce Tablature did never use it.
I say it humorously, but I mean it. |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2022 5:44 am
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| J D Sauser wrote: |
It's not scale length but total string length which governs tension.
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Sorry; I can't let this go by. Think about it. |
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J D Sauser
From:
Wellington, Florida
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Posted 29 Aug 2022 9:51 am
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| Earnest Bovine wrote: |
| J D Sauser wrote: |
It's not scale length but total string length which governs tension.
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Sorry; I can't let this go by. Think about it. |
Meaning, Earnest?... J-D.
_________________
__________________________________________________________
Was it JFK who said: Ask Not What TAB Can Do For You - Rather Ask Yourself "What Would B.B. King Do?"
A Little Mental Health Warning:
Tablature KILLS SKILLS.
The uses of Tablature is addictive and has been linked to reduced musical fertility.
Those who produce Tablature did never use it.
I say it humorously, but I mean it. |
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Bruce Derr
From:
Lee, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2022 10:07 am
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| I remember Winnie Winston mentioning that during a Kline demo at a PSGA meeting in 1978. It's one of the reasons I bought my Kline. |
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Jack Wilson
From:
Marshfield, MO
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Posted 29 Aug 2022 10:40 am Gfi
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| You can still order a 22.5" scale GFI. I have one and the sustain is the same has my 24". That model was designed for Mike Sigler who wanted it for overhead plane storage. |
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Daniel McKee
From:
Corinth Mississippi
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Posted 3 Sep 2022 10:09 pm
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| Don’t remember where but I recently saw a custom GFI U12 with the 22.5 inch scale. It may have been on reverb for sale but anyway I was curious how the short scale would sound with those big low strings in the universal tuning. |
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Paul Redmond
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 13 Sep 2022 11:50 am
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As I recall, Miller used a 23-1/2" scale.
PRR |
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