This coronavirus lockdown makes me do all kinds of weird stuff. For example, today I watched the Tribute to Ginger Baker concert and saw Will Johns playing a nifty guitar, so I started looking for it. I think it's an Ernie Ball Music Man. But what struck me was that it seemed shorter in neck length than all the Strats that were on stage, so I started checking out short scale guitars.
My KLŌS travel guitar is a 3/4 size. I really like playing it, and I like the sound. Why? Maybe it's because I have very small hands, and the size just "fits?"
(Side note: Thank you Kenny, for increasing the character count!).
I wondered what other guitars might have a shorter scale. So began my research.
The first thing I learned was that Gibson and Fender guitars typically have different scale lengths. Fender guitars are longer; Gibson guitars are shorter, although they've gotten longer over the years. And, apparently, PRS guitars have shorter scale lengths by design. So, what does this all mean?
My research brought me to the site of Stringjoy, a maker of custom instrument strings, where I learned a lot about the science of strings, sound, and scale. Quite interesting, to me at least!
So now I'm going to pull out one of my solidbody Gibsons and see how the scale compares to one of my Fenders. I might also look into buying a set of "custom" strings from Stringjoy.
Does anyone else find the different scale lengths of their guitars making a noticeable difference in their playing? And would you consider buying a 3/4 scale guitar for regular playing/performing? If so, which one? Or which brand?