Official Luthiers Forum!

Hallo everybody,

I've been lurking around the forum for sometime and soon I'm gonna be starting my first build.
I'm working at some Israeli luthiers class.
I would like some advice about planning my first build. Some things are really tough to decide.
I'm not going for a copy of any guitar but the main direction is PRS style.

Anyway I'd like some input from more experienced guys then me.

First question is about the bridge.
I haven't decided yet if I'm going for a Tremolo bridge but I have two models in mind.
Either the Tremolo 2000 or Vintage Tremolo by Schaller or their 3d-6 guitar bridge.
If you have some recommendations I'm open to input.

Second is the scale length.
I know it depends on personal taste but I'm having a hard time deciding if I should build a 25" or 24.75" since I've been playing 25.5" scales all my life.

Thanks in advance for any input!

_________________

In regard of the scale length...

It is not an absolute equation, but the basic rule is: the longer the brighter.
A longer scale will put more tension on your strings. Take two identical string, tuned at the same frenquency, but one 25.5'' long, and the other one 24.75''. The longer one will need more tension to reach the frenquency.
A tighter string will develop more harmonics, or well, the high harmonics will be more present.
That's why fender have crispy/funky sound and gibson have a more warm and boomy sound.


That's said, if we want my point of view, I prefer long scale.
Not necessarily 'cause I love a crispy sound, but because it gives you more possibilities because tone pots work by cutting frenquencies and not by boosting them. So the more you have at first, the more possibilities you have.

_________________
Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

Well put, Francis.
You taught me a few things there.

I must argue, as far as the scale length goes, I believe comfortability is much more important than tone. Because of the reasons just described, the same scale length with lighter gauge strings will produce a mellower tone. Now if you wanted bright as possible it would make sense to go with the longer scale length and heaviest gauge strings you're comfortable with but I think it would be a better idea to decide on what feels best as far as playing goes and you can make decisions construction-wise what you want to achieve tonally. Just my thought.

Schaller 3D bridges are nice. A friend of mine has a Bigsby and we took out the crappy non-adjustable bridge it came with and put Schallers Tune-O-Matic style 3D bridge on it. Major improvement. I think it'd be the way to go if you're doing a tremolo, less friction. Although ask anyone on this forum and they'll tell you, a tremolo will cut into sustain no matter what kind it is.

But sustain usually isn't as important as a lot of people make it out to be... Usually.

_________________
http://www.tinyhouseandland.com

Thanks for the responses.

About the scale length I tend to agree, though using a long scale and cutting the tone with the pots won't give the same sound as a short scale.
I think going for the mid, 25" scale is the best idea for my plan.

About the bridge, Alan, that's the reason I might go for a non tremolo bridge.
Even though the schallar tremolos look great I'm afraid they'll not produce the fat sustainful sound I'm looking for.

_________________

I partially disagree, a big reason Gibsons are warmer and darker is because of the pickups. Humbuckers are MUCH less bright than single coils, and have higher output so the bass frequencies are enhanced along with the mids. Single coils have lower output but are more balanced frequency-wise, and don't have the intermodulary distortion of humbuckers, so the have a brighter clearer tone than humbuckers.
Put humbuckers in a strat it immediately becomes less spanky, and put single coils in a Gibson, it almost sounds like a tele. I've done both. I also made a guitar with a purpleheart body, maple neck and fretboard, 24.5 inch scale, 3 single coils. Very stratlike sound.
I'm not saying scale length has no effect on tone, in fact I think it DOES have a substantial effect, but it gets filtered through the pickups.
The way it comes across to me is that the longer scale strings sound more piano-like. More highs and lows, but the bass is tighter, giving a more defined note per string. This is more noticeable on an acoustic guitar where the pickups don't attenuate frequencies.

_________________
Old growth, shmold growth!

I totally agree about the pickups.
Ofcorse I will use humbuckers since that is the sound I'm looking for.
The thing is I have no idea how a 25" or more scale will sound for this build since I'm much more familliar with this type of guitar having a shorter scale (LP, PRS and so on).
I'm looking for a LP like sound, fat, warm and sustainful but am not a fan of the LP guitar because of it's weight, body shape and the tune-o-matic bridge.
Thats why I decided to go for something more PRS like.

_________________