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Hi Guys,
I'm building my first Tele using a Gibson 25.3" long scale (longest scale on my fret ruler).
Can anyone give me a ballpark idea of how much compensation to use to locate the bridge? (standard hardtail Tele bridge) I'll probably loose fret 21 to pull the neck in towards the bridge rather than move the bridge towards the neck. My fretboard will have a 14" radius if that makes any difference.
I've got a good 1/2" of travel in the saddles, so I could space it at 25.5" and hope for the best.
Thanks,
Dan

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Thanks Zeke,
That calculator gives the distance from the nut to the mounting screw of the bridge.
Absolutely no offense intended, but that measurement seems kind of useless to me.
My bridge is not a genuine Fender bridge, so I'd be cautious to use that measurement.
I'm looking for the distance from the nut to the average location of the saddles.
I appreciate the response,
Dan

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I figured you may have had one of the many bridges listed. For the tele hardtail They have the gotoh, wilkinson, and traditional fender. Sorry it wasn't any help to you. Maybe you could pull the specs off of one of those bridges and calculate the difference in yours to find the location?

Good idea, Thanks!
Dan

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You should be fine measuring from the fretboard side of nut to the first string saddle.
Adjust the first string saddle so it can be moved a little towards the neck.

Neck radius is important when choosing some bridges that don't have saddles that adjust up and down.

I'd personally keep the fret. To small amount of bridge relocation to be concerned with if you haven't
routered the bridge pup cavity yet and it may not matter...you would need to determine that.

Thanks Michael,
I'll move the bridge 1/2" towards the neck and keep the fret.
This will put the distance between the nut and the first saddle at about 25.5".
I can always move the bridge back if needed since the screw holes will be covered by the bridge.
Dan

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Thanks Sandywood! I took your advice and the intonation is spot-on.

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I honestly never knew that Gibson had a 25.3" scale. What guitars used it?

Beats me - I bought the Gibson fret rule from SM and it was the longest scale on it, so that's what I used.
Dan

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Dan I'm glad it worked out for you.

It didn't seem strange for you to be using that scale but I have to
say I was surprised that you didn't know what guitars it was used on...that
information is listed at SM with the scales.
They state it was used on Gibson acoustics.

Dan for the sake of an example I'll mention two of the most well known - Gibson Les Paul
and Fender Strat/Tele.
Gibson has been all around 24.5 and Fender at 25.5 consistantly, for models mentioned.
The scale length is a major player in not only the sound but playing action as well.

I mention because it may be the choices you'd like to experience first. Pickup location/templates
will work in your favor using "conventional" choices.

Thanks Michael,
I understand what you are saying.
I'm pretty used to playing Gibson's 24-3/4 scale with a 12" FB radius.
I do really like the Tele sound though.
On this Tele, I'm using a 14" fretboard radius for more of a (flatter) Gibson feel.
I used the 25.3" scale because it is on my Gibson rule and close (at least the length) to Fender.
Also, I don't want to buy a Fender scale. Using 24-3/4 scale would have moved the bridge too close to the neck.
I don't know if I'll get the Tele sound, but it sits good on the leg and looks cool.
Also, I was able to get about a 1 degree neck angle by setting the neck deep into the pocket.
Not Gibson's 3 degrees, but it feels pretty good.
I spent several hours yesterday making the nut and have four more slots to go. So far, so good.
I put a few pictures from a week ago onto the Doc-U-Build forum if you want to have a look.
I have not decided yet how I want to transition the body heel into the neck, but I'll save that after I strip it down for finishing.
Thanks,
Dan

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Dan that is looking great. I really like the Pecan fretboard....and the rest.

I'll enjoy following your build-thanks for the heads up.