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Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | And will playing a 22.5" scale guitar totally destroy my "Muscle Memory"?
I picked-up a teeny guitar with a short neck.
If I don't watch what I am doing I can easily jump an extra fret.
Is this a good thing? Will this help my skills.
I am still a beginner, and probably will be till the day I die.
This is the item that I am referring to...
 
See? It is alittle short. ZZ Ryder ME2 Empire (Page10)
So... Do any of y'all switch to a short scale guitar? |
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Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | That's pretty short. May help on some chords that stretch four frets down low. Fender Jaguars are 24" scale and a Hamer Improv and Les Paul are both 24.75". These are the shortest I have and I switch back and forth with longer necks (25.5" typically) without difficulty. At 22.5", you'll probably notice the difference. Hope you have small hands. |
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October 2005
Posts: 4081
Location: Utah | I've got a short scale MWoody creation, the 12 string electric ePap12. I don't think it will mess with your muscle memory at all. It tunes to A, so the chords are in a different place, which in a way it is a good mental exercise to transpose on the fly. And it allows a whole new sound, sort of like a mandolin, without learning a whole new instrument. In any case, the difference in fret distance doesn't mess me up going back to a normal guitar.
So I say have fun with it!
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January 2009
Posts: 4536
Location: Flahdaw | Originally posted by ProfessorBB:
Hope you have small hands. I've seen OMA without a shirt on. You know what they say..."small hands equals small breasts" |
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January 2006
Posts: 1132
Location: NW Washington State | I had a nightmare that OMA was playing guitar while wearing your shirt. Or was he painting a guitar while wearing your shirt? Anyway, it was awful. |
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Posts: 1132
Location: NW Washington State | I don't think you'll have a problem with the shorter scale. I sound equally bad with any guitar, but I don't have a special problem with short scales. Switching from a narrow neck to a wide one seems more difficult.
If you're using standard tuning, you might try relatively heavy strings like 11-52 on your shortscale.
Here are a Fender "Strat Jr." (22.75" scale) and a Matsumoku "Quest" travel guitar (about 21" scale) with a full-size Carvin for comparison.
-Steve W. |
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December 2006
Posts: 6996
Location: Jet City | Does this one count as short scale? Really it's an octave neck.
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May 2002
Posts: 1445
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada | Now THAT's a cool guitar! |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Basically I got the ZZ Ryder as a Play-Outside-in-the-Rain guitar.
My Traveler has a Twin-Rail Pickup... The ZZ Ryder has a Twin and a Quad-Rail!
Here is a Full-sized fretboard (Traveler) and the 22.5" Fretboard...
So you gain about a fret-and-a-half between Zero and Twelve. |
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January 2003
Posts: 1498
Location: San Bernardino, California | I've had no problem adjusting back and forth between scale lengths, but I also play the bass, so that might be the reason.
Try it with .008 strings and tune up to an A. That gives it somewhat of a mandolin sound.
- numbfingers: If you ever want to sell the Quest, let me know. I've been looking for both the guitar and bass versions.
-OMA: you can coil tap the bridge pickup by pulling up on the tone knob. |
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January 2006
Posts: 1132
Location: NW Washington State | Brudev-
I'll keep you in mind on the Quest. I thought I'd try a couple of small guitars since my grip is weak. Not sure if it will help or if I really need it. It's a good quality guitar like other Matsumoku stuff from the early '80s. There was/is a really nice Quest mini bass on eBay in the last few days. Couldn't bring myself to bid on it since I don't play the Aria medium-scale bass I have.
-Steve W. |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | That Traveler reminds me of a joke I heard recently... |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | posted by Waskel:
That Traveler reminds me of a joke I heard recently... Well c'mon... Don't be shy. |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Two gentlemen are conversing over a beer in their local pub,...
No, better not. |
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November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Know your audience. |
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Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Exactly. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | 22.5
Kinda like capo 2.
next? |
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Do Any of Y'all Play a Short Scale Guitar?