26,5" conversion neck, what to expect?

[AliceLG]

Hi there. My main, and only, 7-string is a PRS SE 7 that I keep tuned in A. Lately I've been thinking about getting a 26,5" conversion neck so I can use slightly lighter strings. I currently have a 72 in there for A and it works well but can get boomy and stiff, with that extra 1,5" I could go with a 66. My local luthier is up to the task but we still have to discuss woods, fret size and inlays, among other details.

The current neck is all maple with a rosewood fretboard and for the new one I'd stick to the rosewood fretboard but the neck could be maple or rosewood, haven't decided yet and will most likely come down to cost and availability.

What changes in tone can I expect just from the longer scale length alone? I assume, all other things unchanged, the guitar will become brighter. Would a rosewood neck help in keeping the brightness down? I could consider a mahogany neck as well.

I'm guessing the neck pickup will lose some warmth as well, as it would be closer to the bridge relative to the new 12th fret, no way around that.

 

[Hywel]

If it's being luthier made and involved taking a router to the body, isn't it going to cost quite a lot?

Are you sure it wouldn't be better to pick up a cheap and cheerful new Jackson already at 26.5" and have the guy set it up nicely?

If you go with it then the longer scale lengths do tend to brighten and tighten up the guitar a bit but I wouldn't say it needed compensating for. Pick the wood you like and it'll probably turn out fine.

 

[haieb]

I am not sure if the wood of your neck will have a noticable impact on the sound. There is a huge debate about it and how wood affects the sound, But who knows who is right I think it will be so little that you shouldn't worry about it What you should know is that mahagony and maple are different in hardness. Mahagony is softer and will bend quicker, so it needs more adjustments. So I think maple would be a better choice for a 7 String. The scale length and thinner strings however, will change your sound. It will sound more focused/brighter/tighter . And the neck pickup will indeed loose some warmth, unless you get less frets and can position the neck further away frome the bridge.
I am not an expert so correct me if i am wrong

 

[gujukal]

I would just use lighter gauges and get use to tad lower tension. Try 66 or 68 or even 64 and see how that feels.

 

[AliceLG]

If it's being luthier made and involved taking a router to the body, isn't it going to cost quite a lot?

There won't be any routing necessary. Going from 25 to 26,5 is basically adding 1 fret before the first, the difference being less than a quarter of a millimeter. My luthier will double-check my calculations and correct them if needed, but I would end up with a 25-fret neck that would be exactly like the actual one when capo'ed on the first one.

I'll be setting a maximum cost because I've already invested some money in upgrading this guitar and this would be a major mod. My backup plan would be to get a Chapman ML-7 T and take the upgraded electronics from the PRS into that one, and then probably sell the PRS stock. But I really like the guitar, it's one of the limited spalted maple ones and it's almost perfect, if it weren't for the shorter scale.

I am not sure if the wood of your neck will have a noticable impact on the sound. There is a huge debate about it and how wood affects the sound, But who knows who is right I think it will be so little that you shouldn't worry about it What you should know is that mahagony and maple are different in hardness. Mahagony is softer and will bend quicker, so it needs more adjustments. So I think maple would be a better choice for a 7 String. The scale length and thinner strings however, will change your sound. It will sound more focused/brighter/tighter . And the neck pickup will indeed loose some warmth, unless you get less frets and can position the neck further away frome the bridge.
I am not an expert so correct me if i am wrong

I hadn't consideed wood hardness. Mahogany < Maple < Rosewood on average for the common species, but density is similar with rosewood being the most dense of the 3. So a rosewood neck would be the hardest (most stable) and heaviest (most neck dive). It'd also be the best looking one IMHO

I'll rule out the mahogany one and go for rosewood if it isn't crazily more expensive than a maple one.

Moving the neck pickup would require re-routing, which I don't want. That's the reason I'm going for a baritone conversion neck instead of the more involved full-on baritone conversion (refilling pup cavities and bridge studs, re-routing to accomodate for new scale length, spending way too much money).

 

[AliceLG]

I would just use lighter gauges and get use to tad lower tension. Try 66 or 68 or even 64 and see how that feels.

Tried all D'Addario strings from 64 to 74. The 72 was the best compromise, with the 70 being a close second but unbalancing my tension profile enough to make it uncomfortable. I'm being nitpicky, I know.

 

[vansinn]

Have you tried a D'Addario FlatTop for the low one? Slightly thicker core, which initially might sound like the opposite of what you want, but as it carries a Bit more tension, some 8% IIRC, still might allow for an overall thinner string.

 

[Pablo]

To me, this sounds like a waste of money... If I were you, I'd sell the SE and pick up a new guitar that has the scale length you want.

 

[AliceLG]

To me, this sounds like a waste of money... If I were you, I'd sell the SE and pick up a new guitar that has the scale length you want.

If you were me you would do exactly what I'm doing, which is exploring my options, because I'm cautious with my money. Considering that what I want is a 26,5" version of my current guitar, and that ordering one would mean going the custom way with my luthier (~3000&#8364 or going the Private Stock route with PRS (~10 Kgs of $$) I think I'm on the right track. Like I said a couple of posts before there's a Plan B if this conversion neck idea ends up being too expensive.

 

[gujukal]

Tried all D'Addario strings from 64 to 74. The 72 was the best compromise, with the 70 being a close second but unbalancing my tension profile enough to make it uncomfortable. I'm being nitpicky, I know.

Hmm, what's the string size on the rest of the strings? Maybe lower the gauge a bit on the 6th and 5th string to make the tension feel more even.

 

[AliceLG]

Hmm, what's the string size on the rest of the strings? Maybe lower the gauge a bit on the 6th and 5th string to make the tension feel more even.

10 13,5 17 26 38 53 72

I could go 10 13,5 17 26 37 52 70 but that doesn't change that much

 

[Pablo]

If you were me you would do exactly what I'm doing, which is exploring my options, because I'm cautious with my money. Considering that what I want is a 26,5" version of my current guitar, and that ordering one would mean going the custom way with my luthier (~3000€) or going the Private Stock route with PRS (~10 Kgs of $$) I think I'm on the right track. Like I said a couple of posts before there's a Plan B if this conversion neck idea ends up being too expensive.

If you end up with the PERFECT guitar for you after such a costly and highly invasive modification, all is great in the world!
However, be aware that the modification renders your guitar practically worthless, if you ever decide to part with it again... as a fan of scalloped fretboards, I know all about post-modification depreciation

Cheers

Eske

 

[gujukal]

10 13,5 17 26 38 53 72

I could go 10 13,5 17 26 37 52 70 but that doesn't change that much

I use 10-46 for d# and its pretty much perfect tension imo, but it probably wont do that much difference.

 

[ddawson2012]

Tried all D'Addario strings from 64 to 74. The 72 was the best compromise, with the 70 being a close second but unbalancing my tension profile enough to make it uncomfortable. I'm being nitpicky, I know.

We also make an .080 which sounds like it's outside of what you're looking for currently but thought I'd add that in. We have a tension calculator that might give you some additional insight into the overall tension profile of our strings - String Tension Pro

 

[AliceLG]

We also make an .080 which sounds like it's outside of what you're looking for currently but thought I'd add that in. We have a tension calculator that might give you some additional insight into the overall tension profile of our strings - String Tension Pro

I have it bookmarked

 

[AliceLG]

If you end up with the PERFECT guitar for you after such a costly and highly invasive modification, all is great in the world!
However, be aware that the modification renders your guitar practically worthless, if you ever decide to part with it again... as a fan of scalloped fretboards, I know all about post-modification depreciation

Cheers

Eske

I've sold some heavily modded guitars, but nothing like this obviously. I wouldn't plan on selling it afterwards if I go through with the mod. But I'd be prepared to take a hit on it if I have to suddenly sell it.

 

[supertruper1988]

Umm hey dude I hate to rain on your parade but the guitar you have is a set neck guitar. You cant just "add a fret" to make it longer you will have to have your luthier remove the current neck, build a new neck that matches the same specs but is a 25 fret neck and then re-glue it in. This process will mess up the finish so you will have to live with it or get the guitar refinished.

All off this will cost as much or more than the guitar and what ever mods you have into it. I would look at a different guitar that has the scale length you are after. You say you are careful with your money but this is a colossal waste of it.

 

[StrmRidr]

Umm hey dude I hate to rain on your parade but the guitar you have is a set neck guitar. You cant just "add a fret" to make it longer you will have to have your luthier remove the current neck, build a new neck that matches the same specs but is a 25 fret neck and then re-glue it in. This process will mess up the finish so you will have to live with it or get the guitar refinished.

All off this will cost as much or more than the guitar and what ever mods you have into it. I would look at a different guitar that has the scale length you are after. You say you are careful with your money but this is a colossal waste of it.

This. You can't just easily take out a set neck like you would a bolt on neck.

 

[AliceLG]

Umm hey dude I hate to rain on your parade but the guitar you have is a set neck guitar. You cant just "add a fret" to make it longer you will have to have your luthier remove the current neck, build a new neck that matches the same specs but is a 25 fret neck and then re-glue it in. This process will mess up the finish so you will have to live with it or get the guitar refinished.

All off this will cost as much or more than the guitar and what ever mods you have into it. I would look at a different guitar that has the scale length you are after. You say you are careful with your money but this is a colossal waste of it.

I am well aware of what a neck swap for my guitar would be like. Is there something wrong in asking for a quote just to see how much it would cost? More information is always better than less information. And this guitar has a clear finish by the way, nothing to ruin and lose sleep and a small fortune about.

I'm going to my luthier today. Let's see how it goes.

 

[supertruper1988]

I am well aware of what a neck swap for my guitar would be like. Is there something wrong in asking for a quote just to see how much it would cost? More information is always better than less information. And this guitar has a clear finish by the way, nothing to ruin and lose sleep and a small fortune about.

I'm going to my luthier today. Let's see how it goes.

A natural finish is still a finish, wood isn't naturally shiny. You will have to have it refinished.

Any Luthier worth their salt wouldn't even look at taking on such a project. There are way too many things that will go wrong in a project like this.

You may as well ask for a completely new build that meets your specs. Plus everything you love about your current guitar is basically gone with a completely new neck. The tone of the neck wood will be different, the fret board will be different, the feel of the setup will be different, etc. So your whole thing about just modifying a guitar you love will go out the window.

I know I sound like I am being a dick but you are honestly going to be wasting money to get a mediocre guitar at best and totally unplayable firewood at worst.