26.5 scale length question

[TheShreddinHand]

Hey guys, does anyone know if the extra inch in scale length you get with a 26.5 neck vs. 25.5 get spread equally across the frets? So for instance, is each fret 1/24th of an inch further spread out on a 26.5 vs. a 25.5 neck? Or is there a more noticeable increase in fret distance on the lower frets or conversely on the higher frets? Was just wondering about this and figured somebody here was bound to know!

 

[Obsidian Soul]

The 26.5in scale increases fret distance and string tension. If you were to have two guitars, one a 26.5 and the other a 25.5, in the same tuning, you have to put slightly lighter strings on the guitar with the 26.5in scale for it to have the same tension as the 25.5in one.

As far as fret distance, in my experience, I have not really been able to notice the difference. I can still stretch my fingers up to five frets in between.

 

[ghost_of_karelia]

I moved from a 24.75" to a 26.5" and I can only notice the difference on the lower frets. It's not a massive difference but is definitely noticeable, much less so on the higher frets. Not sure how this pans out from 25.5" though. ^^

 

[Charvel7string]

You shouldn't really notice it just have lighter strings on it.

 

[ElRay]

They're all spread out by the same "percentage" of their original spacing. Higher frets will be slightly less further apart than the lower frets.

Ray

 

[mrdm53]

i have 2 guitar that use 25,5" and 26,5" scale, one is Cort X-6 and a custom 7 string guitar by Syukey Guitar, and i can say that, suprisingly, 26,5" was perfect scale for my hands

 

[Der JD]

Don't know for sure but I'm guessing that the extra inch is spread out equally.

Big stretches and some chords closer to the nut are a little more difficult. On the other hand, I find that leads higher up on the neck seem easier because you're not as cramped for space. I definitely notice the difference all over the neck.

 

[Contra]

Fret spacings should be increased by about 4% if you were to compare a 25.5" scale to 26.5", so the lower frets would gain more length than the higher ones.

(26.5)/(25.5)=1.039, AKA about 104%. As the scale length increases, the frets should be proportionately the same distances apart.
Thus, a fret spacing of 1.5" on a 25.5" scale would be about 1.56" on a 26.5", where a 0.5"spacing would translate to around .52", and so on.

 

[7stg]

It is not equally, it is a logarithmic formula to calculate fret spacing The Physics Of Guitar

http://www.ekips.org/tools/guitar/fretfind2d/ will do all the calculations for you.

Playability wise, it is a very easy transition from 25.5 to 26.5

 

[TheShreddinHand]

Awesome, I knew you guys would know! Contra and 7 stg, that makes perfect sense!

 

[TraE]

I personally don't think it's that big of a difference going from even a standard scale 6 string to a 26.5" 7 string. Sure, if you picked both of them up next to each other you'd definitely notice a bit of a difference, but as others have said it's mainly in the lower frets. after the 3rd fret (for me at least) you can't even notice the difference.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

You can feel it on the first 1-5 frets and a bit on the 12th-19th frets when your playing lead and stretches. As long as the neck is thin you won't notice much.

 

[TheShreddinHand]

Thanks again guys. Thought of something else, but I'm betting the answer is no or a negligible difference.

Does that extra inch make the guitar any brighter sounding than a 25.5 or no difference?

 

[Lorcan Ward]

Does that extra inch make the guitar any brighter sounding than a 25.5 or no difference?

Kind of. The low strings sound clearer and the treble is a little more present on the high strings.

 

[jimwratt]

It's not so much bright as it's clear. I know that sounds kind of abstract, but its not the kind of brightness you would get by turning up your treble. It's more like you hear everything that was there better. The voices in complex chords become more distinct.

 

[TheShreddinHand]

Kind of. The low strings sound clearer and the treble is a little more present on the high strings.

It's not so much bright as it's clear. I know that sounds kind of abstract, but its not the kind of brightness you would get by turning up your treble. It's more like you hear everything that was there better. The voices in complex chords become more distinct.

Thanks guys!!