-as of [10 MARCH 2024]–
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-the [scale length] of a [string instrument] is the [maximum vibrating length] of the [strings] that produce [sound] and determines the range of [tones] that [string] can produce at a given [tension]-
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It is also called string length.
On instruments in which strings are not “stopped” (typically by frets or the player’s fingers) or divided in length (such as in the piano), it is the actual length of string between the nut and the bridge.
String instruments produce sound through the vibration of their strings
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The range of tones these strings can produce is determined by 3 primary factors:
the linear density of the string, that is its mass per unit length (which is determined by its thickness and the density of the material),
the tension placed upon it,
and the instrument’s scale length
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Generally, a string instrument has all strings approximately the same length, so the scale length can be expressed as a single measurement, e.g., the violin and most guitars
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Bowed strings
Violin family
The two most famous violin makers, Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù (1698–1744), both used an open string length of 12.8 inches (330 mm) for their violins, which had already been established a generation before by Jacob Stainer (c. 1617–1683)
Later makers have been unwilling to deviate from this
There was variance in scale length in the earliest violins, and almost all of those in current use have had the necks replaced, with the original scroll grafted, so statements of consistent scroll length during that time is somewhat speculative.)
Smaller scale instruments are used extensively to teach younger players. The size of these is described by a “conventional” fraction that has no mathematical significance. For example, a 7/8 violin has a scale of about 317 mm, a 3/4-size instrument a scale of 307 mm, a half-size one 287 mm, and a quarter-size one 267 mm. 1/8, 1/10, 1/16 and 1/32 and even 1/64 violins also exist, becoming progressively smaller, but again in no proportional relationship. (A full-size instrument is described as 4/4.)
Cellos exist in a smaller range of sizes than violins, with 4/4, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, and 1/10 being reasonably common. As with the violin, the Stradivarius scale is regarded as standard for orchestral work; This is about 27.4 inches (700 mm).
Violas are commonly described in terms of their body length rather than—as with other violin-family instruments—by a fraction. There are two reasons for this. First, unlike that of the violin and the cello, the viola scale length has not standardised, but rather advanced players use whatever scale length best suits them. Secondly, student sizes are not as often required, as most viola players who start learning at a young age start on the violin. Common sizes include 17 inches (430 mm), 16+1⁄2 inches (420 mm), 16 inches (410 mm), 15+1⁄2 inches (390 mm), 15 inches (380 mm), 14 inches (360 mm), and less commonly 12 inches (300 mm), smaller than a standard violin; These measurements are nominal and approximate. At least one of the surviving Stradivarius violas has a scale length of 14+1⁄4 inches (360 mm).
Double bass[edit]
There is some variation in the scale length of an orchestral double bass, generally in the range 41.3–43.3 inches (1,050–1,100 mm). There are also smaller versions of this “full scale” double bass with the same scale length but with a smaller sound box, intended for other musical idioms. Smaller scale instruments are also quite commonly used by fully-grown players in jazz, folk music and similar ensembles.
The system of conventional fractions is taken to its logical conclusion with string bass sizes, in that a full-size (4/4) bass is uncommon. Most basses are 3/4 or 7/8, and younger players can use 1/2 or even 1/4 size instruments.
Guitars[edit]
Classical guitar[edit]
Like that of the violin, the scale of the classical guitar was standardized by the work of its most famous maker. Antonio De Torres (1817–1892) used a scale length of 25.6 inches (650 mm), and later makers have followed suit. However, from the mid- 20th Century luthiers seeking increased volume have moved to a 26 inches (660 mm) scale, which is now the standard for such leading makers as Ramirez.
Steel-string acoustic guitar[edit]
The steel-string acoustic guitar typically has a scale slightly shorter than the classical instrument, the most common scales ranging between short scale (24 inches (610 mm)) and long scale (25.5 inches (650 mm)). Small travel guitars and guitars specifically designed for children can have even shorter scales. For example, a 3/4 size steel string guitar might have a scale length of 23 inches (580 mm).
Electric guitar[edit]
Electric guitars reflect the range of scale lengths found with steel-string acoustics. With regard to tone, a longer scale favors “brightness” or cleaner overtones and more separated harmonics versus a shorter scales, which favors “warmth” or more muddy overtones. According to Dave Hunter’s Tone Manual (2011), each scale length has its characteristic sound and tone, which is individual from other sounds in the tone chain: strings, pickups, pedals, amplifiers, speakers, and cabinets.
Most Fender electric guitars, including the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Esquire, and Jazzmaster use a scale length of 25.5 inches (650 mm). A few Fender models such as the Jaguar and Mustang use a scale length of 24 inches (610 mm). Fender has also built some 3/4-size student guitars with a scale length of 22.5 inches (570 mm) or shorter.
Gibson uses a scale length of 24+3⁄4 inches (630 mm) on many of its electric guitars, including the Les Paul, Flying V, Explorer, SG, and ES-335. Gibson has used other scale lengths on various models through the years. Gibson’s nominal “24.75” in scale length has itself varied, sometimes measuring 24+5⁄8 or 24+9⁄16 inches (625 or 624 mm) depending on the production equipment used.[1] As Gibson necks are not often interchangeable, this usually goes unnoticed in practice.
Bass guitar[edit]
The first electric basses were upright electric basses built in the 1930s by fitting an otherwise normal double bass with electric pickups, and so had a scale length of about 43″ (109 cm).
In 1951 the Fender Precision Bass shortened this to 34″ (86 cm). This is still often regarded as the standard length for a bass guitar. On a modern bass guitar, 30″ (76 cm) or less is considered short scale; standard (also called long) scale is 34″ (86 cm) for a 4-string and 35″ (89 cm) for a B-E-A-D-G 5-string, and extra-long scale basses of 36″ (91 cm) also exist.
Other chordophones[edit]
Mandolin family[edit]
Mandolin: 14.1 in (36 cm)
Mandola: 20.2 in (51 cm)
Octave mandolin: 22.75 in (58 cm)
Mandocello 27 in (686 mm)
Ukulele[edit]
Soprano ukulele: 13.6 in (35 cm)
Concert ukulele: 14.75 in (37 cm)
Tenor ukulele: 17 in (43 cm)
Baritone ukulele: 20.1 in (51 cm)
Contrabass ukulele: 20–21 in (50.8–53.3 cm)[2][3]
Banjo[edit]
Banjo: (Gibson five string standard and plectrum) 26+1⁄4 inches (67 cm)
Tenor banjo (19 fret) 22+1⁄4 inches (57 cm)
Piano[edit]
[icon]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008)
The scale length of a piano is the length of the longest string. As this is normally the lowest bass note, it is a single string.
Grand piano[edit]
Concert grand pianos range in scale from about 7 feet 6 inches to 9 feet 0 inches (229 to 274 cm) or occasionally more. Notable concert grands include:
The Steinway Model D, at 8 feet 11+3⁄4 inches (273.7 cm).
The Imperial Bösendorfer, at 9 feet 6 inches (290 cm) with 97 keys.
The Fazioli F308 at 10 feet 2 inches (310 cm).
Smaller grand pianos vary in naming. The larger models, about 6 feet (180 cm) or more in scale length, may have the full grand piano action, and are used in smaller concert spaces. Others are intended for larger homes, and may have a simplified action lacking the repeat lever that is only useful for advanced players.
Baby grand pianos are the smallest, intended for homes, restaurants and similar applications where the grand style of piano is desired even at the expense of the longer scale and better sound that an upright format would permit in the available space.
See also[edit]
Fingerboard
Multi-scale fingerboard
Notes[edit]
^ “- StewMac”.
^ “U-Bass Information Page”. Road Toad Music. Retrieved 21 April 2021. The original Mahogany U-Bass was based on the Road Toad Big Bufo Bass.
^ Liebman, Jon (January 7, 2015). “The Story Behind the Kala U-BASS”. For Bass Players Only. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
Further reading[edit]
“Lutherie Info – Measuring Scale Length of Stringed Instruments” by R.M. Mottola, on the Liutaio Mottola Lutherie Information Website.
“Fender’s 3/4 Scale Guitars”, a two-part article by Tim Pershing in 20th Century Guitar magazine, December 1996 and January 1997.
External links[edit]
Instrument plans index gives some scale lengths.
scale lengths – discussion of the effect of scale length.
Bass guitar buying guide discusses scale length.
Vintage guitars with dimensions.
Listing of some orchestral basses giving both body and scale lengths.
Real Guitar Solo
Road Toad Music’s UBass Page
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Scale_length_(string_instruments)
Scale length (string instruments)
Contributors to Wikimedia projects9-11 minutes 3/12/2006
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the musical (rather than instrumental) scale, see Pythagorean tuning
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acousticguitar.com /ask-the-expert-understanding-scale-length/
Ask the Expert: Understanding Acoustic Guitar Scale Length | Acoustic Guitar
8-10 minutes 8/18/2022
closeup of an acoustic guitar fretboard and a tape measure being used to measure scale length
From the May/June 2020 issue of Acoustic Guitar | By Martin Keith
Scale length is an often overlooked design variable that has a considerable impact on the sound and feel of the guitar.
Here’s a guide to understanding scale length on acoustic guitars.
I need your help to understand scale length.
Why are there so many different variations, how is scale length measured, and how does it affect the tone of the guitar?
What gauge strings are best for different scale lengths?
Why should this measurement matter to me, and how should it factor in when shopping for a guitar? —Bob Lang, Starksboro, VT
Check out more articles from our Ask The Expert series here
Earlier in my career, I worked with Veillette Guitars, a company that specializes in unusual scales and tunings, so this topic is one I particularly enjoy.
In the simplest terms, scale length refers to the length of the active/vibrating portion of the open string, between the nut and saddle.
Among acoustic guitars, the most common scales are clustered around 25.4–25.5 inches and 24.75 inches.
However, to determine the scale of a guitar, you can’t just measure from nut to saddle, since the bridge saddle positions are moved or compensated away from the theoretical scale point to correct intonation.
The most accurate way to calculate scale is to measure the distance from the nut to the center of the 12th fret and double the result.
The basic rule of scale length is simple:
For any given tuning and set of strings, longer scales have higher tension.
Once again, it’s important to note that this only applies to the area of string that is vibrating between the nut and saddle.
The string beyond those points (called the afterlength in violin-family instruments) can affect aspects of how the string feels, as a greater afterlength offers more stretch than a short one, but does not impact the tension of the string at its target pitch.
When doing a setup, scale length is an important consideration. Instruments with shorter scales can be more demanding for a number of reasons:
The lower tension means fret buzzes can be caused more easily, and the intonation is often trickier to dial in accurately.
A player accustomed to low action on a 25.5-inch fretboard may be comfortable with slightly higher action on a 24.625-inch instrument, whereas someone who usually plays short scales may want to choose a lighter string gauge if they buy a longer-scale guitar.
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It’s not uncommon for players to wonder how much difference a change of 3/4 of an inch or less really makes.
Let’s consider the overall tension of a typical light (.012–.053) string set.
On a 25.5-inch scale fretboard, the combined tension at standard tuning is 160.5 lbs., whereas at 24.75 inches the tension is 151.24.
Therefore, a three-percent change in scale length can result in a six-percent change in tension.
By comparison, a set of .011–.052 strings adds up to 148.6 pounds.
The result is that the tension of .012s on the shorter scale will be very comparable to the .011s on the longer scale.
Alongside string tension, you must also consider string flexibility.
Thicker strings are less flexible, as are shorter lengths of string.
As a string loses its flexibility, it starts to exhibit less accurate intonation, which is once again why the thick low strings require greater compensation than the thin high strings. Excessively stiff strings also tend to sound less musical, with odd harmonics and overtones that don’t relate to the notes being played.
Know your instrument, protect your investment, sound your best with help from the Acoustic Guitar Owner’s Manual.
Low bass notes, therefore, are better reproduced with long strings than with short ones, as the length allows a thinner, more flexible string to be used. Treble strings, on the other hand, can sound thin, harsh, and unpleasant if the tension is too high, and many players favor the warm, thick tone of the trebles on shorter scales.
Therefore, the builder and player must find the happy medium between clean, well-behaved bass strings and pleasant, musical trebles by choosing the best combination of scale and string gauges
The ideal example of this is the grand piano, which uses a much longer scale length for the low bass strings than the treble strings. Imagine how different the strings would need to be in order to make that range work with a single scale length!
Although the guitar has considerably less range than the piano, there are still cases where a shorter scale is not ideally suited for the player’s needs—these might include extended tunings with low D or C notes, or guitars with more than six strings. In an attempt to improve bass-string response without compromising the quality of the high notes, some modern makers offer multiscale or fan-fretted instruments, which have longer bass string scales and shorter trebles. Such instruments have frets that are not parallel, which can be a bit intimidating at first glance, but this design is gaining popularity with players who appreciate the more even tension and response it can offer with extended-range tunings. California luthier Ralph Novak is widely credited with proving and popularizing this innovative approach in the custom guitar world, and larger manufacturers are now following suit with production multiscale instruments.
Paying attention to scale length when shopping for a guitar can be very helpful. Some guitars will just feel right, and the scale is often a big part of that. The fret-to-fret variation between different scales is fairly small—for example, between the two scales discussed above, the difference in distance between the first and second frets is only 40 thousandths of an inch. But even these small differences can be felt and appreciated by most players. For a guitarist who has always played Gibsons, for example, the longer scale of a Martin dreadnought or OM may well take some adjustment. Keeping this in mind when evaluating and comparing guitars allows the player to make more accurate judgments about which aspects of the guitar are impacting the playing experience—action can be lowered, but scale length is fixed, and if a guitar feels uncomfortable, it is useful and important to understand why.
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Guitar designers often adjust scale length to optimize an instrument for a particular purpose—for example, jazz archtops with pickups often have shorter scales, which yield thicker, warmer sounding trebles and warm basses with a smooth attack. By contrast, a builder aiming for the bluegrass flatpicker market will likely use a longer scale to get the added punch and volume that the higher string tension can produce. When building a long-scale guitar, the builder must also anticipate the higher tension and brace accordingly, or the instrument may not survive in the long term. This is one reason many fingerstyle players have gravitated towards 00- and 000-style guitars, as their shorter scale (24.9 inches) permits lighter bracing, which yields a more sensitive and dynamic instrument.
At the extreme end of the scale spectrum are baritone guitars (see “Taking on the Tweener” in the March/April 2020 issue), which usually range from 27–30 inches in scale and are designed to be tuned down as far as a fifth below a standard guitar. The heavier string gauges, combined with the long scale, can make the low notes on these guitars quite impressive—and help to illustrate the combined effect of gauge and scale on the quality and character of the guitar’s tone. Capoing a baritone back up to E will result in the same tuning as a standard guitar, but with a very different timbre and tone.
Scale length is one of the fundamental building blocks of a guitar’s recipe, with a wide-ranging impact on the feel, tone, and performance. Understanding how it interacts with your setup, string choice, and playing style will make it much easier to properly adjust your guitar, and may help guide you towards an instrument that feels just right.
Martin Keith is a luthier, repair and restoration expert, and working musician based in Woodstock, New York. martinkeithguitars.com.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2020 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
Know your instrument, protect your investment, sound your best with help from the Acoustic Guitar Owner’s Manual.
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