Oh okay, NOW I understand PRS!

See: https://tension.stringjoy.com/

For a 25.5 scale length string tension is:

View attachment 92306

For 24.594 it's:

View attachment 92307



That's not nothing. Especially for weeny muscle fingers.

I remember saving up and getting an LP Studio after working an entire summer between my
junior and senior years of High School. $350!! I still had to put it on layaway at the music store
nearest to where we lived. That guitar was so much easier to bend notes compared to the crappy
Strat copy I was playing before then. It just had a slinkier feel. Back then I knew nothing about scale
length and how that impacted how a guitar felt in my hands.
 
Anyone remember these??


s-l1600.jpg
 
I didn't mean to minimize how these different scale lengths feel. They're more significant than I realized. Sorry about that guys!
 
Scale length can make a difference in how a guitar looks, too. Especially if you are
6' 4" like Greg Koch. :)
And remember Eddie Van Halen, when he played that little LP and the other one that looked like a Steinberger, on Little Guitars? Maybe it was a Steinberger...?1638315145414.jpeg
 
I didn't mean to minimize how these different scale lengths feel. They're more significant than I realized. Sorry about that guys!

That's really cool, TSJM! I apologized earlier today for being dismissive to someone on another thread.

Pretty sure I'm wrong more than right most days. :)
 
I didn't mean to minimize how these different scale lengths feel. They're more significant than I realized. Sorry about that guys!
Yeah, if you didn't take the time, you should read that article I posted above. It doesn't focus so much on string tensions, but rather the difference in the tones produced. It is actually quite interesting, if interested in a 594.
 
That scale length is why it feels like a really tiny guitar to bigger guys like me.
Also, the bridge is a fair bit closer to the foot of the guitar. So, the scale length is a little shorter and it starts another inch or so closer to the end of the body....so the neck sticks out even less. They feel smaller than Les Pauls.

It's the opposite of the problem I have with SGs. They feel "longer" than strats to me...because they make you reach farther to fret near the nut.

Seriously....put them next to each other and look. An SG is longer than a strat by a couple inches. Similarly, a 594 is a couple inches shorter than a Les Paul.

But, yeah....I love my 594. It sits next to my Les Paul. And they've pretty much pushed all of my other guitars either into someone else's hands or at least to the chopping block. And, no, they don't sound the same. Which one is more vintage-y? Honestly....the LP. But the only vintage LP I've played was a '52, so....maybe there's something seriously different about the bursts (you know, other than humbuckers and them fixing the neck angle).
 
Also, the bridge is a fair bit closer to the foot of the guitar. So, the scale length is a little shorter and it starts another inch or so closer to the end of the body....so the neck sticks out even less. They feel smaller than Les Pauls.

It's the opposite of the problem I have with SGs. They feel "longer" than strats to me...because they make you reach farther to fret near the nut.

Seriously....put them next to each other and look. An SG is longer than a strat by a couple inches. Similarly, a 594 is a couple inches shorter than a Les Paul.

But, yeah....I love my 594. It sits next to my Les Paul. And they've pretty much pushed all of my other guitars either into someone else's hands or at least to the chopping block. And, no, they don't sound the same. Which one is more vintage-y? Honestly....the LP. But the only vintage LP I've played was a '52, so....maybe there's something seriously different about the bursts (you know, other than humbuckers and them fixing the neck angle).

Great post and points. :)

Those design choices about how deep the neck joint is relative to the body make a HUGE difference
in feel (and looks, I reckon).

I have an SG, too, and it feels bigger than my PRS Standard 22. Biggest of all for me are the Jazzmaster
style offsets.

Was just looking at a guitar stand next to me and it really highlights the different lengths. 335 is longest,
then the SG, a Charvel, Les Paul, Godin Strat, PRS 245, and PRS Standard 22 is the shortest.


The shortest scale length guitars are longer than the longer scale length guitars.


20211130_213549.jpg
 
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Was just looking at a guitar stand next to me and it really highlights the different lengths. 335 is longest,
then the SG, a Charvel, Les Paul, Godin Strat, PRS 245, and PRS Standard 22 is the shortest.
Scale length is measured from the nut to the bridge. The ES-335, SG, and Les Paul are actually the exact same scale length: 24 3/4”.

Your picture just shows that the distance from the bottom of the guitar to the bridge varies widely from body shape to shape.
 
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