Frets, Scale length and HAND SIZE - Question

[tonyvenn]

Hello all...

I haven't longed on since 2018!

I was looking at the Santana Singlecut Trem SE and it got me to thinking...and I'm wondering if my thoughts are correct, or if anyone can offer some advice on the matter.

I have small hands (not munchkin size, but you get the point)

I've always found a PRS 24 fret slightly more comfortable to play than a 22 fret.

I'm wondering....if the Santana 24 fret jammed on to a 24.5 scale would help me with chording (since the frets would be closer) AND bending (since the scale would make the strings "looser")

Am I on the right track with this thinking?

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Tony

 

[EdSevered]

I have two 1st gen. Santana SE’s, I really like the necks on both, but have been wondering about other models, too. Interested in seeing the responses you get.

 

[alantig]

It could. I don't know if there are any 24-fretters in that scale length. I'm wondering about the neck carves on the guitars you've played.

I have what one of my best friends called "Billy Barty hands". Even so, I'm pretty neck carve agnostic - I definitely have my favorites (DGT, regular), but I can switch from wide thin to wide fat and anywhere in between pretty comfortably.

It may be that the neck carve was the bulk of the difference you're feeling. The scale length does play a part in how "tight" the strings feel, but you could try dropping a gauge to see how that feels.

 

[xjbebop]

No easy answer here. Logic & physics would infer that scale length + hand/finger size would = certain results.
However, it just doesn't work like that in the real world. Different guitar model designs, along with so many other variables, such as neck carve profile, fretboard radius, string gauge, hand flexibility and dexterity, etc, etc...
All these things effect playability and 'feel' from person to person.
The best thing to do is to test drive as many different guitars as you can and determine which ones make you happy and which ones don't...

 

[tonyvenn]

Thanks so far for everyone who checked in....

I did some checking today....and I REALLY love the feel of the Pattern Regular. Could it be the 1/32" difference between that and a Wide Thin would make that much difference? The Regular is quite comfortable

 

[Mozzi]

Hello all...

I haven't longed on since 2018!

I was looking at the Santana Singlecut Trem SE and it got me to thinking...and I'm wondering if my thoughts are correct, or if anyone can offer some advice on the matter.

I have small hands (not munchkin size, but you get the point)

I've always found a PRS 24 fret slightly more comfortable to play than a 22 fret.

I'm wondering....if the Santana 24 fret jammed on to a 24.5 scale would help me with chording (since the frets would be closer) AND bending (since the scale would make the strings "looser")

Am I on the right track with this thinking?

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Tony

The Custom 24 and Custom 22 share the exact same scale length so will have the exact same fret spacing. The difference is much more likely to come from the neck carve and maybe a bit more higher fret access due to where the neck joins the body (if you play that high up the fretboard). The Custom 24 comes with either the Pattern Thin or Pattern Regular neck which makes it either thinner or slightly narrower (at the nut) which maybe why you find it easier to play...

Of course your thinking is right that a 24.5" scale would have closer frets - regardless of whether its a 22 or 24 fret neck. Scale is also determined by the 'half-way' point - the 12th fret to nut - so a 22, 21, or 24 fret guitar, all 24.5" scale, would all have the same 'fret' spacing. You have a quarter of an inch difference over the first 12 frets when going from 25" to 24.5" (around 6mm) which in essence is about half a mm per fret. It also makes the high frets a bit narrower too. Its also correct that there is generally 'less' tension making for easier bends - as long as you are comparing guitars with the exact same gauge and string brand. Different gauges and different brands will have different tension and different feel when bending. For example, going from NYXL's to Slinky's in the same gauge will feel different on the bends.

As for small hands, there are numerous 'kids' playing full size guitars - inc 25.5" scale and playing numerous shred, classical etc pieces. They may struggle with things like the Thumb over or a really big stretch (although there are more than one place to play the same note which may make it 'easier')

Its up to you of course. You may notice the difference and prefer it - especially with your chosen string brand and gauge. Sometimes dropping a string gauge or even changing brand can have a big impact of ease of string bending. Maybe its better to experiment

 

[BrianC]

24.5 inch scale = good for small hands IMHO

 

[shinksma]

I have small hands. I am fine playing any of the scale lengths (including the 27.7" baritones) and any of the neck carves. Core and the recent SE Santanas have 24 frets and 24.5" scales, and play just fine for me - one concern might be it being too cramped up at the 24th fret, but I do not experience that.

But maybe I have just adjusted to my limitations. No matter the neck size, I can never do a thumb over, so I don't ever try. I can't copy many of John Mayer's chords (for example), because he has basketball player hands and easily reaches two or three frets more than I can. So I adapt/simplify. (Or just don't play much John Mayer, which is what actually happened.)

 

[alantig]

But maybe I have just adjusted to my limitations. No matter the neck size, I can never do a thumb over, so I don't ever try. I can't copy many of John Mayer's chords (for example), because he has basketball player hands and easily reaches two or three frets more than I can. So I adapt/simplify. (Or just don't play much John Mayer, which is what actually happened.)

Good point. I can’t do much of the thumb-over stuff - I’m very limited there. I can’t play the “Pinball Wizard” chords the “right” way, so I take the Monty Python burglar approach - adopt, adapt, and improve.

I think my wife gets tired of hearing me swear at guitarists who can do that stuff, although she does say she feels sorry for me when she sees guys like that. We were watching Gary Clark, Jr. on ACL this weekend, and that dude’s hands are ginormous. It looks like he can wrap his thumb around to cover the D string.

 

[Slowhands]

Something I've been ruminating on lately is the impact of fretboard radius on feel. My PRS has a wide thin carve that feels much like my Gibson SG with vintage 60s carve from a thickness perspective alone. They both have the same width at the nut and almost exactly the same at the 12th fret (the PRS is actually a little wider there). Yet the Gibson has a much flatter board because of the larger 12 inch radius (compared to the 10 inch PRS radius) and it just feels like a wider neck. I love them both and they feel very different to play but the fact is that only two things that are substantially different on these two guitar necks are scale length and fretboard radius and I think the difference in radius makes a bigger difference in feel to me.