[Desecrated]

Originally Posted by Matt Crooks

For me, I just did not like the sound of a long scale guitar tuned to B. I found that there was a certain "piano like" quality to the low notes that I did not like. It has a sharpness to the low end that I expect out of a bass, but not a guitar.

Thats a bit odd, those are exactly the same specs most people like about baritones
I really want more sharpness in my low end, but everyone has their own taste.

[Anthony]

IMO no. Unless you're doing some down tuning (lower than A), I don't believe it is necessary. BUT, I still haven't spent much time on a 27 scale instrument, so my opinion is subject to change.

[Matt Crooks]

Originally Posted by Desecrated

Thats a bit odd, those are exactly the same specs most people like about baritones <snip>

I think it just comes down to me not liking baritones

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I personally do not care for extended scale instruments.
I'm quite content with 24.75 or 25.5.

Beyond that, I find it difficult to stretch strings, do arrpegio sweeps, etc...

[Chris]

Originally Posted by lord lemons

IMO no. Unless you're doing some down tuning (lower than A), I don't believe it is necessary. BUT, I still haven't spent much time on a 27 scale instrument, so my opinion is subject to change.

The nice thing about the extended scale is that if you're on a fixed bridge, and tend to drop tune back and forth a lot, you'll immediately notice a difference in tuning stability.

[ibznorange]

Originally Posted by Matt Crooks

For me, I just did not like the sound of a long scale guitar tuned to B. I found that there was a certain "piano like" quality to the low notes that I did not like. It has a sharpness to the low end that I expect out of a bass, but not a guitar.

You gotta get everything set up properly for it
it IS really easy to make long scale guitars sound like basses, your totally right you have to re eq and shit for it though, and if you get it to work, its wonderful

[Matt Crooks]

Originally Posted by ibznorange

You gotta get everything set up properly for it
it IS really easy to make long scale guitars sound like basses, your totally right you have to re eq and shit for it though, and if you get it to work, its wonderful

I hear the difference acoustically, and there's nothing you can do about that

I long scale gutiars for clean sounds, they have a super deep, almost "bell like" tone to them. They're also great for twangy country. For distorted sounds, they're just not my thing.

[ibznorange]

your description sound just like my marshall

[MerlinTKD]

Hmmmmm... interesting opinions!

I've tried out a couple 26.5 Schecters and noticed a small difference, but not enough to cause any problems. I'm wondering though... when I get my $$ saved up and order a bari conversion neck for my project, what scale length should I go for? 27? 28? Something in between? I'm planning on tuning down to G for sure, and experimenting with drop-G and open C.

I have shorter fingers, so I'm concerned about getting too large a scale... would 27" be enough, or should I really go up to 28?

[Durero]

Originally Posted by Matt Crooks

I like the string tension on the long scale gutiars, but I can not stand the sound of them. They start sounding like distorted basses, and not low tuned guitars, IMO.

Given the same tuning and same string tension then the effect of making the scale longer will be the opposite: the longer scale will have a much clearer and guitar-like tone, and the shorter scale will sound muddy and more like a bass.

But your impression is understandable since longer scale guitars are usually tuned way lower than the extension warrants.

For example, extending a 25.5" scale to 27" and tuning down one semitone will give you exactly the same tone clarity and tension as the 25.5" at standard tuning. But people often tune 27" scales down a 4th or 5th which is 5 or 7 semitones. This will require much thicker strings and result in muddy bass-like tone. It will be slightly less muddy than the same tuning on a 25.5" scale, but still muddy.

If you want to preserve a very clear guitar-like tone and tune down a 4th, then you need to extend the scale to 34". Then you can use the exact same gages & tension as you would with standard tuning on a 25.5" scale.