# 26.5" vs 27"



## Metalus (Jan 21, 2010)

A couple of weeks ago i extensively tested a Schecter C-7 Hellraiser and the guitar as a whole (besides the thicker neck) felt no different to me than any other regular 25.5" scale guitar. Yet i keep hearing that a 27" scale takes a bit of getting used to especially if u have small hands (which i do). 

Is the 0.5" THAT much of a difference?


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## MaxOfMetal (Jan 21, 2010)

Honestly it varies from person to person. My reason for not liking 27" scales has nothing to do with playability (at least as far as not being able to do stretches), but more of the tone, and how I'd have to change around the gauges of strings I use, in my opinion for the worse.

I simply don't need, or like the added tension, and going to super skinny strings didn't really help. Though, it really comes down to personal preference.


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## mrhankey87 (Jan 21, 2010)

to me, 26.5 is a good balance for the ones who want the ease of soloing typical of 25.5 scales and the tighter sound of 27 scale. I've never tried a 27 one but don't think that 0.5 would make that big of a difference.


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## Demeyes (Jan 21, 2010)

If you already feel ok with 26.5 then the jump to 27 will feel like nothing really. Some people have problems with the longer scales but that is usually going from 25.5 upto 27 - which still isn't really all that much of a jump but it is a little bit noticeable with long stretches on the lower end.
I'd say you'll be fine with it.


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## I_infect (Jan 21, 2010)

I have both, the difference is negligible. I measured my hellraiser, and it's actually closer to 27" in reality, nut to saddles. I will say I don't want anything less than 26.5" anymore as a main axe.


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## MaKo´s Tethan (Jan 21, 2010)

to me, 26.5 are closer to 27, and far from 25.5 (is what I feel playing those scales)


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## XeoFLCL (Jan 22, 2010)

I can definitely tell the difference in feel between 25.5 and 26.5, but a mere minute of swapping and I'm back up to speed on the 26.5. I had a 27 though, and there were a few chord stretches which were noticably more difficult (that whole frets 3, 5, 7 on B E A double 5ths deal if that makes any sense, for example).. so yes, that .5 can make a difference, depending on who you are


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## Metal Ken (Jan 22, 2010)

I have never felt the difference between 24.75, 25.5, 26.5 & 27" as far as stretching goes. What i do notice is the different tension in the strings and the tone. There's not _that_ big a leap from 26.5" to 27", imo.


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## Hollowway (Jan 22, 2010)

I was super worried about a long scale, but got a 28.625" Agile 8 9 months ago and noticed no difference whatsoever. It took no time to adjust at all. Other people have had a difficult time. So my guess is you're more like me in the sense that you won't even notice the 27" scale. And FWIW, before somebody flames me for not noticing a >3" difference, I think that because of the 8s strings and wide neck my hand has a more proper position (with my thumb on the back of the neck, not around it, like on my sixers) so that I can stretch further on an 8 (and 7), and still make the same intervals.


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## walleye (Jan 22, 2010)

Metalus said:


> A couple of weeks ago i extensively tested a Schecter C-7 Hellraiser and the guitar as a whole (besides the thicker neck) felt no different to me than any other regular 25.5" scale guitar. Yet i keep hearing that a 27" scale takes a bit of getting used to especially if u have small hands (which i do).
> 
> Is the 0.5" THAT much of a difference?



yeah i was plyaing a 26.5" (schetcter also) and didnt even realise it wasnt 25.5"


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## Valserp (Jan 22, 2010)

I was playing a 24.75" 6-string when I got my Agile 727. The only thing I had to get used to is the extra tension. It's still a bit hard to bend whole steps. I guess I am a wimp.


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## Harry (Jan 22, 2010)

When I first played a 26.5 inch scale guitar, the different seemed dramatic to that of a 25.5 inch scale guitar.
I played another 26.5 inch scale guitar a few months later and barely noticed the difference in stretching.
For me, what I don't like about 27 inch scale guitars is the tone of the higher strings. Too bright


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Jan 22, 2010)

When I got my first Schecter 7 (only had 25.5" before that), I fretted the wrong note a few times, but adjusted in no time at all. I definitely noticed more tension, but it felt good, and after a few days, I adapted to that, too. When I picked up my six string a few months later, I could do some pretty ridiculous bends.

It reminds me of my second guitar: I had been playing an RG120 for a couple years, which had the thinnest neck I've ever held. Really great for just learning where things are. Then, when I bought my C-1 FR, the neck gave me a real workout. The next time I picked up the Ibanez, I could play so damn fast, I surprised myself. 

That said, I haven't tried a 27", so I can't comment, but it can't be that much more different.


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## zimbloth (Jan 22, 2010)

I'm going to have to chime in with a different opinion here. I don't know how you guys can not feel a difference between the scale lengths. The frets are further apart from each other, it's pretty obvious. Whether or not that presents a problem or not is of course up to personal taste, but a 24.75 and 25.5 always feels very different to me. I've owned many baritones and got along fine with them, but the frets being further apart is something I'm not a fan of, especially further up on the neck.

I think the tension aspect is fairly overrated. Going from a 25.5 to a 27 is like going from a .042 to a .044 in terms of tension. Not really a big deal. With baritones however I do hear more of a twangy sound to it, which really has nothing to do with tension in my experience as even when you tune them way down to flop-ville you still hear the twang.


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## Armor Darks (Jan 22, 2010)

damn still can't decide - 25,5 or 27" =( never tried 27"

interesting, if I will drop B string to A on 25,5" with 10-56 string - will it be okey?

or may be 27 with 10-56 vs 25,55 with 11,58...

those thoughts probably will kill my brain =)

Currently I'm playing 6-string guitar with 25,5 scale and 10-56 strings set, and I like it. But 7 string isn't same...


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## Winspear (Jan 22, 2010)

Armor Darks said:


> damn still can't decide - 25,5 or 27" =( never tried 27"
> 
> interesting, if I will drop B string to A on 25,5" with 10-56 string - will it be okey?
> 
> ...



From my experience, the low strings that come in 7 string sets are stupidly thin. And if you throw it into a tension calculator, it will agree. A set of 9's comes with a (52?) for the low B. 10's come with something like a 56 like you said. But jesus these are SO floppy. Using 9's I would use a 60 for the low B. Using 10s a 64. I drop to A so I use 10-66. 
Anyway, I'd say go with 27". I read through this thread and some guys feel a difference some don't. While I havn't played one myself, 27" is just like playing 1 or 2 frets lower (I forget which...). I can't see how that's really a problem at all. Just imagine your current guitar with 2 very slightly bigger extra frets at the bottom. Once your past those 2 frets, your on a 'normal' guitar again. I really can't understand how that would be much of an issue. Anything bigger, maybe, but hell - I have a 30"-27.75" fanned fretboard printed out for planning my custom and it only feels slightly harder to stretch on. I do have big hands though.


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## Armor Darks (Jan 22, 2010)

> From my experience, the low strings that come in 7 string sets are stupidly thin.


yeah. I was so confused when saw that in my current 6-string set E thicker then B in 7 string sets...


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## Ckackley (Jan 22, 2010)

The move from a 25.5 to a 26.5 wasn't much of anything as far as adjusting. I actually find the 26.5 way more comfortable as I've got big hands. I grabbed my Les Paul to record something the other day and couldn't stand it actually. lol The one thing I don't like is some of the higher notes. On the 26.5 the sound is noticeably different from the high notes on a 25.5. I think if the scale were any longer the high notes would be too shrill for me. It's all personal preference though, and I prefer a warmer, darker high end as opposed to screaming highs. If I were playing straight rhythm guitar with not much going on in the higher registers I'd probably jump on a longer scale neck, but for leads it's not for me. Again, all personal preference though.


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## Armor Darks (Jan 22, 2010)

would be interesting to see video and sound compare for example of Agiles with 27 and 25,5 scale



> I think if the scale were any longer the high notes would be too shrill for me.


sounds bad =( That is what I'm scare when thinking about 27"... but then I think about 25,5" and muddy A scare me too =)))


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## Fred the Shred (Jan 22, 2010)

I've played in drop A with 25,5" scale necks and I've never had clarity problems regarding the low notes. If you were to downtune it to G, however, I'd advise a longer scale to maintain string gauge within acceptable values.


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## Ckackley (Jan 22, 2010)

Fred the Shred said:


> I've played in drop A with 25,5" scale necks and I've never had clarity problems regarding the low notes. If you were to downtune it to G, however, I'd advise a longer scale to maintain string gauge within acceptable values.



Same here. Used to tune the 7321 I had for a bit to drop A all the time, no real problems at all. Doubt I'd have wanted to go lower though.


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## Armor Darks (Jan 22, 2010)

in fact I don't want A tuning. But it is the easies way to keep drop D and playable B

Just interesting how big difference in sound of A on 25,5 and 27


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## Metalus (Jan 26, 2010)

Tension is something i forgot to add as wel. The tension felt real nice on the C-7 which is probably another reason i didnt mind the scale. Hopefully when i get an RG2228, the adjustment will be minimal.


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## hufschmid (Jan 26, 2010)

If this can help....

After experimenting on many many instruments and many different scales, I myself came up to the conclusion that a 7 string with a standard 9.42.59 set is at its full acoustic potential with a 27.5'' scale....

Of course this is subjective and only based on my personal experiments...


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## Ckackley (Jan 26, 2010)

hufschmid said:


> If this can help....
> 
> After experimenting on many many instruments and many different scales, I myself came up to the conclusion that a 7 string with a standard 9.42.59 set is at its full acoustic potential with a 27.5'' scale....
> 
> Of course this is subjective and only based on my personal experiments...



What would you suggest for a set of 10's ? Mine run 10,13,17,26,36,46,56. Was wondering if that would hit around the 26.5 area that I seem to like..


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## hufschmid (Jan 26, 2010)

Ckackley said:


> What would you suggest for a set of 10's ? Mine run 10,13,17,26,36,46,56. Was wondering if that would hit around the 26.5 area that I seem to like..



depends which style of music you play and what is comfortable for you...

but I also dont see how heavy guages compare to a higher scale with lower tension guages because that 2 different things really...

a guitar will not react the same if it has a lower scale with heavy strings then if it has a bigger scale and lighter guages... (first point would be the action of course)

personally I use 10-46-59 with a 27.5'' (which is my personal favourite scale) scale on my personal guitar and I enjoy that...


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