# Best scale length for Drop A



## Tortellini (Apr 21, 2017)

I know Drop A is easily done on a 25.5, but after watching videos of people playing Drop A on 28 scale guitars I feel like the 28 sounds better, but It's just a video, so I can't be for sure.

What are your favorite scale lengths for Drop A?


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## IkarusOnFire (Apr 21, 2017)

Six or seven-string? On a six going up to a 26 will do wonders. On a sevenstring, I greatly prefer the 25.5 - the tone and feel is great for me. But I prefer a light touch and do a lot of bends. Intonationwise, the deep A is always slightly tricky though, but not unreasonably so.


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## Lindmann (Apr 21, 2017)

I play Drop A on a 30".
It sounds really awesome, allows faily light strings but the frets are pretty far apart which makes it rather hard to play.

So I can't rally tell if I would recommend a 30".
I think I've grown accustomed to it.
But I am soon gonna try a 25.5" with an evertune bridge on Drop A anyway.


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## JustMac (Apr 21, 2017)

25.5" is just fine on a 7, just use slightly higher gauge string for the low A... At LEAST .60


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## gujukal (Apr 21, 2017)

26.5", it sounds good and will not be weirdly long like a 28" or longer.


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## Winspear (Apr 21, 2017)

Yes 28 will sound a lot better. Comfort aside, longer is better always apart from making the open trebles a bit shriller. 
It depends how much tension you need really. Gauge, not tuning, is the threshold for tone on a given scale length. How low you can tune said gauge is up to you.
Personally I find anything above .066 starts to get muddy on 25.5. I like all my strings to match the feel of a 10-46 set in E, so that means Bb for me. A at a push with a .070 is acceptable but not great tonally.
On 26.5 I can get away with a .068 , and the scale makes the .068 sound better too. Still not amazing though. 28 you can use a 66 or 64 and have it sound totally like a normal string. To say 28 is required for drop A would be a push haha, but yes it's always going to improve things! 
If you are somebody who doesn't mind the feel of a 60 in A for example, then you're going to have less of a requirement to increase the scale to improve tone because a .060 is sufficiently bright on 25.5.
But yes, for any given scale length, find the biggest gauge you are tonally comfortable with and then see how loose/what pitch you can enjoy it at. If you don't reach the tuning you want, a longer scale is required.


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## EverDream (Apr 21, 2017)

Drop A like with only the 7th string dropped 1 step, like: AEADGBE? Or all 7 dropped down 1 step, like: ADGCFAD?

I'm assuming you meant just the 7th dropped (AEADGBE)?

If you only want to drop the 7th to A, then 26.5" would be perfect imo, but if you wanted to tune all 7 strings down 1 step, then I'd go with 27".

Just for the heck of it, I'll write up what scale lengths I'd choose for different tunings:

Drop A# or B Tuning = 25.5"
Drop A or A# Tuning = 26.5" (Schecter, Jackson, etc.)
Drop G# or A Tuning = 27" (Ibanez, ESP, MM JP BFR Baritone 7-string, etc.)
Drop G or G# Tuning = 27"
Drop F# or G Tuning = 28" (Schecter, Ibanez, etc.)
Drop F or F# Tuning = 28"
Drop E or F Tuning = 28.625" (Agile guitars, Warmoth conversion neck, etc.)
Drop D# or E Tuning = 28.625"
Drop D or D# Tuning = 29.4" (Ibanez M80M, etc.)
Drop C# or D Tuning = 29.4"
Drop C or C# Tuning = 30" (Agile guitars, etc.)
Drop B or C Tuning = 30"
Lower Octave Drop A# or B Tuning = At this point in time (April 21, 2017) I'd recommend going custom until there are some guitars on the market with scale lengths between 31" and 34". A scale length less than 31" at this tuning would not be ideal (definitely doable though still).


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## asfeir (Apr 21, 2017)

I would only suggest bigger scales if your playing will mainly be on the lower strings. 
If you also want to play a bit of lead guitar it might be better to stay with 25.5 and get it properly set up.


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## jerm (Apr 21, 2017)

I'm in Drop A on my 25.5". No issues here.


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## vilk (Apr 21, 2017)

My choice of 24.75 (Gibson scale) isn't available.

But as evidence that it sounds awesome:


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## Unleash The Fury (Apr 21, 2017)

vilk said:


> My choice of 24.75 (Gibson scale) isn't available.
> 
> But as evidence that it sounds awesome:




I tried to to tune B/drop A on my les paul with .013's. I thought it would be awesome. I really really tried to like it. It was just too muddy. I set it up for D/drop C with .010's and it is perfection

I should mention that on the les paul i first tried a .065 for low string. I didnt like it. Then i tried a .062 and didnt make much difference, so i said .... it and set it up for drop c woth .010 to .046 or .052


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## Unleash The Fury (Apr 21, 2017)

I love my Agile septor 27 inch tuned to drop A with .011 to .059. Or even .056


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## Tortellini (Apr 21, 2017)

EverDream said:


> Drop A like with only the 7th string dropped 1 step, like: AEADGBE? Or all 7 dropped down 1 step, like: ADGCFAD?
> 
> I'm assuming you meant just the 7th dropped (AEADGBE)?
> 
> ...


Thanks for the rundown. Going past C# is just dumb to me. Within the Ruins new album is in C on a seven. It's a great album, but it would just be a little better if the guitar didn't sound so bouncy.


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## Lorcan Ward (Apr 21, 2017)

Tortellini said:


> Thanks for the rundown. Going past C# is just dumb to me. Within the Ruins new album is in C on a seven. It's a great album, but it would just be a little better if the guitar didn't sound so bouncy.



I wonder how well those notes come out in a live setting.


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## vilk (Apr 21, 2017)

Unleash The Fury said:


> I tried to to tune B/drop A on my les paul with .013's. I thought it would be awesome. I really really tried to like it. It was just too muddy. I set it up for D/drop C with .010's and it is perfection
> 
> I should mention that on the les paul i first tried a .065 for low string. I didnt like it. Then i tried a .062 and didnt make much difference, so i said .... it and set it up for drop c woth .010 to .046 or .052



I played an SG in drop Bb using daddario jazz heavies for like a couple years. If you're not playing fast and use a thin pick, it sounds baller. But if you grab a thick pick and try to do Veil of Maya it's not gonna be what you want.

I'll tell you what, my thoughts on necessary string tension have totally changed since switching to thin picks.


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## bostjan (Apr 21, 2017)

Scale length is not the only factor, but I'm obliged to say that, all else equal, I would go for a ~28" scale length for anything standard or lower, because, to me, it just sounds crisper and fresher.

25.5" will work with drop A, no problem, though. It won't sound as crisp and clear as longer scales, but there are more options for guitars at that scale length.

Ultimately, it's up to you, though. A poll might be interesting, but I think this sort of poll has been done at least once before, and since everyone has his or her own personal preference in guitar specification, you might as well just get whichever works best for you as an entire package.


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## Tortellini (Apr 21, 2017)

Lorcan Ward said:


> I wonder how well those notes come out in a live setting.


Apparently the guitarist has a huge amount of intonation problems because he is using a 27 scale 7 string. Love the Fallout pic btw.


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## Tortellini (Apr 21, 2017)

bostjan said:


> Scale length is not the only factor, but I'm obliged to say that, all else equal, I would go for a ~28" scale length for anything standard or lower, because, to me, it just sounds crisper and fresher.
> 
> 25.5" will work with drop A, no problem, though. It won't sound as crisp and clear as longer scales, but there are more options for guitars at that scale length.
> 
> Ultimately, it's up to you, though. A poll might be interesting, but I think this sort of poll has been done at least once before, and since everyone has his or her own personal preference in guitar specification, you might as well just get whichever works best for you as an entire package.


Well, I'm really wanting to get the Schecter Demon 7 (26.5) 
It sounds and feels awesome in person. I'd be doing Skinny Top Heavy Bottom (.52-.10) with a .62 for the low A.

I love the clarity people get out of the Ibanez RGIB6 though. It's much more expensive and most importantly it's only a 6 string. I'm not sure if I should go for the Ibanez since I really want a 7, but it almost seems worth it.


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## Unleash The Fury (Apr 21, 2017)

vilk said:


> I played an SG in drop Bb using daddario jazz heavies for like a couple years. If you're not playing fast and use a thin pick, it sounds baller. But if you grab a thick pick and try to do Veil of Maya it's not gonna be what you want.
> 
> I'll tell you what, my thoughts on necessary string tension have totally changed since switching to thin picks.



How thin of a pick are you talkin? I now use dunlop toltex is it? Tortex? Ultrex? Sharp picks. I dont even remember what theyre called since im at work. I just know they are sharp and the color is like an opaque tan color, and i believe they are 1.0mm or maybe perhaps 1.2mm They might even be .88mm for all i can remember (this is the most useless post of the year!) Haha.


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## Great Satan (Apr 22, 2017)

25.5+ at least.
I play A straight standard on my 7 on 26.5, 10-56's i think.
If i were a purist i'd maybe up the thickest string to a 60, but it's perfectly suitable as-is and tonally balanced.


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## Masoo2 (Apr 22, 2017)

Guys like Jason Richardson get 25.5 inch guitars to sound excellent for as low as Drop G (pitched shifted down to Drop E for the song Tonga), so you shouldn't have any problem whatsoever with a 25.5 inch scale for Drop A. Just make sure to use the string gauges that will give you the clearest tone, which for me is generally 56-62 in B-G (I tend to stick with 56s and 58s though).

I only start to *prefer* a 26.5 inch scale for Drop F#, but once I hit Drop F I only play 26.5/27.


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## vilk (Apr 24, 2017)

Unleash The Fury said:


> How thin of a pick are you talkin? I now use dunlop toltex is it? Tortex? Ultrex? Sharp picks. I dont even remember what theyre called since im at work. I just know they are sharp and the color is like an opaque tan color, and i believe they are 1.0mm or maybe perhaps 1.2mm They might even be .88mm for all i can remember (this is the most useless post of the year!) Haha.



Recently, I really like Fender Thins but they break practically every other song, so I use Dunlop nylon .60 since I don't think you can even break them. Prior to the switch, I had been using Big Stubby 3.0mm for years.

I guess that if I'm being totally honest, I have to admit it is "easier" to play with a thick pick, but they just can't be compared tonally. However, once you get used to the thin pick, you mostly forget about thick picks.


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## bostjan (Apr 25, 2017)

You're right, they don't really break, more like they rip apart. I really don't like the Fender celluloid picks. I imagine they are one of the most popular, if not the most popular, picks out there, and I used them for a couple of years when I started out, then discovered Dunlop, and embarked on a journey that just kept taking me further and further from Fender Light Celluloid picks.

I find it interesting that all of the guitar magazines I read in the 90's talked about every famous guitarists favourite strings, pickups, pedals, amp settings, pre-show routines, even what they ate for supper to get a certain tone (I forgot who, exactly it was, but somebody said he would eat greasy Mexican food if he wanted to play more melody, or eat a lot more carbs if he wanted to play fast), and even which cables Eric Johnson used, but I never recall anyone mentioning picks. I don't recall seeing ads for pick endorsements, either, until much later. But isn't the pick you use, like, 20-25% of your tone?!


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