Short scale vs. Long scale fret spacing

[Daysailer]

In the thread about another possible Forum guitar, a poster suggested that playing a short scale may be easier for smaller hands to play, due to the closer spacing of the frets.

Got me thinking....  I have two  25.5" long scale Larriveé's and one 24.84" short scale Seagull.
I rarely think about or notice any difference when playing that would be because of the different fret spacing.

So I decided to get out a measuring stick, and measure how much shorter the reach really is in real world playing. The reaches in the 1st position are the longest and that is also where the biggest distance differences are.
Measured from the center of fret wire #1 to the center of fret  wire#2, the difference is just under 1/16".
Measured from the center of fret wire #1 to the center of fret wire #4, the difference is 3/32". (longest chording reach I try)
The differences get smaller as you go futher up the neck.

If you think about the nearly 3/4" difference in scale length by itself, I seems like it might implact playability quite a bit.
However, the fret to fret difference when chording is pretty small.  Certianly it can be noticed, and there are other advantages, softer feel, easier bending and expression, (virbrato), but the chording reaches dont really change very much.

Just thought I'd throw that out as a thread seperate from the Fourm Guitar discussion.

ds   

[bino]

Day Sailor:

This is a very interesting point - and a perspective that I never even considered.  It makes me think what else I don't know!

bino

[LO3 SP]

I notice no difference in ease of chording or flatpicking when switching between instruments with differing scale lengths. I do notice a difference when fingerpicking more complex pieces with large stretches. For instance, I play several tunes where I need to fret a G at the third fret on the sixth string at the same time as a B at the seventh fret on the first string. On my standard scale guitars my success rate at getting this right is considerably less than on my shorter scale guitars. When playing in public, guess which guitars I'd use!!
Keith

[ncognito]

Quick changes and long stretches are definately easier and more fluid on my LSV11 and Lowden S10c, both short scale with almost identical fingerboard length and width dimensions, but the neck profile on the Lowden is more rounded so, for me, the Lowden has a slight edge since less effort is required for fretting hand movements.  I'm not bring this point up to champion Lowden over Larrivee.  I love both.  I just think that neck profile is another factor to consider.  By the way, the forum guitar on the other thread sounds great, but I don't have the funds to jump on the band wagon.  Now if it was a short scale LS slot head sitka/ mahogany, I might have to give up eating for a few months to get one.

                            DAVE (Old Mr Stubby Fiingers)

[KenHolden]

i find the shorter scale more comfortable for some things i play.   my 2 gibson electrics have the 24.9" scale, and i spend a lot of my time playing the SG.   switching from learing a song on my SG to playing it on one of the larrivees feels a little off at first, but get more comfortable as i play.   Certain bar chords, stretches to higher frets are easier on my SG.

ive been looking for a short scale small body guitar for a while now, to make that switching from the electrics to the acoustics easier.  Id like to have something that is as comfortable to not only play, but as good feeling while im sitting down as my SG.          that forum guitar sounds great. ive also played a 52 gibson LG1 that i absolutly adore, but its not in the cards right now. hopefully by the time that the forum git is ordered, i'll have the funds available. 

[Zohn]

In the thread about another possible Forum guitar, a poster suggested that playing a short scale may be easier for smaller hands to play, due to the closer spacing of the frets.

That's a most intriguing subject which I never thought about simply because I didn't know better.  That very subject is the reason the Doyle Dykes Signature Taylor guitar was developed. The following is a quote from a Harmony Central article at http://namm.harmony-central.com/SNAMM04/Content/Taylor/PR/DDSM.html
"Some time ago, Doyle's hands "went dead" in the middle of a tour, and he became understandably concerned about the wear and tear that his strenuous guitar-playing acrobatics were having on his hands. He remembered an earlier conversation with an old friend, Billy Grammer, a long-time member of the Grand Ole Opry, who told him that Chet Atkins credited the use of short-scale guitars with the apparent ease with which he negotiated his famous "Chet Atkins' style".
"On a "short-scale" guitar, the spacing between frets is narrower, making it easier to span three or four frets in the lower registers, especially for people with smaller or fatigued hands. Taylor's standard scale length is 25-1/2 inches.
Doyle asked Bob Taylor to create a short-scale DDSM for him, and Taylor, being more than willing to help prolong his friend's playing career, set about redesigning the unique guitar. Taylor's satisfaction with the redesign was the impetus for creating his 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Grand Concerts, the first short-scale guitars of his career."