Guitars, other than the obvious . . .

[dave robinson]

I know many of you have numerous guitars and rightly so, but has anyone took time out to find out what's best for you to do the job to the best of your ability ?
I have almost twenty Strats in my collection and they each sound and play well - and the expensive ones aren't necessarily the best either. The Squier Classic Vibe is a great contender and I can earn a living with it with just one £40 mod, I fitted a Wilkinson Trem, the WVP6 which has a heavy block and a very silky smooth feeling top, plus a push in arm that you adjust with an allen screw, so no loose whammy bar here.
That said I had Gibson 335 , 345, Switchmaster, ES175, the lot . . . . and in truth as beautiful as they are I can't get on with them on stage 'cos they are too big.
I remedied that by going for the Epiphone ES339 and that problem is now sorted, they look great, are different and do the job.
I have three Les Pauls', all with the Duesenberg Les Trem fitted, two Gibsons and one Vintage and you wouldn't tell them apart blindfolded.
The main reason for this thread is to mention the scale length here, as I actually prefer a short scale guitar. I couldn't work out why I liked the Brian May so much until I saw the scale length written down (24") and it suddenly dawned on me why I feel comfortable with it. Not only that, the trem is the Wilkinson WVP6 and ghe pickups are Burns Tri Sonics so it sounds like Strat if you play it like one. It has become my 'go to' instrument because it ticks all boxes and with Brian's amazing switching the sounds are never ending if you like change.
Add to that my £240 Burns SSJ that has the same pickups (but only two) and a 24.5 scale and a much thinner neck, it is so easy to play.
I do have other guitars as well, but these are ones that I've bought and actually felt a difference in what they do for me, now my hands are starting to tire as I age.
I'd be interested in hearing other peoples experiences on the subject, as the shorter scale makes the strings feel 'softer' to the touch.

[artyman]

I have 10-46 on both of my Strats, yet 9's on my Gibson Les Paul, however the LP has a heavier feel to me, odd I know but just the way it feels.

[RayL]

what's best for you to do the job to the best of your ability ?

Well, of course, it all depends on 'the job' you've got to do.

Playing live on stage? When playing guitar with The Triumphs, it's been the Alden TV Cruiser DLX (25.5" scale, telecaster-style semi-solid body in fiesta red, really nice neck, Entwistle MVH pickups).

On the other hand, to play fast twiddly bits for recordings, it would be the Alden Corsair (24.5" scale, really nice neck, very low action, Gretsch Corvette-shape body).

The rest of the collection reflects the need for 'the job' to be the production of the different sounds that are needed for recordings. So, without naming all the makes, there are a six-string jumbo acoustic, a 12-string dreadnought acoustic, nashville-tuned 6-string acoustic, 6-string bass, mandolin, a semi-acoustic with special pickups for that 'twangy Duane' sound, a generic Strat, a 6-string console-steel guitar, plus various bass guitars.

The very shortest scale I have is on my good 'ol Burns Artist (see my avatar) which is only 23 3/8". However, although Jim Burns managed to squeeze in 24 frets and insert them in an offset contour neck, playing at the dusty end is a bit silly - the gaps between the frets really are too small.

Ray

[Stuart]

I am afraid that for me the answer is the obvious one that Dave referred to! Due to having worked in a variety of music based companies I have had the opportunity to borrow and gig various guitars but have always returned to the Strat.
Scale lengths, string gauge and string heights have not been an issue and I find that a slightly higher action and heavier gauge strings actually feel more comfortable.
Obviously this is not suitable for all tastes and I am sure that a large part of my reasoning is due to familiarity.There is nothing like the guitar that you are used to!
In retrospect, my preference was not based on the playability or the sound of the other guitars but because nothing fits like a Strat.Others have made some concessions to player comfort with a slight slope or rounding off of the body but nothing fits like a Strat!

[Uncle Fiesta]

For me, the attraction of a shorter scale length is that you can fit heavier gauge strings, which always improves the sound (this being merely my opinion, feel free to disagree).

I started off as a Les Paul player and am slowly drifting back, finding the sound of the Strat a little too 'polite' at times (or 'bland' depending on your opinions!). Naturally this can be influenced by other factors, the most important being what amplification is being used, and where one sets the knobs.