25'5 of 24'9 hals/mensuur

[Dylan61]

Mensuur heet het geloof ik:

Heb vandaag een Seagull geprobeerd, deze hebben een 24'9 hals dus korter dan de meeste andere merken. Gibson heeft ze en Taylor komt ook met een nieuwe lijn.

Het beviel mij prima, alleen de vraag, kun je er ook lager mee stemmen zoals Drop D,E of G zonder dat het gaat ratelen?

[iam]

ik heb mijn gitaar eens in D gestemd en ze hield het goed uit... speelt wel veel makkelijker natuurlijk... ratelen was er enkel bij extreem hard raggen (maar ik speel zoiezo al zacht dus)

[iam]

ik heb mijn gitaar eens in D gestemd en ze hield het goed uit... speelt wel veel makkelijker natuurlijk... ratelen was er enkel bij extreem hard raggen (maar ik speel zoiezo al zacht dus)

oh ja, het gaat om een ayers gitaar, met standaard mensuur denkek...

[Leen Kap]

Kijk op www.taylorguitars.com onder Latest features/the taylor shortscale advantage voor een lezenswaardig verhaal over dit onderwerp.

[Leen Kap]

by David Kaye
In mid-2003, a few months before
announcing it to the general public,
Bob Taylor revealed to the Taylor
staff that the models we would build to
celebrate the company’s 30th Anniversary
would be our first-ever short-scale guitars.
As the news spread through the
Taylor complex, many staffers eagerly
anticipated this new (for Taylor) development,
which actually had been set into
motion years earlier during conversations
between Bob and fingerstyle
maestro and Taylor clinician Doyle
Dykes (see the full story on the
opposite page).
But the enthusiasm that
met Bob’s announcement,
and the unqualified
success of the
30th Anniversary
models’ debut at the
2004 Winter NAMM
Show, also spawned
curiosity about shortscale
guitars. Even
some fairly accomplished
guitar players
have limited knowledge
of, and little or no experience
with, acoustic guitars with
shorter scale lengths.
Realizing that many of our readers
might have the same questions — for
example, what is a short-scale guitar? —
we decided to help unravel the mystery.
What does
short-scale mean?
A guitar’s scale length is determined
by measuring the distance (string length)
between the nut and the saddle. This
measurement determines the proper
placement of the frets, the string tension,
and, ultimately, the instrument’s tone.
For many years, Taylor guitars have had a
scale length of 25-1/2 inches. By comparison,
most flat-top, steel-string acoustic
guitars have a scale length of between
24 and 26 inches. Our new short-scale
models have a scale length of 24-7/8
inches, or 5/8ths of an inch shorter than
a standard Taylor.
What are the
advantages of a
shortened scale length?
Both the sound and feel of a guitar are
influenced by scale length. On a shortscale
guitar, the frets are closer together,
thus extending one’s natural “reach” on
the fingerboard. That enables the player
to more easily form chords that require
some stretching, and it can even facilitate
rapid chord changes.
Because of the reduced string tension
on a short-scale guitar, the strings feel
slightly looser and easier to push down,
making bends and vibratos a cinch.
Professional musicians and others who
play for hours on end frequently experience
finger and/or hand fatigue. A shortscale
guitar puts less stress on the fingers
and hands, allowing for more comfortable
playing and practice time. Guitar novices
will appreciate the reduced string tension
while building up the requisite finger calluses
that come with frequent playing.
Do short-scale guitars
sound different?
To many, the overriding benefit of our
short-scale guitars is that they produce an
entirely new tone! In the luthier’s world,
no amount of science or technology can
determine what a guitar will sound like
before it’s actually built, but, traditionally,
a shorter scale length equates to less
volume. That’s definitely not true of these
guitars, for a couple of reasons. First, a
guitar’s top is like the cone on a speaker,
and the reduced string tension of a shortscale
allows the top to vibrate more freely
and produce more volume. Factor in our
latest changes to the Taylor bracing pattern
(on guitars from the 500 Series up),
and you get a deeper, richer, “woodier”
tone, with no perceived drop in volume.
Instant Karma
We knew we were onto something
“special” last January when we premiered
our short-scale 30th Anniversary Grand
Concert models at Winter NAMM in
6
WHY A
SHORT-SCALE
GUITAR MIGHT
BE RIGHT
FOR YOU
Although our “short-scale” guitars are relatively
new to the market, Bob Taylor’s foray into the
short-scale world actually began a few years
ago with some helpful prodding from long-time Taylor
clinician, Doyle Dykes.
Originally, the Doyle Dykes Signature Model
(DDSM) was released as a 2000 Limited Edition,
built to meet the specifications of the amazing fingerstylist
and frequent Grand Ole Opry guest. Along
with many “signature” features, the original DDSM
had the standard Taylor scale length (i.e. string
length) of 25-1/2 inches.
The newly redesigned DDSM features most of the
original features, but has a shortened scale length of
24-7/8 inches. On a short-scale guitar, the spacing
between frets is narrower, making it easier for one’s
chording hand to span several frets in the lower
register. The looser string tension also makes
advanced techniques such as thumb-overs and barre
chords easier to manage.
Because of his background as a
predominately electric guitar player,
Dykes was unwittingly familiar with
short-scale.
“I started off playing short-scale
guitars and didn’t know it,” Doyle says.
“My first good guitar was a J45 Gibson.
Then I played a Fender Jaguar, and I
always wondered why I liked the way
those guitars played. I found out years
later that the scale-length had a lot to
do with it. I’d always go back to those
electrics because they felt so good.
That’s why I started playing Taylors. It
was because the Taylor neck felt even
better than my favorite electrics!”
The impetus for Doyle’s
desire for a short-scale
DDSM began when he
started taking his children
on tour with him.
“It was on a road trip
through the Arizona desert
that I realized that the
wear and tear of ‘life on
the road’ would have
an adverse effect on
my physical fitness
and on my ability
to play to the level
that my fans and
I expected,” he
says. “I was traveling
with my kids, and
we were transferring
between a train and
a car. My kids were
younger then, so I
was schlepping all
the luggage and guitars
myself.
“I became really
concerned because
my arms and my
hands were ‘dead’ — I
could hardly lift them.
I had played a concert
the night before,
and had another
one planned for that
night. Right then, I
knew that I had to
take steps to prolong
my playing career.”
Doyle remembered
a conversation
he’d had with an old
friend, Billy Grammer,
a long-time member
of the Grand Ole
Opry. When Dykes
asked Grammer how
he was able to play
so nimbly, the latter
related something
Chet Atkins had told
him about the benefits
of playing a shortscale.
Aside from talent,
practice,
and keeping
his guitars in meticulous shape, Chet
attributed the apparent ease with which he
negotiated his famous “Chet Atkins style”
to using short-scale guitars. “Anything that
can make the guitar more pleasing to play
is the way to go, and short-scale is a
‘given’,” Atkins had told Grammer.
“For people with smaller hands, or
people who have been playing a long,
long time, short-scale really makes a
guitar easier to play,” Doyle explains.
“And because the strings
are looser, it is easier to
squeeze out hard-to-reach
chords. So, a couple of
years ago, on one of my
trips to California, I asked
Bob Taylor if he would
consider building me a
short-scale DDSM.”
As soon as time permitted,
and as a gift to Doyle,
Bob Taylor redesigned the
standard DDSM, making
it the first short-scale
guitar of his career. Bob’s
satisfaction with the
redesign ultimately led
to creating the recently
released and immensely
popular short-scale 30th
Anniversary Limited
Edition Grand Concerts.
“When Bob made me
a short-scale DDSM with
a new bracing pattern and
standard depth, I liked it
better right away!” Doyle
exclaims. “The combination
of the latest bracing
pattern with the shortscale
length makes it a
completely different animal.
Bob and his team
tackled these guitars with
an open mind, and they
have built a better guitar with a completely
new sound.”
The newly redesigned short-
scale DDSM is available with
either Expression System or L.R.
Baggs electronics, in a choice of
finishes that includes Natural,
Black, “Tennessee Orange”, and a
“Transparent Black”. They will begin
shipping in mid-July. ■
Anaheim, California. Visitors to the Taylor
booth would play one of the guitars for
a little while and invariably react with
raised eyebrows and nods of approval.
Player after player felt compelled to tell us
how much they liked the way these guitars
sounded and how easily they played. The
excited buzz soon propagated throughout
the convention complex, and new visitors
would arrive, play the short-scale guitars,
have the same reaction, and leave to tell
others, thus perpetuating the cycle.
And Now, Dreadnoughts
Because the 30th Anniversary models
were Grand Concerts, we knew that people
would inquire as to when we’d be making
the shorter scale available on our other
body styles. Dreadnought fans will be
happy to hear that your time has come.
Bob Taylor believes that the short-scale’s
playability and tone, combined with the
Dreadnought’s inherent tonal and projection
properties, represent a monumental
breakthrough. For a very short time, we
will be offering a limited run of shortscale
Dreadnought models, available in
a 510 (solid mahogany back and sides,
Engelmann spruce top), a 510ce (solid
mahogany back and sides, Engelmann
spruce top, Expression System electronics,
and cutaway), a 710 (solid East Indian
rosewood back and sides, Engelmann
spruce top), and a 710ce (solid East Indian
rosewood back and sides, Engelmann
spruce top, Expression System electronics,
and cutaway). Each of these guitars will
feature pearl snowflake inlays, a special
short-scale label, and the standard accoutrements
of their respective series.
Sometimes, the stars align in just the
right way, resulting in something exceptional.
Bob Taylor and his team have made
a significant advancement in producing a
guitar with the deep, rich tone and playability
that must be played first-hand to
fully appreciate. The Taylor short-scale
just might be that one-of-a-kind you’ve
been looking for. ■
14th Fret
THE DOYLE DYKES SHORT-SCALE
L-R: Standard-scale neck, short-scale neck
The DDSM (standard or short-scale neck) is now available with the
Expression System pickup as an option

[Leen Kap]

by David Kaye
In mid-2003, a few months before
announcing it to the general public,
Bob Taylor revealed to the Taylor
staff that the models we would build to
celebrate the company’s 30th Anniversary
would be our first-ever short-scale guitars.
As the news spread through the
Taylor complex, many staffers eagerly
anticipated this new (for Taylor) development,
which actually had been set into
motion years earlier during conversations
between Bob and fingerstyle
maestro and Taylor clinician Doyle
Dykes (see the full story on the
opposite page).
But the enthusiasm that
met Bob’s announcement,
and the unqualified
success of the
30th Anniversary
models’ debut at the
2004 Winter NAMM
Show, also spawned
curiosity about shortscale
guitars. Even
some fairly accomplished
guitar players
have limited knowledge
of, and little or no experience
with, acoustic guitars with
shorter scale lengths.
Realizing that many of our readers
might have the same questions — for
example, what is a short-scale guitar? —
we decided to help unravel the mystery.
What does
short-scale mean?
A guitar’s scale length is determined
by measuring the distance (string length)
between the nut and the saddle. This
measurement determines the proper
placement of the frets, the string tension,
and, ultimately, the instrument’s tone.
For many years, Taylor guitars have had a
scale length of 25-1/2 inches. By comparison,
most flat-top, steel-string acoustic
guitars have a scale length of between
24 and 26 inches. Our new short-scale
models have a scale length of 24-7/8
inches, or 5/8ths of an inch shorter than
a standard Taylor.
What are the
advantages of a
shortened scale length?
Both the sound and feel of a guitar are
influenced by scale length. On a shortscale
guitar, the frets are closer together,
thus extending one’s natural “reach” on
the fingerboard. That enables the player
to more easily form chords that require
some stretching, and it can even facilitate
rapid chord changes.
Because of the reduced string tension
on a short-scale guitar, the strings feel
slightly looser and easier to push down,
making bends and vibratos a cinch.
Professional musicians and others who
play for hours on end frequently experience
finger and/or hand fatigue. A shortscale
guitar puts less stress on the fingers
and hands, allowing for more comfortable
playing and practice time. Guitar novices
will appreciate the reduced string tension
while building up the requisite finger calluses
that come with frequent playing.
Do short-scale guitars
sound different?
To many, the overriding benefit of our
short-scale guitars is that they produce an
entirely new tone! In the luthier’s world,
no amount of science or technology can
determine what a guitar will sound like
before it’s actually built, but, traditionally,
a shorter scale length equates to less
volume. That’s definitely not true of these
guitars, for a couple of reasons. First, a
guitar’s top is like the cone on a speaker,
and the reduced string tension of a shortscale
allows the top to vibrate more freely
and produce more volume. Factor in our
latest changes to the Taylor bracing pattern
(on guitars from the 500 Series up),
and you get a deeper, richer, “woodier”
tone, with no perceived drop in volume.
Instant Karma
We knew we were onto something
“special” last January when we premiered
our short-scale 30th Anniversary Grand
Concert models at Winter NAMM in
6
WHY A
SHORT-SCALE
GUITAR MIGHT
BE RIGHT
FOR YOU
Although our “short-scale” guitars are relatively
new to the market, Bob Taylor’s foray into the
short-scale world actually began a few years
ago with some helpful prodding from long-time Taylor
clinician, Doyle Dykes.
Originally, the Doyle Dykes Signature Model
(DDSM) was released as a 2000 Limited Edition,
built to meet the specifications of the amazing fingerstylist
and frequent Grand Ole Opry guest. Along
with many “signature” features, the original DDSM
had the standard Taylor scale length (i.e. string
length) of 25-1/2 inches.
The newly redesigned DDSM features most of the
original features, but has a shortened scale length of
24-7/8 inches. On a short-scale guitar, the spacing
between frets is narrower, making it easier for one’s
chording hand to span several frets in the lower
register. The looser string tension also makes
advanced techniques such as thumb-overs and barre
chords easier to manage.
Because of his background as a
predominately electric guitar player,
Dykes was unwittingly familiar with
short-scale.
“I started off playing short-scale
guitars and didn’t know it,” Doyle says.
“My first good guitar was a J45 Gibson.
Then I played a Fender Jaguar, and I
always wondered why I liked the way
those guitars played. I found out years
later that the scale-length had a lot to
do with it. I’d always go back to those
electrics because they felt so good.
That’s why I started playing Taylors. It
was because the Taylor neck felt even
better than my favorite electrics!”
The impetus for Doyle’s
desire for a short-scale
DDSM began when he
started taking his children
on tour with him.
“It was on a road trip
through the Arizona desert
that I realized that the
wear and tear of ‘life on
the road’ would have
an adverse effect on
my physical fitness
and on my ability
to play to the level
that my fans and
I expected,” he
says. “I was traveling
with my kids, and
we were transferring
between a train and
a car. My kids were
younger then, so I
was schlepping all
the luggage and guitars
myself.
“I became really
concerned because
my arms and my
hands were ‘dead’ — I
could hardly lift them.
I had played a concert
the night before,
and had another
one planned for that
night. Right then, I
knew that I had to
take steps to prolong
my playing career.”
Doyle remembered
a conversation
he’d had with an old
friend, Billy Grammer,
a long-time member
of the Grand Ole
Opry. When Dykes
asked Grammer how
he was able to play
so nimbly, the latter
related something
Chet Atkins had told
him about the benefits
of playing a shortscale.
Aside from talent,
practice,
and keeping
his guitars in meticulous shape, Chet
attributed the apparent ease with which he
negotiated his famous “Chet Atkins style”
to using short-scale guitars. “Anything that
can make the guitar more pleasing to play
is the way to go, and short-scale is a
‘given’,” Atkins had told Grammer.
“For people with smaller hands, or
people who have been playing a long,
long time, short-scale really makes a
guitar easier to play,” Doyle explains.
“And because the strings
are looser, it is easier to
squeeze out hard-to-reach
chords. So, a couple of
years ago, on one of my
trips to California, I asked
Bob Taylor if he would
consider building me a
short-scale DDSM.”
As soon as time permitted,
and as a gift to Doyle,
Bob Taylor redesigned the
standard DDSM, making
it the first short-scale
guitar of his career. Bob’s
satisfaction with the
redesign ultimately led
to creating the recently
released and immensely
popular short-scale 30th
Anniversary Limited
Edition Grand Concerts.
“When Bob made me
a short-scale DDSM with
a new bracing pattern and
standard depth, I liked it
better right away!” Doyle
exclaims. “The combination
of the latest bracing
pattern with the shortscale
length makes it a
completely different animal.
Bob and his team
tackled these guitars with
an open mind, and they
have built a better guitar with a completely
new sound.”
The newly redesigned short-
scale DDSM is available with
either Expression System or L.R.
Baggs electronics, in a choice of
finishes that includes Natural,
Black, “Tennessee Orange”, and a
“Transparent Black”. They will begin
shipping in mid-July. ■
Anaheim, California. Visitors to the Taylor
booth would play one of the guitars for
a little while and invariably react with
raised eyebrows and nods of approval.
Player after player felt compelled to tell us
how much they liked the way these guitars
sounded and how easily they played. The
excited buzz soon propagated throughout
the convention complex, and new visitors
would arrive, play the short-scale guitars,
have the same reaction, and leave to tell
others, thus perpetuating the cycle.
And Now, Dreadnoughts
Because the 30th Anniversary models
were Grand Concerts, we knew that people
would inquire as to when we’d be making
the shorter scale available on our other
body styles. Dreadnought fans will be
happy to hear that your time has come.
Bob Taylor believes that the short-scale’s
playability and tone, combined with the
Dreadnought’s inherent tonal and projection
properties, represent a monumental
breakthrough. For a very short time, we
will be offering a limited run of shortscale
Dreadnought models, available in
a 510 (solid mahogany back and sides,
Engelmann spruce top), a 510ce (solid
mahogany back and sides, Engelmann
spruce top, Expression System electronics,
and cutaway), a 710 (solid East Indian
rosewood back and sides, Engelmann
spruce top), and a 710ce (solid East Indian
rosewood back and sides, Engelmann
spruce top, Expression System electronics,
and cutaway). Each of these guitars will
feature pearl snowflake inlays, a special
short-scale label, and the standard accoutrements
of their respective series.
Sometimes, the stars align in just the
right way, resulting in something exceptional.
Bob Taylor and his team have made
a significant advancement in producing a
guitar with the deep, rich tone and playability
that must be played first-hand to
fully appreciate. The Taylor short-scale
just might be that one-of-a-kind you’ve
been looking for. ■
14th Fret
THE DOYLE DYKES SHORT-SCALE
L-R: Standard-scale neck, short-scale neck
The DDSM (standard or short-scale neck) is now available with the
Expression System pickup as an option

[Dylan61]

Leuk om te lezen, hij zocht meer iets dat het spelen lichter gaat.

Vandaag op een Seagull gespeeld, deze heeft ook een korte schaal, speelt echt beter.

[CGCGCE]

Een gitaar met een kortere mensuur lijkt mij ook wel wat vanwege het speelcomfort. Toch vraag ik mij af of er geen nadelen zijn. Waarom zou een langere mensuur anders de huidige standaard zijn ? Mogelijke nadelen: minder volume, minder punch in de bassen, minder sprankelend hoog, droge klank, sterke nadruk op middengebied, minder sustain, intonatieproblemen bij verlaagde stemmingen, te korte afstand tussen frets in hoge posities. Helaas zijn er te weinig gitaren met een dergelijke mensuur om dat allemaal na te gaan. Heeft iemand daar meer ervaring mee ?

[Dylan61]

Bijna de gehele Gibson lijn is in 24,85 als ik het goed heb.

Een nadeel kan zijn als je in 'drop' gaat spelen, vandaar dat de Blues King van Gibson een 25,5 heeft.

Maar zoiemand als ik die blijft tobben met het snel pakken van akkoorden is een 24'9 een enorme verbetering,
althans ik speel met al mijn (5) ..akkoorden de sterren van de hemel! .. :wink: