The archtop design was meant to increase the power and quality of tone an instrument was capable of in the days of acoustic instruments. It is effective in increasing volume and projection. Archtops were widely adopted before amplification was available.

The early acoustic archtop guitar was loud enough for small spaces and smaller performances. Once the pickup and amplifier were available many guitar makers like Gibson just attached pickups to the existing archtops. As guitars were electrified and were played at higher volumes, feedback became a problem that needed to be solved. Eventually the solid body guitar build from a hunk of wood routed for pickups solved this feedback issue. No more danger of howling when the volume was raised and the guitar was close to an amplifier. In the case of archtops or hollow body guitars that does not tell the entire story.

Ted Nugent with Gibson Byrdland

Electric archtop or hollow body guitars are still very popular and not only with Jazz players. Even Ted Nugent plays a hollow body guitar and no one ever claimed the “Motor City Madman” was a Jazz player. Despite the fact that he favors a hollow Gibson Byrdland guitar! Yes guitarist, Steve Howe is know for his hollow body Gibson ES-175. Plenty of players are on big stages nightly slinging a hollow body Gretsch, Guild, Gibson or another hollow body guitar. Brian Setzer, Dave Gonzales, Darrel Higham and slew of other rockabilly players are hollow body devotees.

Brian Setzer with a Gretsch 6120 hollow body

So are all archtop and hollow body guitars equal? Of course not. But it is interesting to understand what differences and options there are that attribute to the sound and less prone to feedback.

Carved Tops

Early archtop guitars and many high-end modern hollow bodies feature a carved top made from solid wood. These guitars are mostly hand-made (at least the top is) where the guitar’s top is carved out from a solid tone wood and “tuned” by the builder. These guitars are highly resonant. The tend to be fairly loud when played acoustically. When a pickup and controls are added, most times they are not routed into the top. The single neck pickup is “floated” over the top and the controls are often found on the raised pickguard.

Guild Artist Award carved top with footed pickup

These guitars are usually quite expensive and are usually not suited for Rock, Pop or loud music. Generally you will hear these guitars in the hands of a Jazz player that wants the fantastic tones these guitars can produce at a reasonable volume.

Laminated Tops

Eventually, makers started electrifying the early hollow body guitars already in their line. Guys like Charlie Christian were changing the role of the guitar from chunking out some chords in the rhythm section in to a lead instrument with the added volume using amplification. Basically the first electric guitars were just hollow bodies with pickups routed into the top. They soon discovered the feedback problem.

Gibson ES-175 with laminated top

Instead of a carved wood top that is expensive and mostly needed to achieve volume and tone in an acoustic instrument, using laminated wood made the top stiffer and less prone to feedback. Since the pickups and amp were now a big part of the tone anyway this was a great option and far less expensive. The Gibson ES-175 that was introduced in 1949 with a laminated top became a favorite. The laminated top is a plywood made from glueing thin layers of wood together. This makes the tops stiff, less resonant. But being a hollow body guitar they do not sound the same as a solid body, even when sporting the same pickups.

Bracing and Sound Posts

Laminated tops are less prone than a carved archtop guitar, but can still feedback and give you unwanted howl. The bracing pattern used my some makers can make a laminated top even stiffer.

Trestle bracing or sound posts are used on many deeper hollow body guitars. Trestle bracing consists of two bridge-like spruce braces with a wide “U” shape. These run parallel to each other down the inside center of the guitar’s interior. Usually from the neck joint ending directly under the bridge. Each rigid trestle brace has two “feet,” there are four points of attachment that are glued to the back of the guitar. Gretsch developed trestle bracing and first used it in the late 1950s to increase sustain and decrease feedback.

Trestle style bracing

Sound post is usually a block of wood that is glued inside that connects the guitar’s top to the back. Sound-post is a brace where a vertical wooden dowel located directly under the bridge connects the top of the guitar to the back. The sound post itself doesn’t add much mass, so it has little impact on sustain. Since the sound post takes up very little space inside the guitar, the feedback characteristics of the body remain largely unchanged. The sound post does help with the feedback issue however.

Sound Post inside a Gretsch

TIP: If you have a beloved fully hollow body guitar that is giving you feedback issues. You can can have a qualified luthier add a sound post. It is not that big a job and can even be reversible.

There are some players that have been known to “stuff” their hollow body guitars with foam or other materials to reduce feedback.

Semi-Hollow

After the solid body guitar was introduced in the form of the Fender Telecaster and the Gibson Les Paul in the early fifties. Before 1952, Gibson produced only hollow-body guitars, which are prone to feedback when amplified, until the introduction of their first solid-body, the Gibson Les Paul.

My Gibson ES 335

Ted McCarty was the President of Gibson, launched the Gibson ES-335 in 1958. Gibson ES-335 was the world’s first commercial thinline archtop semi-acoustic electric guitar. Known as “semi-hollowbody” as it is a hollow body with a maple block of wood that runs up the center of the body. Neither fully hollow nor fully solid the ES-335 was a different type of instrument that featured something in-between.

Chambered

Guitars like the Gretsch Duo Jet that many compare to the Gibson Les Paul are actually not solid bodied guitars. They are chambered and do not feature any sound holes. This gives you a more resonant instrument with less weight while not being prone to feedback.

Gretsch Country Gentlemen with painted F holes

Getting rid of the sound holes can reduce feedback. This is a trick that Chet Atkins liked and was featured on the Gretsch Country Gentlemen model. The Gretsch Country Gentlemen is a hollow body guitar with painted on “F” holes.

Thinlines

Some players like a thinner hollow body as it can be easier to handle, especially when played standing. Guitars like the Gibson ES-330, Epiphone Casino or Guild Starfire II are good examples. These guitar are hollow and do not feature a block of wood down the center of the body.

Epiphone Casino and Gibson ES-330 Hollow Bodies with P-90s

Note all the guitar I have featured in this article are archtop guitars. These are quite different that “flat-top” acoustic guitars which are also hollow, but use a completely different construction.

You may wonder if feedback is such an issue, why not just stick to solid body electrics? Well that is an option, but “tone” is what we are all chasing…. Hollow bodies sound different. In fact all these guitars mentioned have their own “thing” their own personality and tone.

When checking intonation and playing your guitar “in-tune” it is important that you fret notes or chords evenly and not use too much pressure. Especially if your guitar has high jumbo frets it is easy to press down too hard and actually stretch the strings out of tune. One reason why your touch is so important in your playing. You strive to fret notes by pressing down the string to the fret, but not push the string down further to the fretboard bending the note out of tune. Be careful with your fretting hand so you don’t inadvertently pull one or more strings out of tune by applying uneven pressure. If you press too hard you can make any chord or note play out of tune.

String action (height) and neck adjustments (truss rod) should be made before intonation!

Checking your Intonation

After tuning your open string with a chromatic tuner, play an open E chord across all six strings. If that sounds in tune, then strum a G barre chord at the third fret, then at the fifth fret play A barre chord. Seventh fret chord and right down to the twelfth fret. If you hear your guitar’s tuning getting farther out as you play up the neck, your guitar’s intonation probably needs adjusting.

Note that guitars are not perfect instruments and it is impossible to get every single fretted note to play in perfect tune. BUT we can get this pretty close and compensate for this.

There are several nuts, bridges and methods that have been designed to get this as close as possible. Some builders even use a fanned fret design to compensate for the temporal design of the guitar.

Basically the twelfth fret is the half-way point of the scale of your instrument. At the twelfth fret there is a harmonic that can be played by lightly touching each string. These harmonics being the halfway point should play in tune with the open string just at a higher octave. If this harmonic is off it could mean your bridge (or bridge saddles) are in the wrong place and not the halfway point of your guitar’s scale. In the case of an archtop or any guitar with a moveable bridge, not pinned or anchored to the guitar top, it may have been pushed out of place. A ruler and tuner can help right this.

At the twelfth fret the harmonic should match closely with the fretted note at the twelfth fret. If it does not match your intonation needs to be adjusted. Before I get into explaining a method of setting your intonation, I want to discuss if the strings you use matter.

Wound vs Un-wound G string!

Years back, it was common for strings sold for guitars to have a wound G string. The plain G string became popular when music changed and guitarists wanted to bend string more. Many guitar players started using multiple string sets to get the gauges to their liking and a plain unwound G string. Eventually, companies like Ernie Ball started selling string sets in lighter gauges with a plain unwound G string. These days this is the norm, but many players still use a wound G string, especially Jazz players.

The reason this matters is that when setting intonation, the wound G string has different requirements. If your guitar has a bridge with adjustable saddles you will need to adjust for the wound G string (plus the string gauge). When this becomes a bigger issue is if you would a guitar where the bridge is fixed.

Top shows usual intonation for a Wound G string. Bottom for a plain G string.

Acoustic guitar usually use a wound G string while many electrics use a plain G string. On some guitars, like older archtops, the bridge may be fixed and set-up for a wound G string. To get intonation spot on you would need to change the bridge if you plan on using a plain unwound G string.

Some examples of bridges for designed for wound G strings.

Gibson ES-125CD with rosewood bridge for a wound G string

Guild X-175 with rosewood bridge for a wound G string

Gretsch Acoustic – Wound G String

Some examples of bridges for designed for unwound plain G strings.

Gibson ES-295 with replacement bridge for unwound plain G string

Gibson ES-335 with adjustable AB-1 bridge set for plain G string

Strat tremolo adjustable bridge

PRS adjustable bridge

Fender Jazzmaster with Mastery Bridge with unwound G string

Fender Telecaster bridge with compensated saddles

Can the gauge of a guitar string have an effect on its intonation?

Changing the string gauge set can slightly effect the intonation. When making this change it is a good idea to check the intonation and make any slight adjustment. Having a wound G string will have a bigger effect.

Setting Intonation

Many players just check the intonation at the twelfth fret, but it is a good idea to check for crest tuning at the fifth, seventh frets as well. If your D string can play in perfect tune open it should be able to be a well tuned G at the fifth, an A at the seventh and an octave D at the twelfth fret. If this is still out after setting intonation, makes sure to check that your string are properly installed. The strings need to be set firmly at the bridge and the nut needs to be in good condition. Worn bridge saddles can cause issues.

Humidity is a factor, since most guitars are made of wood and if it is too dry wood can shrink or swell if humidity is too high. Making sure your neck relief is reasonable will be quite important as too much relief can distort fretted notes. Bridge must be solid and secure. Not loose, uneven and pulling away from the guitar’s top.

How to measure neck relief by Fender.

Accurate placement of the bridge and saddle must be done. Reason I mention ruler below. Yes, I have seen some lower-end guitars from the factory with this problem. Even some older vintage acoustics. If you have this issue and do not have a moveable bridge, your next stop should be to a competent repair person. This can be fixed.

For basic intonation and setup most people can adjust their own guitars with a few tools and some knowledge.

You will need a few tools:

• Screwdriver, hex key, etc for adjusting your bridge saddles closer or further from the nut.
• A tape measure is optional, but can be helpful

1. If you have a moveable bridge meaning one that is not pinned or anchored to your guitar’s top. You might want to measure from the nut to the bridge to see the scale. You can measure from the twelfth fret to the bridge for the half-way point.
2. Tune the open strings to standard tuning.
3. Using a light touch, play a 12th-fret harmonic and ensure it is also tune.
4. Using just enough pressure to cleanly sound a note, gently play a fretted note at the 12th fret. Make sure not to press too hard bending the note out of tune. Using the tuner, compare the difference in pitch between the harmonic and the fretted note. Basically they need to match.
5. If the fretted note is sharp compared to the harmonic, the bridge saddle (or a fixed bridge) will need to be moved back, away from the headstock. If the fretted note is flat compared to the harmonic, the saddle will need to move forward, toward the headstock.
6. You should loosen the string enough so that the bridge saddle can move freely. Use the screwdriver to turn the bridge adjustment screw so that the saddle moves either forward or back, as needed.
7. Tune to pitch, and repeat until the fretted note and the harmonic note are both perfectly in tune.

Perform these steps for each string until they are all intonated. Once your guitar can play in tune across the fingerboard it will sound much better. Chords will play in tune and resonate cleaner.

Also see Scale Length and Why It Matters.

Bukka White’s 1933 National Duolian resonator was described by BB King as a “holy relic” of the Delta blues. This historic guitar is up for auction on 13 March via Gardiner Houlgate in Corsham, Wiltshire.

Back in the good old days of the late 1990s and early 2000, Danelectro was on a wild car ride with their crazy wah-style pedals. Note these are not actually all wah pedals. They certainly look interesting, light up and are great just sitting on a shelf in your guitar room. However they do sound pretty good in a weird and wild sort of way as well. Shaped like an old Cadillac and come in some nice colors and patterns.

Definitely, a conversation starter, even for your non-guitar playing friends. I have been collecting a few of these old pedals and have enjoyed playing around with them. Sure there are better effects out there and none of these have ever found a permanent place on my pedalboard, but these are just plain COOL!

Danelectro discontinued these pedals a long time ago, but they pop up on eBay, Reverb and guitars shows now and then. These pedals are gems in my opinion for their looks alone. They sound like nothing else, good or bad that that is.

All of these Dano pedals have the instruction manual on the bottom.

Danelectro Dan-O-Wah DW-1

This one is a WAH pedal. Awesome looking shaped like a car, has fuzz and octave built-in. A bank of buttons on the left side of the pedal was labeled “60’s Rock”, while the rightmost bank was labeled “70’s Funk.”

• Danelectro Dan-O-Wah pedal features 6 wahs in 1 with authentic 1960’s sound!
• 2 banks of pre sets (foot switchable)
• Built in octave distortion

These came in a few different colors.

Danelectro Trip L Wah

The Trip L guitar effects pedal features 3 great wah sounds – all foot switchable. Taillight status indicators tell you which sound is in use. The pedal has cool zebra graphics! I have seen the Zebra and Leopard version graphics on these pedals.

Danelectro Shift Daddy Echo Pitch Shifter

Not a WAH pedal. Danelectro discontinued this unit some time ago. I picked this up on REVERB. I could not resist that it looked like rockabilly item and what it sounds like is secondary. Although, it does sound pretty decent. The pitch bending effect it offers is fun. Sounds like the notes you play are being stretched. It has a selectable option of bending the notes up or down. The slap back echo is pretty nice.

• Classic Auto Chassis
• Pitch Bender
• 4 Echo Settings
• Battery Powered or Adaptor

Looking at this one it has rockabilly hot rod all over it. If a Rolans Sapce Echo was inside I could see Brian Setzer with one of these…

You can pick these up fairly cheaply. Shows pedal does not have to be expensive to be fun and useful.

Such a humble and cool guy! Met G.E. a few years ago and spoke to him, he is a wonderful player and a great guy. He is a walking knowledge base on vintage gear.

I recently was chatting with a friend that has been playing the guitar for a few decades. I mentioned that Fender guitars generally have a longer scale than Gibson guitars and was explaining how this contributed to the way the guitar played and sounded. My friend was quite surprised that some guitars EVEN had different scale lengths. He could not fathom how it would affect anything, especially sound.

I have read on guitar forums and watched some YouTube videos claiming scale length, an electric guitar’s design and materials used to build the instrument do not matter… Only the pickups mattered! Even some very intelligent and knowledgable players actually believe this. Some acknowledge that it matters with acoustic guitars, but claim the pickups on an electric guitar is all you needed to be concerned about. The Internet has a way of perpetuating information that is sometimes not all together correct. I am here to tell you, when it comes to the way a guitar plays and especially the way it sounds…. EVERYTHING MATTERS!

Scale is no exception, in fact the scale is what gives your guitar its initial character. If pickups ONLY mattered, all we would need is one body with interchangeable pickups. By the way, attempts have been tried to do just that. What you end up with is the same guitar affecting the sound of the different pickups. Modeling guitars like Line 6 Variax is a nice attempt to make ONE guitar sound like many other guitars, but use digital modeling of sampling REAL guitars… Entirely a different subject.

Fender Stratocaster guitars have a 25.5-inch (648 mm) scale length whereas a Gibson Les Paul has a shorter 24.75 (advertised, more on this later in this article). These Fender guitars generally have single coil pickups and Gibson Les Pauls will have humbuckers. No one ever states that Fender single coil pickups sound anything like a PAF (Patent Applied For) style humbucker, but that is ONLY one part of the reason these guitars sound different… Yes, the Les Paul may use Mahogany for the body and the set neck, the Fenders will likely be Ash or Alder wood bodies with a bolt on maple neck. This of course matters. BUT scale plays an important part in the sound and especially the way the different guitars play. It is NOT just the pickups.

Stratocaster and Les Paul

If we only swapped the pickups between the Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul guitars it would not make the Fender Strat sound anything like a Gibson Les Paul or vice versa. I think this notion comes from folks that have their pickups raised up close to their strings, have a large pedalboard with effects turned on going into an amp with a lot gain… This would yield more of the sound of the pickups -> stomp boxes -> cranked amp -> speakers -> room or environment making it hard to hear what guitar model is being used and maybe even if it IS a guitar.

This is NOT how most people play the instrument. No problem if this is what they want to do or what you want to do. But I will point out that the Fender Stratocaster was a huge part of Jimi Hendrix’s sound in the 1960s when he was using all that fuzz and effects into a cranked Marshall stack. It would have sounded quite different if he was using a Gibson Les Paul or a Gretsch!

If you are trying to sound like a certain player (different discussion) you may also find if you bought all the same exact gear you still will not sound like your guitar hero… You will usually sound like YOU playing your hero’s guitar and gear… No amount of guitar design or signal chain can take a way from the player’s technique and their fingers!

The characteristics of scale length cannot really be cheated or tricked.

Scale… What it is and how to measure it?

Any fretted instrument’s scale length including the guitar is the distance between the nut (or zero fret) and the bridge’s saddle. Basically, the “vibrating” length of the strings. This measurement not only determines the placement of the frets for proper intonation, but has a huge effect on string tension, tone, and can affect tuning stability. The actual string length will need to be a bit longer, due to the string being stretched sharp when fretting notes. Remember you are pressing down on the string to fret the note so string action is yet another factor. An amount of “compensation” is required, and this varies with the string diameter and height. The reason for having adjustable bridge saddles or “compensated” saddles.

The zero fret is positioned at the location normally occupied by the nut. The nut is located behind the zero fret and just keeps the strings spaced properly. The strings rest atop the zero fret, which can be higher than the other frets.

The proper way to measure scale is from the inside nut (or zero fret if the guitar has one) to the 12th fret and than double it. So nut to 12th fret X 2. This is the same place where you can check the octave of the open strings when you are checking intonation (more on this later).

Below picture I am measuring a Gibson Les Paul from my collection from nut to 12th fret and it equals 12 5/16-inch with my ruler. If you times this by two it equals 24 5/8-inch or in decimal 24.625 which would be the accurate scale length for my Gibson Les Paul. Not the 24.75 which Gibson advertises. If I measure the Low E string saddle to the nut, I measure 24.75, but this is measurement represents the scale PLUS compensation. Here is where confusion and misinformation likely comes from.

Measuring the string length from the nut to the bridge saddles is an inaccurate way to determine scale as the bridge must “compensate” for different lengths (and thicknesses) for the each string for proper intonation.

Intonation refers to the guitar being in tune along the entire fretboard. An easy way to check the basic intonation of a guitar is to hit a 12th fret harmonic and compare the pitch with a note fretted at the 12th fret. If the fretted note is sharp, the string needs to be lengthened. If flat, shortened. Guitars are basically inaccurate instruments. Compensation is used to try and make the notes fretted along the fretboard to play in tune.

Compensation is lengthening the individual string beyond the scale length. Compensation therefore flattens the note. Pressure of fretting the string, sharpens the note because the pressure adds tension. Since we want the fretted note to be in tune we must “compensate” for the fretted notes played.

Piano strings are different length

The six-string guitar has a range of two octaves between its lowest open string and its highest. This pushes the limits of making a uniform-scale-length stringed instrument. Looking at a harp or a piano you will see these instruments are shaped to accommodate different length strings. The bass strings simply have to be longer than treble strings to play in tune. Violins, violas, mandolins, cellos, double-basses: these all have a range of an octave-and-a-sixth between their highest and their lowest strings which is less than a six string guitar.

Harp strings are also different length

Compensation needs to vary on some instruments. Seven-string guitars and 5-string basses especially struggle between intonation and string tension. Most 4-string electric basses have a 34-inch scale length, while many 5- and 6-string basses have a 35-inch scale length. Which is almost 10-inch longer than most guitars and also use much heavier gauge strings.

Guitar has a fanned fret design

When a fretted instrument needs bass strings longer than the treble strings, design ideas like “fanned” frets have been. Some fanned-fret instruments can sound amazing and said to be more piano-like. Players needs to get used the fanned fret design.

So to accurately measure the scale of a guitar it is best to measure the “vibrating” length of the string from the nut to the 12th fret and times it by two. This will give you the proper and accurate scale without having to allow for the compensation. Using a different method is what probably causes some confusion what is advertised as the scale for a particular guitar.

Guitars are inaccurate instruments at best. Guitar makers have been known to change the bridge placement slightly to “compensate” to allow intonation in the middle of production. It is not unheard of to have the same model guitar from the same maker that measure differently from nut to bridge saddle. I have seen skilled luthiers actually un-glue and slightly reposition bridge on some older acoustic guitars to “compensate” for better intonation. It is a common practice in fact.

This is why to obtain an accurate scale length it is best to use the proper method – measure nut to 12th fret then times by two – equals the scale without compensation. Unfortunately, some guitar makers will advertise a scale length for their guitars that is not accurate.

Gibson Scale Lengths:
The 24.75-inch (24 3/4′ or 628 mm) scale length is commonly quoted as the Gibson scale length. Gibson still advertises this scale length but it is an “abbreviation” to what the scale really is. Gibson guitars actual scale may differ due to compensation and/or changes in their product line and production equipment over time. For example, some Gibson guitars made in the early 50’s had a 24 3/4-inch scale, in 1959 and after they used 24 9/16-inch, in 1969 it was 24 5/8-inch and after 1992 it was 24 9/16-inch again.

Example,if your Gibson measures 12-3/8-inch at the 12th fret, then your guitar’s scale length is twice that, 24.75-inch (24 3/4-inch) scale.

For intonation, the guitar bridge saddle will be placed for adding a bit extra string length. This is done for “compensation.” The actual string length will be a bit longer than the the scale measurement. Compensation varies for the different strings, and that’s why you see the bridge saddle placed at an angle. Also why measuring the entire string length to get scale leads to confusion.

The Gibson advertised scale is gospel to some players, even though it may actually be inaccurate. They add to the confusion in some of the forums by measuring nut to bridge saddle… Some even say to use the low E or the high E for accurate scale measurement!

There is no better scale… Just what works for you and what gives your guitar its initial character sound and feel. My point is scale matters BIG and should not be overlooked. Scale is what makes a Strat a Strat and a Les Paul a Les Paul.

Of course many players really don’t care about what the scale length of the favorite guitar may be. They just know they like the feel and sound it can produce. That is fine, but next I will try to explain how scale matters in the feel, sound and playability.

How does scale affect how the guitar plays and sounds?

Fender Strat with 25.5-inch scale and Gibson Les Paul with 24.75-inch scale are strung with same gauge strings and tuned to normal concert pitch, the shorter scale Gibson will have less tension, resulting in a “looser” feel.

String tension changes with the square of the vibrating length. The unit weight, and hence the tension, can be adjusted by changing the material used for the string or, on wound strings, changing the ratio of core to winding. Consequently ‘heavier” gauge strings can produce “lighter” tension, if they are made for this!

• The longer the scale the more tension for the same gauge strings
• The higher the tension the less a string will vibrate
• Higher tension means tighter strings, the more it produces higher overtones
• Tighter strings sound brighter and have more definition
• Less tension means looser strings
• Looser strings will sound warmer and rounder
• Guitars with less tension need more compensation
• Less vibration of the strings affects how the guitar resonates
• Less vibration of the strings affect how the pickups react within their electro-magnetic field
• Higher tension on the strings is felt when fretting notes
• Shorter scale means slightly less space between the frets

People with smaller hands may be more comfortable playing a guitar with a bit shorter scale. One reason why student model guitars tend to have shorter scales. The Fender Duosonic & Mustang with a short 22.5-inch scale were marketed to young players starting out. Playing stretchy or complex chords can sometimes be a bit easier on a shorter scale. One reason many guitars built with Jazz players in mind may feature a shorter scale.

Higher overtones due the more tension from a longer scale is an overlooked reason why a Fender Strat sounds different than Gibson Les Paul. The Strat has almost a full fret longer scale than a Les Paul, and that’s a big reason why Strat’s sound so clear and bell-like on the bottom end, perhaps harsh on the top end, while Les Paul can sound mushy and a bit less distinct on the low end but warm and round on the top. Helps to understand why swapping a PAF style humbucker on a Strat and even gluing the neck (instead of bolt-on) to the body, still won’t make it sound like a Les Paul.

Single-coil vs. humbucker, ash/alder versus mahogany, bolt-on versus set-neck all of these make a difference. Scale matters just as much!

The scale length affects sound on acoustic instruments as well. A shorter scale acoustic guitar is said to produce a “woody” tone with an overall warm timbre, while a longer scale is perceived as having more power overall, with increased clarity and distinction in the bass registers. Both sounds can be wonderful, and makers like Gibson and Martin for example make similar models in different scale lengths.

Some examples of how scale affects tone and character of your guitar

The non-vibrating parts of the strings can also be a factor in the guitars sound, but we will skip this for this illustration.

As mentioned Fender Stratocaster (or Telecaster) use 25.5-inch scale produces a rich, strong, bell-like tone, and defined low-end.

Gibson Les Paul uses a shorter scale that has gradually changed over the past fifty or so years. The Gibson 24.75-inch (or actually slightly shorter) scale has a lower tension, easier to play and produces a warmer tone. Gibson ‘Byrdland’ guitar uses a 23.5-inch scale built for Jazz players and is a favorite of Ted Nugent!

PRS founder and luthier Paul Reed Smith was looking to capture the harmonic richness of the Fender electric’s tone as well as the fullness, warmth, and playability of the Gibson electric guitars. PRS opted for a scale length of 25-inch, which is in the middle of Fender and Gibson. Interestingly, this scale is also found on Dobro and National guitars. Some of PRS guitars use a different scale as part of the design and characteristics there are trying to achieve like the Santana models, McCarty models and the John Mayer Silver Sky.

Martin uses 25.340-inch on their Dreadnought and OM models. Martin O, OO, OOO use 24.9-inch scale.

Danelectro Baritone Reissue

Baritone guitars tend to be about a 27-inch to 30-inch scale.

Paul McCartney with Hofner short scale bass

Another nice example is Paul McCartney’s short scale 30-inch Hofner bass and later when he moved to the longer scale 34-inch Rickenbacker 4001 bass. Pretty big difference in Sir Paul’s bass tone when he switched!

Paul with his famous Rickenbacker longer scale bass

Hofner and most Danelectro electric bass guitars are short 30-inch scale. The tend to be easier to play for some people, but have a different sound that a Fender Precision, Jazz bass or a Rickenbacker that have a 34-inch scale length. The Hofner or Danelectro sound unique, but can not compete on the power and tone from the longer scale bass guitars.

Scale length – frequency range

Longer scale instruments will have an increased bass output due to the greater string length that allows lower sub-frequencies to develop, and the increased tension means that more energy is transmitted to the vibrating surface or your pickups!

Bass guitars, mandolas, cellos, and upright basses move more air at low frequencies. While mandolins and violins use higher pitched frequencies, have shorter scales to reduce tension to an amount that the string, the instrument and the player can withstand! Look at the 5-string banjo where the 5th string is tuned high and significantly shorter in length.

String tension and gauge

Shorter scale electric guitars will have less string tension and easier playability. Can be an opportunity to get a “thicker” tone utilizing heavier gauge strings. The heavier gauge strings can induce the pickups to create more voltage, resulting in a “thicker” fundamental note, and more output.

Fender American Vintage ’65 Jazzmaster and Jaguar Guitars

Guitars with a shorter scale can generally use higher gauge strings than a guitar with a longer scale for a similar feel. Example is that I use 11s on my Fender Jazzmaster that has a 25.5-inch scale and use 12s on my Fender Jaguar that has a short 24-inch scale. The tension under my fingers feels close between these two guitars.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Some players love thicker strings as they feel it adds to their tone, and the higher tension to their technique. Stevie Ray Vaughan played quite heavy 13 gauge strings on his 25.5-inch scale Fender Strat…. BUT he also tuned down to E-flat to lessen the string tension a bit! Plenty of other players do this as well.

BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ. BUZZ, BUZZ…..

Jerry Jones Electric Sitars are unusual instruments and bit rare. Many guitarists have never seen an electric sitar in the flesh. Some may not even know it existed.

Jerry Jones built quality guitars in Nashville, Tennessee since the 1980s. After some Danelectro guitars came in for repair, Jerry started thinking that the Danelectro guitar was what he would build for himself. He liked the unpretentious simplicity of the Nathan Daniel’s Danelectro instruments. Early Danelectro guitars were made in New Jersey. From that point, Jerry began building high quality reproductions of the original Danelectro designs. In 1991, Jerry Jones even visited the Nathan Daniel founder of Danelectro, who was living in Hawaii building sail boats at the time. As of April 2011, Jerry Jones retired and closed down his Nashville factory. The Jerry Jones instruments are a step above the Danelectro instruments in quality and are have now become quite collectable.

Jerry Jones built several versions of the electric sitar that was originally an invention of studio guitarist, Vincent Bell who worked closely with Nathan Daniel at Danelectro. The first electric Sitar was meant to imitate a real acoustic sitar that is extremely hard to learn to play. Vinny Bell wanted an instrument that could sound like a sitar that could be used in pop music and played by any guitar player. It utilizes a “buzz” bridge that was innovated to give its signature sound on the regular 6-strings that are tuned standard (or drop-D).

We can thank George Harrison and the Beatles plus Brain Jones and the Rolling Stones for starting the “raga-rock” sound when they played real acoustic sitars on their early 1960s recordings. The Beatles Norwegian Wood and the Stones Paint It Black first made many westerners hear what a sitar can add to popular music.

In 1967, after MCA purchased Danelectro, the Vincent Bell Coral Sitar was released to the world. The Coral Sitar has been used on countless hits. Original Coral Sitars are pretty pricey in the vintage market and quite collectable for their uniqueness and history. Many of these are not always in the best condition at this point. Jerry Jones reissues are a good choice for this reason.

Jerry Jones Supreme Sitar

Jerry Jones first electric sitar was the Jerry Jones Master Sitar. Later Jerry Jones built a Supreme Sitar which was a higher-end model and a Baby Sitar which was a less expensive and simpler electric sitar that only had six strings and no sympathy strings. Interestingly Danelectro reissued their version of the Baby Sitar utilizing a Gotoh Buzz bridge.

The Jerry Jones Supreme Sitar features replaces the 13 sympathetic strings of the Master Sitar (or Coral Sitar) with a short, non-fretted neck with 6 drone strings. This short neck has its own tuning keys and “Buzz-Bridge” as well. Now, both necks produce the familiar whirring sound.

Jerry Jones Baby Sitar

The Jerry Jones Baby sitar is a smaller solid body instrument. The Coral Sitar reissue, the Jerry Jones Master Sitar has a hollow body, therefore has a percussive tone when the strings are picked.

Jerry Jones Master Electric Sitar is a refined reissue of the Coral Sitar and allows you to feel like you have returned to early psychedelic ’60s. Jerry Jones precision made sitar Buzz bridge produces that now familiar whirring sound and provides for accurate string intonation. The 13 sympathetic strings can be tuned in a variety of ways and can be played as accompaniment. The sympathetic strings have their own pickup with volume and tone control, so they can be also be turned off if desired.

I am luck enough to actually have two Jerry Jones Master Sitars in my collection. One is an earlier model that looks closer in appearance to the Coral Sitar and the other one is a later version that has some slight changes. So they are a bit different. Which one is better? Answer is BOTH!

It is interesting that Jerry Jones changed the design and build in later years. I can only guess why. Maybe due to cost or access to some parts. Possibly, Jerry Jones was just refining the model? I will not venture to guess as I really do not know.

The earlier Jerry Jones Electric Sitar were closer in appearance to the original Vincent Bell Coral Sitars. Almost a “dead” ringer in fact. The later Jerry Jones Master Sitars had a few slight changes. The headstock had a different shape, the lipstick pickups were mounted without the chrome ring, tuning machines, knobs and the access panel on the back are different. The pickguard has no writing on the earlier ones. The later ones had “electric SITAR” written on it. Both generally shipped with a G&G hard case and harp tuning wrench. The hard case for my earlier one looks to be non-original and tuning wrench is also a bit different. Both versions are well built quality instruments.

Serial numbers and dating Jerry Jones Guitars, Basses and Sitars:
From 1988 to about Mid 1990 – Serial numbers were hand lettered in black ink at lower back of headstock. Black or dark colored instruments may be numbered inside control cavity or backside of white pickguards. Some in neck cavity.

Mid 1990 to about Mid 1993 – Silver and black serial number labels applied to top back of headstock.

Mid 1992 to late 1998 – Serial number engraved on metal jack plate. Models without jackplates have serial number engraved on lower edge of bridge. Sitars engraved number is located on metal string guide at rear of bridge.

Jan 1998 to end of production around 2011 – Printed white label inside control cavity on all instruments. First two digits indicate year of production.

NOTE: I found this information on a guitar forum and it appears correct as I have seen this displayed on various Jerry Jones instruments. I cannot totally verify however, as the company is closed and Jerry is retired and has not provided information.

Going by the serial number and dating info I can find, it seems to indicate that my earlier Jerry Jones Master Sitar was produced in 2000 and the newer one was produced in 2004. Both have the printed white label inside the control cavity. The earlier version has a different shape access panel with the later one being round.

Early Jerry Jones Master Sitar

Later Jerry Jones Master Sitar

Here I will do a side-by-side comparison between the two versions of the Jerry Jones Master Sitars I own. Going by the label dating – The Jerry Jones Master Sitar on left is from 2004 and the one on right is a little earlier from 2000. Both look to be totally original, except former owner swapped out the strap buttons with Dunlop locking ones. Both Master Sitars are in excellent condition with no repairs, breaks, scratches, dents or other issues. The solder on the pots are untouched. Both use Alpha Pots. I was not able to see pot dates.

Jerry Jones Master Sitars with 2004 on left and 2000 on right

Jerry Jones Master Sitars

They have a different headstock shape with the older 2000 model looking more like an original Coral Sitar shape. Not sure why it was changed, but the waterslide decal is same. The tuners are different as well.

Note different headstock shape

The earlier model has Kluson style tuners and the newer one has Gotoh tuners. The neck carve and profile are basically the same. Neck joint and bolt-on are also the same.

Jerry Jones Master Sitars were available in a few different colors. Jerry Jones even offered some custom finishes. Both of the Jerry Jones Master Sitars in my collection are crackle red which was like the original Coral Electric Sitar. Notice below that the access panel is quite different. The one on left is the 2004 model and uses a round one screw with a piece of rosewood to hold it in place like I have seen on many Danelectro guitars. The earlier one on right used a piece metal cover with six screws.

Jerry Jones Master Sitars – 2004 model left and 2000 model right

The knobs are different. Below in the earlier model and the knobs look more like the knobs on the original Coral Sitar.

The 2004 Jerry Jones Master Sitar knobs are shown below.

The cases most Jerry Jones guitars shipped with were G&G USA made. The 2004 model has an original case, but my 2000 model hard case looks like a non-original TKL case made in Canada. Nice case, but not original.

2004 Jerry Jones Master Sitar – G&G case

Notice the writing on the pickguard on the 2004 model. The earlier model has no writing, but pickguard is same otherwise.

2000 Jerry Joneds Master Sitar

Notice no writing on pickguard on earlier model.

Specs for both:

• Dark Red “crackle” gator-style finish
• 3 x lipstick pickups
• 1 11/16″ nut width
• 25″ scale length
• 21 fret neck
• Indian rosewood fingerboard with 14.5″ radius
• Trussrod adjustment accessible at the heel
• Enclosed Gotoh tuners for 2004 and Kluson style tuners for 2000
• Intonated sitar Buzz-Bridge
• Six main strings light gauge
• 13 sympathetic strings (all .010)
• Both weigh 7-lbs exactly

Here are some random pictures of the earlier 2000 Jerry Jones Master Sitar. It is a very cool instrument.

Some random pictures of the later 2004 Jerry Jones Master Sitar.

Since Jerry Jones closed their doors, there are a few other makers producing their version of the Master Sitar or Coral Sitar. Agile, Rogue, Star and Italia come to mind. Danelectro is only making a solid body Baby Sitar using the Gotoh buzz bridge currently. Danelectro has reissued the Coral Sitar in the past. These are not very expensive, but the quality of Jerry Jones is a notch above.

The original Vincent Bell Coral Sitar

More info on Electric Sitars and their impact on popular music here.

I purchased a genuine USA made Bigsby B5 kit. Then, I headed to Callaham Guitar Parts for some nice Bigsby upgrades. Callaham has long made high quality parts and I have used them for many builds. Here is what I picked up.

1) Callaham Front Roller Upgrade Kit – All guitars equipped with a Bigsby B5 can suffer from reduced frequency response and sustain because of the lack of quality of the supplied front roller. This upgrade kit provides a solid, stainless steel front roller increases frequency response and sustain plus is grooved to maintain string alignment.

2) Callaham Upgraded Main String Shaft – Makes restringing easier while maintaining the original Bigsby look. Polished stainless steel shaft that is counterbored for the string ball ends. Thread the string through the hole and up to the tuner. These can be used on most Bigsby units and I put one on my Gretsch 6120RHH guitar.

3) Callaham 360 Arm Bracket for Bigsby Vibratos – Allows for full 360 rotation for the vibrato arm so player can position his picking hand without limit and maintain control of the vibrato.

I decided to use a Chet Atkins Bigsby arm on the Gretschcaster build. So this part was not used on that project. The Chet Atkins Bigsby arm already has the ability for 360 degree movement. This part will be a great improvement for most Bigsby units.

Installing the Bigsby upgrades.

Bigsby upgrades to install

To install the Callaham Upgraded Main String Shaft you need to remove the stock arm assembly. Just need an Allen wrench.

Remove stock arm

Using a locking pliers or vise grip you need to pull out the string holders from the original string shaft.

Once all the string holders out of the shaft it will pull out easily.

Slide in the Callaham Upgraded Main String Shaft. Easy to see it is better made and will made changing strings easier. Especially with the locking tuners I am have installed.

Attach the Chet Atkins Bigsby replacement arm. Just tighten with Allen wrench.

Chet Atkins replacement arm installed

Installing the Callaham Front Roller Upgrade Kit. Need to turn over and remove one screw using an Allen wrench. Then just slide out shaft and remove roller. Easy to see and feel that the original roller bar is basically hollow and lacks much mass. The Callaham Front Roller Upgrade Kit is not only better made with higher mass, it has grooves to guide the strings.

Remove Allen screw

Slide the new shaft and secure the new roller.

With these upgrades the Bigsby works better and is easier to use. Some other things you can do is look for some different Bigsby arms like the beefed up Duane Eddy Bigsby handle.

Gretsch 6120TM Bigsby Upgrades

Duane Eddy Arm

The Vibramate String Spoiler small bracket designed that fits your existing Bigsby Vibrato without any modifications or special tools. It easily slips right into place and is held in position by the tension of the strings when tuned to pitch. The Spoiler makes string changes so easier.

Trying different springs is also worth investigating. Some springs offer different tensions like the soft touch one sold by Reverend.

Adding locking tuners is a great upgrade improving tuning stability and making string changes easier.

Changing out the bridge can also help keeping your guitar in tune when using the Bigsby and improving tone.

Added recently did a few nice upgrades to my Gretsch 6120TM. I changed the bridge to an Stainless Compton bridge which increased sustain and has a nice clear tone. Also works better with the Bigsby.

Original bridge vs Compton bridge

Compton Compensated Custom Bridges are made in the USA from solid Stainless Steel, Copper, Brass, Aluminum and Titanium. Using solid material gives your guitar the sustain, tone and clarity you have been searching for. The concept of the solid bridge is to eliminate all the small parts that contribute to tone and sustain loss. The bridges are also designed to match your fret board radius.

The Compton bridge is a nice piece of stainless steel and has a nice mass. Sounds better in my opinion than the original bridge. These tune-matic style bridge also tend to rattle a bit.

I swapped out the stock Bigsby arm with a new gold Duane Eddy Vibrato arm. These have a nicer feel and are cast instead of stamped metal. I also liked the Duane Eddy Vibrato arm on my Gretsch G6120 Reverend Horton Heat Model better and wanted to add the same arm to this guitar.

Swapped out the original gold Grover tuners with gold Grover 502G Roto-Grip Locking Rotomatic. These are direct replacement with no screws holes needed to be drilled or modifications. Locking tuners make changing strings easier and cam improve tuning stability.

New Grover Locking tuners installed. They are a direct replacement. They look similar as well.

Original Grover Tuners on left and new Locking Grover Tuners on right

The Compton bridge is stainless steel and not gold like the rest of the hardware on this guitar. However Gretsch is known to mix gold and chrome hardware on some of their guitars. Tone is what I am chasing most and this bridge is a nice improvement.

Gibson ES-295 Bigsby Upgrade

My 1997 Gibson ES-295 Historic Custom Shop is a great Scotty Moore tribute, but features a factory Bigsby. Scotty’s guitar did not have Bigsby. Excellent guitar, but wanted to improve the way the Bigsby feels and plays. I had already replaced the original Gibson ABR-1 Tun-o-matic bridge with a Gretsch Bigsby 0261 Compensated Guitar Bridge Saddle. Tuning and sustain improved.

Gretsch Bigsby 0261 Compensated Guitar Bridge Saddle

I upgraded the Bigsby by installing a Callaham Main String Shaft making restringing easier allowing to thread the string through the hole and up to the tuner.

I also changed the stock Bigsby arm with a nicer Duane Eddy Vibrato arm. The original are is stamped metal and the Duane Eddy Vibrato arm has a better feel and are cast metal.

Making these changes are quite easy and totally reversible. Just did the work when I was ready to change strings. I use D’Addario Half Rounds, Medium, 11-49 strings on this guitar. They are round wound with stainless steel and then precision ground leaving the outer surface smooth and “semi flat.” The result is a string with the tone and tension characteristics of round wound strings, with a smoother feel, similar to flat wound strings. So these strings are generally brighter that most flat round strings with less string noise that round wound strings.

First step is to tape down the bridge with low tack tape. The bridge on many of these hollow body guitars are not pinned and are floating. The tape is to hold the position of the bridge when you take off the strings.

Next you need to remove the Bigsby tailpiece. You need to remove the three screws and the strap hanger.

Now that the strings and Bigsby tailpiece are removed from the guitar. Next step is to take off the stock Bigsby arm. Very simple using a hex or Allen wrench.

Now you want to use a vise grip or locking pliers to pull out the string holders from the main shaft. Locking the pliers and a bit of rolling motion as you pull will usually do the trick. You need to remove these before the shaft will slide out.

Now just slide in the new Callaham Main String Shaft. Replace the with the new Duane Eddy Vibrato arm (or whatever Bigsby arm you like). All you need is the hex wrench to tighten up the replacement arm.

Notice that Rockabilly legend Darrel Higham likes to install “fixed” Bigsby arms to many of his guitars.

Now all you need to do is re-install the Bigsby tailpiece back on the guitar, tighten (not over tighten) the three screws making sure the ground wire is still making contact with the Bigsby. Reinstall the strap hanger. Once the Bigsby is re-installed, just replace the strings and tune it up.

You should find the string thru design of the Callaham Main String Shaft will make putting the new strings on quite a bit easier. Once it is tuned to pitch, remove the tape on the bridge.

Job done and is a nice improvement.

I like the new arm and the upgrade improves an already great guitar.

Funky Mama 0:05
Elvis Medley: Mystery Train/My Baby Left Me/That’s All Right Mama 6:24
Red Label 12:16
Honky-Tonkin’ Country Girl 18:00 (beer bottle slide 22:22 )

Danny Gatton – lead guitar
Billy Windsor – rhythm guitar, vocals
John Previti – bass
Bill Holloman – keyboard, sax, trumpet, vocals
Shannon Ford – drums

Enjoy!