Scale length

[doublestop]

I have a mandolin that I have been playing now for about 8 months. I absolutely love it, but I am having a very hard time getting used to the scale length which measures out at around 14 1/8" The mandolin I played before had a scale length of 13 7/8 which is the length I prefer. My question is this....What are the scale lengths of some other famous builders. Also, what would I be sacrificing tone wise in going from a 14 1/8 to 13 7/8? Any help would be appreciated.

[Chris Baird]

13 7/8 is the standard for 90%+ of builders. If you were to have the scale length shortened the tension on the top would be less and so may change the tone. Probably less volume but perhaps not, depends on how the mandolin was built.

[Fretbear]

A capo at the first fret will answer your tone question....

[sunburst]

A capo at the first fret will answer your tone question....
Hadn't thought of that. Capoed and tuned back to pitch would tell the tale. If the tone is still there with that scale, it will surely be there at 13 7/8". Good thinking!

[Dave Cohen]

Doublestop, if you capo a 13.875" (13 7/8") scale at the first fret, the scale which you have left is equivalent to about a 13.125" (13 1/8") scale. That is a considerably bigger change in scale length than the 14 1/8" to 13 7/8" change which you mentioned in your first post.

There is another possible source of confusion. how did you determine the scale length? A 13 7/8" scale will have a slightly greater distance than 13 7/8" from nut to bridge due to compensation. Approx. 14" is typical. To determine the "true" scale length, measure the distance from the nut to the 12th fret, then double that measurement for the "true" scale length.

Finally, a 14 1/8" scale is less than 2% longer than a 13 7/8" scale, so the tension will be less than 2% higher. The down force on the top plate is proportional to the sine of the string break angle times the string tension. Bottom line, you won't experience much of a change in tone from a <2% shorter scale length, other things being equal.

[MikeB]

This post is related to a question I have....The Simon Mayor model A mandolin, made by Mike Vanden in England, has a scale length 8mm longer than whatever his standard model is, I assume 13 7/8". #

My friend is considering buying a SM model. # Can anyone tell me how much difference the spacing between the first, say 7, #frets would be on this longer scale? #He doesn't want to kill himself playing in first position, just to get that longer scale, but he's mesmerized by Simon Mayor's tone (who wouldn't be?) and hopes to find it in the Vanden SM.

[Dolamon]

Re fret length difference of any length scale - If you take a look at Doug Dieter's # (http://www.kennaquhair.com/)remarkable site, you'll find a listing on the bottom of his left hand menu for "Universal String Tension Calculator". This is a very small and useful download.

One of the additional items which this little program does is to figure out fret placement on any different, selected scale. The program has minimal help and instruction files but is pretty much self explanitory.

Re Simon Mayor's Vanden ... A terrific instrument. I was privileged to both hold it and play it last autumn and ... well part of the sound is the instrument, the big thing is Simon's absolute focus and dedication to sound. He could play an unripe banana and still generate the warm, unique sound. His guitar and fiddle playing is pretty good too.