Need some advice on shortscale guitars

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 10:56 am

heavium wrote:everyone knows mustangs increase your rawk by 100%

Yeah I know. But besides the price, I'm also dealing with some personal negative image problems with the Mustang. In my hometown, there used to be a crappy jump blues band, whose lead (and I use the term loosely) guitarist used to play one. He had crappy tone, and played crappy music. I know Cobain, and some indie bands played 'Stangs and got some great sounds out of them, but I still have that plinky sound of the Sparkplugs' lead guitar player stuck in my head. Although I will admit, the biggest issue I have at the present time is the price. Even used they run over $600. I'm not sure this guitar is going to get as much playing time as my present main squeezes - my Gretsch Brian Setzer Hot Rod, and my Tele, so I'm kind of hesitant to spend that much money on a Mustang. $350 yes. $600 used - that's really pushing things for me.

aen · Post by **aen** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:03 pm

Duosonic HARD ROCK TONEZ!

http://www.myspace.com/thesuncrusher

Personally I would go for a duo. Jagmasters ahve always let me down. The Toronado (early version) is also kickass.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:23 pm

aen wrote:Duosonic HARD ROCK TONEZ!

http://www.myspace.com/thesuncrusher

Cool, just added you...

jcyphe · Post by **jcyphe** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:29 pm

ellengtrgrl wrote: plinky sound

Is exactly how I'd describe Mustangs, Jaguars, and to a lesser extent Jazzmasters.

Post by **Mike** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:30 pm

Come see my band, my guitar sound is anything but Plinky.

aen · Post by **aen** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:33 pm

Yar. Plinky is dong it wrong. Plinky i think is when people put little kid strings on these guitars.

jcyphe · Post by **jcyphe** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:52 pm

Naw it's the attack of the string. Fenders have a certain sound, you can put it through a fuzz, or put big strangs on it but it's always there. ALWAYS.

Post by **Mike** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:54 pm

At least the Headstock stays on the neck in a light breeze.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:16 pm

i like plinky sound.

jcyphe · Post by **jcyphe** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:49 pm

stewart wrote:i like plinky sound.

It has its place for sure but it is what it is.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 4:04 pm

You can get most sounds from these guitars if you want, i've spent the last 6 years bastardizing offsets

But yeah, Jcyphe is right when it comes to the natural stock character going into a clean amp. Mustangs are too 'plinky' for me, Hot Rails are fitted but that goes without saying.
On the subject of prices you are more likely to find a Mustang cheaper than a Toronado or Cyclone these days, but the Squier Duo is the obvious 'budget' choice.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 4:08 pm

ironically i've been favouring hollowbody sounds recently, but swapping to my duo-sonic 3 quarters of the way through our set. it is a bit "ooh, my guitar sound's been on a crash diet" for the first few bars til my ears adjust.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 4:13 pm

stewart wrote:ironically i've been favouring hollowbody sounds recently, but swapping to my duo-sonic 3 quarters of the way through our set. it is a bit "ooh, my guitar sound's been on a crash diet" for the first few bars til my ears adjust.

Very true. Gibson type guitars produce a 'full' sounds by design. You can hear the contrast on The Cribs albums when he switched to the 335 from the 'Stang. Still, we like what we like and offsets are cool as fuck.

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:16 pm

aen wrote:Duosonic HARD ROCK TONEZ!

http://www.myspace.com/thesuncrusher

Personally I would go for a duo. Jagmasters have always let me down. The Toronado (early version) is also kickass.

I had a Toronado from 1999 till late 2000 (I had to sell it due to a money crunch brought on by loaning a former friend money that she never repaid me). It was cool guitar. But, doesn't a Toronado's 24 3/4" scale length effectively not make it a short scale guitar?

Hmmm, I'll have to check out your myspace page when I get home from work (the server's firewall here at work blocks myspace). Ah luvs my high gain guitar sounds, and the guitar will see plenty of use at high gain.

aen · Post by **aen** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:27 pm

No, it's a short scale. There's the right scale, 25.5" and anything shorter is short, anything longer is long.

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:32 pm

Actually, if you cool it with the amp's treble (as in keep it below 5 or so) or turnd down the tone knob a bit, Fender single coils don't sound too plinky. They have snap, and sting to them, but the plinkiness goes away. When I used a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder in the Jag I had back in 1990, it totally ripped (it was just that the stupid microphonics from somwhere in the bridge area that I never was able to deal with, made me get rid of it). I have another thought, although it's a bit out of my price range - a Jag HH. I mainly have been playing single coils lately, as a change of pace from decades of humbucker equipped guitars, but it won't kill me to get another humbucker equipped guitar. BTW, who else besides Fender, (and the Rick 325, or Gibson Byrdland) makes shortscale guitars?

Also, could somebody please tell me why Cyclones and Toronados are considered short scale instruments on this forum? As far as I know both of these guitars were made with necks with scale lengths over 24" (24.75" - like a Gibson). Is it because their body styles are like Mustangs, and Jaguars?

aen · Post by **aen** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:35 pm

aen wrote:No, it's a short scale. There's the right scale, 25.5" and anything shorter is short, anything longer is long.

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:39 pm

aen wrote:No, it's a short scale. There's the right scale, 25.5" and anything shorter is short, anything longer is long.

Hmmm, that seems odd. So the Squier Vintage Modified Thinline Telecaster is a short scale instrument, because it has a 24.75" scale length? Sure Fender and other guitar companies use 25.5" scale lengths, but Gibson's have 24.75" scale lengths and most Gretsches (like my Brian Setzer Hot Rod) have 24.6" scale lengths. Why aren't they considered to be short scale guitars?

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:06 pm

It sort of a "schools of thought" thing. It's something that different people define differently, and all positions in the argument can be easily defended. Because of this, I thin the classification of these instruments as shortscale or not is fairly arbitrary, buy is necessary when engaging in discussion about them.

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:08 pm

Hmmmm, very intruiging. The reason I say this, is because I know where I can ge a Cyclone for about $350.