Guitar Scale question

[macbrak]

This is a bit of a noob question but is guitar scale mostly standard across guitar type instruments? I assume the intonation will be different to account for string sizes but if I were to restring my mini bass as a really baritone uke, things I should be able to get it intonated in the right ballpark, correct?

 

I assume I am correct but want to make sure before I unstring some strings that have some life left on them.

[Belva]

Bridge location is critical. On a guitar, measure from the nut to the 12th fret. Double that distance and you have the scale. On other stringed instruments measure from nut to saddle on the low side. Divide by 2 and see which fret corresponds to the mid point. What you wish to do may or may not work. You'll have to put the instruments side by side and see if you can make this work.

[jimmysux]

The most common are Gibson (24.75") PRS (25") and Fender (25.5")

As far as your minibass, I have no idea what the scale length is on it, or how well it would translate to being a mini uke. You can find out by measuring from the nut to the 12th fret and double the measurement. You can do is experiment and see what happens, they're just strings.

[WRGKMC]

Many short scale basses like one of the ones I own are normally a 30" scale.

 

As the others said, the length of the inside of the nut to 12 X 2 = scale length. The contact point where the string meets the high string saddel is either at scale length or slightly longer.

The other strings are adjusted back towards the tail piece.

 

You can use the string gauges as a ballpark tool to measure how far back. On a 4 string bass you set the fiirst saddel at sacle length, the second saddle gets adjusted toards the tail approx the diameter of the second bass string from the first saddle. The third saddel gets moved back the towards the tail the diameter of the third string from the second saddle, and the last saddle gets moved back the diameter of the last string of the tail from the 3rd saddel.

 

After you get a ballpark you can use a tuner for intonation.

 

This pic can give you a better idea as to whats going on.

 

[ATTACH]332457[/ATTACH]

[Belva]

Baritone uke is a whole 'nother thang. I dont think the have 12 frets. I've heard of a short scale bass, but a mini? WTF is it?

[macbrak]

Thanks for the info, I think I may have been over thinking things. scale was actually 25.5 nothing odd. I didn't do anything tricksy just re string with entirely different gauge strings.

 

its a bass version of this:

 

I found what i needed in my odd strings pile and it lucked and hit the right gauges. Its tuned like a normal uke (gcea) but an octave down and with no reentrant tuning (G on a normal uke is about the same gage as the highest string and tuned to the g close to it. I haven't tried to intonate it yet but it needs very little. I'll wait until I cut a better nut. the current one is a hatchet job I did a while back after I broke it trying to put flats on it.

[MahaloVision]

If you can work a spreadsheet, you may want to calculate string gauges to get a feel you're comfortable with. The formulas are on the D'Addario website. If you know the tensions you want, the scale length, and the pitches for each string, then it's pretty easy to figure out which gauge will come closest to what you want.