Shorter scale lengths (less than 25' in guitars and 32' in basses) usually give a warmer tone and provide for easier playing, especially when string bending. Of course, this is not a rule set in stone there are always exceptions. Bass scale lengths generally stay between 30' to 36'. Guitar scale lengths are usually between 24' and 26'. There is no 'perfect' scale length manufacturers select an instrument's scale to achieve particular qualities for the guitar they are designing. The scale length of a guitar has a large impact on the sound and feel of the guitar.

This is inconsequential, as nobody (that I know of, anyway) can saw a fret slot that accurately by hand. However, the calculator will report the disance as 11.991'. For example, on a 24' scale, in a perfect world the 12th fret should be exactly 12' from the nut. Note that due to rounding errors, the calculation may be off by several thousandths of an inch. From there, click on the 'calculate' button and the fret slot measurements will be displayed. Then select how many frets the instrument will have. To use the calculator, simply enter the desired scale length of the instrument and designate whether this value is in inches or millimeters. The results are given in both english and metric values. I designed this page to calculate where each fret slot should be cut, measured both from the nut to fret, and from the fret to bridge. When building a guitar or bass and cutting your own fretboard slots (versus buying a pre-slotted fretboard,) it's very important that the fret slots be cut accurately.

24 scale lap steel fretboard