What Is a Multi-Scale Guitar?
At first, the multi-scale guitar may seem confusing to many guitarists. That's because they look quite different from your typical guitar, with fan-shaped frets, multiple scale lengths on the same guitar, and different components, such as bridges and pickups. , inclined at an angle.
But what are the benefits of a multi-scale guitar?
Sit back, relax and read on as this article explains everything you need to know about these revolutionary guitar designs. In the end, you'll become a total crazy fan and you'll be able to tell all your friends about the myriad benefits of this versatile instrument.
WHAT IS GUITAR MULTI-SCALE?
Undoubtedly, multi-scale guitars look quite strange, especially compared to a normal guitar.
They have slanted or 'fan-shaped' frets that point in different directions at opposite ends of the fretboard. This is because each string has a different proportional length (i.e. bridge-to-head distance), which offers a lot of benefits.
Tilted frets, bridges, and pickups mean that the bass strings are much longer and tighter, while the treble strings are shorter.
Regular guitars seem to be built around the idea that your neck and fingers will always be straight/straight, perpendicular to the frets. But this is not so.
There is an optimal angle for your arm for maximum comfort, depending on your position along the fretboard and your fingers spreading naturally while playing. Many scales are built around this idea. All aimed at improving playability and tone.
However, the main purpose of multi-scale technology is – you guessed it – to provide multiple scale lengths on the same guitar. Read on to learn the history and benefits of this unique instrument.
MULTI-SCALE HISTORY:
For generations, guitar builders have been constantly looking for ways to improve their guitar's playability and performance. From the new neck design to the body shape, everything was explored to create the guitars we know and love today.
However, one innovation has outperformed the rest in recent years and I bet you know what it is!
While multi-scale technology may seem like a relatively recent innovation, its history actually spans hundreds of years.
Acoustic instruments such as the bandora and orpharion, both invented by a man named John Rose in the 16th Century, are known to have fan-shaped frets (although very few models have survived for this) to the present day).
However, this design was only patented a few hundred years later, by EA Edgren, specifically for instruments with curved necks.
Then 77 years went by and John D. Starrett came up with the StarrBoard, another rather quirky instrument that used multiple scales. But produced very little before stopping production.
So the world is certainly no stranger to multi-scale instruments, but they tend to be in the dark. Fast forward to today and they are everywhere! Well, what happened?
It's thanks to Ormsby! Besides producing high quality guitars to a serious standard, they are also credited with being the first to popularize the full multi-scale design on guitars. Back in 2009, this company decided to break a nearly expired patent and produced some of the first multi-scale electric guitars.
In fact, Ormsby is probably the most famous producer of multi-scale guitars - it has almost become 'their own style'.
But now, nearly every major guitar maker, such as Schecter, Jackson, and Ibanez, makes their own multi-scale models.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MULTI-SCALE?
What is the benefit of having a different proportional length for each wire?
As a reminder - the scale length is the distance from the bridge to the nut. A standard guitar has the same length for all strings. However, on a multi-scale guitar, each string will be different.
So instead of a single scale length such as 25.5″ (65cm) , you get a scale length range such as 25.5″-28.2″ (65cm- 72 cm). Here are some advantages of this:
DIFFERENT STRENCE AND LENGTH DIFFERENT
What are points of different scale lengths? Tension of course! If you open a piano, you will find that the thicker, lower strings are much longer than the thinner high strings. That's because you get much clearer, better timbre from the low strings when they're longer and the highs when they're shorter.
The same principle applies to multi-scales. They give you more length on the lower strings and shorter on the higher strings. This means there is more tension on the lower strings. It also means that you don't need larger strings to tune into the tone you would on a regular guitar.
BETTER INTONATION
Intonation is important – it refers to how 'fit' each fret position (as opposed to each open string). It is notoriously difficult, maybe even impossible, to have perfect intonation across the entire fret. The different fret positions will be slightly sharp or flat.
However, multi-scale guitars combat this by providing improved intonation. You'll find that each fret position sounds super accurate – especially when using drop tuning. In fact, the extreme drop tuning ability of these guitars is one of the main reasons you see them popping up more and more in the metal scene.
BETTER ADJUSTMENT
With even string tension across the top, you'll also get better tuning stability from multiple scales. Again, this is especially true of extended range models. Using lower tones with a regular guitar can often result in some severely wobbly tones, with strings often shifting in pitch quickly. Multi-scale helps to solve this problem.
CONCLUDE
Here's everything you need to know about multi-scale guitars. From the fan-shaped frets to the slanted bridge, hopefully the fog surrounding these innovations has cleared up somewhat.
Although they are commonly used in rock and metal music, the polyphonic guitar is geared toward any player who prefers an ultra-modern instrument built to handle engineering. They are also loved by drop tuning users.
There are many companies that make world-class multi-scale guitars these days. We recommend Cort KX508MS-II, SubZero Generation Pro and Cort X700 Mutility !
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