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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on April 26, 2009 at 1:38pm

I have the same question, so I will be looking forward to the answer. I downloaded the Wfret program that calculates your fret spacing for you. I measured my first CBG and if I have the saddle/bridge all the way at the bottom of the box, it measures almost 30 inches. According to the Wfret program, that is the same as a bass guitar!!

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Permalink Reply by Doc Oakroot on April 26, 2009 at 2:25pm

A standard guitar is around 25"; a standard bass guitar around 34" (30" is standard for a "short scale" bass). A soprano uke is 13"; baritone uke 19"

Those are good jumping off points for predicting the feel and tuning (and what strings you'll be able to use) for a build with a particular scale.

But there are no rules. Experiment and have fun. I rarely plan for a particular scale - just eyeball it. Then measure to see what it is for the fret calculation.

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Permalink Reply by Big Steve on April 26, 2009 at 5:51pm

Thanks Doc for the input on the bridge to nut length. I have at least one more cbg to build. My co-worker gave me some boxes and I told him I'd make one for him. My goal is to experiment with mine and improve on his.

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Permalink Reply by Roosterman on April 26, 2009 at 9:31pm

Like the Doc said, theres no rules, but there are a few things to consider.
For example, dont do what I did and make the scale longer than the strings!!
Iv only built a few but have tried different scales dependant on the boxes (another tip, try to have the box to start with, rather than frettin up a neck and then tryin to find a suitably long box!)
'Gibson' scale of 25" is fine, though I find it a bit too long if anything. Banjo neck jobbies are about 22.5", which is nice. Its really up to you though - use the fret calculator an itll turn out fine.
As for the action I dont really think about it - for slide it doesnt matter if its an inch. It does matter if its too low though!
Consider this too... if you are using a through neck without a fretboard (as I do) the neck is gonna be lower than the box to start with resulting in a fairly high action whatever you do. Adding a fret board to bring it flush or even higher than the box will mean its easier to achieve a low action... Il be trying this sometime soon .
Most important thing tho.... enjoy it!

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Permalink Reply by Doc Oakroot on April 26, 2009 at 11:19pm

For action, I put a penny on the fingerboard and then file each nut slot (slanting down toward the headstock) until the file moves the penny. Then adjust the bridge height so that it's playable at the twelfth fret. Then fix any frets that buzz.

For a slide instrument I might use a nickel instead of a penny - that's for an instrument that will be used for blues-style mixed fingering and slide.

For a pure slide instrument, just make the action high.

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Permalink Reply by Zeb on April 27, 2009 at 4:48am

Here's how I calculate my fret scales. Go to (www.stewmac.com). At the bottom of the main page go to Free Information / calculators. Click on "How do I calculate a fret scale".Then click on Referance material/ common scale lengths. A list of manufacturers and common scales will be listed. Pick one you kind of like. Say Gibson 24.75 with19 frets. Go to the scale length calculator and plug in 24.75 scale length and 19 or what ever for # of frets. It will tell you the position of each fret relative to the nut and each other. It will also give the overall length including compensation. I find it easier to use a metric yard stick clamped in place. I have found the compensation may be a bit off. Set the tuning open and again at the 12th fret. The place where they both are in tune is the magic spot. I ruined a resonator instrument once by cutting the sound well hole 1/4" short. It sounded incredible played open. The lower frets always played out of tune. A resonator uses a bisquet bridge and can't be moved. I had to cut out the neck and start over.
Ouch. Good luck. PS there are a bunch of free fret calculators out there. chuck

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Permalink Reply by Jkevn on April 29, 2009 at 3:29pm

Has anyone used the printable 24.5 inch scale from the CigarBoxGuitars.com site? Seems like that would be really easy if you can always make your bridge to nut length be ~24.5". Maybe not but I'm using it building my first and mocked it up for a second...we'll see.

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