In my previous post of "esp vs....." i thought that i had chosen my axe. Well, then I went to the guitar shop and just happened to really like the ibanez sz2020fm. The only problem is that it has a 25.1 scale length neck and the esp has a 25.5. I am going to be playing in drop c, will that create a problem? Please explain.

What do you mean will that create a problem?

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the lower you play the longer scale neck you need, thats why baritone guitars have such a long neck. Will the .4 difference create a problem, also is 25.5 good for drop c tuning anyways?

I don't understand what you are talking about. Ibanez don't make a 25.1" scale guitar. No one does. Closest thing to a 25.1" scale guitar is the Carvin neck-thou or some B.C. Rich custom guitars that both measure 25.0' scale length. Most other 6 string guitars are either 24.75" or 25.5" scale length. It doesn't really make a big difference in feel until you play above the 12th fret ( between the 12th and 22th or 24th fret).

Scale lenth is the distance between the nut and where the high E string sets on the bridge saddle. The 12th fret should be perfect middle for on the high E. The greater the scale length the greater the spacing between the frets in scale, but, like I said, it makes no real difference if you only play with the lower frets below the 12th fret ( between the 12th and the nut).

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they do have a 25.1 scale length neck, here http://www.ibanez.com/guitars/series.asp?s=sz&l=e. Anyways, i thought it would mess with the strings tension, as far as how loose they are and the sustain.

you should be able to tune down to drop C with a 25.1 scale neck. I cant see any reason why not.

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yeah slitty. 25.1 should be fine, just buy some .11 gauge strings and you will have your beloved drop C sounding fine.

Well, I might be wrong then, but 25.1"... wtf! Could be a typo. I guess they just wanted to be special. Really though, 24.75 works very well for me if you are not using a floating bridge for tuning below standard D or drop C. Either 24.75 or 25.5 will work just fine for you. Are you just starting to play?

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It wont make any noticible difference.

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no, i have been playing for awhile, but when i went to have a current guitar set up, thats what the guitar tech told me.

ok, heres the theory.
shorter necks have the same effect as thinner strings. for the same tension, you have a higher note.
if you want to play with a lower tuning, for most people the answer is to get thicker strings, because 9's in C tuning tend to be a bit floppy, likewise 11's in concert pitch tend to be far to tight and difficult to play, especially in bending notes. its all down to preference, if you really like the feel of 8's or 9's, but want to play in C, then getting a longer neck will stop them being so floppy.

and heres the reality.
really there is very little difference. playing in drop c (CGCFAC) will not cause you problems unless you like thin strings. in which case, 0.4 of an inch isnt going to help you at all.

i have both a gibson(24.75) and an ibanez(25.5) both strung with 10-52's in (C F Bb Eb G C) and as far as string tension goes, the diference is unnoticable.

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well, after all that I actually ended up with an esp standard eclipse with 2 active emg pickups. kinda funny.

From the page you started with...the ibanez...the most expensive guitar you could have possibly looked at was 800.00...The standard eclipse w/ EMGs is 1900.00...thats a big jump...

I play in B, A, and sometimes G with my shitty Ironbird 25.5" neck if i can get that low without any problems you can goto C, just get it set up with 11 - 54's and have them intonate it and what not

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haha G god damn. Im guessing a 24.75 scale neck should do fine for a trem'd guitar tuned to D with 11's on it?

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