22 frets vs 24 frets

Loobs

21 is perfect

Voxman

Of my 12 electric guitars all are 22 frets except:

1969 Strat - 21 frets
PRS Cu24 - 24 frets
1997 Patrick Eggle Berlin Pro -24 frets

For some odd reason it's only the 24 fret Eggle that sometimes throws me 're positioning, but I have no issues with the PRS Cu24. I do find 21 frets just a tad restrictive.

So whilst it's nice to have options I'd say that 22 frets is probably the optimum most natural fit for most players.

Devil#20

Philly_Q said:

Devil#20 said:

I like my PRS guitars (I've got 3) but they are all 22 fretters). If I decided I need a 24 fret then what can I expect? Higher string tension for one and probably a brighter sounding guitar. 

Why higher string tension?  It's the same scale length.

Ah. I didn't know that. 

Bigsby

p90fool said:

Bigsby said:

DiscoStu said:

It makes no difference how many frets you have if the scale length is the same, the nut isn't any further away from the bridge. The fretboard does obviously come further in to the body though.

One difference between the two which is often overlooked is that there is a harmonic located at the 24 fret position, and with 22 fret guitars the neck pickup probably sits under this harmonic and with a 24 fret it doesn't. The argument is that the neck pickup on a 22 fret sounds sweeter due to the harmonic and also slightly bassier due to being further away from the bridge.

I've never understood this argument - surely the location of the 24th fret harmonic relative to the neck pickup is only relevant when playing open strings? 

True, but the neck pickup does sound different on all notes because it's further back. 

I jump between a Les Paul and an SG with the same pickups and the difference between the neck pickup placements is not subtle - the SG almost has a Strat position 4 quality, which is not surprising given where it sits. 

Sure, it's the old 'it sounds better because it's over the 24th fret harmonic' argument I find unconvincing. Clearly the location will make a difference, as does the picking location for that matter. But difference doesn't equal better, (which would be both contextual and subjective), but the '24th fret' argument is often given as a reason why it's 'better'. 

ICBM

Bigsby said:

Sure, it's the old 'it sounds better because it's over the 24th fret harmonic' argument I find unconvincing. Clearly the location will make a difference, as does the picking location for that matter. But difference doesn't equal better, (which would be both contextual and subjective), but the '24th fret' argument is often given as a reason why it's 'better'. 

This. The 'harmonic node' argument is completely spurious because it *only* applies if you're playing an open string. But the harmonic content is different at all points along the string no matter where you're playing, and this is why the two pickup positions don't sound the same. The further from the bridge, the more lower harmonics and the fewer higher harmonics (relatively) will be picked up.

For what it's worth, on Rickenbacker 4001 basses, the original 1/2" position for the neck pickup (so called because of the distance to the end of the fingerboard) is more desirable than the later 1" position, even though the latter is at the 24th-fret position. Hence, it's not the harmonic node position which sounds better, it's which is the *earlier* position .

chromatuna

I bought a 24 fret PRS Custom 18 years ago having hankered after one since they appeared in the late 80s. It was the vintage yellow one on the wall that day in the original Peach store that just looked amazing and played beautifully, still does. I can honestly say that I have very rarely if ever reached for those two higher frets when soloing. They are tiny spaces for my fingers too. If I were buying now I think I would go for 22 frets as it just brings the neck that bit closer to the body (guitar and player). My Les Paul special is much more compact and a bit more comfy to play I would say, especially for long sets standing. I won’t be selling the 24 though, I love them both. For what it’s worth I don’t use the vibrato either - doh!

greengauge

I have a real mixture of 22/24 fret guitars and it’s not been something I ever thought about that much. Until recently…

I bought a PRS P24 from a friend and absolutely love it. Then the opportunity to acquire a P22 came up. I had the cash (just about) so I thought I’d go for it. Having spent a bit of time with them both over the last few weeks I have to say I’m leaning towards the P22. Everything else about them is extremely similar aside from colour, but there’s something about the way the 22 feels that I can’t quite nail down.

If I was to get way into the weeds on it, I wonder if the position of the neck pickup being that the screw coil sits basically where the 24th fret would be, do you think it could be that the magnetic field generated by it is actually at a point on the string that is very sympathetic to traditional keys we would play in? I don’t know, but I could definitely imagine that the tiny pull on the strings from those magnetic fields is actually different depending on where along the string it is. Anyone wanna shoot that theory down? I’m all ears. 

My advice to the OP, get a used one, try it for a while, and then flip it if it doesn’t float your boat.

ThePrettyDamned

It's really really hard to hit that 24th fret high E on a 22 fret guitar and, on that basis, if you need to grab that note you need a 24 fret neck. The rest falls by the wayside as a consequence of that need. 

Andyjr1515

ICBM said:

 Hence, it's not the harmonic node position which sounds better, it's which is the *earlier* position .

Wisdom duly awarded

mudslide73

My 24 fretter is a Jackson Fusion.. 24 frets crammed into a 24.75" scale length. It's very cramped up top and I don't have sausage fingers.

TTBZ

I've always had 22 so everything else seems a bit weird to me and I can lose my bearings even on 21 fret necks if I'm playing higher up. I think I actually prefer the sound of where a neck humbucker sits on a 24 fret guitar (or 22 fret SG in my case) though as it's not as fat/muddy for humbuckers.