22 vs 24 frets

[Dusty Rhodes]

Just read this and tell me what you think.

http://www.edroman.com/techarticles/22vs24.htm

 

[devilrob1979]

Save your time and disregard everything that douche says. He rants and raves about things mostly to increase sales of certain brands at his store. I have never ever heard a PRS sound like a Tele or Strat... EVER! PRS guitars sound like PRS guitars. I have a 24 fret guitar and while you can get nice creamy tones out of it in the neck most guitars these days only have one tone control. That means that if you go from chunky rhythm in the bridge with the tone cranked and then go to a fat lead sound and use Eddie's recommendation and drop the tone to zero you lose time monkeying around with your tone as well as your pickup selector. Roman was a huge PRS endorser until he had a falling out with them and it wasn't over their decision to offer 22 fret models. The same can be said for Heritage. Much of the BS you hear about Heritage having crappy build quality all of a sudden comes from him. If you read the reviews on the guitars he makes they're not too great. His customer service also blows.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Save your time and disregard everything that douche says. He rants and raves about things mostly to increase sales of certain brands at his store. I have never ever heard a PRS sound like a Tele or Strat... EVER! PRS guitars sound like PRS guitars. I have a 24 fret guitar and while you can get nice creamy tones out of it in the neck most guitars these days only have one tone control. That means that if you go from chunky rhythm in the bridge with the tone cranked and then go to a fat lead sound and use Eddie's recommendation and drop the tone to zero you lose time monkeying around with your tone as well as your pickup selector. Roman was a huge PRS endorser until he had a falling out with them and it wasn't over their decision to offer 22 fret models. The same can be said for Heritage. Much of the BS you hear about Heritage having crappy build quality all of a sudden comes from him. If you read the reviews on the guitars he makes they're not too great. His customer service also blows.

That was my general take as well. A 22 fret Telecaster and a 22 fret Las Paul will have dramaticly different tones. Thanks for confirming what I has suspected all alone concerning Ed. I lived in Las Vegas for 10 years and have done business with his store only out of necessity. I had one conversation with him and instantly took a strong disliking to his overall attitude and approach to guitars.

 

[sbalderrama]

any argument about the "harmonic node" being directly over the pickup goes out the window as soon as you fret a note. The nodes move. There might be a bit less "mud" on a 24 fretter just because the neck pup moves a bit closer to the bridge. I prefer 24 fretters because of the nice upper fret access, and just because having two complete octaves "feels" right and seems nicely symmetric.

The only thing he does get right is that the Pre 95, alder bodied PRS CE 24's ( Classic Electric) are some of the finest guitars ever made.

 

[RJ2213]

i'm just wondering what ed's opinion on my caparison horus would be considering it is a les paul scale neck, with 27frets tapered towards the high strings at the end of the fretboard with a single coil sized hum in the neck.

i talked to a few people in his shop over the phone and they all came off as creeps. f ed roman in the a. sorry for the vulgarity.

 

[6L6C]

Wow!
I now know after reading this that my Les Paul is a piece of crap.
:shock:

 

[Martin]

All of my electric guitars are 24 fret, I simply prefer the slinkier feel to them as well as the easier access to the upper frets. It makes sense to me to have 24, I mean why not ?...given the option I will always choose 24 fret's over 22 every time, simply makes sense to me.

 

[gonzo]

ed roman is a doof.

 

[steeldragonjovi]

ed roman is a doof.

Yeah, I personally haven't liked Ed Roman ever since I sent him an e-mail about a PRS Private Stock. The jerk didn't even bother to respond. Looks like he doesn't want that high amount of money. His loss, my gain.

What a gander lover.

 

[devilrob1979]

All of my electric guitars are 24 fret, I simply prefer the slinkier feel to them as well as the easier access to the upper frets. It makes sense to me to have 24, I mean why not ?...given the option I will always choose 24 fret's over 22 every time, simply makes sense to me.

How does 24 frets make your guitar feel slinkier? It doesn't. That has more to do with scale length and action and nothing to do with number of frets.

 

[Rocky]

All of my electric guitars are 24 fret, I simply prefer the slinkier feel to them as well as the easier access to the upper frets. It makes sense to me to have 24, I mean why not ?...given the option I will always choose 24 fret's over 22 every time, simply makes sense to me.

How does 24 frets make your guitar feel slinkier? It doesn't. That has more to do with scale length and action and nothing to do with number of frets.

I was just th inking the same thing. on the same scale length the # of frets won't make a guitar feel 'slinkier' to play.

I hate 24 fret guitars....not enough distance b/w the pickups to allow for enough tone shift b/w pickup positions. Since I have heard Steve Morse echo that sentiment well after I drew the conclusion I am comfortable with my preference.

 

[Martin]

OK guys take me out and shoot me.... all I meant was that every double octave guitar I have played does in fact feel slinkier (to me)and easier to play, whether that be scale length I don't know but it is what it is.

Personal preference is the key here I guess when it comes down to it.

 

[jtb226]

Wow. He came across like a huge, biased jerk in that article. I'm going to Vegas in mid-January. Maybe I'll stop by his shop for a laugh.

 

[Martin]

I just read the article and have to say I thought he seemed ok, I'll await the barrage of abuse.
I suppose people will glean what they will from it but a lot of it seems reasonable to me.... am I wrong for thinking this and if so, why ?

 

[Platypus]

ER is a joke, don't take anything he says or writes seriously.

That being said, I have 22 and 24 fret guitars and I like them both for different reasons. I feel like I get *my* tone from 22 fret guitars personally.

 

[6L6C]

I just read the article and have to say I thought he seemed ok, I'll await the barrage of abuse.
I suppose people will glean what they will from it but a lot of it seems reasonable to me.... am I wrong for thinking this and if so, why ?

Not getting bashed from me!

But you are not coming off like everything else sucks.

It came off to me like if it isn’t 24 fret its garbage (the short of it) and I think it did to others also. I have (2) 22 fret guitars a 81 Les Paul and an 81 Flying V the rest are 24 fret (2) Ibanez JMP-100’s and (1) Ibanez RG-570. All guitars play well and sound great. I do prefer 24 fret but I don’t think the Gibson’s are crap just because they are 22 fret. The one out of all of them that sounds the best to me and some friends is Flying V. I don’t know why that guitar sounds as good as it does it is basically a stick with strings, but really killer clean tone.

 

[phyrexia]

Most intelligent people will agree on the fact that a Les Paul has a nice meaty lead tone but chords sound like dung.

Right.

That guy can't afford a Gibby dealership, that's why he bashes them.

 

[Martin]

I have to say that I don't think he's far wrong about that, the front pick up is pretty muddy for chords.... is it not ?

I don't know the politics behind this guy but looking at it objectively he's not all wrong.... just my take.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

I originally posted this thread so I'll give you my take on E.R.'s spouting. He does give the impression that anything played on a guitar that does not have 24 frets is crap. My response to that is at least 75% of all music ever played was done on either 21 or 22 frets. All of my guitar heros fall within that catagory and that includes the likes of Jimmy Page, SRV, Jimmy Hendrix, Johney Winters, Steve Hackett, etc. etc. etc.
My Les Pauls do sound a little on the muddy side when playing rythum on the neck pup. I use both pups for rythm. So this is a non-issue. Plus I love the way a lead sounds on the neck pup. I can get that early Zepplin flavor.
I lived in Las Vegas for 10 years and have done a fair amount of business with E.R. I have no issues what-so-ever with the staff and techs. I do however have issues with Ed. He is a pompus, egomaniacal opinionated huge bag of wind and all of his reviews and articles should be taken with a grain of salt. I own four 22 fret and one 21 fret guitar and love them all. Each on has a distince sound all it's own which is precisely why I bought them in the first place.

 

[Martin]

I could care less who plays or makes what guitar. The two main guitars I play are built by pretty much unknown luthiers and there for carry little or no presteige to anyone but myself.

To me it's how an instrument sounds and feels to the user that's important not whether it carries Gibson, Fender or PRS on the head stock or even the 22/24 fret issue. I have played some Great Gibsons and some that are absolute crap....it's just the luck of the draw to some degree.

My preference just happens to be for 24 frets is all but it wouldn't stop me buying a 22 or 21 fret instrument if I liked how it feels and sounds... and that's the bottom line.