Valentine's Day Sale! Save up to $500 for a limited time!

Demystifying The Multiscale Bass Guitar

Demystifying The Multiscale Bass Guitar
December 19, 2024 5 min read
Demystifying The Multiscale Bass Guitar

Why the long frets!? If you’ve ever seen a guitar or bass with fanned frets (A.K.A. multi-scale neck), you may have wondered something like “what the heck was that!?”

It might look a bit weird, but there are actual benefits to playing a multiscale neck — besides just looking super cool! Let’s take a closer look into the wild and wonderful world of multiscale necks and how it might be able to help with your playing.

What is a multiscale neck?

Identifying a multiscale neck is like picking out someone wearing a wig: It’s pretty obvious. Just look at the frets! In the middle of the neck, they look nice and straight. But as you start to move up or down, it almost looks like someone lost control of the fret machine. The upper and lower frets get kinda wonky and sit at an angle.

These extra-strange necks might seem like a new idea used by companies described with lovely adjectives like “weird” or “innovative” (looking at you Ibanez, ESP, and Schecter), but the concept has actually been around for hundreds of years!

To get an idea of where this multiscale method came from, just look at a grand piano or harp. The shape of the instrument is elongated at the lowest strings to compensate for tension. Longer (lower) strings need more tension to sound good.

If you use the same scale length for the E string as the G string (you know, like a “regular” bass), the low E string could be wigglier than a cooked spaghetti noodle. Just try playing a short-scale bass…

So by elongating the scale of the lower strings and adding a few wonky frets to compensate for the variance, you can create multiple scale lengths on the same neck to maintain the ideal tension across all strings — hence, multi-scale!

The benefits of playing a multiscale bass

The main benefit of playing a multiscale bass is tension. Every string feels good and tight to the touch for lots of lovely playability.

Since the compensated scale length evens out tension from string to string, it’s more comfortable to move across the neck. The shorter scale length on the higher strings helps retain playability and a fuller sound, while the low B on a 5-string will feel much less floppy with way more punch and definition.

The main benefit of playing a multiscale bass is tension. Every string feels good and tight to the touch for lots of lovely playability.

Downsides of multiscale basses

The main benefit of playing a multiscale bass is tension. Every string feels good and tight to the touch for lots of lovely playability.

Playing a multi-scale instrument may seem slightly jarring for the first time. Some playing positions may need less reach in some places and more in others.

The main benefit of playing a multiscale bass is tension. Every string feels good and tight to the touch for lots of lovely playability.

What’s the typical scale lengths for a multiscale bass?

Multiscale scale lengths will vary by manufacturer and model. For example, the Ibanez Bass Workshop SRMS806 has a 33.6” scale on the 1st string down to 35.5 for the low B. However, the Ibanez BTB605MS starts at 35” down to 37”.

Playing a multi-scale instrument may seem slightly jarring for the first time. Some playing positions may need less reach in some places and more in others.

What about multiscale guitars!?

The main benefit of playing a multiscale bass is tension. Every string feels good and tight to the touch for lots of lovely playability.

The benefits of a multiscale guitar are exactly the same as a bass: better playability and tone. This is especially true for seven-, eight-, and nine-string guitars — or more! The lower the strings, the longer the scale should be to maintain proper tension. It also makes downtuning a breeze for those grunge bands and djent-adjacent riffsters.

Is a multiscale bass right for you?

There are plenty of reasons to choose a multiscale guitar or bass: ergonomics, sound, playability, even intonation and tuning stability… But even with these amazing benefits, the only way to really tell if you’ll like the feel of a multiscale neck is to try one for yourself!

At AMS, we can’t keep our sticky fingers off the latest gear, and we know you can’t either! That’s why we offer a 45-day money-back guarantee on almost everything on our site. Grab yourself a multiscale instrument, try it out for a few weeks, and see how you feel. If you love it, keep it. If you don’t, send it back to either try a different brand or go back to a straight-fretted design.

Either way, we want you to have the best gear to suit your playing style. So shop around, and don’t worry about getting stuck with gear that doesn’t feel right under your fingers. We got you!

Previous article:
Next article:
Copyright © 1996-2025 American Musical Supply, Inc. All rights reserved