steel spaceing

[Larry Hillman]

on the standerd 1/2/or 3 neck, (non-lap) what is the
nut-bridge spaceing ? or does every brand have there
own. what gives better sound, 22" or 25"? tks

[Ron Whitfield]

It doesn't matter which or how many necks, as string spacing ideally should be exactly the same at the nut as at the bridge to allow for the most accurate slanting on 3 strings. Most steels narrow at the nut because they are generally put out by execs that don't play steel or listen to those that do.
Some players may prefer it this way, or the other.
3/8" spacing is pretty much standard.

Long scale usually sounds better.

[Bill Creller]

Long scale, like the A25 frypan, seems to have the tone we like, as opposed to the 22.5 inch scale which appears to be more common. The best sounding String Master I have heard is a 26 inch scale.
Of course there are issues with slants on a long scale, but they sound great.

[Alan Brookes]

On a classical guitar the strings are spaced at the nut taking into account the size of the average player's left hand, and they're spaced wider at the bridge to allow easier picking of individual strings. People with big hands often have problems with the nut spacing, and the close nut spacing on modern steel-strung acoustics presents problems to most people.

Unfortunately, the spacing of steel guitars is influenced by classical guitars.

It's a lot more important on steel guitars that the strings be parallel, especially if the player expects to use slants. I still think that the steel guitarist needs more space at the bridge end to get his fingers between the strings. In another thread, Buddy Emmons explained why the spacing became narrowed when they started building 10-string instruments. It was a production issue rather than a playing issue.

[Mark Mansueto]

on the standerd 1/2/or 3 neck, (non-lap) what is the
nut-bridge spaceing ? or does every brand have there
own. what gives better sound, 22" or 25"? tks

That's an interesting question. In my experience the string spread at the nut is generally 1 7/8" but not so at the bridge. Electric models are locked in at the bridge because of pickup pole spacing so they don't vary much but acoustics do. I've seen acoustics that range from 2" to 2 3/4" at the bridge.

My personal favorite spacing is 1 7/8 (nut) with 2 1/4 (bridge).