12th fret position oddness

[l0calh05t]

I wasn't sure were to put this, but I think "setup&repair" is the closest. Anyways, I was trying to get some measurements of a fender P-Bass body, and since I couldn't find any on the net, I decided to make my own.

So I took a pic of the sting signature bass from the fender website and pasted it into an inkscape svg. I then scaled it up until the length between nut and g-string saddle was 34" (and nut to bridge screws 35"). Now here's the odd thing: You'd expect the 12th fret to have a distance of 17" to the nut, right? Well... I measured 16.7" instead. Is that... normal? I'm a little perplexed...

Here's a pic:

[slyjoe]

Every Fender I've measured is right around 17". I wouldn't put too much stock in pulling pictures off the internet to get precision measurements.

When you calculate the 34" distance, how do you know the bass was even intonated? In other words, you can't expand the picture that accurately.

[l0calh05t]

As I said, I also measured 35" from nut to the bridge mounting screws, which should be standard as well.

[slyjoe]

How do you know the "standard" for nut to bridge screw distance is 35"?

[ga_edwards]

It's probably the foreshortening effect of taking a picture of a large object from a fixed position lens

[l0calh05t]

that would be according to stew-mac

just tried the same with a pic of a squier 51 p-bass, and although much closer to the 17" it's still about 0.1" off. after thinking about it for a while... it might just be the perspective warping of the camera lens...

[l0calh05t]

Originally Posted by ga_edwards

It's probably the foreshortening effect of taking a picture of a large object from a fixed position lens

cross-post... yeah I was just thinking the same. that's probably it. Doesn't really matter anyways, I just wanted an approximate measurement of the body length and the outline.

[202dy]

Engineers, machinists, carpenters and others who use drawings in their profession or craft are taught early to use the dimensions on the drawings. They never measure drawings because it leads to inaccuracies. Those inaccuracies can cause them to make assumptions about other things and that will cause more problems. The same thing applies to photographs and other images including photocopies. There is no way to insure accuracy. If no dimension is included on the drawing it is always recommended to measure the object in the field or shop. It is the only way to do it right.

Estimators scale drawings all the time when no dimension is provided. But their job requires different skills and had different criteria than the craftsmen and designers. They are dealing with costs in an ever changing market. No matter how accurate the estimate the cost can change when the price of the material goes up or down. They allow for this by including a percentage for changes.

[l0calh05t]

Originally Posted by 202dy

Engineers, machinists, carpenters and others who use drawings in their profession or craft are taught early to use the dimensions on the drawings. They never measure drawings because it leads to inaccuracies. Those inaccuracies can cause them to make assumptions about other things and that will cause more problems. The same thing applies to photographs and other images including photocopies. There is no way to insure accuracy. If no dimension is included on the drawing it is always recommended to measure the object in the field or shop. It is the only way to do it right. [...]

Well, if I had a drawing (with dimensions) I would have used that. Also, if I had the object itself available, I'd measure that. Since neither applies I used a picture (and forgot about how lenses work )