Shorter scale length sound a but more "jangly" in a warm sort of way and a bit less precise, or glassy to me when I listen to comparisons over studio monitors. Its a subtle thing but contributes to that Gibson "growl" ever so slightly I think
I had problems with a Squier Tele Classic Vibe 60's and tried the Epi Les Paul. Stretching was easier with the Epi but another problem arises; there is much less room to play barres chords past the 7th fret all the way to the 10 or 12 fret. The problem is made worse because the neck radius is 12 very flat. So I settled with a Squier Strato Classic Vibe 60's and I'm very fine with it. The difference lies in the thin C neck. It's easier to stretch with the thumb closer to the rest of the hand. The radius is small at 9.5 and it helps with chords because the tip of a finger is less prone to touch the string below.
My hands are just barely average size, maybe a tiny bit below. For most things it doesn't quite matter. However there are a few special cases that you might come across. For example, in Little Wing there is a brief but beautiful descending lick that I can't really do on a 25.5" scale, but can on 24.75" scale length. Likewise the shuffle groove in Aerosmith's Walk This Way requires a similar stretch, index to pinky (unless you pick up your fingers and shift down and back). I use love my 24 scale Duo Sonic, and on my Strats I use conversion necks to get them to 24.75". For me, it just feels better.
24 inch scale length guitars like Mustangs and Jaguars can be a game changer for people I dont have small hands but I find I can play my Mustang and never get hand fatigue It is more difficult to play certain types of common jazz chords in higher registers as it is more crammed, but it is adaptable. I use a set of heavy 12 gauge strings and that would be ridiculously heavy on a 25.5 scale length
Great explanation thank you so much! So if I choose a prs neck (25 inch with 24 frets) against another 25 inch neck with 22 frets) then the distance between all frets on the 24 frets will be shorter right? Thanks again :)
Glad it helped. Sorry, no - it doesn't matter how many frets the guitar has. For a certain scale length the distance from the nut to the 12th fret will always be the same no matter how many more frets you add. Of course, they get closer together the further you go up.
