Tenor necks joining at 14th, 13th, or 12th fret

All of my tenors have their necks joining the body at the 14th fret, but lately I have seen some models joining at the 12th (like Pepe Romero) or 13th fret (like Collings).

While one disadvantage of this is very clear to me -- having less space to play up the neck --, I am not sure about the advantages of having the neck joined at the 12th or 13th fret. Any ideas?

Bridge placement. A 12 or 13 fret join will place the bridge further down the top relative to a 14 fret join. In theory this provides more area up top to resonate, changing the tone. The overall length of the instrument will be shorter as well affecting balance.

Jim Hanks said:

In theory this provides more area up top to resonate, changing the tone.

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Only if the fingerboard is raised above the top - otherwise, the additional mass of the fingerboard reduces the resonating capacity and negates any benefit.

For optimal tonal benefit the bridge should be located at the widest point of the lower bout, often called the sweet spot". One of the things, besides scale length, that determines this location is where the neck attaches to the body. The location along this axis may vary depending upon the design of the uke, or rather, the shape of the lower bout. The differences between a 12th fret connection and a 14th fret connection is subtle and most people prefer the advantage of the additional reach that a 14th fret connection affords.

How about the neck joining at 15 fret?

1300cc said:

How about the neck joining at 15 fret?

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Like this one? Long neck concert.
https://vimeo.com/87803135

Thanks for your great explanations. I have been comparing a lot of sound samples and thought that the the models joining at 12th sounded a bit more like traditional Sopranos, i.e. more percussive, but with less sustain than the Tenors joining at 14th. But of course, that's difficult to tell just from videos and might corelate to other factors as well...