Very Quick Question...

[Kat_Mia]

I am selling my bass, I have been told in past that it is full size but he askes if it's 7/8 or 4/4. Anyone know what string lengths are for different sizes? And where do you measure it from and to? Picture of Woody. Cheers guys. If possible need to tell him today.

[anonymous0726]

Selling so quicky? I thought we just went through the whole setup discussion just a little while ago.

The fractional number is based on the size of the body. Measure the bass from the bottom of the body to the button at the back of the neck, across the widest points across the shoulders and 'hips' and the depth of the ribs. Post your numbers here and someone will know what to say.

[Kat_Mia]

It's been up for sale a while now and I've done nothing about the set-up because I can't afford to, hence the sale. Will go measure now.

[Kat_Mia]

How do I measure the ribs, I've idea where or what they are either. I'm rubbish at parts of the bass, can you tell? LOL!

[anonymous0726]

The ribs are the sides of the bass, or the part that keeps the front and back of the bass apart

A setup really isn't that expensive, especially compared to going through all of the hassle of finding another instrument -- and then that one probably needing a setup anyhow!

[Kat_Mia]

Okies, will measure. I've got my eye on two for when, if, I sell mine, they're lovely to play and had my eye on them for a while.

[anonymous0726]

Ooookay.

[Kat_Mia]

Plus one of them is up for sale, part of the reason I'm sellingmine becuase it's a good opportunity!

Here we go: all a bit approx as it has to stay it it's case because there's not much room in our house at the mo due to loft conversion)

Ribs (back to front): 20cm
Widest point above bridge (shoulders): 51cm
Widest point below bridge (hips): 63cm
From back of neck to bottom of bass: 111cm

[anonymous0726]

For us U.S.:

Ribs (back to front): 7.8"
Widest point above bridge (shoulders): 20"
Widest point below bridge (hips): 24.8"
From back of neck to bottom of bass: 43.7"

I'll be bold and make the call that you have a 3/4 bass.

[Kat_Mia]

Ok.

I'm quite confused now. As my bass is a good 3" taller than the school one I play when at achool and a good 2" taller then the one I've got my eye on, does that mean that they are 1/2 size or inbetween 1/2 and 3/4. I'm very confused (but that's not a hard thing to do really-I'm not blonde for nothing you know)!!

[anonymous0726]

They're all sized so differently, but as I understand it, a 44" body is in the 3/4 arena, 7/8 would start around 46". If you were to get on a 7/8 bass, you would have no question that you were on a bigger bass. If you got on a 4/4 it would feel like a piano leaning against your shoulder.

[Don Higdon]

Kat
Also tell us the distance from the bridge up to the nut (the ridge at the top of the fingerboard). We're Yanks; tell us in inches. You'll be between 41.5" and 44"

[Mike Crumpton]

Kat - something tells me you got a 3/4 Zeller and when I get home I'll find its the same dimensions as the bass I got. I'm 95% sure its a Zeller anyway. If you were to criticise them the tops are a bit on the thick side but they don't crack from careless treatment. Mine sounds OK. Don is asking for the string-length BTW, ie: the length between the bridge and nut that decides if you need the hands of a gorrilla to play it.

You've just reminded me of a lawyer I used to work with, who, whenever she got p****d of by a bloke showing off used to say, "I'm a natural blonde, you'll have to speak slowly" - great woman.

[Kat_Mia]

String length from nut to bridge is 46"

[Kat_Mia]

How can you tell it's a Zeller, is there anything on the bass that would tell me?

[anonymous0726]

What is it in metric? That seems pretty long. Did you measure that from the tailpiece by any chance?

[Don Higdon]

Originally Posted by Kat_Mia

String length from nut to bridge is 46"

Humour us; we're guys. That string length is hard to believe. Would you measure one more time? In cm. My 7/8 is 116 cm body length compared to your 111, which says 3/4 to me. Yet my string length is 41.5" or 105.4cm

[Mike Crumpton]

Originally Posted by Kat_Mia

How can you tell it's a Zeller, is there anything on the bass that would tell me?

46" times 2.54 is 117cm if that checks - that is long - I couldn't play it The dimensions given check with other 3/4 basses and my recollections of what mine measures but the string length - wow I thought even full size basses were about 44" string length.

If you look down this list of 3/4 basses you'll find that they all differ a bit in back length - to answer an earlier question.

Its just how the bass looks - Zellers are all pretty simmilar, the shape the finish, everything - I've never seen a full size but even the half size they do looks the same, and they are pretty popular round here. And you should see a label through the e side f hole but they can come off and float around inside.

[Kat_Mia]

Yup def 46" from the bottom of the scroll/top of fingerboard/nut to bridge. And no, I'm not blonde enough to measure to the tail piece, LOL! I'm confused now.

[Mike Crumpton]

Originally Posted by Kat_Mia

Yup def 46" from the bottom of the scroll/top of fingerboard/nut to bridge. And no, I'm not blonde enough to measure to the tail piece, LOL! I'm confused now.

Sorry Kat but I'm a bloke in need of a beer and that doesn't always help - can you tell me that if you put the tape measure along the a string say, the distance between the bridge and wher the string meets the nut (I don't want to insult you here but where the string next hits wood) is 46" - it sounds to me like you've measured too far - its the vibrating length of the string we need.