What do you guys think of this?

[scottyd]

Im thinking of building a fanned fret bass with only four strings. The reason being In the band Im currently in we play most everything in drop D. I hate the way my e sounds dropped to d. Also I dont like using my five or six stringers with that tuning either. You think it would be worth it? Im wondering what scales would be best too Im kinda leaning towards 35/34. Your thoughts please.

[Geoff St. Germaine]

It could be worth it, depending on what you play. I really like fanned frets, and if I bought a 4 string it would probably be a Dingwall Super J. If I were doing it I would probably go for 36/34 or 35/33 for the inner and outer scales. There's certainly nothing wrong with 35/34 though.

[THIRSTYGUMS]

go for it, you wont regret it, i second 36" > 34" but if you feel you can handle it even go as far as 37" to say 34-1/2"

[spudmaster34]

yeah, 34-35 you probaly won't hear/feel a verry noticeable difference

[klocwerk]

Originally Posted by spudmaster34

yeah, 34-35 you probaly won't hear/feel a verry noticeable difference

Oh I totally disagree. A 35" E feels quite different than a 34" E in my experience.

[pilotjones]

37 to 34.5 is a little more stagger string-to-string than a Dingwall. I'd think before I did that. There would be more angle unless you did very wide string spacing.

If you want a 34-35 fan, an easy way is to buy a Novax Nex neck from the Novax website. They're made to fit a standard Fender body.

[scottyd]

Originally Posted by pilotjones

If you want a 34-35 fan, an easy way is to buy a Novax Nex neck from the Novax website. They're made to fit a standard Fender body.

Nah, thats out of the question I'd rather build my own, and I don't dig Fenders or bolt-ons.

[spudmaster34]

Originally Posted by klocwerk

Oh I totally disagree. A 35" E feels quite different than a 34" E in my experience.

it does feel different, but with that small of a fan, the adjustment of playing fanned woudn't really seem like it would be worth it, if that made sense.

[iamlowsound]

I would go with a 35.5 to 33.5 scale.

lowsound

[Phil Mastro]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

I would go with a 35.5 to 33.5 scale.

lowsound

That's what I'm doing with a 5er. Makes for easy calculations The fan is really not bad at all. I dunno about a 4 though.

[barthanatos]

Originally Posted by scottyd

I hate the way my e sounds dropped to d.

Have you tried just using a heavier gauge E-string? It will keep it at a higher tension and not be so floppy.