Scale Length?

[Mike Eldred]

Working up some new basses. Would like opinions on scale length for both 4 and 5. Thinking about 35 inch for the 5. Some guys have asked for it. What say you?

ME

[One Drop]

Are these Custom Shop designs?

I like 34 inch scale in 4 stringers, but that's nothing revolutionary.

[Doug Parent]

I only play 5's that are 34's for what it's worth.

[73jbass]

Originally Posted by Doug Parent

I only play 5's that are 34's for what it's worth.

+1.

[Mike Eldred]

Yah, just FCS for now.

ME

[spade2you]

If it's comfortable and the B is great, people might not notice the scale length.

[Dan Knowlton]

I like my 35 and 34 inch scale basses equally well. I can feel the difference but it is nothing that bothers me. As long as the low B is tight I don't care what the scale length is.

Dan K.

[Koog]

I've come to prefer 32" and 33" scales in my four string basses.

I've played 35", 34" and 33" five strings, and so long as the string tension on the B is sufficient to eliminate flab and deliver solid punch, I prefer the 33".

My good friend Andrew Drake is building me a custom five string that is a 33". He is sharing the progress of this build on the "featured builds" section in Luthiers' Corner on this forum. If you want to see progress so far the link is: Black Limba 33 inch scale 5 string bass .

This build will be a string through and will be strung with RotoSound RS 775 LD strings. We think this combination will create the right tension to eliminate any flabbyness in the B and deliver the punch I've come to expect.

Hope this information is helpful....and I'm sure Andrew will be willing to share any secrets he might have discovered along the way in building these medium scale basses in both four and five string configurations.

Best.

Koog.

[bdgotoh]

Originally Posted by Dan Knowlton

I like my 35 and 34 inch scale basses equally well. I can feel the difference but it is nothing that bothers me. As long as the low B is tight I don't care what the scale length is.

Dan K.

+1

[trblWthTrebles]

30" e-c 5

[One Drop]

If you are looking at making a cool bass for the CS and want to play with different scale lengths, how about a 30.5" Coronado update with better electronics, or PUPs specifically? That would be something to talk about, and you'd sell a pile of them. It's still one of the most beautiful basses ever designed IMO and a real pity it fell short sonically.

Probably irrelevant, but what the heck.

[bongomania]

I agree that it would be more exciting to see Fender CS versions of Fender's shorter-scale basses, rather than seeing Fender CS versions of Lakland or Lull versions of Fender basses.

[cnltb]

Originally Posted by Mike Eldred

Working up some new basses. Would like opinions on scale length for both 4 and 5. Thinking about 35 inch for the 5. Some guys have asked for it. What say you?

ME

All my basses apart from a fretless(35.5') and an ashbory are 36'.
I prefer the tone I get to anything shorter.
That's on 5 string.
For a 4 I'd go shortscale-either 34' or 33'.

[Systolic]

I second the idea of a short(er) scale. Oh I know! 5/6 string fretless short scale!