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Help with short scale basses

O

ognihs

Guest
May 18, 2013
48
3
#1
I currently am working through carpal tunnel syndrome and had to sell off my standard size bass. I'm looking for a decent deal on a short scale bass and was wondering what the TB community could offer in my search.

I like the scooped, punchy tone of the jazz bass and enjoy the thump of p basses (would consider getting one of each if i can) but can't seem to find many builds or brands i fully trust. I'd be ok with a project but would prefer something that doesn't need a lot of modding, i.e. squier bronco. A fender mustang tops the list for now but the prices seem to be quite high. Ditto for musicmasters.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
#2
Dano's are great and not expensive. My fav is the 97' Squier Vista series Musicmaster. They come up on the bass for sale threads or ebay here and there for $3-400. Great powerful and punchy bass but not easy to find.
 
#3
You'll probably get a lot of suggestions of the Squier variety (and there's nothing wrong with them). I have an Ibanez Mikro (28" scale) and it sounds like a P-bass. Big and punchy with the P/J setup.

I have a similar problem. Not Carpal Tunner but RSI (tendonitis in my right hand). I'm getting rid of all of my heavy long scales and keeping the short scales. I'm moving to EUB, which requires a different right hand technique and weight is not an issue.

The only issue is learning a new playing technique!
 
#4
I made prior arrangements with a Guitar Center store to have an Ibanez Mikro bass brought in so I could try it out, and I'm glad I did. I compared it to a lot of other, bigger and more expensive basses and I liked both its playability and sound. The pro audio guy I was working with, who had a pretty impressive gigging resume, was impressed with it as well. I'll probably upgrade the pickups and the hardware on it, but in the meantime it's quite a good instrument and I'm having a ball with it. And we're talking $179 for one. Admittedly, it's not the ne plus ultra of bassdom, but at that price it doesn't have to be. Give it a shot; it might work for you as well.
 
#5
thanks for the replies so far!

i've been looking at the mikro for a while but wasn't really into the styling much. it's really hard to complain about the pricing though and they're fairly easy to come across used. the squier mustang is pretty tempting as is an early 90's MIJ mustang i found on ebay.

the rondo/sx short scale jaguar and p bass clones are also tempting at $140 and $99 respectively. i know they get mixed reviews and can be a little sketchy with their QC, but that price point is just crazy.

i should also mention that i'm a guitarist that plays bass for fun and to fill out my home recordings. i most likely would not gig with these.
 
#7
Another approach to dealing with CTS and playing with long-scale basses would be to have a torzal neck built for you.

It does exactly what it's designed to do, which is to facilitate straight wrist action in the lower positions. I had no problems adjusting to the "twist". I've purchased 2 basses from the builder and would highly recommend a look for anyone having wrist issues.

The replacement necks are available under orders & prices.

Of course, since he has built short scale torzals as well, you could always look into ordering a custom torzal neck if you are set on a 30" bass. :hyper:

Good luck - here's the link:


http://littleguitarworks.com/
 
#8
those longhorns look like something out of a star wars movie! how do they sound with the lipstick pickups?

the torzal basses look great but i just can't spend $4000 on a bass or even $700-$800 on a neck.

i'm definitely working on technique and posture, which seem to make the biggest difference. i haven't ruled out frankensteining a bass or even going the project route, thanks to a recent string of successful guitar projects.
 
#9
The Squier Jaguar SS is in my opinion the best deal in a short scale bass right now. The neck is thinner than the Mustang and it is ridiculously easy to play. As well it is a more versatile bass than the Mustang, particularly if you upgrade the Jazz pickup.
As is, the P-bass pickup in the Jag is absolutely marvelous and thumpy and the Jazz pickup adds to the mix but is weak on its own. Even stock it is much closer to being the versatile short scale you seek than the Mustang. There is a wide variety of tones available with this bass. You can even slap and pop a bit on the Jag SS, which is not necessarily easy on many short scale basses.
For the price it's pretty hard to beat. Look hard and you can snag a brand new one for 150 bucks.
 
#10
Try Rondomusic.com. They have a lot of short scale basses in P and J styles. I upgraded the pickups on their j bass copies and it sounds great. I get complements.

I also played a Squire musicmaster and its great. I upgraded the pickups on that one too, though.
 
#13
If you're on a budget, get a Squier Jag short scale. I put some GHS flats on it, gave it a good set up and it is the easiest playing bass I've ever owned. No snob appeal but a wonderful instrument for ridiculously little bucks.

And the J pickup is fine for mixing with the P pickup. I agree it's not the best by itself, but it's still very useful - I don't feel the need to upgrade, it adds nice tonal variety when mixed as is.
 
#19
Two years on after Invalid Link Removed, I may consider a short scale of reasonable quality, because the usual 34" scale stuff is pretty tough.

I quickly went through a couple of Chinese Dano Longhorns before the accident and a bigger POS I can't imagine...though the Korean ones are supposed to be better. They'd have to be! :scowl:

I want a real instrument, not some jokey nostalgia kid's "student" bass reissue. I'm not going to go through the additional hassle of a short scale for a marginal axe. The Gibson so-called "SG" bass (why they don't properly call them EBs, I dunno) is kind of iffy for its balance problems, but that's all I'm seeing that's appealing. The MIJ Mustang really seems pretty feeble to me, even being an MIJ Fender.

Why shortscale seems to be mostly about cheap and nasty, I don't really know.
 

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