@Bassamatic another happy ending love story with a micro bass! Warning all of you guys: starting to play with a sub short scale bass develops addiction! 
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25" scale micro basses anyone?
- Thread starter Avezzano
- Start date
I am still blown away by the Mayones Cali 4. It's top of mind for my next purchase, not intended to replace my gigging bass setup, but to give me something small enough to take anywhere to be able to practice and enjoy instead of having nothing. That, and a mini battery powered amp. On a motorcycle ride for weekend, even a mini Fender would get in the way.
So, so, so... well: I definitely wanted to try the mini bass route and see if they are really worth the effort and the money. Surely, I don't have 2000 spare euro in the pocket for a beautiful Mayones Cali 4 bass...
Cali 4 • Mayones Guitars & Basses
And in addition I would say that, even if they are absolutely little works of art, I am not intrigued by the fact that this very refined, high luthiery, high cost little bass has the nut that starts physically where the 12th fret on a standard 34" scale bass is.
(If I understood it right, the Cali 4 scale it's sort of a half regular scale).
Nor I am keen to spend a lot on the beautiful Vimana....
https://www.meridianguitars.com/copia-di-j-24-4
Then there is the Squier mini-Precision, that is just 2 inches less than a standard 30" short scale. Sexy; and you can personalize it as a regular P. But it's still far from the travel bass concept. So, finally I pulled the trigger on this one below:
NBD: Rocktile TB-4 (aka Glarry CW101) 25" scale mini-bass
Not too costly and different from the standard products. The overall look is sort of a mini Warwick. Well: I must say that after a few days of honeymoon, I am VERY satisfied by this little bass, that is tuned EADG standard and that responds very well (extremely well!) to the bassplayer hand touch. Finally, its sound is the sound of a... bass guitar!!!
Any other 25" bass out there worth looking at? Opinions? Desires? Prices? Availabilities? Pictures? Carrots, maybe?
View attachment 4904028
CNZ mini. 28.6” scale like an Ibanez Mikro
JB-MINI-FRD | Electric Bass - Fiesta Red
Jack & Danny 29” Jazz
J & D Bass guitar JB Mini BK Black favorable buying at our shop
Samick Greg Bennett Mini Corsair 24.6” scale
NBD: Rocktile TB-4 (aka Glarry CW101) 25" scale mini-bass
Gear4music's web site says they still have stock! A good buy, as these basses were very well made as were all the Greg Bennett line.
Meanwhile, after seeing them here, I have ordered one of the little Glarrys! What a deal! Bass, cable and gig bag for $110. Should arrive Monday - I hope I can play it as well as Ellen does. Glarry has really made it possible for beginners to get a decent instrument at a low cost. Kudos to them.
Meanwhile, after seeing them here, I have ordered one of the little Glarrys! What a deal! Bass, cable and gig bag for $110. Should arrive Monday - I hope I can play it as well as Ellen does. Glarry has really made it possible for beginners to get a decent instrument at a low cost. Kudos to them.
You'll see: you will not be disappointed. You just need to set it up properly; minor stuff: nut slots, truss rod, strings height, intonation. Inspect the control cavity for any loose wire... Maybe shield it. (I did not thought it necessary, anyway) I had to do all of these plus bridge repositioning sideways a couple of mm. But you will discover a little wonder!
The little Glarry arrived in ONE DAY! Double-boxed, foam wrapped and the gig bag, strap, cable and tools included as well as a couple of picks! WOW!
The overall feel is really nice - I like the light matte finish. Won't show fingerprints and light scratches, and the neck won't get sticky. This is the "Yellow" color selection.
The action was already very low, as well as I could have done. I only needed to witness the ends a little more. You can tell that the strings are pretty cheap, quite zingy, but they have improved over a couple of days. The Tuners are very smooth.
Today I:
GOOD JOB GLARRY!
The overall feel is really nice - I like the light matte finish. Won't show fingerprints and light scratches, and the neck won't get sticky. This is the "Yellow" color selection.
The action was already very low, as well as I could have done. I only needed to witness the ends a little more. You can tell that the strings are pretty cheap, quite zingy, but they have improved over a couple of days. The Tuners are very smooth.
Today I:
- Used a 3M 180 grit foam sanding block to round the fretboard edges and smooth any rough fret ends. What difference this makes!
- Set the intonation.
- Shielded the cavity with copper foil - this reduced the hum by at least 50%. There is a lot of unshielded wire in the cavity.When I change strings I will shield the pickup cavities, but the single coil pickups will always hum a bit.
- Installed a Mute switch, as all my basses get. Just hit the switch and set it down no loss of settings!
GOOD JOB GLARRY!
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@Bassamatic for the pickups, have on hand some better "push up sponge" since the original is not that good. Congrats!
Thanks for the advice! What happened to the "good ol' days" when they used metal springs instead of cheap sponge?
Hello. I've learned a lot from reading this thread and thanks to all the contributors. I'm a newbie (~2yrs) bass player. I play bass for a local uke group. I currently own a Squire Mustang (30"), Kala Journeyman U-Bass (20.8"), and a Michael Kelly Sojourn (24.75"). None of these have hit that sweet spot for me for various reasons, so I'm looking for something in the 24-27" range. The Glarry looks promising but I'd rather have a P bass. Do you know if they make one? I only see J on their website.
I'm pretty sure that's actually a 28.6", the same as the Mikro.
Yes, I have checked out the Squire Mini-P. It's on my short (pun intended) list, but am hoping to go a little shorter than 28.6 since I already have a 30" and I'm only seeing them in black and red. Since I play in a uke group I'm trying to stay away from bold colors. I like the $$ of the Glarry and also unpainted body options but am hoping for P rather than J. But maybe it's time to try a J. 
You will like it. A lot, trust me!Yes, I have checked out the Squire Mini-P. It's on my short (pun intended) list, but am hoping to go a little shorter than 28.6 since I already have a 30" and I'm only seeing them in black and red. Since I play in a uke group I'm trying to stay away from bold colors. I like the $$ of the Glarry and also unpainted body options but am hoping for P rather than J. But maybe it's time to try a J.
Would you consider the color as actually being "yellow"? Looks like a nice honey or golden stain. Asking because I'm leaning towards getting this exact bass. Thanks!
Also check the natural (like mine) and the antique red or whatever they call it (check the review at ellenplaysbass on youtube)... The one Bassamatic has received, in the Rocktile tb4 Europe version is called "natural honey stain". They also offer the black option, here.
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