• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

34 or 35 scale 5 string?

#62
Some people prefer 34" to 35" scale, some the opposite, and some (like myself) have NO preference on the scale alone (because scale alone does not determine much, if anything at all)

ALL other parameters equal, I prefer a longer scale bass with the best playability available (string tension, playability and ergonomics included here as well), the BEST tone, tonal balance and clarity across the strings and board.

I disagree with KJung over his comparison of Dingwall's B-string to other "soapbar-loaded" well-made basses for two reasons: first of all I own (or have owned for a considerable length of time) top models of most of the brands which have been mentioned in the thread and even though their B string is very good to great, what I call "tonal balance" (across the board and strings) is not as apparent in other basses (at least to the level that it's present on Dingwall basses). PLUS I'm the "heretic" which mods his Dingwalls with non-stock pickups and strings to listen to differences produced by different strings, pickups, electronics (soapbars are just the shells, right??? ;), so...)

DISCLAIMER: KJUNG I have NOTHING personal against you, in fact I agree with most of what you say, esp that MTD's, A-C's and Sadowsky's (to name a few that I've owned and tried) are REALLY well made and great sounding basses; it's just that I have experimented with Dingwalls so much for so long (with more than 50-100 great basses in hand to compare, at ANY given time; not all 100 may be mine, but then again you never know ;)) that I can attribute a part of the BALANCED and DETAILED tone of Dingwall basses to Sheldon's fan fret approach (not putting it in numbers though, but it's there and it IS audible, esp in DIRECT comparison). And the basses I've been comparing my Dingwalls with, are top notch basses, with top notch materials and construction, same electronics/pickups/strings and even similar woods. And I will not compare my AB I to my Fodera Emperor Deluxe or my Ritter Roya, but my GL does give many basses a shock over it's tone, esp considering the price difference.

To get back to the OP, scale alone determines nothing but the scale. The combination of playability, ergonomics and MOST important TONE is what makes us choose one (or some) bass(es) over others. ALL other variables equal, I prefer 35" (or a Dingwall :hiding::p:hiding::p:hiding::p)
 
#63
fullrangebass said:
Some people prefer 34" to 35" scale, some the opposite, and some (like myself) have NO preference on the scale alone (because scale alone does not determine much, if anything at all)

ALL other parameters equal, I prefer a longer scale bass with the best playability available (string tension, playability and ergonomics included here as well), the BEST tone, tonal balance and clarity across the strings and board.

I disagree with KJung over his comparison of Dingwall's B-string to other "soapbar-loaded" well-made basses for two reasons: first of all I own (or have owned for a considerable length of time) top models of most of the brands which have been mentioned in the thread and even though their B string is very good to great, what I call "tonal balance" (across the board and strings) is not as apparent in other basses (at least to the level that it's present on Dingwall basses). PLUS I'm the "heretic" which mods his Dingwalls with non-stock pickups and strings to listen to differences produced by different strings, pickups, electronics (soapbars are just the shells, right??? ;), so...)

DISCLAIMER: KJUNG I have NOTHING personal against you, in fact I agree with most of what you say, esp that MTD's, A-C's and Sadowsky's (to name a few that I've owned and tried) are REALLY well made and great sounding basses; it's just that I have experimented with Dingwalls so much for so long (with more than 50-100 great basses in hand to compare, at ANY given time; not all 100 may be mine, but then again you never know ;)) that I can attribute a part of the BALANCED and DETAILED tone of Dingwall basses to Sheldon's fan fret approach (not putting it in numbers though, but it's there and it IS audible, esp in DIRECT comparison). And the basses I've been comparing my Dingwalls with, are top notch basses, with top notch materials and construction, same electronics/pickups/strings and even similar woods. And I will not compare my AB I to my Fodera Emperor Deluxe or my Ritter Roya, but my GL does give many basses a shock over it's tone, esp considering the price difference.

To get back to the OP, scale alone determines nothing but the scale. The combination of playability, ergonomics and MOST important TONE is what makes us choose one (or some) bass(es) over others. ALL other variables equal, I prefer 35" (or a Dingwall :hiding::p:hiding::p:hiding::p)
Click to expand...

:D Ditto:D Dingwalls are VERY impressive basses and are topnotch. I guess my point is, a Dingwall made with the same care and a more standard non-Novak fretboard would probably sound VERY similar. As you point out, scale length is just one of many, many things that influences a bass tone.
 
#64
35" scale is just a touch more annoying to play. Plus the longer scale tends to thing out the tone of not only the G string but also affects the E A and D strings as well. This all seems to be a little silly to me. Length, string composition and string diameter all play a roll in determining what tension a string needs to be to achieve a desired pitch. Since mucking about with length affects the entire bass (IMHO detrimentally) to achieve more tension on a single string, I'll stick with 34" scale instruments a play around with the other two parameters if I find the B string a tad floppy.

PS: I always find that I must concentrate a touch more playing my 34" scale fretless after I've spent time acclimating myself to playing a 35" scale instrument. No bueno when you are trying to improv a line. I'd rather my hands be out of the way as they normally are so I can concentrate more on the mental/musical aspects of my performance and less on mechanics.
 
#68
I like 35 inch scale basses, but I also learned on one. My 5 string is a 35inch scale, but I didn't buy it with that knowledge at all. I bought it because I liked the way it felt and sounded. I mean, everyones mileage and taste varies, but no one is going to tell you after a show "hey man, you could have sounded so much better is your bass was 35inch scale instead of that 34inch none-sense".
 
#69
Oddly enough, Mike Z and I had a small boutique bass gtg last night with a few 34" and 35" scale 5 and 6 string basses. The 35" scale basses had great Bs as well as G and C strings (Conklin, Rob Allen, Modulus, and ACG). The 34" scale basses also had great Bs (Cliff Bordwell and Curbow).

For the most part, most of the 35" scale basses didn't have a significant change in overall reach, other than the Modulus, although it really wasn't that bad.
 
#70
knuckle_head said:
Quick question to those that have or do - when you tried 35" scale length basses, did you use the same string gauges as you have, did or do on a 34" scale bass?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Again, string length is just a very minor part of tone, and a higher tension B does not necessarily sound better. Depending on neck construction and other bass components, I've round that heavier or lighter B strings worked better or worse on some basses than others, regardless of scale.

However, I mostly use a 125 B string... sounds great on all my instruments. I do use a 130 on the Sadowsky, since that is what it shipped with and it sounds awesome (just like the E string but lower). I've used 125's on my other Sadowsky and they sounded great also.

I think a longer scale on a thinner string actually is somewhat of a negative (i.e., it is never a good thing). However, longer scale on a B string seems to not really be much of an improvement on a well designed instrument with a good, high quality set of strings. IMO and many years of IME (I was very early into the 5 string bass, since I grew up with Tommy Kennedy, considered the 'second 5 string bassists' after Jimmy Johnson).
 
#71
knuckle_head said:
Quick question to those that have or do - when you tried 35" scale length basses, did you use the same string gauges as you have, did or do on a 34" scale bass?
Click to expand...

The answer is YES. This is what I meant when I said that I was comparing SAME constants (up to a point) and change a variable (as much as that is possible).

By the way, your strings are REALLY great!!!

Edit: I much preferred the tone of the 35" 's compared with the 34" 's with the same string gauge and I've experimented with several brands of strings
 
#73
knuckle_head said:
Quick question to those that have or do - when you tried 35" scale length basses, did you use the same string gauges as you have, did or do on a 34" scale bass?
Click to expand...

I don't even use the same strings most of the time. My Conklin has....Conklin strings. My Rob Allen has LaBellas. My CB has DR, etc. As long as the bass sounds great (and they do), I don't even entertain the idea of changing brands and gauges.

Of note, different gauges mean different things with different manufacturers. Diameter and core materials, outer windings, etc. The G on Rob Allen's LaBellas is a .060, but that's not to say it feels remotely like your average D string tuned up to G.
 
#75
IME, playing a low B on 34, I need to kinda tip toe around certain issues; where as playing the low B on 35, it just like playing on the E and A, but then again need to play differently on the D and G.

You can kinda see where I am going. Yes, I am dieing to try a fanned-fret.
 
#77
knuckle_head said:
Quick question to those that have or do - when you tried 35" scale length basses, did you use the same string gauges as you have, did or do on a 34" scale bass?
Click to expand...

Same gauges, but I think I see your point: with slightly longer scale length, perhaps a lighter gauge would work better. I did not try that back when I owned 35" basses, but here is my experience:

My first 35" scale bass was a Modulus Quantum. The strings felt extremely stiff compared to 34". I first attributed this to scale length, but then realized it was the OEM D'Addario XL strings on the Q5, which have stiffer than normal tension. I sold the Q5 before trying different strings on it, but when I put DR Hi Beams on my MTD 535, they felt just fine... little if any difference from my 34" scale basses.
 
#78
My Fender 5 string Electric Bass has a 34 in Scale Length but the headstock actually angled (I'm converting it into a Slotted Headstock someday) which puts the strings at a sharper angle over the nut.
 
#79
Something I took for granted at first with B strings is touch. Your touch is going to dictate a lot of how the bass responds. When I started on fives I was coming out of the Geddy Lee and Flea camp of play the heck out of the string as hard as possible at times. It’s a damn good thing I got into R&B after that. After years of fives I developed a much lighter touch…so revisiting some basses made a difference later. 34” scale sometimes needs lighter touch.

There are great B strings in the 35” range… Lakland and Peavy Cirrus come to mind, but I prefer 34” scale for the most part.

Musicman specials
Sandbergs
Zon
And a few other always felt great as a 34” to me.

Also, always go for a 130 B or higher, any less and the difference is noticeable IMO.
YMMV
 
  • Like
Reactions: mellobud
#80
sethlow3 said:
Something I took for granted at first with B strings is touch. Your touch is going to dictate a lot of how the bass responds. When I started on fives I was coming out of the Geddy Lee and Flea camp of play the heck out of the string as hard as possible at times. It’s a damn good thing I got into R&B after that. After years of fives I developed a much lighter touch…so revisiting some basses made a difference later. 34” scale sometimes needs lighter touch.

There are great B strings in the 35” range… Lakland and Peavy Cirrus come to mind, but I prefer 34” scale for the most part.

Musicman specials
Sandbergs
Zon
And a few other always felt great as a 34” to me.

Also, always go for a 130 B or higher, any less and the difference is noticeable IMO.
YMMV
Click to expand...


Lighter touch makes a huge difference to how a B string can behave.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sethlow3

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back