34"Scale vs. 35" Scale

[SoVeryTired]

I'm 5' 8", with what I consider fairly small hands, and tried my first few 35" 5ers yesterday, along with a 34" 5er and various 34" 4s. For my hands the 35" 5er was so right I bought one.

The moral of the story is: don't believe what seems to make sense, believe what your hands and ears tell you.

 

[Mr Antt]

The moral of the story is: don't believe what seems to make sense, believe what your hands and ears tell you.

+1.

Rather wise take on the subject.

 

[Mike M.]

I have two five string basses, a Fender MIM Deluxe Active jazz and an Ibanez SR505, both 34" scale. Maybe it's due to the way it's built or whatever, but the Ibanez feels like it's a 35" scale compared to the Fender. That neck just seems and feels so long but it's comfortable.

Another thing is the differance in string tension between the two. I've got the same gage of Elixers on both basses and the tension on the Ibanez is much tighter compared to the Fender. The low B on the Fender seems a bit loose, but the low B on the Ibanez will knock a wall down! Again, same scale length on both but a differant feeling in string tension from each.

Don't know why, but that's the way it is.

 

[spade2you]

This topic is often done to death. Keep in mind that usually the more opinionated a TBer is, the less experience they often have.

Scale length is a single variable. To me, the builder is much more important than the scale length. Many off the rack 5-6 string basses rely on 35" scale to avoid low B flop. A top notch luthier will inevitably have a better B in 34" scale or less.

 

[SRFSterling5]

Got into the 5 string stuff years ago when I first heard Whitney Houston's
first album featuring Nathan East. I had a 4 string but didn't want to get
into drop tunings and stuff. Now, it's only 5 & 6 string basses. Once you
discover the versatility, there's no going back to a 4.

I have a 35" custom 6 (John Carruthers neck and body, Bartolini pickups and
preamp), a Ken Smith 6 and a Musicman Sterling HS 5 which are both 34"
scale. The 34" sound just as good as the 35". Yes there are good 34" scale
extended range instruments out there.

 

[dukeisdog]

I'm 5' 8", with what I consider fairly small hands, and tried my first few 35" 5ers yesterday, along with a 34" 5er and various 34" 4s. For my hands the 35" 5er was so right I bought one.

The moral of the story is: don't believe what seems to make sense, believe what your hands and ears tell you.

Agreed. I'm about 5'10, and love my 35" scale Spector Euro 5LX. The low B comes in so clear, but I haven't tried a 34" Spector to compare it to.

 

[Marley's Ghost]

I have a 34" Carvin LB75, and a 35 1/4" XB75, which Carvin reduced to 22 frets as an effort to control the size. Both neck through, and similar woods. I have been told by other bass players that the XB75 has one of the clearest tightest B sound they have heard on any bass. The LB is not too shabby either. I would love to AB the XB75 with an SB5000, which is 34" but gets raves for it's B. And all Ken Smith's basses are 34". So YMMV as usual.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

As another poster said, extra scale length does give the B string a sort of grand piano resonance that a 34" scale bass does not have. Not having extra does not mean tha 34" B strings don't sound just fine. Very few people complain about basses like Stingray 5s or Sadowskys which have 34" scale lengths. I recently went from a Yamaha TRB5II which is 35" and a Peavey TL-5 which is 34". True enough, the Yamaha had that grand piano thing going on and the Peavey does not, but the Peavey B string does not flop and is even compared to the other strings which means that it will be easy to play and does not disappear or over power the other strings when it is played.

All I can say is to try out some basses. A well set up Fender (34") will work just as well as a Lakland (35"), it just won't sound exactly the same. It is just a matter of preference.

 

[alec]

When I was playing regularly I had a 34" scale Deluxe Jazz 4 and a 35" scale Modulus 5. The cost of the two was similar but to me there was a definite difference in the feel of the basses. The Modulus played much nicer, sounded better and had a very clear and well defined B String. Strictly from a players stand point it would win in a shootout 9 times out of 10.

What made the Modulus sit at home more was that it was far more difficult for me to do vocals when I was playing the Modulus. There was just enough difference in the two that things I could play subconsciously on the Jazz Bass could not be done that way on the Modulus. I doubt most players would have even noticed that small difference but to me it was huge.

Both types exist because players like me find a certain advantage in each. When I recorded, jammed or sat in I usually played the Modulus but in my primary group it was just the opposite. It's the same reason Gibson uses a 24 3/4 " scale lenghth while Fender uses a 25 1/2" and a lot of us play both types there as well.

The difference between the Fender and the Modulus could have more to do with the distance from your body to the nut (how far you have to reach to grab the low notes), which isn't directly related to the scale length. It's also affected by where the strap pins are on the bass, length of the upper horn and where the bridge is on the body.
If the bridge is close to the end of the bass, the nut will be closer to you.

 

[c2thej2theizzo]

Sustain is a little better in a 35" , but the action is a little sloppy - if you play fast or funk or Jaco-like stuff you will need a 34" . If you play 80's rock ballads like Journey or Foreigner you'll love a 35".

the 35" strings will vibrate a little wider and if your bass is not set up properly, strings tend to buzz against the frets if you pull too hard, especially near the mid section of the bass around the 12th fret or sometimes the near the nut were the strings a just a few mm away from the frets. - in my experience, when you own a 35" you get a better fuller natural sound from the added length of string and more vibration. but it can be annoying playing hard and fast simultaneously. slapping takes extra precision on a 35" if you play fast.

34" is widely accepted as the best ballance between good action and a playable tight sound and enough string resonance. bigger than 35 and your strings turn to noodles. shorter than 34" and you loose sustain and warmth.

 

[anton72]

Sustain is a little better in a 35" , but the action is a little sloppy - if you play fast or funk or Jaco-like stuff you will need a 34" . .

How can 35" have sloppy action if string tension is higher then on 34"??? Logically it should be the other way round. And that's the reason why I keep playing my 4str 35" with normal tuning 'cause it allows for lower action.

 

[anton72]

Now, it's only 5 & 6 string basses. Once you
discover the versatility, there's no going back to a 4.
.

Well, there're opposite oppinions as well, take Rex Brown for example. He switched back to 4ers after playing 5ers. Tony Levin's versatility is no doubt but he played his custom 3-tring bass along with using his 10str Chapman Stick)))

 

[c2thej2theizzo]

How can 35" have sloppy action if string tension is higher then on 34"??? Logically it should be the other way round. And that's the reason why I keep playing my 4str 35" with normal tuning 'cause it allows for lower action.

The amount of tension applied to the string does not remain constant through out the length of the string.

Think of a clothes line or a 2 telephone poles holding up a wire , the farther apart the poles the more droop there is going to be in the middle, you can compensate by adding tension which you need to in a 35" scale bass to tune it but the tension is being applied at neck and bridge - there, the action seems rigid and better, but when you play up the register around the 12th fret its quite a different feel, - you can bend the string a little farther than you can on a 34". So I guess what i should have said is that the action can be a little less consistent - typically. On a good setup the difference in action is not as noticeable - but i do because I play funk and slap alot and like the consistency of the 34"

 

[Jason P Bass]

Sustain is a little better in a 35" , but the action is a little sloppy - if you play fast or funk or Jaco-like stuff you will need a 34" . If you play 80's rock ballads like Journey or Foreigner you'll love a 35".

the 35" strings will vibrate a little wider and if your bass is not set up properly, strings tend to buzz against the frets if you pull too hard, especially near the mid section of the bass around the 12th fret or sometimes the near the nut were the strings a just a few mm away from the frets. - in my experience, when you own a 35" you get a better fuller natural sound from the added length of string and more vibration. but it can be annoying playing hard and fast simultaneously. slapping takes extra precision on a 35" if you play fast.

34" is widely accepted as the best ballance between good action and a playable tight sound and enough string resonance. bigger than 35 and your strings turn to noodles. shorter than 34" and you loose sustain and warmth.

Thanks internet.

But does anybody know the answer?

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Sustain is a little better in a 35" , but the action is a little sloppy - if you play fast or funk or Jaco-like stuff you will need a 34" . If you play 80's rock ballads like Journey or Foreigner you'll love a 35".

the 35" strings will vibrate a little wider and if your bass is not set up properly, strings tend to buzz against the frets if you pull too hard, especially near the mid section of the bass around the 12th fret or sometimes the near the nut were the strings a just a few mm away from the frets. - in my experience, when you own a 35" you get a better fuller natural sound from the added length of string and more vibration. but it can be annoying playing hard and fast simultaneously. slapping takes extra precision on a 35" if you play fast.

34" is widely accepted as the best ballance between good action and a playable tight sound and enough string resonance. bigger than 35 and your strings turn to noodles. shorter than 34" and you loose sustain and warmth.

This makes no sense to me. 35" basses work perfectly well in any music, just like a 34" scale bass.

 

[nickbass79]

This makes no sense to me. 35" basses work perfectly well in any music, just like a 34" scale bass.

I agree. This entire thread is all about personal preference. I have a 36" scale 6 that is much easier and tighter to play fast finger style and to slap on...and it's fretless.

Sustain is a little better in a 35" , but the action is a little sloppy - if you play fast or funk or Jaco-like stuff you will need a 34" . If you play 80's rock ballads like Journey or Foreigner you'll love a 35".

the 35" strings will vibrate a little wider and if your bass is not set up properly, strings tend to buzz against the frets if you pull too hard, especially near the mid section of the bass around the 12th fret or sometimes the near the nut were the strings a just a few mm away from the frets. - in my experience, when you own a 35" you get a better fuller natural sound from the added length of string and more vibration. but it can be annoying playing hard and fast simultaneously. slapping takes extra precision on a 35" if you play fast.

34" is widely accepted as the best ballance between good action and a playable tight sound and enough string resonance. bigger than 35 and your strings turn to noodles. shorter than 34" and you loose sustain and warmth.

I don't know where you heard this or if you experienced this, but it doesn't hold much ground. The scale length is only going to change the tension and some of the harmonics(which most people can't differentiate anyway). The action of a bass can be adjusted regardless of the scale. I have a 32" 4 fretted that has the warmest tone and better sustain than my 34"5. I have a 36" 6 that is my best bass all around. What is going to affect the way a bass plays, sustains, tone...etc...is how it is constructed and set up. Meaning wood combinations, bolt on/neck through/set necks, materials and most of all which luthier or company constructed it. That is it, period.

 

[_Sasquatch_]

Main difference is linear tension. The 35's strings will feel stiffer than a 34. I have a few 35's. I'm pretty much a giant so they feel real nice to me.

 

[G On Bass]

I've had 34's and 35 inch 5 strings. Some were great, some not so much.

Sustain is not an absolute. It probably has more to do with construction (bolt-on/neck through), bridge design, pickups and strings than purely scale.

I play 34" Carvin 5 strings now and have sold all my 35's because, IMHO, there is nothing I got out of the 35 that I can't get out of the 34. The B string is every bit as good, and it's easier for me to play, especially in the lower frets.

But I will say that I have played some 34's with Stink-o B-strings, so you gotta be careful.

Lakland and Sadowsky: Both great 5 string makers. Laklands are 35" only, Sadowsky's 34" only. Guess that offers some insight into the debate.

 

[Gaius46]

I've yet to see a circumstance where that inch made any kind of meaningful difference. Scale length is the last thing I look at if I look at it at all.

 

[Gubna]

I read something about Carl Thompson preferring 36 and 37 inch scale basses because they'd have a bigger sound.

I've played both 34 and 35 and prefer 34 even on 5 strings.