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34" vs 35" scale. Can anyone really tell the difference?

#141
tb-player said:
In all my years of selling basses, this happens most consistently:

I post a 35" scale bass. I get a comment saying, "If this bass was 34-inch scale, I'd be all over it." A little while later, I sell a 34" scale bass and get the comment, " Man! If this was 35-inch scale, we'd be talking."

I own both. I play both... in 4-string and 5-string. Scale-length has never crossed my mind when switching from a 34" to a 35". I've never noticed any need to adjust. For me, scale length isn't even in my top-10 of things I look for in a bass.

Can anyone REALLY tell the difference between 34" scale and 35" scale? If so, what's the deal? Does it affect your playing? Is it all about how the low-B sounds?

I don't get it. Enlighten me. :meh:

(don't get me started on multi-scale... lol)
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The only time I owned 35" scale basses I definitely noticed the difference. One was a 5-string Turner Renaissance, and I got used to that - I'm always making adjustments on a fretless -- but I sold it because it was a one-trick pony. I played a Big Kydd EUB, too -- I got used to that, but since it was upright and on a tripod, it was a radical shift. One was a Pedulla Rapture, and I never quite got used to it. Interestingly, I found it easier to adjust to the Big Kydd and an Azola 39" EUB, because EVERYTHING had to change about my left hand.
 
#143
tb-player said:
In all my years of selling basses, this happens most consistently:

I post a 35" scale bass. I get a comment saying, "If this bass was 34-inch scale, I'd be all over it." A little while later, I sell a 34" scale bass and get the comment, " Man! If this was 35-inch scale, we'd be talking."

I own both. I play both... in 4-string and 5-string. Scale-length has never crossed my mind when switching from a 34" to a 35". I've never noticed any need to adjust. For me, scale length isn't even in my top-10 of things I look for in a bass.

Can anyone REALLY tell the difference between 34" scale and 35" scale? If so, what's the deal? Does it affect your playing? Is it all about how the low-B sounds?

I don't get it. Enlighten me. :meh:

(don't get me started on multi-scale... lol)
Click to expand...
I can totally tell the difference and I love playing my big ol' Lākland five string. The low B is, as they say in Beantown, "Killah!"
 
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#145
A 35" scale is only about 3% longer, right? In my opinion, sound, tone, and feel are all attributed to other factors. The physical reach or perceived distance from adding 3% scale length mainly comes dowm nut width, neck thickness/shape, and how the bass sits or hangs from a strap. It's really such a small physical difference, and other factors can have a much greater effect. 3% isn't very significant to me.
 
#146
I’ve owned 2 five strings in 40 something years and I’ll be the first to admit that I did not spend the time to meld with either of them. The last one was a MM fretless SR 5 strung with TI flats. My other basses were fretless MM 4 strings also with TI flats. The big disappointment with the SR5 was the B string. The tension was not the issue, but playing low E on the B string just sounded too muddy. Maybe it was just me, but if I ever try a 5 again (doubtful at this point) I’d try a 35” scale in an attempt to get that B string to sound better.
 
#148
I didn't read everything and will probably +1 a lot of sentiments here, but whatever...

While I generally prefer 34" scale to 35" scale (and have played both), scale length alone only tells part of the story. Overall design comes into play as well. If a 34" bass has a compact body that juts the neck further out, and a short upper horn that makes balance more horizontal, the reach to first position will feel like a stretch. 34" scale Warwick Corvette felt very different than 34" scale Soundgear, and both were 34" scale basses with 24 frets. So an ergonomically designed 35" scale bass can feel more comfortable than a 34" scale bass that isn't.
 
#149
chanson said:
A 35" scale is only about 3% longer, right? In my opinion, sound, tone, and feel are all attributed to other factors. The physical reach or perceived distance from adding 3% scale length mainly comes dowm nut width, neck thickness/shape, and how the bass sits or hangs from a strap. It's really such a small physical difference, and other factors can have a much greater effect. 3% isn't very significant to me.
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I think I can relate because I’m not a tall person and the biggest thing for me is reach (nut)! I have various 34s where I feel reach is a bigger issue than on the 35s. To your point, I think the biggest issue is balance and where the bass sits and there isn’t always a correlation between reach & scale.
 
#150
dkelley said:
ah, but double bass is an entirely different instrument due to the scale length. It isn't fingered the same (one finger per semi tone), and has much more feel available as do all of the violin family) for you to know where you are in your left hand positions regarding the neck angle, height of the fingerboard, and where the neck meets the body. I'm not saying it's easier than electric, just entirely different. Being able to play upright without looking at your left hand is entirely possible for much of our playing (for example while reading music), but not electric without looking as you change positions.

Obviously an over generalization, but based on facts.

Playing a longer scale electric bass still uses the same one finger per fret technique, which gets increasingly harder as you increase the scale length... unless you were blessed with big hands.
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We’re gonna have to agree to disagree on this one. Yes there are more physical landmarks on a double bass, but it’s entirely possible to play electric bass and shift accurately without looking by using muscle memory by using the same exercises that you learn the same thing with double bass. Also, your simplification of finger theories is erroneous. I freely move between the classic upright simandl 1-2-3+4 method, the one finger per fret method, and the Rabbath style pivoting on electric bass. My original statement, slightly expanded, was that as a result of playing electric bass for 25 years and upright bass for 20 years, and jumping between the two often on different songs in the same set, the difference an inch or two in scale makes for me, and only me, but possibly others, is imperceptible. My hands and muscle memory have learned to automagically adjust.
 
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#152
Yeah, I notice the difference. However, 34 vs 35 hasn't really been a factor in my decision to purchase. It really comes down to how I feel about the instrument itself. I will say that as I've gotten older, a 35 feels like a bit more "work" than a 34. A 35 does tend to result in a nicer low B sound and feel, but I've played plenty of 34s with killer B strings.

Bottom line is there is indeed a difference; it matters to some people and not to others.
 
#153
It really depends on the instrument. If I’m parked in first position I probably won’t notice. Where I typically notice is if I need to shift position up to 12-15 for a fill or something. A lot of times I’ll jump a fret short if I’m going by muscle memory. That’s the biggest difference for me and the G string sounds more zingy usually.
 
#156
Definitely a difference. It puts the headstock an inch closer to your body, so you have to reach less to hit the first few frets. Now, is it a big difference? Depends on the length of your arms and size of your hands. While I own and use both scales interchangeably, I do notice a 34" I tend to play lower more often. There's also a difference in tone and string stiffness.
 
#158
Dr. Cheese said:
My Carvin and Sterling by Ernie Ball SR5 are both 34” and both have fine B strings, IMO.
Click to expand...

My Carvin X64 (6-string) is 34" and while I have no idea what string it was, it was either a .125 or I read a .128 (measurements with my not-accurate-enough caliper were inconclusive >_> ). It was okay, but definitely didn't quite sound "right" to me. I replaced it with a .130 and now it feels and sounds where it needs to be.

On the other side of things and relating to the subject, I have recently acquired two Schecter 5-strings and they use 35" on their 5s. Playing-wise, I hardly noticed, but sound-wise, I liked it a lot, but it could also be pickup and/or electronics differences (Carvin, EMG40P5/DC, and EMG40 HZ, EMG preamps).

Is it a better low B? The Carvin sounds pretty damned good, and the tension feels good, too. I definitely won't put less than a .130 on it, and might try a .135. The Schecters feel slightly better tension-wise, and have Ernie ball strings vs Dunlop Super Brights so I don't want to compare tone on them quite so directly.

TL;DR I like them both when set up nicely and with the right set of strings. I'm certainly not kicking my Carvin to the curb XD
 
#160
tb-player said:
In all my years of selling basses, this happens most consistently:

I post a 35" scale bass. I get a comment saying, "If this bass was 34-inch scale, I'd be all over it." A little while later, I sell a 34" scale bass and get the comment, " Man! If this was 35-inch scale, we'd be talking."

I own both. I play both... in 4-string and 5-string. Scale-length has never crossed my mind when switching from a 34" to a 35". I've never noticed any need to adjust. For me, scale length isn't even in my top-10 of things I look for in a bass.

Can anyone REALLY tell the difference between 34" scale and 35" scale? If so, what's the deal? Does it affect your playing? Is it all about how the low-B sounds?

I don't get it. Enlighten me. :meh:

(don't get me started on multi-scale... lol)
Click to expand...
I've owned one 35-inch scale bass. The rest have all been 34. Yes, I could tell the difference. I could feel the difference in how far away the lower numbered frets were, and I could definitely feel a difference in string tension. In order for a string to be the same pitch at 35-inch scale, it must be wound (tuned) tighter. Granted, neither of these things were enough to completely turn me off to 35-inch. I wouldn't avoid buying one if I liked everything else about it, but... I do prefer 34.
 

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