35" versus 34" scale

[BoiNtC]

I switch between 34 and 35 quite often and find no problem (I own a Jaco fretless and a RB5 which is 34" and I used to have a KSD 70s style J bass 5string which was 35" and my MTD 535 now is also 35")

 

[oversoul]

I tried an Ibanez BTB a while back and really felt no difference at all too, didn't even remembered it was a 35" scale at that moment, the thing acctually played quite nice.

 

[GRoberts]

I make most of my five's 34.5". It's an obvious and good compromise. I can get pretty comfortable with that scale length, but 35" is too much work for me. Keep in mind though that I'm a huge wus when it comes to playability. I want a bass to be super easy to play and that's why I built myself a 33.5" five string. It's the easiest to play bass that I've ever encountered. Perfect for my wimpy technique...

I'm with Carey on this one. I play an F Bass BN5 with 34.5" scale. Broke a string the other night and switched to my Modulus Quantum 5 (35" scale). Going from one scale length to the other in the same set was eye opening. The 35" string tension was much tighter and harder to play by comparison. (not unreasonable, but very noticeable) And the extra reach down to the first fret from the mid to upper register was also noticeably longer. While that extra .5" reach may be trivial, i have to admit that it was "noticeable." I changed strings on break and went back to my F Bass. Love the 34.5" sclae. Much easier to play in my experience.

When I play the Modulus all night (less frequent these days), I acclimate to the scale length and string tension and the scale length is fine. But by comparison and contrast, given the choice, I'll choose 34" or 34.5" scale length given the option. - Gary

 

[Suburban]

IME, the difference in scale is (playing fretted) not noticeable in the fingers. It does something with the shoulder and neck, though, which is not nice at all!

Playing fretless, there may be some, eh, variation in intonation when one is really trained into one scale length and change into another scale all over sudden and for a short time.
However, if one practice with all available scale leghths, the change becomes no prob!
So, I switch between 750mm (30"), 34", 874mm (34.4") and 41" URB, and the variation in intonation is there for less than a minute, when switching. And I'm not even well practiced right now!