Albums Featuring a Short Scale Bass

[25oclock]

What are some albums, not just one song, that feature a short scale bass (31" or less) and, if possible, what model? The typical trendy answer is "early Beatles, early Rolling Stones, Cream" etc. I think a good list can help bass players decide if they want to add one to their arsenal. Here are a few to get things started:

The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle - Gibson EB3
The Doors - Strange Days - Eko 995 Violin Bass
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run - Longhorn
Boston - Boston - Modified Gibson EB0?
XTC - Drums and Wires - Fender Mustang
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker and Lonerism - Hofner Violin Bass
Foxygen - We Are the 21st Century... - Hofner style violin bass
Ramsay Midwood - Larry Buys a Lighter - Longhorn

I found some more to add to the list.

Deep Purple - Fireball - Mustang
Jethro Tull - Living in the Past- Mustang
Gentle Giant - First three albums for sure
Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow and Parachute - Mustang
Nazareth - Loud N Proud - Mustang
Phoenix - Bankrupt - Mustang

ZZ Top - First Album - Longhorn

I need confirmation regarding Bowie's Ziggy Stardust album. Talking Heads - which albums?

Add to the list please.

 

[JimK]

I'm no help in naming specific albums...maybe players, though-

Jack Bruce (Cream) used Gibson EB-1 & EB-3.
Andy Fraser (Free) has a great Gibson EB-3 tone.
Felix Pappalardi (Mountain) used EB-0 & EB-1 basses.
Tab Martin (The Peddlers) used a Gibson EB-2 bass...when I heard their cover of "On A Clear Day" (used in a Breaking Bad cooking montage), I thought it was an URB. Very Cool. According to wiki, Martin was "noted for his peculiar style of playing a Gibson EB-2 bass guitar in an upright position as though it were a string bass". He certainly captures that vibe, IMO.

Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads) sometimes used short scale Fender basses (Mustangs, Musicmasters)? I am not sure which albums, though.

Here's one I can name an album-
Hamish Stuart used a Fender Mustang bass on AWB's "Cut The Cake" & "School Boy Crush" (both from Cut The Cake).

Whenever Hamish played bass on the earliest AWB albums, I always assumed it was a Mustang.

IIRC, Jesse Murphy played a Fender Mustang bass with The Brazilian Girls (check out "All About Us" from Talk To La Bomb).
Murphy also played on John Scofield's Überjam album).

 

[hdracer]

Most Stones albums

 

[richmiller]

Check this video of Dread Zepplin featuring a really short scale bass.




Sent from my iPhone using TalkBass

 

[Bob_Ross]

Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads) sometimes used short scale Fender basses (Mustangs, Musicmasters)? I am not sure which albums, though.

First two albums (Talking Heads '77 and More Songs ABout Buildings And Food) were either the short-scale Fenders or a short-scale Hofner. Not sure about after that; her arsenal eventually grew to include long-scale Steinbergers and Veillette-Citrons, but I don't know exactly when she acquired those instruments.

 

[Bob_Ross]

Gary Burton's Dreams So Real from 1975 featured Steve Swallow playing a 30"-scale Gibson EB-2D

On most of Stanley Clarke's solo albums he used a 30"-scale Alembic Series I

 

[brianrost]

Jethro Tull - Living in the Past- Mustang
Nazareth - Loud N Proud - Mustang

Tull LITP: Mustang only on the tracks with Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond. The Glenn Cornick tracks vary (mainly J-Bass or Thunderbird and maybe an EB-2 or EB-3...he used both briefly).

Nazareth: cover photo shows an EB3 not a Mustang

 

[dewbass4]

Paul McCartney's Hofner 500/1 used solo and with The Beatles recordings (especially early on, before the Rick on Sgt Pepers and still in use today).
The Who's' John Entwhistle lists a variety of basses he used on their web site, some of which were short scale like the Danelectro Longhorn on "My Generation", a Mosrite on the "Sell out" session and "The Kids Are Alright" video, various Gibson basses ("Substitute") and even a Fender Bass VI. For an overdose of bass eye candy check out the book "Bass Culture, The John Entwhistle Bass Collection".

 

[BASS YODA]

TONY PAELEMAN "The Fuse"

Tony Paeleman : Fender Rhodes, Prophet 6, Wurlitzer, Piano
Julien Herné : bass
Stéphane Huchard : drums

Tony Paeleman – The Fuse – Tony Paeleman


The Fuse
https://music.apple.com/fr/album/the-fuse/1546111426
The Fuse

 

[Michedelic]

All Yardbirds tracks that Paul Samwell-Smith played on…an Epiphone Rivoli. When he quit the band, Jimmy Page briefly played bass live(the Epi handed down), and only recorded one song with it…


Then it was placed in former rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja’s hands while Page and Beck played dual leads. Aside from a few sessions with JPJ and his Jazz(one would assume)plus a couple of stray tracks with others, Dreja continued on bass after Beck left and until the band broke up.

 

[Michedelic]

What are some albums, not just one song, that feature a short scale bass (31" or less) and, if possible, what model? The typical trendy answer is "early Beatles, early Rolling Stones, Cream" etc. I think a good list can help bass players decide if they want to add one to their arsenal. Here are a few to get things started:

The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle - Gibson EB3
The Doors - Strange Days - Eko 995 Violin Bass
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run - Longhorn
Boston - Boston - Modified Gibson EB0?
XTC - Drums and Wires - Fender Mustang
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker and Lonerism - Hofner Violin Bass
Foxygen - We Are the 21st Century... - Hofner style violin bass
Ramsay Midwood - Larry Buys a Lighter - Longhorn

I found some more to add to the list.

Deep Purple - Fireball - Mustang
Jethro Tull - Living in the Past- Mustang
Gentle Giant - First three albums for sure
Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow and Parachute - Mustang
Nazareth - Loud N Proud - Mustang
Phoenix - Bankrupt - Mustang

ZZ Top - First Album - Longhorn

I need confirmation regarding Bowie's Ziggy Stardust album. Talking Heads - which albums?

Add to the list please.

Derek Shulman/Gentle Giant? All I’ve ever seen him use was a Precision, except in the Simon Dupree days when he had something that looked like a hollowbody Framus.
Dusty Hill? I thought he was a staunch Fender ‘51 P guy, although there are early shots of him with the ‘57-current style.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

What are some albums, not just one song, that feature a short scale bass (31" or less) and, if possible, what model? The typical trendy answer is "early Beatles, early Rolling Stones, Cream" etc. I think a good list can help bass players decide if they want to add one to their arsenal. Here are a few to get things started:

The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle - Gibson EB3
The Doors - Strange Days - Eko 995 Violin Bass
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run - Longhorn
Boston - Boston - Modified Gibson EB0?
XTC - Drums and Wires - Fender Mustang
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker and Lonerism - Hofner Violin Bass
Foxygen - We Are the 21st Century... - Hofner style violin bass
Ramsay Midwood - Larry Buys a Lighter - Longhorn

I found some more to add to the list.

Deep Purple - Fireball - Mustang
Jethro Tull - Living in the Past- Mustang
Gentle Giant - First three albums for sure
Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow and Parachute - Mustang
Nazareth - Loud N Proud - Mustang
Phoenix - Bankrupt - Mustang

ZZ Top - First Album - Longhorn

I need confirmation regarding Bowie's Ziggy Stardust album. Talking Heads - which albums?

Add to the list please.

I had read the 1st Boston album was an EB0 of sorts....anyone know....didnt Tom Scholz play most of the instruments on that album?

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Johnny Cash Live at San Quentin - Epiphone Newport (EB0 type)....my bro owns one and quite frankly if you listen to this album it sounds pretty much like a P bass, nothing like Cream or Mountain....its thru a Fender Bassman.

 

[consectaneus]

Can. Holger Czukay used a Fender Mustang bass in the early '70s. This album from 1971: