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An Embarassing question...

I

IMakeBadMusic

Apr 17, 2011
5
0
#1
Hi Ya'll, first time poster here. I don't wanna waste anyone's time so I'll cut right to the chase:

I don't play any musical instruments, but I'm looking to pick up the bass because I'm a funky cat like that. I'm trying to hurdle two obstacles. One being that I don't want to invest a ton of money for something that I might not have a lot of time for (and thus wouldn't be able to enjoy) and second....well, I have tiny hands. I'm 5'6", and my hands are just smaller than most of my friends. Embarrassingly enough they're about the size of my 5'2" girlfriends'. I've fiddled around on my friends guitars before, and was able to play some really simple stuff (I can't emphasize "really simple" enough) and although I have relatively good finger dexterity and power, I just can't seem to reach frets well at all. I understand this comes with stretching and practice, but the question I pose to you is this:

Should I buy a 30" scale bass to learn how to play? Should I even go smaller? (I'm talking Samick Corsair MCR1 here) Do you think that would help?

Feedback appreciated!
 
#3
**** no. Buy a regular size bass. You'll manage just fine.

My advice considering you are trying not to spend a lot of money is to get yourself a Squire classic vibe J bass. J basses have beautiful, thin necks and by most accounts the CV series of guitars and basses blow away the MIM Fenders. I think you can get into a CV Jazz for about $350.
 
#4
34" scale is always my recommendation...even for younger students.

Squier as well would be the other...cheap enough, and pretty easy to get rid of if you don't care for it.

They sound really decent...rate and review fairly well....look great to boot.

...and if you love it....easy to mod.
 
#7
I have small hands and I think the only bass that I've felt uncomfortable playing was a really wide Warmoth 5 string neck. I think the strings on that bass were parallel all the way, at lest that's how it felt. Go with a 34" scale but try wearing it with a strap before you buy. You'll want to make sure that the top strap button is at the 12th fret. Most basses are like this, but there those like some Warwick basses that have the strap button very far back which pushes the first fret out for a long reach.
 
#8
As a beginner the chances of you playing machine gun 16ths runs is kinda slim...

Beginner bass stuff will allow you to move your left hand around the bass to get to the positions you need.

I have students as young as 9 on 34" scales, and they have no complaints....in time your fingers will become more proficient on the instrument.
 
#9
jefkritz said:
a smaller bass would probably be easier for you. i think the idea of getting a 34" scale is that you'll adapt and be able to play more of the basses out there. otherwise you'll be limited to short scales, which are much less common.
Click to expand...

As has been posted here before, Stanley Clarke never seemed to have too much problem alternating between short-scale electric bass and double bass. And what about the many bass players) myself included) who also play guitar/mandolin/uke/cello/other fingswivstrings?

Just about the biggest downside I can think of with short-scale basses given what the OP says about his budget is that he is less likely to find something decent for limited outlay.
 
#11
I guess 34 scale it is then! Thanks again for the replies, everyone here is so helpful. I was originally looking at the Rondo website. As far as 34"s go, this would probably be my first choice...

Link Removed

The obvious pros are it comes with a lot of stuff and it's stupidly cheap, that said I'm sure it's not the best quality. I don't really have a lot of dough to play around with now, broke college kid soon-to-be-lawschool-kid here, so keeping it under $200 is key.

Thanks!
 
#13
Ibanez Micro bass is nice for small hands. I've played full scale all my life but when I played one of these in a GCntr, I coudnt put it down. Almost bought it but went with a Squire jazz instead. But if you want a fun bass to mess around on check this one out. I believe it was 25" scale but I am telling you the ease of play and the stretch wasnt as bad as a full.
Now...I am going to counterpoint this. If you do decide on a small scale bass, learn the basics then move up to full. I played string bass in high school and never even crossed my mind about having small hands until I was watching this guy in a band play who had these loooonnnggg fingers and was wailing away. Then I started getting a complex about it and almost quit playing cause of it. Then I did something every musician needs to do to get better....practice. You look at players like Jaco and think...wow, look at them fingers fly!
Hey...practice. You will get it. I can wail like crazy now cause I overcame the small hand issue. I starting learning Bach tunes, which are insanely tough for fingering, but with practice...boom. Nailed it! Helped dexterity big time. Okay...rambling. Now..go get a bass and get funky!
 
#14
IMakeBadMusic said:
I guess 34 scale it is then! Thanks again for the replies, everyone here is so helpful. I was originally looking at the Rondo website. As far as 34"s go, this would probably be my first choice...

Link Removed

The obvious pros are it comes with a lot of stuff and it's stupidly cheap, that said I'm sure it's not the best quality. I don't really have a lot of dough to play around with now, broke college kid soon-to-be-lawschool-kid here, so keeping it under $200 is key.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You're going to probably want a Jazz bass instead of a P because the neck is narrower. That neck is 1&11/16" at the neck while most Jazz basses are 1&1/2" at the nut.
 
#17
You all make some really awesome points. I've heard great things about Rondo, prolly gunna end up going with them. They sell this package, which looks pretty rad..

Link Removed

I do have a question, though. This is listed as a "3/4ths" bass, but with a 30 inch scale. Is there a difference between a short scale and a 3/4ths scale? If so, what?
 
#18
My personal opinion is that if you are going to spend $200 on a regular Squier or some other low end bass, especially considering that you most likely lack the knowledge to discern which bass that is in your hands is actually a good one or a bad one ( believe me this is important, especially with Fenders, from ALL countries of origin), you should suck it up, come up with the extra hundred bucks and get a CV. ( like this one perhaps SQUIER CLASSIC VIBE 60'S JAZZ BASS | eBay) At least you will end up with something that has a resale value higher than $75. That is unless you just wanna go on your local CL and find a squire for $75 and let the chips fall where they may. In my opinion though, if you bought that bass in the link I just pasted, then gave up playing bass, as long as you didn't damage it in any way you could most likely get all your money back out of it and you wouldn't be testing the waters, so to speak, on some horrible piece of crap that did nothing to inspire you to want to continue playing bass.


I am no Fender fan by the way, but the CV line has impressed me. (particularly the Telecasters I have played. Dayum)
 
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