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An Embarassing question...
- Thread starter IMakeBadMusic
- Start date
That one looks nice....although I'm not too keen on the SX headstocks.
Weird...the specs say single ply pickguard, but pictured is a triple....not a fan of singles.
To the OP...this is bassist nitpicking, and has no bearing on the quality/sound.....just looks.
An epiphone eb-3 might suite your needs, pretty thin neck. As for the small hands i recommend you stay away from burger king.
YouTube - BK's Tiny Hands Commercial
YouTube - BK's Tiny Hands Commercial
To the OP's original question, sure, it's not impossible to get around on a long scale if you have small hands. But take it from someone who has very small hands, like you, and has not been playing very long--short scales or medium scales (much less common) are way more comfortable to start on, and much more fun to play as a result. Those SX short or medium scale basses would both work fine.
A Jazz style bass also has a broader range of tones due to having two pickups. Here is a package that has a jazz with it.
Link Removed
Like someone said earlier, the width of the neck and the setup is much more important to ease of playing than the scale length. I'd go with a full scale, and make sure it gets set up well by someone locally.
Link Removed
Like someone said earlier, the width of the neck and the setup is much more important to ease of playing than the scale length. I'd go with a full scale, and make sure it gets set up well by someone locally.
I'm 5ft 6inches tall, small build. Played nothing but doublenecks for long time. Bass/guitar combos and 12/6 guitar combos. These along with BC Rich warlock and beast basses. Little peeps dont have to play little instruments. The trick is finding instrument that you can enjoy playing and wearing them at low rather then high position. Move your body with the instrument, letting it be kinda like its hugged into you rather then more a sense of it pushing outward from you as the norm. Its part of body fit which like neck playability is important imo. Also if you like playing near the bridge, avoid basses and guitars where the bridge is right up neck to the rear of the body. Instead get ones that have some wood between bridge and rear of body. Or which have rear of body cutout like bc rich warlocks, beasts, and esp f series. The bc rich eagle is good example of bass with rounded rear but nice amount of wood between bridge and bodies rear.
Main thing is even if its a lot diff then what works best for me. Go for basses that not only sound good to you. But which also have great fit to body for you which in part is determined by how you wear it on strap.
Main thing is even if its a lot diff then what works best for me. Go for basses that not only sound good to you. But which also have great fit to body for you which in part is determined by how you wear it on strap.
I'm 5'6" with smallish hands and I do fine. I've always played long scale, and I've found I actually prefer thick, chunky necks over the slim ones. They're more comfortable for me and give a ballsier, beefier tone, in my opinion.
In case anyone tells you you need to be tall to play bass, some of the most amazing bass players in the world are your size: Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey, Flea, just to name some off the top of my head.
In case anyone tells you you need to be tall to play bass, some of the most amazing bass players in the world are your size: Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey, Flea, just to name some off the top of my head.
Take a look at the Peavey Millenium 4 BXP. It is 34 inch sale, but you want that. The neck is pretty narrow as is the string spacing, which will help you out. The nice thing is they are a list of $199 new so you are no spending much, and they are decent bass.
I would highly recommend a Squier CV over an SX. If I had started on an SX I would not have stuck with it.
I have the opposite opinion than nearly everyone else on TB. I take the Stanley Clarke approach.
Get yourself a short scale bass and learn to play it. It will be much easier for you as a beginner. Also, you won't get discouraged as easy like you might on a long scale.
Once you get used to the short scale, the jump to a long scale bass is not that tough. If you learn good technique, you will be able to adapt to a long scale with little effort.
If you start with a long scale and find you're making a lot of mistakes and it's hard for you, you may get discouraged and not want to continue learning. This could happen too on a short scale, but chances are it'll be easier and more comfortable.
There's nothing wrong with learning to play a long scale bass. But there also is nothing wrong with learning to play a short scale.
Start off with what's easier for you, then when you get better at it you can switch scales.
Get yourself a short scale bass and learn to play it. It will be much easier for you as a beginner. Also, you won't get discouraged as easy like you might on a long scale.
Once you get used to the short scale, the jump to a long scale bass is not that tough. If you learn good technique, you will be able to adapt to a long scale with little effort.
If you start with a long scale and find you're making a lot of mistakes and it's hard for you, you may get discouraged and not want to continue learning. This could happen too on a short scale, but chances are it'll be easier and more comfortable.
There's nothing wrong with learning to play a long scale bass. But there also is nothing wrong with learning to play a short scale.
Start off with what's easier for you, then when you get better at it you can switch scales.
The 3/4 SX models are smaller all over, so the neck is narrower on those, in response to the OP's earlier question.
If you really want a good experience with your first bass, save $50 or so out of your budget, and when you get your bass, take it to a good tech or luthier and have them do a proper professional set-up on it. This involves adjusting various things to make the instrument play as well as it can. One of the reasons cheap instruments are cheap is that they cut corners on some set-up stuff. It can make a night-and-day difference in how your bass feels to play. And, if there are other problems with it, they should reveal themselves to a good tech in the course of getting the set-up done.
With some work, almost any instrument (certainly most SXs and Squiers) can be made to play well. And having a bass that plays poorly is a disincentive to playing it. So if you're going to start playing bass, don't go up to the plate with a strike or two against you already.
If you really want a good experience with your first bass, save $50 or so out of your budget, and when you get your bass, take it to a good tech or luthier and have them do a proper professional set-up on it. This involves adjusting various things to make the instrument play as well as it can. One of the reasons cheap instruments are cheap is that they cut corners on some set-up stuff. It can make a night-and-day difference in how your bass feels to play. And, if there are other problems with it, they should reveal themselves to a good tech in the course of getting the set-up done.
With some work, almost any instrument (certainly most SXs and Squiers) can be made to play well. And having a bass that plays poorly is a disincentive to playing it. So if you're going to start playing bass, don't go up to the plate with a strike or two against you already.
EXACTLY. Don't be scared off short-scales by people telling you that you must go long scale or you will handicap yourself. It's simply not true. I went from playing a 24-inch scale guitar to 34-inch scale bass guitar with no problem. You'll probably be able to go from 30-inch scale bass to 34-inch scale bass with no problem, should you eventually decide to. Sure, there are plenty of people with small hands who play long-scale just fine. But that's because there are other things that effect ability to reach longer distances with fingers (e.g., the range of motion of your finger joints, the angles your fingers are to one another when curled in a gripping shape, etc.) If all other things were equal, a 30-inch scale length would be easier for you to play.
Since you already know that you have some difficulty reaching frets on your friends' guitars, then a short scale bass might be a good idea to start on. And even remain on, if you find that you enjoy 30-inch scale well enough. I have very long fingers (I'm 6'3" tall) and I definitely have an easier time on 30-inch scale basses. But I play 34-inch scale also (my main bass is a regular long-scale). But there are a few things (i.e., bass lines I composed for certain songs that my band does) that are very difficult if not impossible for me to play on my long-scale basses but that I can play on my short-scale basses just fine.
Remember that width, shape, and taper of the neck will also affect how difficult an instrument is to play. Personally I prefer narrow necks with very little taper in the width.
Short-scale basses are nothing to be ashamed of; they have their own unique sound too, some people even prefer the sound of short-scales... If a short-scale bass is more comfortable for you to start on, and therefore more enjoyable for you, then I think you should start out on one of those instead of forcing yourself to go long-scale right away.
Keep in mind, short or long scale, the instrument is a challenge. The key is to stick with it. Period. I'd suggest some lessons.
Sort of 2 schools of thought on paying for a bass:
1) Pay-up and get a decent one that plays nice, inspires you to play, and feels comfortable. Since you spent a decent amount of money on it, you're less likely
to give up on it.
2) Spend-down, and if you don't like it or get frustrated, you can sell it and be done with it.
#2 doesn't provide you with a roadmap for success.
Also, the amp in the Rondo package looks small and probably sounds boxy.
If you go for a CV Squier or Vintage Modified Squier, I'd look at a decent amp.
Like several others have mentioned, the Jazz Bass is the way to go.
You can visit the amp section here to inquire about decent combos.
Welcome and good luck!
S
Sort of 2 schools of thought on paying for a bass:
1) Pay-up and get a decent one that plays nice, inspires you to play, and feels comfortable. Since you spent a decent amount of money on it, you're less likely
to give up on it.
2) Spend-down, and if you don't like it or get frustrated, you can sell it and be done with it.
#2 doesn't provide you with a roadmap for success.
Also, the amp in the Rondo package looks small and probably sounds boxy.
If you go for a CV Squier or Vintage Modified Squier, I'd look at a decent amp.
Like several others have mentioned, the Jazz Bass is the way to go.
You can visit the amp section here to inquire about decent combos.
Welcome and good luck!
S
Don't forget a Peavey Foundation. You can get them used and cheap here on TB or the bay. I can't emphasize enough how great they are for starters or pros. The neck is thin and outstanding! Get one and thank me later. Get one with Super Ferrite pickups.
I agree. If you have tiny hands, stay away from 5 and 6 string basses. Any 34" scale 4 string will be great.
Fenders have good resale value so you could get a used Fender for a fair price and sell it again for roughly the same amount, no harm done. Squiers and SX are cheaper to start off with but they have no resale value. If you buy a cheap bass and then expect to get your money back, you will be disappointed. If you're buying bass and you need to know you'll be able to sell it for about the same amount later on, consider this.
