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Any *conclusive* downsides to short scale?

#61
HelpImaRock said:
That's hot.
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"Brownish" is generally not my thing, but as a pre-built it was a great deal, I'm a sucker for natural wood binding, and you can't get a chambered body as an option if you spec your own build. Must just be experimental for now?

Anyway, I've had a bit of a mancrush on black burst ever since I saw this G&L on the Upfront Guitars website:

bb-black-full.jpg


Nom nom!!!

If all goes well, maybe next year I'll build a medium scale in sonic blue or vintage white. :bassist:
 
#62
tbz said:
I own a Gibson eb-0 short scale. Basically the strings are floppier due to the decreased tension. Even unplugged I feel it's mushier and darker than any of my 34" basses. Slapping on it just feels wrong, popping especially as you have to give a harder tug and the sound generated isn't as punchy. If you want to slap it's not the best option, IMHO ymmv.

Pick style feels mostly fine, you need a lighter touch if you play with fingers as short scale feels more susceptible to intonation issues due to aggressive playing. Granted though if you learn on and only play short scale you probably won't notice that.
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This is exactly how it seems to me, too. Well said.
 
#63
radicaldreamers said:
Cannot wait to see the finished product. Now you've got me itchin' to build a short scale bass.
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There's a tasty black SS P with wood binding sitting in their showroom right now:

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This burst is pretty delicious too:

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I gotta say, being able to completely spec out your own custom instrument is a lot more fun than buying something off the rack! (And at an off-the-rack price too.)
 
#64
Since you're doing this for your own enjoyment I think you're cool either way. I have short scale (Kalamazoo EBO copy and Fender Mustang), medium scale (Alembic Series I) and long scale (34"-I decided 35" wasn't for me). I regularly gig or record with all off them, and I can tell a difference in feel and tone, although I have flats on both my short scale basses because they are the "vintage Old School" basses in my arsenal. I have had rounds on both and I did notice a bit of unfocused tone to them. Not so much on the medium scale. I can think of players like Owen Biddle who gig on a Callowhill 6 string bass with 30" scale so I'm sure it can be done.
Again, since you're just starting out and migrating from guitar 30" may be more comfortable. When and if you want to try a longer scale you'll probably be able to answer that yourself.
 
#65
RedHotFuzz said:
There's a tasty black SS P with wood binding sitting in their showroom right now. I gotta say, being able to completely spec out your own custom instrument is a lot more fun than buying something off the rack! (And at an off-the-rack price too.)
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I already checked those out! I had kind of forgotten Warmoth existed. I was considering building a guitar a few years back but I never quite had the money for it. I could probably afford it now but I actually just recently bought a MIJ Fender Jazz (long scale, in sunburst even, if BassHappy wants to throw together that experiment!), so I'm all set for the moment. Those bodies sure look nice though. I'll wait and see how yours turns out before I go for it. A friend of mine let me borrow his MIJ Mustang bass for a couple months and I really fell in love with short scale. I would love to have my own at some point.
 
#66
IME what seems like too long a scale for your hands will be fine after a short while. As has been posted above, play what you like. However, at a given pitch, shorter scale requires thicker strings and will be less articulate. Some rig/eq tweaks can help mitigate this, but a longer scale will have clearer harmonics. This may or may not be desired, depending on your tone goals. The best way for you to hear the difference is to play an octave double stop, perhaps A on the E and D strings on a shorty and a long scale.
 
#67
I started with short scale back in the 60's - a borrowed EB-2 and later my Hagstrom for many years and tours. Then moved to 34" for the variety.

Now that my hands are slowing down, I have been trying 32" scale, which is better, but find that going back to 30" is really the most comfortable. And - the Hagstrom and my recent purchase of an old Gretsch 2202 show me that there is no sacrifice in sound - in fact the 2202 is becoming the bass of choice. I also find that there are a lot more 30 string sets available than 32".

I have to disagree about using long or medium scale strings on SS. While watching strings being wound I realize that the string is pulled to final tension while being wound. Longer strings will never be at the proper tension on a SS bass. This may actually be where some of the stories come from about the sound of SS basses - using the wrong strings.
 
#69
I have built basses from 30" to 35" scales and I find that the longer the scale the deeper the low end and the more clearly the notes ring out. It's nearly impossible to say what the tone sounds like because we all have different versions of "warm tone" and so on. I have smaller hands and prefer the 32" scale but prefer the sound of a 38" scale. You can't have both. And as far as someone saying that it wouldn't make a good solo instrument or whatever, Les Claypool's main four string is a 32" scale so believe that's debunked. One more myth is the "floppy string" thing. The distance between the bridge and the end of the neck is reduced by either 2" (32) or 4" (30) so you play much closer to the bridge and the strings feel just as taut as any 34" scale bass that I have played. Hope this helps!
 
#70
RedHotFuzz, 2 things: PLEASE give us a review/eval when you get it finished. (I've been moving numbers around trying to fund a Warmoth SS G4 for a lo-o-o-ong time.) Second, to add to Groove Doctor's post about picks and foam, I've found I can use a pick without the foam and still get that soft muted tone: ukelele picks there sorta felt-y with a little stiff center layer..
 
#71
Kaa said:
RedHotFuzz, 2 things: PLEASE give us a review/eval when you get it finished. (I've been moving numbers around trying to fund a Warmoth SS G4 for a lo-o-o-ong time.) Second, to add to Groove Doctor's post about picks and foam, I've found I can use a pick without the foam and still get that soft muted tone: ukelele picks there sorta felt-y with a little stiff center layer..
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I'll definitely post pics, summarize the assembly process (hard/easy?) from a noob's perspective, and give you my overall impression of the final product. That said, this will be only the 2nd bass I have owned/played (the first being a Gretsch Junior Jet I received only 2 weeks ago) so I won't have much of an expert opinion on its tone. I'm sure given the components I'm using that it will sound fantastic to me. But I don't have 30 years of experience playing and listening to basses to give me any credibility. I'm just hoping it's comfortable, fairly lightweight, looks good, sounds good (to my virgin bass ears) and above all is joyful to play.

Here's what I'll be using:

Body: Warmoth short scale P, chambered swamp ash, Black Burst with natural wood binding, black back. Routed for a J pickup at the bridge.
Neck: Warmoth 30" "Bonus Birdseye" (whatever that means) maple with ebony fretboard. Medium-Jumbo frets (nickel). Black Tusq nut.
Tuners: Hipshot Ultralite with lollypop keys, chrome
Bridge: Babicz Full Contact Hardware FCH 4, chrome
Pickups: EMG Geezer Butler P/J
Strings: LaBella Deep Talkin Flats, medium gauge

Will this pile of parts become a disastrous goulash of clashing flavors or a scintillating jambalaya of componentry deliciousness? STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT!
 
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#72
RedHotFuzz said:
"Brownish" is generally not my thing, but as a pre-built it was a great deal, I'm a sucker for natural wood binding, and you can't get a chambered body as an option if you spec your own build. Must just be experimental for now?

Anyway, I've had a bit of a mancrush on black burst ever since I saw this G&L on the Upfront Guitars website:

bb-black-full.jpg


Nom nom!!!

If all goes well, maybe next year I'll build a medium scale in sonic blue or vintage white. :bassist:
Click to expand...

For me, it was this Godin Montreal Premiere:

easjyggd7eib9quh3lmu.jpg


Anyway, good luck with the build. You took the plunge I was hedging on. I hope it works out for you.
 
#74
HelpImaRock said:
For me, it was this Godin Montreal Premiere.
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BassHappy said:
For me it was the trans black burst over ash on the 1980's Fender Jazz Bass Special I found in Japan....
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Those two are closer to the Black Burst I'm in love with. Less brownish, more...grayish? Hopefully the lighting/white balance of the Warmoth photo makes it look browner than it really is. Though not a bad thing if it's not - it's still a beautiful body.
 
#79
Depending on the EQ and mix, there are times when my shortscale sounds vaguely "off" on the E string below, say, the 5th fret. But when I check, the tuning is fine. (So is the intonation.) So I wonder: Has it been noted that the harmonic overtones of a shortscale are tricky in that range? (Of course, it's more likely that my hearing is roached.)
 
#80
there is no across the board rule for any short scale basses. or longer scales for that matter.

i had a 33" with a B string to die for. i've had 35" basses with bad ones. so thats out.

i would agree that generally the shorter scale yields a thicker and deeper low end with less clarity, but i would never say that's always true.
 
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