If you can find one of the Korean made Danelectro Longhorn basses from the nineties I think you will like it. I have loaned mine to several guitar players who double on bass and they all seem to like it. They also record really well. Another possibility might be a Hofner bass.
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Best short scale basses?
- Thread starter Peeved T-40
- Start date
I'm looking for something cheep and off the rack. Would prefer dual pickups, preferably not P or J but not out of the question. Other than that, just trying to see what's out there
I'd recommend the Gretsch G220 for that if you like the looks. It's well made, humbuckers, sounds good, inexpensive, but i can't get into the Les Paul body style. If you're into that it could be the one.
yeah, the Gretsch g220 is at the top of my list. It's a cool little thing and pretty much perfect other than a few nit picks. But I wanted to see what else is out there before I settled on anything
There is a version without the horns that I was playing this past weekend at a shop here in Atlanta. It played and sounded great, and was freakishly light.
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You will probably get more useful answers if you let us know your budget and what style of music you want the bass for. The basses already mentioned in this thread are EXTREMELY different sounding instruments that would be suitable for very different genres of music. Some of them are basses I would personally consider niche instruments and not very good allrounders (but lots of fun!).
If I could choose only ONE short scale bass it would have to be a German made Höfner equipped with Pyramid Golds. That's MY personal definition of a classic "short scale tone". A Höfner with Pyramid Golds isn't suitable for all styles of music though and the German Höfners are quite expensive.
Without knowing your budget and genre I can only give the following advice:
1) Most of the basses already mentioned in this thread are decent instruments (some of them are AMAZING) but you get what you pay for. A cheap short scale bass will sound/feel like a cheap instrument, just like a cheap long scale bass would. I would personally avoid the Bronco unless you want a mod project. A stock Bronco is WAY below the quality of pretty much any other bass currently for sale IMO.
2) Short scale strings are often rubbish. Usually because they are WAY too light gauge. I know you said you don't mind floppy strings but when the floppiness gets to the point where you can't get a stable enough pitch to even tune your instrument (let alone intonate it!) and every fret along the entire neck buzzes like crazy you should at least know that this can probably be sorted out with better strings. 45-105 is my personal minimum gauge for short scale basses. This will feel more or less like 40-100 on a long scale.
If I could choose only ONE short scale bass it would have to be a German made Höfner equipped with Pyramid Golds. That's MY personal definition of a classic "short scale tone". A Höfner with Pyramid Golds isn't suitable for all styles of music though and the German Höfners are quite expensive.
Without knowing your budget and genre I can only give the following advice:
1) Most of the basses already mentioned in this thread are decent instruments (some of them are AMAZING) but you get what you pay for. A cheap short scale bass will sound/feel like a cheap instrument, just like a cheap long scale bass would. I would personally avoid the Bronco unless you want a mod project. A stock Bronco is WAY below the quality of pretty much any other bass currently for sale IMO.
2) Short scale strings are often rubbish. Usually because they are WAY too light gauge. I know you said you don't mind floppy strings but when the floppiness gets to the point where you can't get a stable enough pitch to even tune your instrument (let alone intonate it!) and every fret along the entire neck buzzes like crazy you should at least know that this can probably be sorted out with better strings. 45-105 is my personal minimum gauge for short scale basses. This will feel more or less like 40-100 on a long scale.
My interest peaked at the G&L Tribute Fallout and Gretsch G2220. I recommend checking out some of the reviews on those on YouTube in terms of more affordable short scale basses.
If you don’t want a P/J or either than you can go Sterling Short Scale Stingray or G&L Fallout. The Fallout is heavy for a short scale but both are well regarded.
If you want something different and are willing to pay check out the Wattplower Mk II
I played a G&L Fallout Tribute a few weeks ago and was very pleased with the feel and sound of this short scale bass. At a price of just under $600...
Agreed on both points, I had a Bronco a while back and moved it on in a matter of weeks, the stock tuners were junk and they rattled whenever I played a note and the pickup sounded dreadful, noisy, weak sounding, pretty much any other SS bass will be better than the Bronco, and they are overpriced for what they are.
Short scale strings for some reason tend to come in silly gauges like 90-40,95-40 etc, no idea why and that is why I use long scale strings on my SS bass
I do like my Ibanez TMB30 a lot, though it doesn't get the playing time my 2 Warmoth short scale builds get, so I will be selling it, with La Bella Deep Talkin' Flats, probably $150, but I'm in Florida.
I have the G2220, and I've played on the Sterling Shorty. I'd like to play a Sire U5. Those are the top contenders in the Budget-ish Short scale arena. There are a few others that are nice in that price range, but usually the "cheap but good" goes to the G2220. Mikro, TMB30, TMB35 all have little nit picky stuff that throw some people off. Mikro is under 30", which makes getting strings a little more interesting, the TMB's are a bit top heavy according to some (I havent got my hands on one).
I like my G2220. I may change the pickups for TV Jones, I'm not sure. The pickups it has are nice, I just am not a fan of the pickup selector. So since I'm going to rewire, I figured I'd have some fun with the wiring with new pickups. The G2220 is good on all the important stuff. The shielding is non-existent, but with humbuckers not needed as badly. stock humbuckers are 2 wire. I can get a real wide range of tones between the bass and my bass fly rig.
Mikro's are also interesting, but they are 32" (medium scale). The string choices for medium scales are also a bit more difficult.
It depends on what you want. The cheapest off the rack and nice is probably the G2220. Nicest in a decent range, I'm guessing a dual between Short Stingray and Sire U5. Acinonyx is nice but more expensive. TMB is probably the best for tinkerers due to standard size parts.
I've played a lot of short-scales. None of them come close to the sound, playability, and build quality of a Birdsong. Give Scott Beckwith a call and see what he's got in inventory.
From Our Hands To Yours
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Yeah, I've never understood why string manufacturers make these ultra light gauge sets for short scale basses. The tension would be more or less comparable to 35-85 on a long scale bass! I guess it could be a matter of taste in SOME cases but then we have strings like the short scale Roto 66s which can only be described as scrap metal. Utterly useless! (I love the long scale Roto 66s though).
The only exception I can think of are the Pyramid Golds. For some reason they feel great at 40-100 (or even 40-95) which is lighter than I normally use on a short scale bass. But unlike most other strings the Pyramid Golds were designed specifically for short scale basses and have the required stiffness to work with lighter gauges.
Turnaround
Commercial User
This has to be right up there with the very best short scales:
Rob Allen Mouse
Rob Allen Mouse
