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Best short scale basses?

#101
My buddy swears by his Mustang.

Ditched his Jazz and P for this one, and hasn't looked back.

cqZvkZG.jpg
 
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#102
Peeved T-40 said:
interesting. I guess I didn't really look into it. Sweetwater just has the long scale and it's just called the EB3. I just assumed that's how it was
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Is someone mixing up Gibson, and Epiphone EB series basses? Gibson had the EB-3, a short scale, and the EB-3L, a long scale. Epiphone has the EB-3, that's a long scale only. The Epiphone EB-0 is a short scale, single sidewinder at the neck Humbucking pup.
 
#104
That’s how I initially felt about myDano Longhorn . At first I thought it was flimsy because it was so light . It turned out to be tough as nails . I thought the wooden bridge was junk , and then discovered it sounded better than the metal adjustable ones , and that there was a perfect spot for it . My action sits exactly where I love it ,the intonation is fine … so the bridge does the job . I’ve come to appreciate them , in fact I have a shortscale DC on order and wish it had the wooden bridge . I’ll have to find one .
My other favourite shortscale is the Gibson DCJr . Another “beginner” bass . It sounds great and is fun to play . Lightweight , comfortable .
 
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#105
jd56hawk said:
Only three I'd spend my money on.
G&L Fallout
View attachment 4435264
Italia Cavo
View attachment 4435265
Reverend Dub King
View attachment 4435266
Sorry, but some of the old standby short-scale basses feel like beginner basses to me.
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I would never buy the Fallout. The stripe touching the bridge would drive me crazy. I'm not OCD but was a designer for decades and that details just irks me :)
"Cavo" means "hollow" in Italian but the bass is semi-hollow. Should be called "Semi-cavo" but it doesn't have the same ring (see what I did there?). Also the copy on the website has grammar mistakes in it.
Ok I'm done being pedantic for today.
 
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#106
DavidEdenAria said:
Broncos vary...i got a good one, no tuner issues and intonation is very close stock.

I did sand and Tru Oil the entire neck and dressed frets and a Bill Lawrence L250 (a hotter Strat pickup that sounds nothing like a Strat and dead quiet with a firm bottom end).

GHS flats....it is a serious bass and ive played many good ones....folks dig the necks on these...but some Broncos are not good.
Click to expand...


I don't know about the overall quality of the Bronco's in general. But I'd definitely concur with a "love" for the neck on them. I replaced the neck on my reworked '78 Musicmaster and have a Squier CV body that's getting repainted that will get another one. For these old arthritic hands I just find them so smooth and playable.

The only thing I'd change on them, if I could, is the shape of the headstock. They're a little longer and thinner than other short scales. But attempting to correct it, for me, would only result in new firewood and curse words. So I'll leave it as is.

My tuners initially worked well but over time the E would go flat regularly. I put Ping's in which were a direct drop in and they've worked well so far on my avatar bass. The 2nd one I got already had some hip shots on it so don't envision I'll have problems with those.
 
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#107
andare said:
I would never buy the Fallout. The stripe touching the bridge would drive me crazy. I'm not OCD but was a designer for decades and that details just irks me :)
"Cavo" means "hollow" in Italian but the bass is semi-hollow. Should be called "Semi-cavo" but it doesn't have the same ring (see what I did there?). Also the copy on the website has grammar mistakes in it.
Ok I'm done being pedantic for today.
Click to expand...
I think G&L is done with the racing stripes on the Fallout. Other than, it's a quality bass and that nice MFD pickup puts in a category all it's own. Not to mention, lot of people prefer them over other short-scale basses because it looks like a full-scale.
As for Italia, I thought Cavo, Imola, Maranello and Rimini were named after Italian towns.
 
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#108
west al said:
Is someone mixing up Gibson, and Epiphone EB series basses? Gibson had the EB-3, a short scale, and the EB-3L, a long scale. Epiphone has the EB-3, that's a long scale only. The Epiphone EB-0 is a short scale, single sidewinder at the neck Humbucking pup.
Click to expand...

so yeah, it is what i thought then. I've been looking at the epiphones. The gibsons are out of my price range
 
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#109
jd56hawk said:
I think G&L is done with the racing stripes on the Fallout. Other than, it's a quality bass and that nice MFD pickup puts in a category all it's own. Not to mention, lot of people prefer them over other short-scale basses because it looks like a full-scale.
As for Italia, I thought Cavo, Imola, Maranello and Rimini were named after Italian towns.
Click to expand...
Turns out Cavo is a town actually (never heard of it) but the name of the bass is Maranello Cavo so basically hollow Maranello.
No idea anyway it's a funny sounding name to my Italian ears
 
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#110
Peeved T-40 said:
so yeah, it is what i thought then. I've been looking at the epiphones. The gibsons are out of my price range
Click to expand...

The closest Gibson to the SG style bass is, the SG Std. now. No more Gibson EB-0, EB-3, or EB-3L. Just dreams of old memories now, and pricey old basses. I do totally love my Epi EB-0 though.
 
#111
WI Short Scaler said:
I don't know about the overall quality of the Bronco's in general. But I'd definitely concur with a "love" for the neck on them. I replaced the neck on my reworked '78 Musicmaster and have a Squier CV body that's getting repainted that will get another one. For these old arthritic hands I just find them so smooth and playable.

The only thing I'd change on them, if I could, is the shape of the headstock. They're a little longer and thinner than other short scales. But attempting to correct it, for me, would only result in new firewood and curse words. So I'll leave it as is.

My tuners initially worked well but over time the E would go flat regularly. I put Ping's in which were a direct drop in and they've worked well so far on my avatar bass. The 2nd one I got already had some hip shots on it so don't envision I'll have problems with those.
Click to expand...

I have two Broncos that are modded from Hell to High Water,
not because I dislike Broncos as is,
but because it's an awesome modding platform.

I agree with you about the neck, both of mine are a joy to play.
I've considered getting a 3rd to stay as a Bronco with only a few mods,
because the two I have don't resemble Broncos at all.

The "must change" items for me is that cheap PG and white PUP cover,
although I admit the white PUP looks good on pink.

I probably change the bridge as well.
The tuners weren't on long enough to make the call,
although I put them on an Old 60s bass and they work fine.

I don't recall being dissatisfied with the PUP but like the tuners,
it wasn't on long enough to make that call....057912
 
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#112
ejaggers said:
I have two Broncos that are modded from Hell to High Water,
not because I dislike Broncos as is,
but because it's an awesome modding platform.

I agree with you about the neck, both of mine are a joy to play.
I've considered getting a 3rd to stay as a Bronco with only a few mods,
because the two I have don't resemble Broncos at all.

The "must change" items for me is that cheap PG and white PUP cover,
although I admit the white PUP looks good on pink.

I probably change the bridge as well.
The tuners weren't on long enough to make the call,
although I put them on an Old 60s bass and they work fine.

I don't recall being dissatisfied with the PUP but like the tuners,
it wasn't on long enough to make that call....057912
Click to expand...

My first experience with a Bronco was from two purchases made here on TB. A loaded neck from one seller and a loaded body with/mods from another. The body already had a hipshot bridge and Nordstrand '51 Tele 17mm string spaced pup in it.

After I assembled it I liked it, especially liked the color but the body was SO light that even with stock tuners the neck dive was bad.

My already reworked '78 Musicmaster had a replacement SD pup in it that I'd installed some time ago. After getting out of the loud classic rock band I was in I really realized that the E was muddy and I took a guess that it was because the string spacing was too wide for a short scale. And I'd already been thinking about how nice the neck was.

So I cannabalized the neck onto the MM. I also painted the headstock and had my daughter create a special "Broncomaster" sticker for it. And once I had that working I swapped the Nordstrand pup in. This MM is my "take it to the grave" bass so I was thrilled with the changes. Sold the Bronco body.

dhvsHio-6ioSsDlviJlhpDXK2t6EGc9JVwyO329FtTNP9xtzghLji3GNxJnUQZLUB5ArxL-j=w504-h672-no?authuser=0.jpg
 
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#113
WI Short Scaler said:
I don't know about the overall quality of the Bronco's in general. But I'd definitely concur with a "love" for the neck on them. I replaced the neck on my reworked '78 Musicmaster and have a Squier CV body that's getting repainted that will get another one. For these old arthritic hands I just find them so smooth and playable.

The only thing I'd change on them, if I could, is the shape of the headstock. They're a little longer and thinner than other short scales. But attempting to correct it, for me, would only result in new firewood and curse words. So I'll leave it as is.

My tuners initially worked well but over time the E would go flat regularly. I put Ping's in which were a direct drop in and they've worked well so far on my avatar bass. The 2nd one I got already had some hip shots on it so don't envision I'll have problems with those.
Click to expand...
Wish i could post pics but my Bronco is black, i painted the headstock black but left the outline of the maple neck on the edges...i think it looks cool....i thought about reshaping the headstock as well lol!
 
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#114
ejaggers said:
I have two Broncos that are modded from Hell to High Water,
not because I dislike Broncos as is,
but because it's an awesome modding platform.

I agree with you about the neck, both of mine are a joy to play.
I've considered getting a 3rd to stay as a Bronco with only a few mods,
because the two I have don't resemble Broncos at all.

The "must change" items for me is that cheap PG and white PUP cover,
although I admit the white PUP looks good on pink.

I probably change the bridge as well.
The tuners weren't on long enough to make the call,
although I put them on an Old 60s bass and they work fine.

I don't recall being dissatisfied with the PUP but like the tuners,
it wasn't on long enough to make that call....057912
Click to expand...
I installed a single blade black Bill Lawrence L250 on my Bronco, along with the black headstock i did, i am happy with the white PG....for now anyway!
 
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#115
DavidEdenAria said:
Wish i could post pics but my Bronco is black, i painted the headstock black but left the outline of the maple neck on the edges...i think it looks cool....i thought about reshaping the headstock as well lol!
Click to expand...


DavidEdenAria said:
I installed a single blade black Bill Lawrence L250 on my Bronco, along with the black headstock i did, i am happy with the white PG....for now anyway!
Click to expand...

Good to hear I'm not the only one that thought the headstock looked a little "bland" in maple. And I also thought that only painting the front was a great look. The 2nd project one I'm doing will be a dark blue and will also sport a custom sticker made by my daughter.
 
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#119
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