Budget short scale bass

[GassieBall]

I own the SX, the Mikro, and the Bronco. I think the SX has the most potential and is wonderful once you fix it up. It also has the most complex tone. The Mikro fit/finish is the best out of the box. It's the lightest, but does lack a certain richness in tone. The Bronco is indeed a one trick pony and I am not very impressed with the stock strat guitar pickup. I would like to change it out and see what happens.

I have soundclips of stock SX, a modified SX, and a modified Mikro on my SX Jazz SS thread if you're interested.

 

[foq1978]

@ GassieBall:

I have soundclips of stock SX, a modified SX, and a modified Mikro on my SX Jazz SS thread if you're interested.

That would be great, thank you so much. Can I hear/download it somewhere?

Thanks again!

 

[foq1978]

did you all buy it on their website (Rondomusic.com)? I am trying to access it but google chrome is accusing them of hosting malware... can I trust them/their website?

 

[MNAirHead]

IF this is just "testing" short scale.. look into the violin basses.. at least you can resell them... the BIcon (hoffner) is about 85% of what my 60s Beatle bass is.. I've played many of the basses like this - most are acceptable.

If for your primary (and you like to mod).. I've seen some great deals on F Mustangs... not my favorite bass.. it does have the easy to sell name.

SX if it's disposable.

 

[foq1978]

@ MNAirHead: Thanks for the tips. It would be my main bass. My current main bass is a washburn lyon series (it was very cheap) that I've been using for over 12 years - so I am not so concerned about having a top-class instrument. (do you think I should?)

It wouldn't be disposable, though.

I am still being prevented from accessing SX website, though... Google Chrome tells me they are carrying some kind of malware...
:scowl:
Now, that's something that makes me reconsider buying it...

 

[greggster59]

Da Epiphone Allen Woody Rumblekat.

 

[Throckmorten]

I put in a vote for the Gretsch. Primarily for its versitile sound.
And pretty well made for $245. I can't agree with the comment that it's over priced. Why pay less for an SX if you have to "fix it up".


But for a few bux more the Epi viola or RumbleKat would be on my list. But you gotta be prepared for the thumpy sound of a short-scale hollowbody.

 

[honestjohnny]

I've never had any problems with rondomusic. They use good encryption for their shopping cart, etc. And I've never gotten a virus from them. I think Google Chrome is just being over-protective

If you don't like rondo, try smallguitars.com. They have a range of short-scale basses. They're SXes are more expensive, but they do have Ibanez, Staggs, Corts, and Samick. I'd recommend the Stagg 3/4, the Cort Action Jr. or if you want REALLY short (26" scale) you can get the Samick. All of the string advice I posted earlier still applies. Cheers!

Also, all of the basses mentioned can be customized into top-notch instruments, but if you want something really special and have a couple K lying around, you really aught to check out Birdsongguitars.com. Scott is the man when it comes to Shorties!

 

[Rhomco]

Short scale Slammer SB4 from Hamer. These are usually considered to be decent ones. I have one, no complaints.

+1 Stupid cheap and delivers a solid short scale bass. Solid mahogany body and neck. Outstanding playability and a pair of the best bass pickups available at any price. I have done two Slammer to Gibson EB-O conversions for customers using this bass as the platform. Yea, I like it.
Rob

 

[Falkner]

did you all buy it on their website (Rondomusic.com)? I am trying to access it but google chrome is accusing them of hosting malware... can I trust them/their website?

+1 What's up with this? Starting just now Firefox is blocking rondomusic.com as being malware. I've enver seen anything like that on their pages, and they're legit...

 

[honestjohnny]

@Gassieball: Based on many reviews here and at other forums, the Bronco's tone improves greatly when the stock pickup is replaced with a dual rail humbucking Strat pickup. If you don't want to blow a lot on it, guitarfetish.com has a dual rail that has 4 poles for series/parallel/split wiring. It's about $25 and comes in three flavors (vintage-6K, modern-10K, Lead-15K). I hate hum, but would consider the series/parallel for a change of tone. You could also throw a Dan Torres (Torresengineering.com) Varitone in place of the stock tone knob and get a great variety. This would also be good for the Gretsch or any other one-pickup, volume-tone bass.

 

[foq1978]

@ greggster59: it's beautiful, but looks like it not so good for slapping

@ Throckmorten: I agree - the Gretsch model doesn't sound expensive to me!

@ honestjohnny: The problem with other websites other then SX's, is that they won't deliver internationally (I'm in Brazil)

@ Rhomco: the Slammer SB4 looks amazing - and looks like it's versatile as well. It would be 1st on my list, if only it hadn't been discontinued.... a shame, really.

@ Falker: See? I am not making that up

 

[GassieBall]

HonestJohnny, thanks for the suggestion. I have been itching to put in a rail pickup for some time. Dimarzio has several that I think were reviewed well on TB for the Bronco. I can't remember if it was the ProTrak or the FasTrack or something. That'll be my next project.

foq1978, the clips are in this thread.

I really think the biggest decision you have to make here is what type of tone you want. If you like the jazz tone, all you really have is the SX and to less of an extent, the Mikro.

Most of the other basses have the dual humbucker setup which, IMHO, is a much different sound. The Gibson and Epiphone short scales are going to give you a much more old school thump.

 

[Rushlover13]

SX is the way to go, the Bronco Squier bass is a POS.

 

[Pilgrim]

I own the Gretsch 2202 and the Rogue VB-100 (Beatle bass). I have owned the EB-0 and noodled around on the Squier Bronco. I haven't laid hands on the SX or the Ibby.

For quality build and great sound, none of the others I have played or handled match the Gretsch. It has very hot pickups, the fit and finish are superb, and it's the finest short scale bass I have ever owned. it is simply a superior instrument in every respect, and when I play it I sometimes find myself wondering if I shouldn't just sell the other short-scales I own. It's THAT good.

The Rogue is a darn good bass, and mine has wonderful fit and finish - among the best I own. The factory strings were very tinny and bad-sounding, but a set of Labella Hofner Flats fixed that. It's a nice, light, easy to play bass, but I can say that the E-string doesn't have the guts/power of the E on the Gretsch.

The EB-0 is a nicely balanced instrument, and I like it - I'm planning on buying another and adding a bridge pickup, as I want a two-pickup short scale and don't like the EB-3 at all. I don't slap, so whether it allows slap or not is immaterial to me. The quality of the EB-0's I've seen varies a bit, and some of them need a fair amount of neck and bridge tweaking to play well.

The Squier is a nice little bass, and I'd like to have one for fun, but if you own a Gretsch and the Rogue, the Squier would come in third place for build quality based on the ones I've handled.

For the money, I honestly don't think you can do better than the Gretsch G2202 Electromatic Jr. Jet. It's a solid, great-sounding bass.

I know the SX has many fans, but from reports I've heard I believe the basic setup and quality of the Gretsch is higher. That's not a knock on the SX, because there are clearly many good SX basses out there which owners are very happy with...I'm just talking out-of-the-box. No opinion on the Ibby.

 

[maxschrek]

Short scale Slammer SB4 from Hamer. These are usually considered to be decent ones. I have one, no complaints.

Ditto. Can't go wrong with these.


T

 

[maxschrek]

+1 Stupid cheap and delivers a solid short scale bass. Solid mahogany body and neck. Outstanding playability and a pair of the best bass pickups available at any price. I have done two Slammer to Gibson EB-O conversions for customers using this bass as the platform. Yea, I like it.
Rob

Man, that is really nice. So, you actually turned that into a set neck?


T

 

[honestjohnny]

Link Removed


Hey if you like the Slammer, check out the Dean EVO XM bass @ musiciansfriend.com.

 

[GassieBall]

Honestjohnny, did you look at the stores that see the Slammer on the link you posted? It's weird, they all have different names, but they have an identical web store interface. Seems fishy.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

My .02

Cheapie EBO - Junk

Cheapie Bronco - Junk

Turser Violin - Not bad

RumbleKat - Very nice, but I dont like the rumble tone of the shortscale combined with the hollowbody.

Gretsch - love to try one.

SX shortscales - Lots of experience with these. I've owned 4. The SX ss J is wonderful. Expect to get a pro fret job and setup. That makes a world of difference and turns a ho-hum bass into a bass really worth playing. You can get an SX J ss in ash (but have to buy a fretless (thats all they have in stock now) and buy the rosewood block fretted neck as well... which is an extra $40). The ash is nice because it adds more attack which helps the tone profile of the shortsacle. I did a crap load of upgrades on mine and now its just a fantastic bass. Two upgrades that make a world of difference is a set of Model J pickups and a BA II bridge... that and a good set of strings and you have one great bass IMO/IME. One more thing I would definitely do is replace the cap with an Orange Drop. Very worthwhile mod there.

The SX ss P is also great. However, be warned the neck is DEFINITELY smaller than the ss J. I actually had my ss P routed so that it would accept the SX ss J neck. I did that because I wanted a rosewood neck and the SX ss Ps only come with maple.

I've also owned an SX ss Jag style bass. Looks awesome, sounds like a J, but the neck dive is terrible. Dont bother with that one.

My take is to buy the SX ss J (if you like a wider neck or rosewood neck... if not buy the P) and over time, or as you feel necessary, do the mods to make it an excellent bass. The great thing with these basses is that the wood is pretty good quality. Real wood, not plywood or junk. So as you can afford to, you can upgrade each component and in the end have a really nice bass.

Priority one is getting a pro fret dressing and setup.

My bass (still have to get a proper pic):

My SX ss P before the neck switch to rosewood:

Stock SX ss J fretless:

http://www.rondomusic.net/product2462.html