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Cheap 36" scale four string

#6
36 is kind of an unusual scale, it's done rather often by some of the custom luthiers, but I'm not aware of any manufactured instruments that use it. The availability of standard necks would be an even less likely occurance. 35 is a bit more common and generally considered "Long" scale and conversely you can find quite a few of the "Short" scales which can be anything from 33, 32, 30, and 27.5 or so, and Knuckle makes 39" which is VERY long scale, but don't expect to get anywhere near $300.

Why is 36" important to you?
 
#8
EXH said:
Just wondering, really. Why not? :P
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Longer scale length increases string tension. That's good for low B strings, but it tends to make the high strings sound a little thinner, so it's a bit of a balancing act.

Playing my 35" and 36" basses, I generally have to be a bit careful to pluck a little nearer to the neck on the high strings to maintain a nice thick tone. Not a real big deal, and it's not really much of an issue playing live, but when recording you want things to sound just so.

It's not terribly hard to get a good sounding E string on a 34" scale bass, so unless you're tuning BEAD, an extended scale 4 string would probably do more harm than good.
 
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#9
BruceWane said:
It's not terribly hard to get a good sounding E string on a 34" scale bass, so unless you're tuning BEAD, an extended scale 4 string would probably do more harm than good.
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I agree with doing more harm on the upper strings for sure, It's probably the ONLY criticism I have of my Cirrus (35" 4 string) is the higher tension on the D & G Strings.

My question about why 36 was to see if you were looking for a specific effect, I think you'd cause other problems, mainly getting long enough strings depending on your bridge and headstock layouts and the simple matter of 36 inch scales not being mass manufactured (IE, cheap).

The scale length vs. floppy B string is one of those Can-O-Worms issues here that will bring in all kinds of flaming posts and misunderstandings that cause usefull threads to be closed, so lets just leave it at saying that SCALE LENGTH is not the only factor in PERCEIVED STRING TENSION (IE, tight, focused low string, B, C, F#, how low do you want to go...)
 
#13
this is exactly why I am a four string 34" scale guy... No "floppy" B's... Not "high-strung" D and Gs... Just a good ol' 34" four-string, tuned EADG, no problems whatsoever!

~Ryan


The only 36" I have ever heard of is from Carl Thompson, it's one of Les Claypool's basses. I know that Carl mase himself a bass, the "10 million dollar bass" which I believe is a 37". But hey, that's what the 4 grand is for, right?
 
#17
Peavy makes 35 inch scale stuff, but for the cheaper grind NTBs and stuff the 4s are 34 inch and the 5's and 6's are 35. Cirrus is 35 inch no matter what, but they're in the $600-800 range used. Ibanez makes some 35 inch scales, I forget (or can't figure out) their model name/numbers, but they are the ones that have the more exotic looking bodies, NOT the Luthite ones or very low end. There are probably others too.
 

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