Can anyone tell the different in sound between the 34' and 33' scale? Mainly in the upper register. Not the B string
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Christian, I can tell you that in a general sense I find the 33" scale (using the same strings) sounds rounder and a bit warmer...some would even say bigger. This helps out quite a bit with the higher notes on the instrument. You lose some clarity, but that can be gained back a bit with wood choice. I think this is all simply because the strings aren't as taught. You get more vibration from the strings (someone correct me if I'm wrong).
This describes my experiences with 33 inch scales pretty accurately. Lighter gauge strings and wood choices are important things to consider when using shorter scales on instruments and still trying to retain articulation and clarity.
- Oct 29, 2005
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- Endorsing Artist: Aguilar Amp Gruv Gear and Mono Cases
i think with 33's you get more string movement over the pickup. I also notice a lot more fundamental coming out of the bass than a comparable 35" scale
Hmm, that's not what I've would've expected to hear about 33". It makes me think that my suspicion that 34" might be better for my needs than 35" is not baseless since those are desirable tonal attributes in my opinion.
- Apr 24, 2004
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- Designer Fodera Guitars/Michael Pope Design, Inc., Trickfish Amplification
Well, less "clarity" might be less "overtones" which is effectively more fundamental.
Except that the overtones actually reinforce the fundamental. But I can see why it might appear to have more fundamental.
Except that the overtones actually reinforce the fundamental. But I can see why it might appear to have more fundamental.
Just Thumpin'
Commercial User
- Mar 7, 2008
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Gang -- at the risk of sounding preachy, it is really dangerous to get into in-depth discussions about tone using language WITHOUT being able to calibrate that language in real time with the person with whom you are speaking. Hearing is believing, everything else is subject to so many variables as to make discussion almost impossible. My "warm" might be your "bloated and fat." Your "precise" might be my "harsh and analytical." Even if we could all agree on what various words mean we still all hear things differently and without knowing what those inherent biases are, a lot of the information that we pass back and forth to one another might actually be more harmful than helpful.
This is why I try to answer rather broadly and generally when it comes to issues of tone because I have had so many experiences where a customer says over the phone that he / she loves the sound of a "warm vintage sounding bass" and then shows up at the shop with his / her bass (which is "warm and vintage sounding" in their mind) and it sounds NOTHING like that to me and Joey. This is why we ask people to send us sound clips of the bass tones they like if they are unsure about what they want to go with tonally. A good listen is worth a thousand descriptions...
Am I making any sense?
Regards,
Jason
This is why I try to answer rather broadly and generally when it comes to issues of tone because I have had so many experiences where a customer says over the phone that he / she loves the sound of a "warm vintage sounding bass" and then shows up at the shop with his / her bass (which is "warm and vintage sounding" in their mind) and it sounds NOTHING like that to me and Joey. This is why we ask people to send us sound clips of the bass tones they like if they are unsure about what they want to go with tonally. A good listen is worth a thousand descriptions...
Am I making any sense?
Regards,
Jason
- Apr 24, 2004
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- Designer Fodera Guitars/Michael Pope Design, Inc., Trickfish Amplification
What do you mean? The relationship between bass scale and resonant frequency is 1/.00000000000002pi * (avedgadro's number/scale) to the (any arbitrary number)th power. That's common knowledge.
So "warm" is actually mathematically synonymous with the number 79.
Bring down the 79 for the bass solo.
So "warm" is actually mathematically synonymous with the number 79.
Bring down the 79 for the bass solo.
- Apr 24, 2004
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- Designer Fodera Guitars/Michael Pope Design, Inc., Trickfish Amplification
Brilliant as always!!
Perfect answer!!!
This is why I like guys at Fodera!!!
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/fodera-club-part-viii-778628/index22.html#post11251919
Note: please understand this is posted without any intention to offend Fodera Club participants/readers...I know the article is from another builder, but the information contained therein applies to all.
Note: please understand this is posted without any intention to offend Fodera Club participants/readers...I know the article is from another builder, but the information contained therein applies to all.
Jason - Your are right! Tone is very different from people to people.
Does people who want 33 scale, prefer it because it makes the bass more compact or is the different tone they get from 33 scale vs. 34 scale that drives them?
Matt Garrison and Janek Gwizdala have the almost the same spec bass (not the MGS) but the sound is still very different
Just Thumpin'
Commercial User
- Mar 7, 2008
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- Manager and Partner, Fodera Guitars (10/14/09 - 12/16/19)
That is an interesting question and again the answers vary WIDELY. Probably the two most commonly heard "endpoints" in the discusion...
"I need 33" scale because of my playing technique -- I want as compact an instrument as possible while still keeping it a 'bass.'"
or
"The longer the scale length the better the tone. 36" is the longest practical scale length for an electric bass (or contrabass guitar) and that's what I want."
Obviously these are a compilation of things we often hear and are heavily paraphrased, but you get the idea.
Again, the important thing is that building is inevitably a series of compromises and the art lies in working with each player to make the right compromises for THEM, not us. Each instrument should be an expression of the artist's voice that will be playing it...not bogged down or filtered terribly by our personal preferences. This is part of the ethos of Fodera. Not all builders feel this way -- even some great custom shops. There are those builders that feel that if you have come to them you have done so because you want "their" sound and that is what they will steer you towards. This is a perfectly acceptable alternative to our line of thinking...it's just different.
This is how we have come to produce and be proud of instruments so wildly varied as AJ's Presentation (36" scale, no tone controls, classic wood combination), Matt's Imperial (33" scale, tone controls, MIDI, LOADS OF ELECTRONICS and a much more recently developed wood combination), and Mike's Viceroy (34" scale, bolt-on, sliding pickup, removable fingerboard extension, etc.). Our job is to bring your voice to life and only intercede if, based on our experience, a decision that you want to make wold either take you away from your stated goals for the instrument or be impossible (or impractical) to pull off from a technical standpoint.
Sorry for the long winded and imprecise answer, but I hope that the essence of the thing comes through...
J
"I need 33" scale because of my playing technique -- I want as compact an instrument as possible while still keeping it a 'bass.'"
or
"The longer the scale length the better the tone. 36" is the longest practical scale length for an electric bass (or contrabass guitar) and that's what I want."
Obviously these are a compilation of things we often hear and are heavily paraphrased, but you get the idea.
Again, the important thing is that building is inevitably a series of compromises and the art lies in working with each player to make the right compromises for THEM, not us. Each instrument should be an expression of the artist's voice that will be playing it...not bogged down or filtered terribly by our personal preferences. This is part of the ethos of Fodera. Not all builders feel this way -- even some great custom shops. There are those builders that feel that if you have come to them you have done so because you want "their" sound and that is what they will steer you towards. This is a perfectly acceptable alternative to our line of thinking...it's just different.
This is how we have come to produce and be proud of instruments so wildly varied as AJ's Presentation (36" scale, no tone controls, classic wood combination), Matt's Imperial (33" scale, tone controls, MIDI, LOADS OF ELECTRONICS and a much more recently developed wood combination), and Mike's Viceroy (34" scale, bolt-on, sliding pickup, removable fingerboard extension, etc.). Our job is to bring your voice to life and only intercede if, based on our experience, a decision that you want to make wold either take you away from your stated goals for the instrument or be impossible (or impractical) to pull off from a technical standpoint.
Sorry for the long winded and imprecise answer, but I hope that the essence of the thing comes through...
J
- Apr 24, 2004
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- Designer Fodera Guitars/Michael Pope Design, Inc., Trickfish Amplification
While we're piling on, you also neglected muffler bearing wear, flux capacitor polarity spikes, and phase of the moon, which is inversely proportional to the amount of WIN (Werewolf Index Number) used in the calculation.
The TB Minions - we sweat the details so you don't have to...
The TB Minions - we sweat the details so you don't have to...
I guess I appreciate the physics lessons, and I do feel smarter now. But since I don't have any idea how to get my hands on a 33" scale Fodera here in Kansas and with 4 kids I have no travel plans.
Are there any videos out there of people using these for something outside of solo work. I would really love to see various styles played on the instrument.
Are there any videos out there of people using these for something outside of solo work. I would really love to see various styles played on the instrument.
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