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For those that are picky about scale length(Not being serious)

#41
Nephilymbass said:
I see a lot of people on TB saying things like they've switched to short scale basses because of wrist problems or they have trouble reaching the first fret on 34 and 35" scale basses. The reason this is odd to me is I have a 37" fan fret and can basically touch the headstock to my head when I'm playing standing up. Who can't reach their own face? How do these folks wash their hair or their butts? For some reason when I hear this stuff I always picture a T Rex playing bassView attachment 3034265
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That's awesome - funny, I'm actually in the middle of drawing up a t-shirt design with a T-rex playing a shorty!

For me, while I can play normal scale just fine, I've been having some combo of mystery injury and deterioration to my shoulder that makes the left hand reach, and weight, of a bass suddenly very important. I had a Dingwall Afterburner, and a 35" 6-string, and a Thumb, and a Tbird, etc, some 15 years ago when I was younger and less creaky.

But nowadays, hey I can wash my hair and my butt just fine, but for a non-bass example, I can't even hold my cell phone up to my head (I'm left-handed, but play righty, so holding the phone with my fretting hand) for a conversation longer than about 5 minutes without my shoulder catching fire.

I have to suspect that the comfort of a shorty isn't "I can't reach" so much as "with this configuration I have more comfort in more ways/positions" regardless of the root cause.
 
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#44
DDXdesign said:
I have to suspect that the comfort of a shorty isn't "I can't reach" so much as "with this configuration I have more comfort in more ways/positions" regardless of the root cause.
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^^ What DDX said. I still play 34" scale about 40 - 50% of the time. My fretting hand pinky finger doesn't straighten out all the way & will eventually need surgery. No pain,just a little discomfort and limited reach in the low end of the neck. And sometimes my shoulder bothers me. I suspect rotator cuff, though I haven't had that diagnosed yet. For those bothersome times I find relief in the shorty. Ahhh the joy of aging gracefully.

Nephilymbass said:
Who can't reach their own face? How do these folks wash their hair or their butts?
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Laughed out loud at that one. I ask myself that every time I try. :woot: T-Rex don't like push ups either.
 
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#46
Nephilymbass said:
This thread was meant to be a joke. I guess my stand up career ended before it ever got started lol.
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We're dealing with bass players, a rather insecure breed. Thick skin isn't really a common attribute.

But I love my short scales, I went from 35" to 30". It's so comfortable. Fender Mustangs and Jaguars absolutely shred, they're a joy to play. Plus the weight is reduced which feels AWESOME while playing live.

I'm a little jealous of OP's fan fretted 37", you know that bass plays and sounds well. My buddy's Dingwall certainly did :hyper:
 
#47
ofajen said:
There is a "serious" ergonomics takeaway lurking here that applies very broadly; that is, beyond bass guitar or even instruments: if you do a lot of something, it should not rely on you using the extremes of reach, flexibility or range of motion. It should focus on middle of range where more reps are tolerated and strength is greatest.

Otto
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Never really looked at it from that perspective. Makes total sense.
 
#48
funkinbottom said:
Never really looked at it from that perspective. Makes total sense.
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The more you do of something, the more important this consideration becomes. If you only play a little, you can suffer through a bad fit. If you play long hours several times a week and you want to keep doing that, you need to come to some reasonable terms with fit and ergonomics.

Otto
 
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#49
Just because you can reach far doesn't make it comfortable.

My knees still work but I've been playing about 47 years, do I sit down to play about 50% of the time ( including EUB).
 
#51
Nephilymbass said:
This thread was meant to be a joke. I guess my stand up career ended before it ever got started lol
.
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It is NOT a joke. It reflects your inability to understand that not everyone's ability or health situation is the same as your own, not to mention the realm of personal choice. I would love to be able to play a full scale bass comfortably. The options and choices would be much broader. For the most part the short scale basses generally available were not of the professional quality I wanted until I got my Birdsongs. There are a couple other boutique or custom makes out there as well, but I chose the Birdsong.
Over the past 6 years or so I have developed severe trigger finger in the last 3 fingers of my fretting (right) hand, along w/ osteoarthritis in two of those knuckles. Some days I have found my hand locking up right in the middle of a song on stage flubbing up a riff. Then i have to play like I am wearing a mitten. So, maybe it is funny to you, but it is less than that to me and probably to others.
 
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#52
two fingers said:
Every joke offends somebody.

Big fat "meh". ;)
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Did you hear the one about the opinionated blowhard, but not mad about it, who said "meh"? ;)

Kidding aside, I hear you, my friend. Peace. But OP seemed not to realize his joke misfired with some because he selected his target unwisely. A little more thoughtfulness and he's ready for prime time.
 
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#54
Nephilymbass said:
Who can't reach their own face? How do these folks wash their hair or their butts?
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:laugh:
your OP is fun(ny) --- at least to me! but: i actually have (L) shoulder issues which prevent me from lifting my (L) arm a certain way past a certain point. unfortunately, it affects my playing...more and more. so: it sounds like you just can't wrap your head around the idea of ever being limited (physically) in some way.

ha! :roflmao:

good luck with that! :thumbsup:
 
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#55
Scale is a big issue for me. As a teenager, who was below average height (well below average) I learned that buying things that fit you is critical enjoying life. So I play short scale basses, short scale upright bass, and got a shorter scale electric upright bass which is coming in the mail this week. I take a lot of flak for such decisions, but I find my motivation to rehearse, my comfort level, my ability to play well -- it is all influenced by the scale.

Now, I have noticed that after years on shorter instruments, longer scale instruments are not quite as inaccessible as they once were, but I maintain, they simply did not provide me with the motivation to practice and be my best -- not like shorter scale instruments do -- here is my lineup...

28.5" Ibanez Mikro piccolo bass 5 string
30" SX Jazz Bass copy
30" Custom made fretless bass (my own work)
35" Ametto Upright bass
35" Ibanez electric upright
28.5" Ibanez Mikro 4 string fretless
 
#57
Stevorebob said:
When a punchline targets the injured, suffering or aged — intentionally or not — it's not so much funny to some.
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If someone goes through life holding other people fully accountable for everything they've decide to take issue with - whether or not that was the intent of the speaker - they're bound to feel offended far more often than is the norm. Small wonder their sense of humor suffers because of it.

tl:dr - the post clearly said it was joking right up front. Some people really need to lighten up a bit.
 
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#59
InternetAlias said:
I am a healthy 25 year old male with big hands who plays both ultra short scale (I have a 25.5 inch bass in the making which I plan to post about, and my 6 string guitar is strung with bass strings to emulate Fender VI), and a standard scale jazz/spector, and I have so far used short scales (sold all of them to make money for the new one) for improved fretting reach mainly.

See, when I put my 1st finger on the 12th fret, I can reach an octave of that tone on the string bellow, but one my superstrat that reach suddenly becomes 11th instead of 8th (the octave) so it gives me way more versatility in chording.

This is probably not an answer you were expecting.
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This was intended as a light hearted joke. This thread is in the humor section.
 
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