I'm a 76 yr old ex-guitarist with arthritic hands looking for a short scale bass. Just looking for something to "noodle" around with. Never played bass before but cannot play guitar anymore.
I looked at the Gretsch Junior...too heavy. Stock is low at the stores near me so I may have to purchase on line without testing first.
Any suggestions???
My Gretsch Junior Jett is 7 lbs. It'll be hard to find basses lighter than that. It's doable, but hard. Dan Electro, or hollowbodies would be a good fit for light.
BUT.... based on your comment on arthritic hands, and urge to "noodle," my recommendation would be the
Kala U-bass. It's my #1 bass
for noodling. The soft rubber strings give an upright sound, and should be very easy to push down for your fingers. On top of that, you dont need an amp. I can play this on the couch, and my 3 year old can also play it. So if you have grandkids, or other little ones around, this could be cool for them too. Mostly it's so small, light, and easy to play, it is a joy to sit on couch and noodle. they also have a steel string version with higher tension and slightly different tone.
There are some that don't like it's sound, as it's niche. I love it. I will admit it is not a versatile sound, and lends better to jazz, acoustic, bluegrass sounds than modern sounds with distortion. I've seen a couple of country (I'm in Tx... so yes also there's probably a fiddle in the band
) bassists gig with this little u-bass, particularly at places with small stages.
