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Help me compile a list of shortscale basses

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Progress Not Perfection.
Sep 2, 2004
12,524
291
Vancouver, BC Canada
#1
I am trying to do some research on various shortscale basses.

So far I have:

Fender Mustang
Fender Bass IV
Musicmaster
Fender Urge 1
Bullet Bass
Bronco
SX shortie P and J
Alembelic
Birdsong
Landing
Gibson EB2
Ric 4001 and 4003
Gibson EB1 EB0 and EB3
Danalectro
Hofner Voilin
Rob Allen Mouse
Ovation Typhoon
Countless Japanese generics from the 60's and 70's
Framus (several older models)
Egmond (ditto)
Gibson Les Paul (a few versions)
Wishbass
Ampeg (or XStrange) SSB
Ampeg AMB-1 (Dan Armstrong)
Jay Turser shortie
Ibanez GAXB 150
Gretch hollowbody shortie

what else?....
 
#3
I remember there was a guy on here about six months ago (or so) who was creating a web page all about shortscales. Unfortunately, it was IIRC just a blog page or something and not a proper URL to remember. Just sayin', in case anybody here has the guy's page link or remembers his user name, we could save Veganbass some work.
 
#6
bongomania said:
I remember there was a guy on here about six months ago (or so) who was creating a web page all about shortscales. Unfortunately, it was IIRC just a blog page or something and not a proper URL to remember. Just sayin', in case anybody here has the guy's page link or remembers his user name, we could save Veganbass some work.
Click to expand...
yeah, that would be nice. I added a few others.

thanks.
 
#7
the fender bass VI is 30" scale :)
Cream.jpg
 
#11
superbassman2000 said:
the fender bass VI is 30" scale :)
Cream.jpg
Click to expand...
"The Fender Bass VI is sometimes referred to as a baritone guitar and sometimes as a six string bass guitar. It is a fairly rare bird. From 1961 to the early '70's less than 7-800 were made, but copies / reissues are now available. In the February 1989 issue of Guitar Player it is claimed that Leo Fender intended the Bass VI to be a bass and, with its extended upper range, a baritone guitar as well. The regular six-string guitar, for example, is usually said to have the baritone voice among the plucked strings, so to speak of a "baritone guitar" is, in one sense, a redundancy."

It seems if there were only 800 made its not something I could do. Other issues there as well... its a weird one.

more info here:
Invalid Link Removed
 
#14
I once came across a Fender VI baritone guitar in a music store in Orlando. I assume it was a reissue. For those who haven't seen one firsthand, it looks like a guitar until you get up close. Even once you are up close, it looks like a guitar with incredibly heavy gauge strings, and that's how it plays. It really wants to be played with a pick. It's always amazed me how a baritone guitar like this one, a four string bass and a full sized upright all play in the same register.

Just my two cents.
 
#15
I'm just gonna list all I can think of that I don't remember seeing on your list, if you already have some...
Oh and a Ric 4001, 4003's 33 1/2" scale doesn't count. They're considered full-scale. And I won't mention 32" scale basses as you didn't ask for medium-scale.

Gibson EB-6
Gretsch Synchromatic BassVI
Epiphone Rivoli
Epiphone EB-O
Epiphone Viola
Jerry Jones Longhorn
Jerry Jones Longhorn BassVI
Jerry Jones Shorthorn
Harmony
Hagstrom Swede
Hagstrom 8-string
Hamer 8-string
Hamer 12-string
Rickenbacker 3000
Rickenbacker 3001
Hofner Club
Hofner President
 
#16
The Rogue VB-100 (viola bass) is 31".

The Fender "Hello Kitty/Badtz-Maru" bass (basically a Bronco) is 30".
And since we're talking "girly basses" now, Daisy Rock makes about a half-dozen different 30" scale basses.

Some old Fender Squier P-basses (including mine from 1990) are 32". But be careful about including 32" scale in a list of short-scale basses. Most short-scale strings assume that the bass is 30" scale. I put short-scale strings on my Squier once, and the yellow thread wrapping at the top of the strings extended down into the first fret.
 
#17
Charles_A said:
I once came across a Fender VI baritone guitar in a music store in Orlando. I assume it was a reissue. For those who haven't seen one firsthand, it looks like a guitar until you get up close. Even once you are up close, it looks like a guitar with incredibly heavy gauge strings, and that's how it plays. It really wants to be played with a pick. It's always amazed me how a baritone guitar like this one, a four string bass and a full sized upright all play in the same register.

Just my two cents.
Click to expand...

A BassVI and similar, is not a baritone guitar. These instruments are tunes E-E, a baritone is tuned A-A or B-B.
 
#18
VEGANBASS said:
It seems if there were only 800 made its not something I could do. Other issues there as well... its a weird one.
Click to expand...
well, its 30" scale, and if jack bruce played it as a bass, thats good enough for me :) check out the earlier cream songs and tell me the bass VI doesn't sound like a bass ;)

otherwise the baritone jag out now is very similar, i played one a few months ago, and it still sounds bass-y although the scale is only 28.5" :)
 

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