How short can you go?

[JohnEdward]

I’m very new to building basses, and I’ve since gotten into focusing on short scale fretless basses…These might be stupid questions, but I’m ignorant in areas.

1. I’ve seen Kala U-Basses get short, and the strings accommodate that build. Are there bass strings in the 28” scale category that would work on an electric, solid body…

2. Why don’t we see more basses below 30”? Is there an actual, physical reason for this? Strings too floppy?

*I have a neck that would do well with below 30” scale basses (too short for 30”, imo, but would work) too long for a guitar. Can I get a 29” scale out of this? 28”? Does 28” best serve swapping strings and becoming a baritone, at that point? How do fretless baritones sound?

 

[ardgedee]

Kala has steel-string uke basses in scales of 20-23" or so.

The Ibanez Mikro is 28.6" scale. Ibanez sells house-brand strings for them. Talkbass has a club for Mikro players. You might want to skim those threads for string recommendations -- whatever they like should work on a 28" bass.

Thread '"Official" Mikro Bass Club Part 3'

Apr 15, 2014

Continued from: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/official-mikro-bass-club-part-2-a-818439/

• smperry
• club
• Replies: 10,410
• Forum: Basses [BG]

• 

 

[rudy4444]

There's a gazillion 28.6" scale length Ibanez Mikro s out there, and they play fine, even the 5 string versions. Lots of string choices, too. You might find the comments on a recent topic I posted about doing a 25" scale bass interesting.

"Your thoughts on a new-to-me bass design"

 

[manchego_eggo]

I think you lose note definition past a certain point, mainly on the low E string. I was AB'ing a 30" and 32" recently and noticed more clarity and a tighter low end. Nothing that really stuck out once you put it in the a real mix, but it stuck out in a bedroom mix. On fretless, the fretboard can become very unforgiving as the notes are literally closer together, so your intonation needs to be really spot on. YMMV

 

[Rocket Queen]

Thread 'For those who want under 26" scale flatwound strings.'

Mar 14, 2017

For those of you who have very short scale basses and want flat wound strings, Gold Tone has commissioned La Bella to make under 26" scale flat wound Deep Talkin' strings. I bought a set a couple of weeks ago for my SmallGuitars.com MB-1 mini P-bass 24.5" scale. Nice improvement, the gauges are .049 .069 .089 .109. I ordered another set for my custom 24" Rickenbacker 325 from China and it's not even close how much better the La Bellas are than the crap stock ones. I just ordered two more sets for my custom SG EB-1 from China and my ESP Jr. guitar conversion to bass. Am I glad I ran across...

• KohanMike
• flatwound scale
• Replies: 42
• Forum: Strings [BG]

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[JohnEdward]

Good to know. Thanks for the information y’all.

 

[Pings Bass]

Strings too floppy?

Yes, awkward to play and boomy sounding due to low tension.

 

[monsterthompson]

Aside from being great eye candy, search the MüB site for the various compact designs. I think 18” (roughly half scale) is as short as they go, though maybe there is/was a 16” option, though tuned up higher. Over the past several years there have been a few new designs added.

Bassist | Mub

www.mubcustom.com

I had a 5 string Miezo for a while. I have some hand mobility issues and the single cut design and flat board were bigger issues than I expected. Honestly, it’s a nice instrument but not a true substitute for “a bass.” I expected to get an octave pedal to experiment with but never got around to it. I have played a variety of short scales and small body deep cutaway basses with higher fret access and I think the sweet spot for me would be something in the 25-27” scale range, like a baritone guitar with bass strings. If I could find that with an E string that sounded good to me I might be in business.

I found that too short of a scale was as much of a limitation as too long a scale. It gets cramped and awkward to play that high up the neck, regardless of the tone.

 

[Spidey2112]

With temperatures like what we're experiencing, I can go 'turtle', in no time.

 

[pcake]

squier mini p also has a 28.6" scale, and it's pretty nice to play. i have a 24.75" scale bass, but i have to get custom strings to fit it...

 

[smart51]

I love short scale basses and have made several. My observations are that 28" is fine for an E string but 25" has problems with inharmonicity on the E string and slightly on the A string. Special strings would help, probably with a round core and a thin round core at that. 30" is good for E strings but the B string can sound less good. My everyday bass is a 30" 5er and the B is "OK". 34" basses rarely have a problem with a low B.

I've read elsewhere that G strings longer than 34" can be less than you'd hope. High C strings too, and that's where multiscale basses come into their own.

 

[Londo Molari]

Don't forget about the Wing bass.

 

[LowActionHero]

I believe the Guild Ashbory is 18 inch scale. They use silicon strings tho

 

[L-u-A-R]

Dogal makes the strings for TINY BASS:

https://www.dogalstrings.it/en/tiny-boy-bass-round-wound

https://www.dogalstrings.it/en/tiny-boy-bass-flat-wound

23'' build is an option with these.

 

[dlmarquez]

Interesting thread! I have had several 30” scale basses and loved every one of them. but the idea of even shorter really appeals to me, but I believe that for me the lower limit to scale length would be roughly 25”. I have a wonderful 24” scale classical guitar that I absolutely love, but for a bass I think I would want a suspension style bridge with a tailpiece (sort of like a Hofner) to gain that extra length of string behind the bridge to reduce the floppiness of the low E

 

[jajjguy]

I believe the Guild Ashbory is 18 inch scale. They use silicon strings tho

I jammed on one of these once, loaned by a friend who got it as a novelty and doesn't play it. I can see why. It's goofy and fun, but the notes are so close together and the tone so thumpy, I found it very difficult to be musical.

 

[enzodm]

On my Mikro I have D'Addario EXL170s (40-100), not bad.

 

[LowActionHero]

I jammed on one of these once, loaned by a friend who got it as a novelty and doesn't play it. I can see why. It's goofy and fun, but the notes are so close together and the tone so thumpy, I found it very difficult to be musical.

I played mine at a gig once for a upright kind of sound (along with a borrowed T40). Got lots of compliments and an offer to buy it.

She wanted to run it into a battery powered amp when they go horse camping.

I didn't sell it.

 

[enzodm]

She wanted to run it into a battery powered amp when they go horse camping.

OT: I have also a Ukulele Bass (21", silicon strings, etc) that stays in my office, for which I "built" (not much work) a powerbank powered 5W amp using this: Amazon.com: DollaTek XPT8871 5W Mono Audio Stereo Digital Power Amplifier Board DC 3.7-5V AMP Amplifiers Module Control Board : Electronics . It drives a used Hotone cabinet, but likely you may use it with any old speaker (at low volumes). The idea was playing in the garden with a friend playing ukulele - we never had the time.

 

[brianrost]

Why don’t we see more basses below 30”? Is there an actual, physical reason for this? Strings too floppy?

There have been basses in the 25” range in the past. It was likely an attempt to further attract guitar players who doubled on bass. The original P-bass let them get rid of their uprights, the Danelectro 6 string bass in the 50s gave them a bass that played even more like a guitar. But that style of 6 string disappeared once Fender stopped making the Bass VI in the early 70s. Gibson’s EB-6 basses lasted for even a shorter period of time and Danelectro and Supro both went under in the 60s.

I owned a 25” scale bass for a while, a Supro made Airline “Pocket Bass”. It was impossible to get whatever strings Supro used, but the typical 30” scale strings were so floppy that I could bend notes just by fretting with too much pressure.

Carvin sold 25 1/8" scale basses in the 60s. Notice the double neck and the catalog cover. They kept making these up until 1970 apparently, with the necks and some bodies bought from Hofner

Obviously you could buy strings from Carvin and Supro, I have no idea if any third party strings were ever made in that length. I have seen some acoustic bass guitars (not uke style) with such short scales, someone is making strings for those. Ibanez sells strings for the 28.6” Mikro basses.

In 1970 Carvin switched to a 30” scale. You had to order them by mail, no phone orders and no webpages back then. I got their catalog back in 1973 a bass was about $175 compared to about $300 for a P-bass. In 1976 they finally switched to a 34” scale and I’m guessing started making the instruments 100% in house. I’ve actually never seen any Carvins in the flesh earlier than about 1980.

FWIW in the 1950s, Carvin only made amps and steel guitars, so they sold Fender P-basses in their catalog!