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I Want A Short Scale Bass......
- Thread starter Don M
- Start date
Don't muddy the waters with the 6er and go for a straight up bass in my opinion. I have been eyeing the Allen Woody myself lately. I recently picked up an Epiphone Viola that is pretty cool and worthy of consideration if you are ok with the look. Good luck in your search. In that price range you have a decent number of options to choose from surprisingly.
Try the Jag SS. Good bang for the buck. There is a solution for the weak bridge pick up. See my sig for details. Stop by the club, there are lots of answers to any questions there.
Well, we see there are a lot of options out there, which is a good thing, and wasn't always so. And it's different strokes for different folks - of course it comes down to what suits the player himself. So didactic "Here is the ONE answer!" approaches won't cut it imo. For example, I have an old 70's Musicmaster that's a similar body shape to what some would recommend which just doesn't "fit" me nearly as well as my cheapo SX Ursa 2 shorty. Others' mileage may vary.
The Jag is definitely a good option. A bandmate has nice one, and swears by it, and I don't see or hear much bad about them. To me, that would be a good starting point in a SS search.
The Jag is definitely a good option. A bandmate has nice one, and swears by it, and I don't see or hear much bad about them. To me, that would be a good starting point in a SS search.
Been looking for a Squier VM Mustang....think they are out of production already. Haven't seen any for sale.
I've had several short scales. That's all I play now.
Here's some quick impressions of the ones I have (and had):
Squier VM Jaguar (still have)- overall good, like most of the parts and production quality, decent sound and good value.
Gretsch G2202 (had) - a little heavy for a SS, hot output, very thumpy E string, bought used and beat up.
Epiphone EB0 (had) - surprisingly nicely made, didn't care for the humbucker/placement, or bridge.
Ibanez Mikro (had and have now) - first one was trouble, couldn't adjust saddles correctly, was surprised at the extremely
thin wires used for the pots. Tiny toylike body - Big sound with the most variations from the pickups.
Cort Action Jr. (have) - plain looks, put together well, clean clear sounds - I think it would work well with thin strings as a piccolo bass.
Fender Mustang (have) - my personal favorite, but most expensive. Nicely made with a sound that I don't grow tired of.
Not the hottest, or most flexible, but feels/plays/sounds best to me.
Here's some quick impressions of the ones I have (and had):
Squier VM Jaguar (still have)- overall good, like most of the parts and production quality, decent sound and good value.
Gretsch G2202 (had) - a little heavy for a SS, hot output, very thumpy E string, bought used and beat up.
Epiphone EB0 (had) - surprisingly nicely made, didn't care for the humbucker/placement, or bridge.
Ibanez Mikro (had and have now) - first one was trouble, couldn't adjust saddles correctly, was surprised at the extremely
thin wires used for the pots. Tiny toylike body - Big sound with the most variations from the pickups.
Cort Action Jr. (have) - plain looks, put together well, clean clear sounds - I think it would work well with thin strings as a piccolo bass.
Fender Mustang (have) - my personal favorite, but most expensive. Nicely made with a sound that I don't grow tired of.
Not the hottest, or most flexible, but feels/plays/sounds best to me.
Last edited:
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I love both of these. I gig with them all the time.
2013 Gibson SG Standard
1968 Mustang
2013 Gibson SG Standard
1968 Mustang
The Squier Mikey Way Signature, in my opinion, would be the best choice of the three. The Squier Bass VI isn't a bad bass in any way, but I see it more as a guitar, and it's almost imposible to play in any style but with a pick. However, I would definitely suggest taking a look at the Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Special Short Scale. Defintely look at the PJ version, but I would strongly suggest staying spa way from the single humbucker version of the bass.
The Squier VM Mustang dried up about the middle of last year, and it seems to be gone for good. Glad I got one last spring. I've kept mine stock. It's a very straight-up-the-middle sort of instrument.
The SX short scale jazz type (Ursa 2 Jr.) is a sleeper. I modded mine with Duncan Quarter Pound pickups and a Schaller roller bridge, and it sounds fantastic - very full and punchy. I've got Chromes on it at the moment.
My current favorite is my Rogue VB100 violin bass; it's light, easy to play, and has an excellent woody thump with LaBella Flats. It's not a very versatile bass, but what it does, it does very well.
With the SX and Rogue, I've realized how much I prefer two-pickup basses. I'm considering the Gretsch Junior Jet, or doing a radical mod of my Bronco to mount 2 mini humbuckers.
The SX short scale jazz type (Ursa 2 Jr.) is a sleeper. I modded mine with Duncan Quarter Pound pickups and a Schaller roller bridge, and it sounds fantastic - very full and punchy. I've got Chromes on it at the moment.
My current favorite is my Rogue VB100 violin bass; it's light, easy to play, and has an excellent woody thump with LaBella Flats. It's not a very versatile bass, but what it does, it does very well.
With the SX and Rogue, I've realized how much I prefer two-pickup basses. I'm considering the Gretsch Junior Jet, or doing a radical mod of my Bronco to mount 2 mini humbuckers.
How did the Ursa 2 Jr. sound stock? I would probably switch to flats right away (prefer the feel) would I really need to do the pups?
Not sure what your goals are, but there's a really nice vintage MIJ Ventura EBO copy on ebay right now that you could probably snag for a few hundred, give or take. It's a blast to play and does the gooey-thump thing really well with flats.
Not really sure what I'm after either. My favorite music right now is 80's rock and hair band stuff, southern rock (Gov't Mule type) and pop-punk (Blink-182, Fall Out Boy). I think I'm really trying to find a non-P/J bass. I think I also want a bass with a single pickup (not withstanding the Allen Woody and the Bass VI) and super simple controls (possibly volume only). I can already to the P sound with my current, so I guess that really leaves me a single humbucker, which it seems like the Mikey Way might be the best setup. Anything else setup similar to the Mikey Way that I haven't thought about? A multi-pickup guitar isn't out of the question, either.
Anyone with experience with the Junior Jet line from Gretsch? I've read that the 2202 the older single pickup version is a little better then the current single pickup model. However, I believe that TV Jones Thunder'tron and Thunder'mag pickups are a drop in affair.
