Long vs Short Scale

[Zant]

I'm only 5'6" so having a bass that's huge is just uncomfortable for me.

My shorts are all comfortable for my vertically challenged stature.

I'm 5.6 all so but I like my 35"

 

[GwenOnBass]

:: raises hand ::

<<calls "I'm a Believer" >> singer looks up words on her iPad 'cause she wasnn't born when the song was in the charts

(my short scale is an absolute ball to play)

 

[MDH bass]

im all about extra long scale, my Dingwall's are all 37(or 36.25)-34 and i love them, but i also love tiny little short scale basses. i just think they are super cool

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I always thought short scale was for beginners or people with small fingers, but now I find out that Stanley Clark's Alembic was a short scale and there are a number of high end short scale basses out there that sound very good. So what is the advantages of each and why choose a short scale over a long scale?

I am 6 ft and have large hands with gnarly fingers. (Fingers mostly due to arthritis.)
The arth. also got my shoulders and elbows. Not having to reach as far on a shortie is much more comfortable for me.

Big people play guitars and they are shorter than short scale basses.

 

[Karlson541]

6' 4" here, about average hand size.
Prefer short scale.
Stanley Clarke that you mention is rather tall as well and have fairly big hands.

It's a matter of personal preference really.
Your question should perhaps rather be why someone would go through the discomfort of a long scale bass when they could use a short scale.

As you discovered the conception of short scale basses being sub par beginner instruments (whatever a beginner instrument might be in the first place) is a myth.

 

[mikewalker]

25+ years of playing short-scale exclusively, and now (after a ten-year hiatus), I find that I much prefer medium scale. Of course now that I have moved on from short-scales - they are PLENTIFUL! (Medium scales, not so much...) I do have four 34's and a 35, but they are 'special-case' instruments for recording. The go to gig machines are 32 inch scale!

*Except for one 31-inch scale Kramer, which despite weighing in at 12 pounds - is a certified KEEPER

 

[Ric5]

I always thought short scale was for beginners or people with small fingers, but now I find out that Stanley Clark's Alembic was a short scale and there are a number of high end short scale basses out there that sound very good. So what is the advantages of each and why choose a short scale over a long scale?

Short scale basses have a sweeter tone and long scale have a nastier tone

 

[Zooberwerx]

6'4" although I think I've shrunk an inch...somewhere. I prefer the 34" solely because it is the most comfortable when using 1-2-4 (Simandl) fingering on a fretted instrument.

Riis

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I always thought short scale was for beginners or people with small fingers, but now I find out that Stanley Clark's Alembic was a short scale and there are a number of high end short scale basses out there that sound very good. So what is the advantages of each and why choose a short scale over a long scale?

Nothing wrong with a short scale if it’s a good sounding instrument. Fender Mustang is a great sounding bass(mo, and not real expensive either relatively speaking. For me, I don’t care for the tactile feel of floppy strings, and or the sound of very thick strings, which is why I play long scale basses.

For me, it’s always about the sound first, then how does it feel. With short scale basses. I couldn’t find a good common ground.

 

[48thStreetCustom]

I like to bend strings and use vibrato so short scale with a maple fingerboard works better for me.

 

[Nephilymbass]

I always thought short scale was for beginners or people with small fingers, but now I find out that Stanley Clark's Alembic was a short scale and there are a number of high end short scale basses out there that sound very good. So what is the advantages of each and why choose a short scale over a long scale?

There’s a much bigger variety, but these are the different scales I’ve personally played and am most familiar with.


30”

pros; typically light weight, good for people with physical disabilities like bad wrist, hands, or shoulders. Can have a nice warm tone and the lower tension can make it easier to bend strings (vibrato anyone?)

cons:generally not very good for lower tunings and most modern music makes use of low b strings wether it’s on a 5 string or a low tuned 4 string. String tension can be pretty floppy even in standard tuning. For some of us they feel cramped. That’s mostly a complaint from bigger guys like myself who are also very used to playing 34”+ basses.

34”

Pros; good average scale length. String tension can be good and they can be used to play lower tuned modern music. There’s more 34” basses than anything else so there are tons of them out there which reduces the cost of buying them used.

Cons; tuning down can feel floppy, the used market is over saturated so the resale value is pretty much the worst of the bunch

35”

Pros; slightly improved clarity on the low b and e strings in particular. Slightly tighter more bouncier feel with the right hand. Pretty common these days especially on 5 string basses so they aren’t hard to find.

Cons; high d and g strings can sound thin/ brittle. Are most often found on basses that may not have the aesthetics you like. For example if you want a 4 string 35” bass with a classic fender vibe you can get one from builders like Sadowsky but they can be more expensive than a very similar look 34” bass.

34-37” fan fret

Pros: most balanced as far as feel and tone across all strings. The high strings aren’t as brittle as a 35” scale bass and the lower strings have even better clarity and feel. Low b string is fantastic both sound wise and playability wise. Does well with drop tunings. Great resale value partially because they are so rare. My personal favorite.

Cons; some people either because they are a smaller person with shorter arms, people with disabilities, or folks who like to play with their bass hanging at chest level complain about the reach to the 1st couple frets. Might require some different fingerings to play chords above the 12 fret because of the fan. Require special strings with a longer winding length so there’s limited string options (one of the benefits of shorter scale fan fret basses for example 32-35” that I dont see mentioned much on TB is they can use normal strings) the basses can also be hard to find, expensive, and or require a waiting period to get because smaller builders are struggling to keep up with demand.

Personally I dig my 34-37” fan fret bass.
My personal complaints are I do struggle to play some things above the 12th fret because of the fan going the other direction high up the neck and I had to wait a couple months to get the bass. I play so little above the 12th fret though that pros far outweigh the cons. I don’t have an issue with the length of the bass. It fits in my fender bass case
and i don’t have any issues playing with the scale length.

 

[Bassamatic]

I started with a borrowed shorty EB-2 back in the 60's and then bought and played a Hagstrom HII non-stop for the next 10 years or so (BEST neck in the world). P basses were available, but seemed so BIG iin comparison. No one ever complained about the Hagstrom. Fast forward to a busy career and then the new millennium and I am getting a lot of gigs again, and decide to get a new P bass. It was and still is terrific. However, I really feel the difference stretching for the end frets. THEN I find TalkBass and that creates a TON of GAS and I go through dozens of basses of all types and sizes, though playing mostly the P and a Fury. Now, my hands are tired and cranky, and I have decided to re-commit to short scale. In addition to my original 60's Hagstrom, I have a Lakland 30, 2 miKros (4 and 5) a 60's Hofner, a Gretsch, two 32s and a few 34s.

There used to be a bit of a sonic difference between them all, but I find now that the string makers seem to be getting better at the different scales. Also I think a lot of the reason people found a difference was using the wrong strings. I know that MANY players simply put 34" strings on their 30" bass and cut them down. Since strings are wound at their playing tension, the long scale strings are never properly tensioned, so the result is muddy sound and stories that shorties sound thuddy.

There are some amazing shorties, including the Lakland (Easiest bass to play EVER), the Alembics and the amazing Birdsongs, My main bass now is a new Mustang PJ with T.I. Flats. When Playing with the band, it sounds exactly like my P with flats. I'm very happy with it and my hands and back thank me every time.

 

[design]

Once upon a time I had a suprise WOW moment when I realised that these people all played short scale:
Paul McCartney
Bill Wyman
Jack Bruce
Stanley Clarke
Andy Fraser
Ronnie Lane
Joey Spampinato
... and the list goes on, Mike Watt, etc.

 

[lowplaces]

@jamro217 said
"I did try the new P/J Mustang at GC recently and wasn't impressed, but it could have been the amp, strings, what I had for breakfast... "

Same here. The difference being I loved the neck and they offer them in Torino Red which is my favorite classic Fender finish.

I didn't like the stock strings, the cheap switch everyone mentions, and the pups were underwhelming as well.

I stopped by the local GC often as soon as they started getting them in stock, waiting for a Torino Red one to hit the floor. Never happened.

A couple of months ago I stopped by another local shop that rents and there was a blue one that had been strung up with Chromes. Set up great, save for the Trainwreck pickup adjustments. But man it was the easiest playing bass I'v ever held in my hands.

Could have walked out the door with it for less than 450 and it was a 2017 made before they switched to pau ferro fretboards. But it was blue so I decided to think on it overnight. Went back and it had been rented out, which turned out to be a blessing because one day when I stop by to see if it had been returned yet they had just unboxed a Torino Red one.

I finally got to see TR in the wild. And it was indeed the classic TR I dig on the vintage Fender instruments. And the mint pickguard looks a whole lot more white than mint. I was delighted to see that as well. Had the pau ferro board but was a nice example. Straight grain and not "streaky" like a lot of them.

Plugged it into one of those little Elf stacks and played it about 45 minutes, focusing more on the neck and playability than the sound of it. Wasn't going to sound the same after I put Flats on it, adjusted or changed the pickups, or played it through my amps anyhow.

As it sits now, it has Rotosound 77's and I adjusted the pickups to where the P is about even in volume/output as the J. The J may be a tad louder.

J is set near Fender specs on the bass side and a bit lower than spec on the treble side.

The P pup wound up lowered quite a bit. Way lower than spec. But they actually sound quite good and achieved the balance with the J and made running both pups sound good. Nothing at all like they sounded when they slapped them in before they boxed it up.

Anyhow I made those adjustments to the pups when I put TI Jazz Flats on it. A few days ago I put the Roto 77's on and after tweaking the pups a tad, with the P pup only I'm hearing that classic Motown and old-school R&B tone I've been chasing with the volume control on the bass turned down. Turn the volume wide open and still sounds great and ready to rock.

I was wanting to upgrade the pups but I'm having second guesses about the stock P pup. The stock J on the other hand still doesn't sound good by itself no matter how I adjust it.

I may try one of those AERO J pups if it will drop in.

 

[countrybass5]

Quick and dirty answer: different feel, note response, and tone.

In reality it’s a bit more nuanced than that. But suffice to say most short-scale basses have a different vibe than long-scale basses.

But even that’s not completely true since the new short-scale basses have come a long way since the 60s. They can even work for slap if that’s your thing.

A good example of that is Scott Whitley winding out on Mark King’s famous song Mr. Pink. He’s using two short-scale Chowny basses - one with normal and the other with piccolo guage strings. Tell me if you think the lower tuned one sounds any different than…say a Fender JB?



Note: hand size has nothing to do with it. Many small handed players are perfectly comfortable playing 34” and 35” scale necks. And there’s also a good number of individuals with normal to large hands who play short-scale basses. Good bass technique is not dependent on the size or strength of your hands.

That's an amazing clip!

 

[40Hz]

That's an amazing clip!

Well...he's a pretty amazing bass player too. That bass is also his design. He originally was doing it as his own business. The story behind it is interesting:



But it became too much so he found a builder to continue to produce it. (I've got one. It's a very nice but different sort of short-scale bass.)

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

When I originally played years ago I only had played long scale and scoffed at the very idea of short scales. Of course, I was young and macho. Now I only play short scales, but that's because I'm addicted to Hofner Violin basses. In general, though, I think it is a matter of preference. A good musician can make almost an instruments sound great. So size I think is about personal fit.

 

[GregT]

I am one who wishes Fender would reintroduce the Precision Junior with the 28 3/4 inch scale that was made in Mexico. Now that thing was fantastic. A friend of mine had one. Can't imagine why Fender wouldn't want to get in on the short scale Precision thing again. Why wouldn't it sell? I'd buy one, for sure.

 

[user362432]

Short scale plays like air-guitar.
My Epiphone Rumblekat is just too easy to play. Sometimes, I just cannot stop...
From the other side, 35" is man's guitar. You have to fight it hard. It has some sort of resistance, you have to break...

 

[countrybass5]

I

I always thought short scale was for beginners or people with small fingers, but now I find out that Stanley Clark's Alembic was a short scale and there are a number of high end short scale basses out there that sound very good. So what is the advantages of each and why choose a short scale over a long scale?

I play a shortscale Birdsong HY5 It is comfortable to play and sounds amazing. I am ordering a bass from Kiesel in October...it will be interesting to see how hard it will be to switch back again.