Bryan R. Tyler
TalkBass: Usurping My Practice Time Since 2002
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- May 3, 2002
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Medium or Short Scale?
- Thread starter howlin
- Start date
The only problem with medium scale is that there's so few of them about, isn't it? You could always order a jag on Sweetwater and send it back if you don't get on with it. I don't think the scale difference will effect your playing significantly.
Take a 34" bass, put a capo on the first fret. Tune down a half step. That's about a 32" scale bass.
put the capo on the second fret. Tune down another whole step. That's about a 30" bass.
put the capo on the second fret. Tune down another whole step. That's about a 30" bass.
Just went from 30 to 32. Have had mostly 34's. It was kinda like Goldilocks... 34 was too long, 30 was too short. 32 is just right!
There are plenty of string choices for medium. Thing is, there are too many choices for others. Rabbit Holes await the uninitiated for all gear offerings. Let's talk about amps. Single coils vs humbuckers. Neck radius, best tone woods, Country of manufacturer...
Ain't Capitalism grand?
There are plenty of string choices for medium. Thing is, there are too many choices for others. Rabbit Holes await the uninitiated for all gear offerings. Let's talk about amps. Single coils vs humbuckers. Neck radius, best tone woods, Country of manufacturer...
Ain't Capitalism grand?
Medium scale any time. I have owned a few short scales. Now I only own one medium scale. Fender the Urge 1 USA.
The 32" is a perfect hybrid between long and short scale. But unfortunately there are very few medium scale production basses with 24 frets. Besides the Urge I don't know any. Do you know any others? I am curious.
The 32" is a perfect hybrid between long and short scale. But unfortunately there are very few medium scale production basses with 24 frets. Besides the Urge I don't know any. Do you know any others? I am curious.
These days a I play very little bass and when I pick up my P it just feels heavy & cumbersome to deal with. I won't get rid of it until the day I stop playing all together because it has "that sound". Speaking of sound, I have a sound in my head that I plan on exploring that involves an octave pedal and some overdrive with some slinky strings - I thiink you know where I'm going with this . . .
I have tried this with my P but only at the second fret which does measure exactly 30" [but with a 43mm nut width on my Jazz neck so it's more like an EB-0 or EB-3]. BTW, I think you meant to say "tune down another half-step", yes?
I just want to say thanks to all the great replies to this post. They are much appreciated!
After some in-depth research I slept on it and decided to go with a Sire U5. So much bang for the buck for hardly any more $ and, hopefully, very little need to upgrade or change anything. I'm not a big fan of the P/J pickup combination but, since I plan on running it into an octave pedal, I figure the back pickup might come in handy and, if not, I can always just screw it into the body to get it out of the way [when I use a pick I usually play right where that pickup sits - very annoying]. I'll post a NBD thread once it comes together.
After some in-depth research I slept on it and decided to go with a Sire U5. So much bang for the buck for hardly any more $ and, hopefully, very little need to upgrade or change anything. I'm not a big fan of the P/J pickup combination but, since I plan on running it into an octave pedal, I figure the back pickup might come in handy and, if not, I can always just screw it into the body to get it out of the way [when I use a pick I usually play right where that pickup sits - very annoying]. I'll post a NBD thread once it comes together.
I have a mustang, two hofners and a medium scale fender Jbass. Although they all feel good , the medium feels perfect to me.
What I like about medium-scale basses is that, the tone is closer to a long scale than a short scale, while I can play comfortably one-finger-per-fret all over the neck.
Everything I currently have is full scale with P width necks (wider on the 5 strings.
I built a medium scale with a J width neck a few years ago. I could play it ok, but if I wanted to use it on a gig, I would play it the whole week before the gig - it felt like a toy in my huge hands, and it was a bit slower playing, as everything was crammed together.
I think it was more the width than the scale, but I haven't done enough experimentation to be absolutely certain. I just know that full scale P width necks work best for me.
I built a medium scale with a J width neck a few years ago. I could play it ok, but if I wanted to use it on a gig, I would play it the whole week before the gig - it felt like a toy in my huge hands, and it was a bit slower playing, as everything was crammed together.
I think it was more the width than the scale, but I haven't done enough experimentation to be absolutely certain. I just know that full scale P width necks work best for me.
D
I accidentally acquired a medium scale Ibanez body so i went ahead and got a medium scale neck and put it together. As i was working on it i was wondering how different it was going to feel from my 34" scale basses.
After playing it at band practice, i really didn't notice much difference as far as scale goes.
Plenty of other differences compared to my other basses but in good ways.
This particular bass is a slab style body... I usually dont care for those due to my picking technique but since the body is actually smaller, it was pretty comfortable. I was surprised and impressed with that.
After playing it at band practice, i really didn't notice much difference as far as scale goes.
Plenty of other differences compared to my other basses but in good ways.
This particular bass is a slab style body... I usually dont care for those due to my picking technique but since the body is actually smaller, it was pretty comfortable. I was surprised and impressed with that.
I have 2 shorties, the Jag and a Gretsch, and 3 "full scale", Fender, Schecter and Godin....really, after a surprisingly short amount of time, I find I can switch between them seamlessly, as in I make the same number of screw ups on both scales...but that Jag is a great bass, especially if you want to do some mods...
If your primary motivation is to try a short scale bass then buy a 30" scale. I have three of them and they are a blast to play. There isn't a dramatic noticeable jump in terms of feel between a 34" and 32" from my experience, but going from 34" to 30" is radically different. Fender is making so many Jag and Mustang options, now is a great time to pick one up. I so badly wanted a Fender Mustang for ages but they simply where not available new and I didn't want to go the cheap Squire Bronco route. I pre-ordered the JMJ Mustang almost a year before it was released - thinking it would be extremely limited (which what was hinted at the time). Totally different story now...
These days a I play very little bass and when I pick up my P it just feels heavy & cumbersome to deal with. I won't get rid of it until the day I stop playing all together because it has "that sound". Speaking of sound, I have a sound in my head that I plan on exploring that involves an octave pedal and some overdrive with some slinky strings - I thiink you know where I'm going with this . . .
I have tried this with my P but only at the second fret which does measure exactly 30" [but with a 43mm nut width on my Jazz neck so it's more like an EB-0 or EB-3]. BTW, I think you meant to say "tune down another half-step", yes?
Yes. Another half step.
Totally agree.
Test this by detuning the strings 1 semitone..... then 2 semitones. You'll feel changes in string tension immediately.
Inherent String stiffness is another factor. I prefer quite flexible strings on a 34" bass. But on a 30" bass I prefer medium stiffness/tension to compensate for the reduced scale length.
I just want to say thanks to all the great replies to this post. They are much appreciated!
After some in-depth research I slept on it and decided to go with a Sire U5. So much bang for the buck for hardly any more $ and, hopefully, very little need to upgrade or change anything. I'm not a big fan of the P/J pickup combination but, since I plan on running it into an octave pedal, I figure the back pickup might come in handy and, if not, I can always just screw it into the body to get it out of the way [when I use a pick I usually play right where that pickup sits - very annoying]. I'll post a NBD thread once it comes together.
That looks like a nice bass. Which finish did you get?
2 of the 3 say 'sold out'.
