Multi-Scale

[spade2you]

I agree. Peavey have a strong fan base, much of it fairly traditional, which is where they should target first, and add exotics like MS as a sideline to attract the more adventurous, less traditional players.

Strong? Guys here and there, but not what I'd consider strong. I was about the only local guy playing them back in the day.

Peavey can make nice stuff, but the market tends to be a little too cheap. Lots of "I want a Cirrus 6 that's made in the US and $500."

 

[spade2you]

oh?


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I have some fanned fret guitars and actually have another fanned fret semi-baritone (for the C-C#register) and a fanned 7 string acoustic arch top. 6 fretless basses, none are fanned and I don't really feel like I'm missing anything. I have an Ibanez 7 string in 25.5" scale. The low B is adequate, although I'd need to beef it up if I tuned lower.

My 7 string Cliff Bordwell 7 string could possibly use a slight fan, but I was able to compensate with 32" scale, as well as tuning to standard guitar intervals instead of straight 4ths, which allowed me to use heavier high B and E strings. His B is solid in 32" scale, so not a huge need. After that bass, I ordered a 6 fretless and headless 6 string with TI Jazz Flats that sound nice and balanced. Again, solid B and adequate upper register.

If I started drop tuning and/or added lower strings, without a doubt.

 

[kodiakblair]

Does he own the rights to a graphite neck and that body shape?

Brian ditched the carbon neck when he moved on to both Carvin and Dean, also dropped the left/right piezo idea. He owns the body shape.

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A J/MM or P/J 35" scale bolt-on would be killer.

The Millennium PJ was a cheapy, passive and just 34" scale length.

Slightly different story with the J/MM. Peavey looked at the reception of the Lakland 55 series and hoped to steal away some sales. Somehow the Millennium never mirrored the 55's success even though they kept as close to the specs as the legal dept would allow

 

[spade2you]

Brian ditched the carbon neck when he moved on to both Carvin and Dean, also dropped the left/right piezo idea. He owns the body shape.

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The Millennium PJ was a cheapy, passive and just 34" scale length.

Slightly different story with the J/MM. Peavey looked at the reception of the Lakland 55 series and hoped to steal away some sales. Somehow the Millennium never mirrored the 55's success even though they kept as close to the specs as the legal dept would allow

Bummer that the B Quad shape is trademarked, although something about the Dean version looks a little off kilter to my eyes.

I think they offered a few PJ basses with a flame top, but too bad they were passive. A mostly aesthetic issue, I didn't like how wide spaced the JJ pickups were. Also felt odd to my right hand. Nonetheless, a full fledged PJ with a flame top and a nice preamp with high/low or sweepable miss would be killer.

I had a J/MM 5 string and still own a 4 string. I was shocked the Millennium bass didn't take off. The only flaw I found is that the necks usually needed to be shimmed if you wanted low action like the Cirrus. Probably going to take mine to a local shop this week to get a thick shim. Otherwise, great tones, good ergonomics, good looks, and versatile preamp.

 

[J Posega]

I think Peavey would do really well offering a 36"-33" fanned 5 string and 35.25"-33" four string. Depending on the headstock and bridge design, I'm assuming you could find OTS strings to reach that 36" scale (D'addario Super Long probably). And the 35.25" four isn't something anyone else does.

One of the things that sucks about 35" single-scale basses is that everyone just says "Hey, I'll shove a longer neck on this model and add another string," so the ergonomics are poop. Neck heavy, awkward, unpleasant. Then you have a longer G and D, which tend to sound twangy and since most string sets are designed with higher tension D and G strings, it just exacerbates the difference in feel and timbre from the low strings to the high strings.

I'm guessing you could tweak the classic Cirrus to make it a much better multiscale than Spector did with their new fanned basses. The reach looks so unbearable and you can tell from videos that they're neck heavy but the paid reviewers obviously aren't going to tell you that.

You should hit up John Taylor from Duran Duran. He was obviously diehard Peavey for years, now he's been seen playing Dingwall Combustion basses. That says something about their quality.

 

[Dynacord]

Depending on the headstock and bridge design, I'm assuming you could find OTS strings to reach that 36" scale (D'addario Super Long probably). And the 35.25" four isn't something anyone else does.

On the 36" MS I've got (Padalka - using Hipshot Triple Lockdown bridge) I can use OTS regular long scale sets from DR and others (I think D'addario as well but would have to confirm) - some others makers do require their super long sets (TI for sure).

 

[spade2you]

One of the things that sucks about 35" single-scale basses is that everyone just says "Hey, I'll shove a longer neck on this model and add another string," so the ergonomics are poop. Neck heavy, awkward, unpleasant. Then you have a longer G and D, which tend to sound twangy and since most string sets are designed with higher tension D and G strings, it just exacerbates the difference in feel and timbre from the low strings to the high strings.

The Cirrus, Millennium, and G basses did not suffer from neck dive. I also own 35" scale basses from Conklin, Rob Allen, and Cliff Bordwell. The only one that has a hint of neck dive is the Rob Allen 6 string, simply because the body is a hair too light. None have what I'd consider a harsh D, G, or high C string. With tone "in the fingers" setup can also help. I keep my strings low and play with light technique. No excessive twang. Speaking of technique, I'm 5'5", maybe 5'6" on a good day and I am at home on a 35" scale 6 string. One of the may tricks is to ditch the 1 finger per string technique.

On the flip side, making a neck stiffer can make 35" scale less necessary. My 32" scale Cliff Bordwell has a very nice low B string, as does the 34" scale.

 

[Fred from Peavey]

Fair. I LOVE Peavey basses, but I don't know what any new Peavey could offer me that would make it a "must have."

Getting ready to show you

 

[Fred from Peavey]

Been thinking about what I said here. A multiscale Peavey with Super Ferrites might actually get me pretty close to a "must have," if the neck and the aesthetics were right. Hint: I like the older Peavey body shapes better. The designs based on the Millennium with the long skinny horns are not as appealing to me. Somehow, the Sarzo works and the Millennium almost works for me.

A true Peavey fan "Super Ferrites" - Some of the best passive pickups ever made!

 

[Fred from Peavey]

I haven't had a chance to play a ms bass. But I do love early Peavey basses, I'd like to see some reissues of some old classics...
It ain't 57 but here's my ever growing collection...

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Wow - Love love love it! Thank you so much for the support. Maybe I'll get some pictures of mine posted here at some point! - Thanks for the input!

 

[Fred from Peavey]

My bass collection has a T-40, two Foundations, a Sarzo (I have owned two; this one once belonged to Rudy Sarzo - it is one of my most prized possessions!), a Dyna Unity, a Grind, and a Cirrus BXP. I also own a Dingwall ABI-5, Super P (4), and a D-Roc (4).

I used to think like you - that there is "no point" to multiscale on a four. I will still admit that the B is where multiscale really shines and that the biggest appeal of a Dingwall 4 is that it is just almost perfectly conceived and built.

But, I also have an Fender Urge I, and another Urge I was my main bass for a good while. With a 32" scale, I found that I like the sound of the D and the G a little better than a 34" scale. I also don't notice dead spots on the G string (but I know that may just be the specific 32" scale bass that I have). To my ears, there are definite advantages to making that G string a little shorter. On the other hand, if you want to win points with the heavier/metal crowd, making the E string longer might be worthwhile - it accommodates alternate (lower) tunings. Along those lines, I wonder if there is any market for a bass where the 4 is BEAD and the five is ADGCF, or something like that?

One other comment about Peavey basses. How the heck are the necks on old Peaveys so good? Impossibly stable, great fretwork, and so comfortably shaped that it is almost like I helped helped design them to suit me. It is funny to me that the necks are that good and the truss rod access is often so comically bad.

Depends on the bass - the Cirrus basses all have dual graphite pultrusions on either side of the neck - we actually do the same thing on birdseye necks for the HP2. Older instruments where bi-laminate, basically the wood was cut in half and flipped then the neck was carved. We are always trying to build instruments that will outlive us. Glad you noticed! -Thanks for the input!

 

[PeaveyPlayer]

Here’s some of mine

no pics of my G bass
Or bquad or gV

 

[Lenny JG]

Multiscale four makes just as much sense as multi scale of any other amount of strings. It's about a tight low end and snappy high end.

 

[Iridescentone]

Looking for some input -

What would y'all think about a series where the 4 is standard 35"

$0.02...

I think you'd be making the same mistake as with previous USA Millennium and Cirrus 4 string basses. As nicely as they were built, I don't think many 4 string players actually wanted 35" scale, or do even now. A few other makers tried making 35" scale standard on their 4 strings (Brawley comes to mind) and failed.

There's a current trend towards shorter scale basses lately, everyone makes one now. If you're looking to fill an existing void and offer something a little different and distinctive, maybe a 33" scale 4 string might work better for players looking for something a little more comfy, yet not all the way down to 30" scale, which is too extreme for many of us.

Apart from Rickenbacker, 33" basses are hard to find. And part of the Ric allure is its easy playability due in part, to its 33" scale (33 1/4" to be exact).

Edit: I forgot to add...factor in an asymmetric neck profile as standard to whatever you decide on. It's a nice feature that everyone seems to like once they've had one, including me.

 

[Nuage420]

Looking for some input -

Getting ready to re-introduce some bass guitars and wondered what y'all prefer. I was thinking for a 5 String a multi-scale bass might be cool, but at the same time I don't think there is a need for it on a 4 string. What would y'all think about a series where the 4 is standard 35" and the 5 is Multi?

Or what do you think about multi-scale in general

-Fred

I think there are a lot of us who would prefer an MS 4. The market has already had 35" four stringers so you guys should know how those will sell. The 35-32" MS is only offered by Dingwall at a buy in of 4K or more or the extreme not for everyone Ibanez EHB series.

 

[Modulus 96]

35" scale... If you say other manufacturers tried 35-in and failed maybe it's because those manufacturers didn't have player's minds.

 

[Nuage420]

35" scale... If you say other manufacturers tried 35-in and failed maybe it's because those manufacturers didn't have player's minds.

Not saying they failed, just not as prolific.

 

[p12bassnut]

I don’t care for 35” scale 4’s
I would go for a reissue of the Cirrus in 34” scale !
Multi scale bass in general ? Na, not really interested.
I’ve got 2 Peavey basses. Both are excellent !

 

[dabbler]

There are other fan frets out there than Dingwall. I have 2 5 string Brice's (Rondo House brand) and I love one (34"-37") and the other (35"-32") is OK, but really but much different than a straight 35" to me.

Fan frets aren't mainstream. The market probably isn't big enough for mass manufacturing economies of scale to really kick in.

Here's my fav:

 

[Lenny JG]

People who want to play a four want one of two things: a nice snappy standard bass (possibly even piccolo) OR they want to a tight low end while they tune down.

If you intend your basses to appeal to the lower register tunings that are popular atm you're going to want to go w/ a multiscale, where as if you want to appeal to standard 4 players or piccolo players go w/ a smaller scale length such as 33"