My toddler asked for a bass

[ItsmeSantiago]

My son has been drumming since he could grab stuff and he asked to play my bass. He held it and said, “This is too big I need a smaller one.”

A uke bass seems to be the logical way to go with the super short scale, but my son likes to destroy everything he touches. I saw Harley Benton makes a solid body, which would probably be the most durable choice. The super short scale electric basses are in the 26” scale length whereas the uke is around 20”.

Has anyone been in my situation before? Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[bholder]

Sounds like you've got a decent plan - a solid body uke bass (also made by Kala and others) is about as sturdy a choice as you'll find.

 

[roccobladr]

My 4.5 yr old has been showing interest. Let him try my bronco, but that was too big. Got a used Squier mini P bass that is better suited for him.

But of course he doesn’t really touch it, so just another toy for me.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Get him a 36” scale AJ Fodera Contrabass.

Sink or swim, kid.

 

[ItsmeSantiago]

Get him a 36” scale AJ Fodera Contrabass.

Sink or swim, kid.

I also considered NG-3 because my son better djent sooner or later

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Get him a 36” scale AJ Fodera Contrabass.

Sink or swim, kid.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Glarry GW101 36in Kid's Electric Bass Guitar Red Burlywood Yellow - Glarrymusic

 

[DJ Bebop]

Hadean Bass Uke UKBV-20 BK

 

[Bass V]

buy him a new Epiphone Korina Explorer as incentive to grow faster

 

[E2942]

I think you'd be throwing money away, get a plush toy that looks like a bass.

 

[Discount Bassy]

Split the difference. Get a hold of a uke-bass that you would enjoy playing as well.

 

[Killing Floor]

Get him a keyboard and some lessons. By the time he can play a short scale bass he’ll be better than most.

 

[MrLenny1]

Yes, Piano to start.

 

[scottm]

I ended up buying my kid an Ibanez miKro bass. It was/is a great little bass, but I think he was about 6 or 7 when I bought it.

-ScottM

 

[CletusMarley]

That's awesome!! I hope you find something easy for him play!

 

[hbarcat]

Get him a keyboard and some lessons. By the time he can play a short scale bass he’ll be better than most.

I like this idea.

My granddaughter is 4 and she loves to come into my home studio and jam on my keyboard and e-drums - sometimes playing along with me on bass or guitar, and sometimes just by herself.

I even have a microphone set up for her with a little bit of delay and reverb and a few FX and she just loves singing.

I've let her dabble a bit on guitar and bass, but frankly, it's expecting too much from her to be able to coordinate her hands enough make progress on stringed instruments like that without getting frustrated.

 

[Ostie]

Ibanez Mikro or Squier Precision Jr.

 

[wiscoaster]

....A uke bass seems to be the logical way to go with the super short scale, .....

Kids grow fast and they have incredibly flexible and nimble fingers. Get a regular short-scale, like an Ibanez MiKro (28 1/2 in.) or Squier Bronco (30 in.). The uke will get outgrown real soon. There's plenty of YouTube videos of sub-teen kids playing short-scale instruments with no problem.

 

[micguy]

Get him a 36” scale AJ Fodera Contrabass.

Sink or swim, kid.

Kalium’s Quake is 39.55 or 37 to 40 inch multiscale. Coddle your kid with a 36 inch short scale, and he’ll always take the easy way out.

 

[tlc1976]

Glarry GW101 36in Kid's Electric Bass Guitar Red Burlywood Yellow - Glarrymusic

Would have loved to have had something like this available when I started playing. Looks and sounds great, and looks like it didn’t require much but a normal setup. Every one of my basses was set up ridiculously high at the factory and required a good setup.

My only question is the availability of strings for an odd size like this.