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NBD 27" Valiant Mini Bass in black

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 268085
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Deleted member 268085

Sep 23, 2014
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#1
My well-traveled new 27" Valiant Mini Bass showed up this morning. Made in Ukraine. Shipped to Valiant's reseller in L.A., Amp Shop Bass Exchange. Purchased from Valiant's website. Shipped from L.A., with stops in Philadelphia, Köln Germany and Paris, before reaching me on the southwest coast.

The super well-built hard case had a very minor ding by the handle and a light scuff on one end, but the bass was in perfect condition. The case did its job.

Nice low action. Haven't checked the intonation yet. Highly considering ordering a custom set of Pyramid Gold flats for it. It currently has custom La Bella rounds on it. The bass is super light at 2.8 kg (6.2 lbs).

The only "con" is that the body is too small for my K&M guitar rack and the bass goes all the way to the floor. I had to pull one of my Fender tripod stands out of storage. :laugh:

I'm giving it 24 hours to rest after its travels. Will give it a good workout tomorrow. One thing I will say is that a comment in a YT video on this bass was correct. It sounds pretty good, even unplugged.

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Here's the video I mentioned.



And another good one.

 
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#2
What are the distances between
- ball-end and nut, and
- ball-end and 1st tuning post?
Pyramid will ask for them anyway.
(They'll also ask the distance between the low E's ball-end and its saddle - which is of course intonation-dependent, but is an indication of how quickly the full winding should taper in.)
I thought you might as well measure and put it here for posterity. ^^
 
#3
HaphAsSard said:
What are the distances between
- ball-end and nut, and
- ball-end and 1st tuning post?
Pyramid will ask for them anyway.
(They'll also ask the distance between the low E's ball-end and its saddle - which is of course intonation-dependent, but is an indication of how quickly the full winding should taper in.)
I thought you might as well measure and put it here for posterity. ^^
Click to expand...
Ball-end to nut: 72 cm (28.35")

Ball-end to 1st tuning post: 75.75 cm (29.8")

Low E ball-end to saddle: about 2 cm (the string is angled into the bridge; my metal tape measure isn't quite up to that task)
 
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#4
Deleted member 268085 said:
Ball-end to nut: 72 cm (28.35")

Ball-end to 1st tuning post: 75.75 cm (29.8")

Low E ball-end to saddle: about 2 cm (the string is angled into the bridge; my metal tape measure isn't quite up to that task)
Click to expand...
Thanks!
28.25" is reasonably close to 28", so I'd be inclined to give you the same advice I gave another poster here
Help. Need super short scale strings
i.e. in short: trying the La Bella / Gold Tone MBLS aka MBSLS;
however, as I pointed out here,
25" scale micro basses anyone?
that set is seriously expensive here in Europe. By custom-ordering from Pyramid you'll have to wait but may actually save money; also, the only risk involved will be about tone, not fitment.
 
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#5
HaphAsSard said:
Thanks!
28.25" is reasonably close to 28", so I'd be inclined to give you the same advice I gave another poster here
Help. Need super short scale strings
i.e. in short: trying the La Bella / Gold Tone MBLS aka MBSLS;
however, as I pointed out here,
25" scale micro basses anyone?
that set is seriously expensive here in Europe. By custom-ordering from Pyramid you'll have to wait but may actually save money; also, the only risk involved will be about tone, not fitment.
Click to expand...
I liked the Pyramid Gold's tone on my old 34" Fender Jazz, and this is a Jazz-type bass, so I think I'll go that route. The NOTE on the La Bella page for those strings is concerning. Do you know anything about it?

NOTE: Can be used on ME-Bass or fretless M-Bass (cannot be used on fretted M-Bass).
 
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#6
Deleted member 268085 said:
NOTE: Can be used on ME-Bass or fretless M-Bass (cannot be used on fretted M-Bass).
Click to expand...
I like to think I have a plausible theory for it.

The set is apparently kosher for the electric version (either fretted of fretless) of the Gold Tone Microbass. Regarding the acoustic version, they say it can be used on the fretless, not on the fretted.

Is the physical interaction of the strings with the frets the problem? Do the strings eat the frets? Does Gold Tone use especially soft fretwire, that even flatwounds can wear it fast? This would strike me as odd and, even if proven true, I don't think it is cause for concern on other platforms: La Bella flats aren't known as fret-eaters.
Or is it the other way around? do the GoldTone frets damage flats, and not plastic or silver-plated copper strings that they install on/sell for their basses? Even more improbable.
Finally, why should the above apply only to the hollowbody models? Do they use different fretwire on the solids?

Having set aside the more far-fetched interpretation, let's move on to the crux of the matter: why solid-body yes, fretless hollowbody yes, fretted hollowbody no? Apparently, the hollow body, and structural problems thereof, is not at the root of the warning: there's no reason why fretless acoustic Mbasses should be more heavily-braced than fretted ones. So the added tension provided by steel-core, steel flatwounds vs. more conventional uke-bass strings is not the problem here.

The problem is intonation. The La Bella strings in question are significantly stiffer than polymeric strings (either mono-filament or nylon-core roundwounds), so they play sharp the higher up the neck you go.
This is not a problem for the electric models, which come with a continuously-adjustable bridge that can be set suitably back for the flatwounds to intonate correctly; it is also kind-of not a problem for fretless hollowbodies because, while the bridge is glued in place, the player can simply ignore the lines and adjust by ear, compensating manually. Neither procedure is possible on the fretted hollowbodies. Hence the warning.

Finally, I'm fairly sure I read (long after I'd formulated my hypothesis) that one can order a new fretted Mbass specifying it is to be equipped with the MBLS, and have the factory position the bridge accordingly.
 
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#7
HaphAsSard said:
I like to think I have a plausible theory for it.

The set is apparently kosher for the electric version (either fretted of fretless) of the Gold Tone Microbass. Regarding the acoustic version, they say it can be used on the fretless, not on the fretted.

Is the physical interaction of the strings with the frets the problem? Do the strings eat the frets? Does Gold Tone use especially soft fretwire, that even flatwounds can wear it fast? This would strike me as odd and, even if proven true, I don't think it is cause for concern on other platforms: La Bella flats aren't known as fret-eaters.
Or is it the other way around? do the GoldTone frets damage flats, and not plastic or silver-plated copper strings that they install on/sell for their basses? Even more improbable.
Finally, why should the above apply only to the hollowbody models? Do they use different fretwire on the solids?

Having set aside the more far-fetched interpretation, let's move on to the crux of the matter: why solid-body yes, fretless hollowbody yes, fretted hollowbody no? Apparently, the hollow body, and structural problems thereof, is not at the root of the warning: there's no reason why fretless acoustic Mbasses should be more heavily-braced than fretted ones. So the added tension provided by steel-core, steel flatwounds vs. more conventional uke-bass strings is not the problem here.

The problem is intonation. The La Bella strings in question are significantly stiffer than polymeric strings (either mono-filament or nylon-core roundwounds), so they play sharp the higher up the neck you go.
This is not a problem for the electric models, which come with a continuously-adjustable bridge that can be set suitably back for the flatwounds to intonate correctly; it is also kind-of not a problem for fretless hollowbodies because, while the bridge is glued in place, the player can simply ignore the lines and adjust by ear, compensating manually. Neither procedure is possible on the fretted hollowbodies. Hence the warning.

Finally, I'm fairly sure I read (long after I'd formulated my hypothesis) that one can order a new fretted Mbass specifying it is to be equipped with the MBLS, and have the factory position the bridge accordingly.
Click to expand...
Great explanation. Thanks!
 
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#13
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#17
mmbass21 said:
Thanks for the reply and I'll look into those. Not much info out there for 27" scale strings that I can find.
Click to expand...
Here are the specs of the custom strings I purchased.

El.-Bass Chrome-Nickel flatwound as per my measurements for Valiant ultra short scale bass, gauges: .045 .065 .085 .105
thick wound length 74 cm / total length overall 100 cm

Max gave me the option of a bunch of different silk colors. I went with black because the body and headstock are black. Due to the bridge design, there's no silk on the ball end. I don't have the exact measurements that I input into his order form, but if you decide to go this route, you can contact Max Junger via email at [email protected] and reference my name (John Maar) and order details (Order confirmation dated 15.02.2024; Order confirmation No. 17527). I paid a total of 66,69 € including shipping to France, 19% German VAT and a 2 € Paypal business payment fee that he incurs when paying via Paypal using his email address. Good luck!
 
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#18
mmbass21 said:
Thanks for the reply and I'll look into those. Not much info out there for 27" scale strings that I can find.
Click to expand...
Here's the link for a custom order of Pyramid strings. It's in German and the instrument is a violin, but I think it's pretty obvious, even if you don't speak German like I do.

Pyramid strings custom order form

PM me if you have any questions or need help with that page.
 
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#19
Deleted member 268085 said:
Here's the link for a custom order of Pyramid strings. It's in German and the instrument is a violin, but I think it's pretty obvious, even if you don't speak German like I do.

Pyramid strings custom order form

PM me if you have any questions or need help with that page.
Click to expand...
hello all - i'm thinking of purchasing the valiant mini bass in either a fretted or fretless version.

I'm most concerned about the string tension - I have tried a 23 scale bass before and the strings were very floppy. How is the string tension on this bass? Does it feel any different than a larger scale bass?
 
#20
sighchological said:
hello all - i'm thinking of purchasing the valiant mini bass in either a fretted or fretless version.

I'm most concerned about the string tension - I have tried a 23 scale bass before and the strings were very floppy. How is the string tension on this bass? Does it feel any different than a larger scale bass?
Click to expand...
Depends on the strings. The strings it shipped with had decent tension, better even than the default string sets on some of my 30" scale basses. The custom length Pyramid Gold flats I installed on it don't feel at all floppy to me. It's a great bass that just happens to be a bit diminutive in size.
 

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