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Not Giving Up on Full Scale

FerruleCat

FerruleCat

Guest
Mar 29, 2014
807
856
Tulsa, OK
#1
I consider myself a short-scale guy, but every time I pick up my 34" scale SX P-style with Fender '64 pickup, I'm impressed with the tone, which is full, musical, and open. I don't like the reach required on the lower frets, particularly doing the 3-to-5 fret change as a 2-finger reach, but I think it's worth working on it to get comfortable with full scale.

My SX has the trademark orange maple neck, but I just ordered a rosewood-board neck and case from Rondo for not too much money. I'm thinking of thinning the herd just a bit, keeping the SX, my Squier VM Mustang, and my Rogue VB100, which is my favorite.
 
#2
FerruleCat said:
I consider myself a short-scale guy, but every time I pick up my 34" scale SX P-style with Fender '64 pickup, I'm impressed with the tone, which is full, musical, and open. I don't like the reach required on the lower frets, particularly doing the 3-to-5 fret change as a 2-finger reach, but I think it's worth working on it to get comfortable with full scale.

My SX has the trademark orange maple neck, but I just ordered a rosewood-board neck and case from Rondo for not too much money. I'm thinking of thinning the herd just a bit, keeping the SX, my Squier VM Mustang, and my Rogue VB100, which is my favorite.
Click to expand...

With all due respect, play the bass that fits you. If the shorty isn't giving you the sound you are looking for, and the long scale slows down your playing ability - you might want to try out a medium scale bass, which splits the difference at 32" scale.

Just a suggestion, take it for what it is worth.....

Good luck either way!
 
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#4
Bent77 said:
Mediums are a great compromise.
Am I correct that some MIJ P basses are medium scale?
Click to expand...

Yes, these are all Fender Mediums. These are off the rack and can be purchased new - top Jazz is Fender Japan and the T-Bucket is available here:

Jazz Sideways.png


T-Bucket Sideways.png


This one has been modded a bit with the finish and the bridge, but they are being blown out for $199 right now:

SideBy4.png


This one looked like this originally:

Tele-2.jpg


And these two are medium scale Fenders MIJ from the mid 1980's - although the "hot rod" paint job with the pinstriping I had done:

Hot-Rod-Bass Sideways.png


JazzSpecial Sideways.jpg


These two I modded with new bodies and Fender medium scale necks - Fender doesn't make these so I had to do it myself:

51-P-Bass Sideways.png


1954 Sideways.png


I have a Fender Performer in medium scale coming, which is in the final stages:

Performer.jpg


And a Stu Hamm Urge I Prototype, which is also medium scale:

Hamm Sideways-1.png
 
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#9
FerruleCat said:
Outstanding stuff there, BassHappy. I'll check out medium scale at my local shop.
Click to expand...

Hey FerruleCat

If you really like the SX stuff, as far as I know, they also do some medium scalers. It's good to try on one for fit, though. Even if you can only find a T-Bucket acoustic and say a Tele Bass in medium - you will get a sense pretty quickly how it fits/feels. There are other mediums here and there in the local shop - but they are still a little hard to come by.

If you like the fit and feel, then it's a matter of the sound. I don't hear or feel any appreciable difference between long and medium scale myself, never have.
 
#10
Bent77 said:
GAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Hey MRB

Yeah, when it first came out - this beauty cost me $299. I put a few bucks in it and made it my own. The neck is so very cool and old school. Frets pounded right into the neck - no fingerboard. I love it! You can get much more of a sense of the "smoky" part of the burst on mine - by looking at the back of the body:

SideBy.png


If you find yourself gravitating to mediums, life can become a little complicated. They really aren't that available in the local store. But, if you do your homework and ask around here on TB you can usually find what you are looking for - or in the worst case - build it yourself!
 
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#11
BassHappy said:
Hey MRB

Yeah, when it first came out - this beauty cost me $299. I put a few bucks in it and made it my own. The neck is so very cool and old school. Frets pounded right into the neck - no fingerboard. I love it! You can get much more of a sense of the "smoky" part of the burst on mine - by looking at the back of the body:

View attachment 542730

If you find yourself gravitating to mediums, life can become a little complicated. They really aren't that available in the local store. But, if you do your homework and ask around here on TB you can usually find what you are looking for - or in the worst case - build it yourself!
Click to expand...
you're not helping
 
#14
I've tried short, medium and long scale. Medium scale is perfect for me. Sounds better (to me) than short scale, particularly for drop tunings. But much more comfortable and faster-playing than long scale. It's the best of both worlds. BassHappy definitely has it figured out.

My only bass right now is a medium scale Warmoth build, but I'll soon be building another.
 
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#15
Yeah, RedHotFuzz, I was thinking of your journey over the past year. You had good foresight to consider that your Warmoth could be either short or medium scale. I'll give the 34" a fair effort, and as Plan B I'll swap the 64 P pickup into a short scale to see how much of that tone transfers over. Plan C is to explore medium scale.
 

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