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Practicing on a 3/4 size bass

SalM

SalM

Oct 15, 2021
5
4
Fells Point MD
#1
Hello All, This is my 1st post here. I am playing and practicing on a Ibanez sr505 full size bass.
Sometimes i travel or just want to pick up and play, I was thinking of buying a Ibanez Mikro 3/4 size bass but, but I keep thinking the Fretting will mess me up. I am trying to play and sing at the same time, so the spacing will be a problem as Im not looking at the fret board.
My other idea is to just get a cheaper beat up bass thats a full size.
Any Ideas will be helpful
Thanks
 
#3
The Mikro is a 28.6" scale. I have a bass in that length. Some people have no problem going back and forth, others need a very specific spec to feel comfortable on a bass. For me it took a while to get used to the small scale but now I don't have any problem going back and forth.

I'm of the school of thought that it's crippling to only be able to play a narrow range of basses, the Mikro is a great bass and you might find you like playing it as much if not more than full scale.

Lots of people are realizing the arbitrary 34" is more than they prefer and we're seeing a flood of 30 and 32 inch basses. I'd say buy the Mikro, give it an honest chance and you might find you're not limited to a single scale.

The spacing I don't like changing is bridge spacing, for others that doesn't matter. You can find used Mikros for under $100. I would say go for it.
 
#4
I think it's a question of practice and muscle memory development. I have no problems whatsoever changing between scale lengths, but I also regularly play my long scale, medium scale, short scale basses plus I also play guitar, mandolin and banjo. The folks I've played with who seem to have trouble changing scales tend to play the same instrument all the time. I do think it's a question of just doing it regularly to build up muscle memory. :thumbsup:
 
#5
WOW, Great info, I think it would be a 34" (full scale) or what im calling a full scale. I do like the idea of not being stuck on playing one size. I have no problem playing guitar, it does take a minute to get used to the smaller fret board. I can sing and play guitar, but can't do it as well playing bass, I still have to glance at the fret board.
That made me think my hands would get used to one size fret board so I don't have to look at it as much, and spend more time on my vocals. Im leaning toward the Ibanez Mikro. I guess I need to think on this. Thanks for all the good info, I've been thinking about this for a while and it is great to bounce this off of other bass players / Thanks
 
#6
If Stanley Clarke can switch seamlessly between his 30" short scale Alembic fretted bass and full 42" scale fretless double bass you can switch between a fretted 28,6" scale and 34" scale bass too (maybe a bad example, since I suppose far from everyone is in quite the same league of bass playing as Stanley Clarke, to put it mildly).

I love my Ibanez Mikro Bass, and the Weathered Black GSRM20B Mikro Bass looks great too.

I can highly recommend acquiring one of these basses.

Also I personally have no issues switching between my 24.75" SG guitar, 28.6" Mikro Bass, and 34" Aria Pro II bass.
 
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#7
Beej said:
I think it's a question of practice and muscle memory development. I have no problems whatsoever changing between scale lengths, but I also regularly play my long scale, medium scale, short scale basses plus I also play guitar, mandolin and banjo. The folks I've played with who seem to have trouble changing scales tend to play the same instrument all the time. I do think it's a question of just doing it regularly to build up muscle memory. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
What he said.

I have little difficulty to swap between 30, 32, 33 and 34" basses as well as 25 and 25.5" guitars.

Spend time playing each exclusively for a while and swap back periodically. Soon it will only take moments to swap between.
 
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#9
bigthemat said:
Not sure what you mean by full size and 3/4... when I see 3/4 size I think of an upright, which is like a ~42" scale length. Are you talking about a 34" vs. 32" or 30" scale length?
Click to expand...
Some short scale basses are actually referred to as 3/4 size when it is a shorter scale version of the same bass made in 34” scale. The body is actually smaller. @BassHappy can elaborate further on this in much greater detail and accuracy than I.
 
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#14
Lengthy disquisition, directed to nobody in particular, following:

fractional sizes, in bowed string instrument and classical guitar parlance, refer to body size, whose reduction is accompanied by a visually proportional shortening of scale length. (Small reduction in body measurements in the three dimensions go a long way in reducing cubic inchage: a 3/4 violin is not dramatically that much smaller than a normal one - certainly not 3/4 shorter in either scale length nor in total length.)

Instruments which have been more or less standardised (violin, cello) have student sizes that have more or less agreed-upon dimensions; instruments that haven't (viola, double bass) much less so: as upright players know, there is a lot of variation among basses called "3/4", which defines a ballpark rather than an exact size - and is also, as mentioned above, the de-facto standard ballpark (4/4 being harder to find and, I would imagine, play).

Classical guitars are kind of in between - a standard 4/4 being there (albeit with a certain amound of wiggle room for tweaks) means a 7/8 is usually a slightly smaller one, with one fret's worth of scale length reduction (i.e. a resulting ~24" scale); a 3/4 guitar tends to have a capo-on-2st scale length (~22.7"), or thereabouts; a 1/2 is a capo-on-3rd (21.5"), -on-4th (20.2", in which case 21.5" is called 5/8), or somewhere in between; a 1/4's scale equals capoing a standard guitar at the 5th fret (19", ou traditional baritone ukulele scale); a 1/8 at the 7th (17", tenor uke scale).
(Neck width is often less proportional, and thinner than expected for easiness of playing.)

Regarding solid-body electric guitars, body size being essentially irrelevant to tone led to it being not standardised: this means that usage of fractions (by those who do use them at all) to refer to student-size electrics tends to be a carryover from classical guitars, and to indicate scale as expected with the latter (in other words, a 1/4 electric guitar has a 19" scale like 1/4 classicals do) rather than body size.

What about electric basses then?
- some manufacturers and vendors' "3/4-size" is essentially good ole 30", short scale (SX, Stagg, Gear4Music), whereas 28.5" is 5/8 scale (Shredneck);
- for others, like this gentleman, "3/4" equals 28.5" scale.

I side with the former (30" scale being about the same as capoing a 34" standard bass at the 2nd, it is 3/4 to me, on bass as well as guitar).

...fin
 
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#15
HaphAsSard said:
Lengthy disquisition, directed to nobody in particular, following:

fractional sizes, in bowed string instrument and classical guitar parlance, refer to body size, whose reduction is accompanied by a visually proportional shortening of scale length. (Small reduction in body measurements in the three dimensions go a long way in reducing cubic inchage: a 3/4 violin is not dramatically that much smaller than a normal one - certainly not 3/4 shorter in either scale length nor in total length.)

Instruments which have been more or less standardised (violin, cello) have student sizes that have more or less agreed-upon dimensions; instruments that haven't (viola, double bass) much less so: as upright players know, there is a lot of variation among basses called "3/4", which defines a ballpark rather than an exact size - and is also, as mentioned above, the de-facto standard ballpark (4/4 being harder to find and, I would imagine, play).

Classical guitars are kind of in between - a standard 4/4 being there (albeit with a certain amound of wiggle room for tweaks) means a 7/8 is usually a slightly smaller one, with one fret's worth of scale length reduction (i.e. a resulting ~24" scale); a 3/4 guitar tends to have a capo-on-2st scale length (~22.7"), or thereabouts; a 1/2 is a capo-on-3rd (21.5"), -on-4th (20.2", in which case 21.5" is called 5/8), or somewhere in between; a 1/4's scale equals capoing a standard guitar at the 5th fret (19", ou traditional baritone ukulele scale); a 1/8 at the 7th (17", tenor uke scale).
(Neck width is often less proportional, and thinner than expected for easiness of playing.)

Regarding solid-body electric guitars, body size being essentially irrelevant to tone led to it being not standardised: this means that usage of fractions (by those who do use them at all) to refer to student-size electrics tends to be a carryover from classical guitars, and to indicate scale as expected with the latter (in other words, a 1/4 electric guitar has a 19" scale like 1/4 classicals do) rather than body size.

What about electric basses then?
- some manufacturers and vendors' "3/4-size" is essentially good ole 30", short scale (SX, Stagg, Gear4Music), whereas 28.5" is 5/8 scale (Shredneck);
- for others, like this gentleman, "3/4" equals 28.5" scale.

I side with the former (30" scale being about the same as capoing a 34" standard bass at the 2nd, it is 3/4 to me, on bass as well as guitar).

...fin
Click to expand...
3/4 is sometimes seen in advertisements as a stand in for"short" 30 inch scale instruments.

I don't think we need to standardize fractional sizes for bases. We do need a term for instruments in the 24 to 28 inch range.
 
#16
I would agree that switching is not a problem if you do it on a regular basis. During any particular practice session I normally try to play both a 30 and 34 scale bass, with the focus usually on the 34.

I personally feel that a 30" bass is easier to play than a 34" (given the same action, neck shape, etc.) both in terms of playing difficult pieces on the lower frets, and making quick and accurate jumps from the lower register to the higher register. I therefore do the opposite of the OP--I try to do my serious practice on the 34, then I feel more confident when I play the 30 (which is what I have been using for gigs and band rehearsal).
 
#18
Eilif said:
3/4 is sometimes seen in advertisements as a stand in for"short" 30 inch scale instruments.

I don't think we need to standardize fractional sizes for bases. We do need a term for instruments in the 24 to 28 inch range.
Click to expand...
I’ve seen mikro used for the 28” range (obviously the Ibanez Mikro) and guitar scale for 24” range.

Taylor uses mini for their 23.5” scale mini ABG and Guild uses Junior for its 23.75” mini ABG
 
#19
B-Mac said:
I’ve seen mikro used for the 28” range (obviously the Ibanez Mikro) and guitar scale for 24” range.

Taylor uses mini for their 23.5” scale mini ABG and Guild uses Junior for its 23.75” mini ABG
Click to expand...
Those seem like pretty useful terms. I think "Mini" is a term that will stick for instruments between 20 and 24.

For anything less than 24", I generally refer to it as Uke bass, but it's probably best to keep that term for 18-20".
 
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#20
Playing a short-scale bass is not much different than playing at the upper frets of a long-scale bass. I don't get why people struggle switching back and forth unless the lower register of a long scale bass is too wide and/or the higher register of a short scale bass is too narrow.
 

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