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Recommendations for a lightweight, short-scale bass

#22
Scott Beckwith of Birdsong makes a basic, less expensive short scale called the Shortbass. I've never weighed mine, but they are the most comfortable basses I own (1 fretted, 1 fretless, both walnut - but lighter woods are available). The fretless Scott made for me is the very one he demoes here:

 
#23
I have no experience with it, but the Hofner Club and Violin basses are also semi-hollow and thus extremely lightweight.

I played the SBMM Stingray Short Scale in the store and quite liked it. It was reasonably light.

The Sire U5 is every Youtubers darling short scale right now, but I do not know about the weight.
 
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#25
Easy answer. Duesenberg Starplayer. 30.7" scale. Sub 8 pounds. Semi-hollow. 2 humbuckers. Sounds great, looks great. Set neck, narrow and feels a little like a Les Paul.
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#26
I contributed to another post about short scale basses a couple of weeks ago. A few months ago, I bought a Sterling StingRay. I think this bass looks very good and it plays very well. When I first got it, I learned that whatever Ernie Ball strings come on this bass were a poor choice. I switched to T-I Jazz Flats and made a big improvement to sound and playability. Since then, I've made small tweaks to my amp and how I play, and now I think I have a keeper. This bass cost very little and I know that it sounds much better than a Fender, so I think it was a good purchase. For an inexpensive short scale bass, it works well
 
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#28
SLPimp said:
I have 2 for sale.

Bacchus WJB Mini Jazz bass with upgrades, 6.5lbs

Reverend WattPlower (EB tone) 6.75lbs.

The new Acinonyx, which I'd love to try, is around 6.5lbs.

A lot of short scales are hit or miss, but with some mods can be light.
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Tha acinonyx is awesome. But they're coming in closer to 7 pounds than 6.5. Still pretty light.

I have a Squier mustang with a Nordstrand replacement pickup and hip shot tuners. I like it a lot. You may too.

I have a wattplower. It's good but the neck might be a little chunky for what you're describing.

I do like my Ibanez Mikro as well as my Danelectro'59DC NOS+. I agree strings matter on the danelectro.

And I like all these Basses despite the fact that I am building 3 light weight 30" custom bases with Cliff Bordwell.
 
#30
90srockbands said:
Hey everyone,

I have small hands and a small frame, and most basses are too big for me. I recently got a Danelectro Longhorn bass and form factor-wise, it's perfect. Super light, short scale, I can play it like a guitar.

Unfortunately I wasn't the biggest fan of the sound :/ I tried to like it but it put a layer through my music that didn't sound great. For reference, this is a bass sound I love. I'm under the impression it's a P bass sound, but I could be wrong! And am open to other styles that are able to do this sound.



I like that it cuts through the mix, without ever feeling too rich/heavy or drawing too much attention away from the guitars. And yet is able to play quite melodic lines and be understood under a layer of guitars, which my Danelectro struggles to do.

With that in mind, what are some basses like this, that are short scale and lightweight? For personal reasons, I would prefer not to get a Fender or Squier bass, but open to copies or other styles entirely =) Max budget is $250-750.

Any recs appreciated! Thanks!
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Or Hofner or Fender AB-1
 
#36
I was going to suggest a Danelectro Longhorn, but then saw you wasn't satisfied with the one you got, beyond me why, but then again I doesn't have to understand since I am not you, but I don't have any better suggestions.

My 50 cent though is that the Longhorn would likely do what you with the right pickup configurations, a bit of additional EQ'ing, and the right strings, cause as far as I am concerned they are great sounding basses.

Wiring the 2 lipstick tube pickups in series is also an option, the pickup setting that I always used back when I owned a Jerry Jones Neptune Longhorn Bass (still regret being stupid enough to sell it), which had series as an option on the 4 position rotating pickup selector switch.
 
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#39
Thanks everyone. I'll experiment with strings and see if I can dial in the sound I want. I do really love the Danelectro's form factor (and vibe.)

If not I might try the Ibanez Mikro as it is very cheap and supposedly super easy to play. I'm a guitar player, not a bass player, just learning bass to add to my music, so an easy learning curve is good news.
 
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#40
I have the following non-long-scale basses:
SX Ursa 2 LT MN 32" Medium-scale Bass 8 lbs. 11 oz. $180
Invalid Link Removed with an EMG PJ Set and Ibanez B100 Bridge 7 lbs. 8 oz. $300 (w/o EMGs)
Invalid Link Removed 8 lbs. 4 oz. $700
Invalid Link Removed 5 lbs. 10 oz. $179

Right now, I'm having a mad passionate love affair with the Invalid Link Removed. I was looking for a 30" short-scale bass to replace my Fender Aerodyne Jazz. I love the Aerodyne Jazz neck profile and the Banshee is almost a perfect match.

I will likely sell the others soon, including the Fender Aerodyne Jazz.
 
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