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Short fingered players

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DarkArwen

Oct 29, 2009
161
0
#1
I'm 5'2" so I don't have the long fingers that help with this instrument. No way I am getting 4 frets low in the neck. I also want to get a 5 string one day, but I may not have a whole lot of selection because I'm not a 6' tall dude.
Do you other short fingered players just stay higher up the neck and do more shifting? Or have you been able to stretch your hands some. I have been playing about a year and I am curious to see what others experience has been.

I guess one day I could build my own 5 string.......
 
#2
DarkArwen said:
I'm 5'2" so I don't have the long fingers that help with this instrument. No way I am getting 4 frets low in the neck. I also want to get a 5 string one day, but I may not have a whole lot of selection because I'm not a 6' tall dude.
Do you other short fingered players just stay higher up the neck and do more shifting? Or have you been able to stretch your hands some. I have been playing about a year and I am curious to see what others experience has been.

I guess one day I could build my own 5 string.......
Click to expand...

Short fingered player here. Hold the bass in a way where you can reach the frets. If that is to hold the bass higher in general, or to tilt the neck up more. Picture of the way you currently hold the bass?
 
#3
You might wanna check out Birdsong basses. Very high quality 31" scale basses. Frets are closer together than a standard 34" scale bass. Makes playing alot easier, especially for players with shorter fingers.

EDIT: plus, Scott at Birdsong places the bridge right near the end of the body, which has the effect of shortening the neck, making the reach to the lower frets much easier.
 
#4

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#8
Despite my height of 5'11", my hands are small compared to most people, like on par with the 5'5" guys I work with. That being said, I feel more comfortable with a 5 stringer because of the decreased span that Skitch it! mentioned, and with your overall body size being someone smaller than most, I'd definitely agree with the recommendations to look into short scale basses.
 
#10
That's one awesome looking bass Mayers. How heavy is that thing!
@everyone.
Don't know why I never thought of short scaled basses, but when I am ready to buy I will look into that. I also forgot that the extra string will give me more options in a shorter space. I just wanted extra low notes! I'm all excited.
 
#11
Im fairly small as well. 5'6... I was playing an Ibanez SR706 six string and it was really comfy for me. 34" scale, 16.5mm spacing, very thin neck. Currently my main bass is a Stingray 5HH and its comfortable as well.
Oddly I was very comfy on a Modulus Q6 which is 35" scale and larger spacing so I guess you have to try each bass.
 
#13
When you spread your fingers as far as possible, what kind of angle do you see between thumb and pinkie, and index finger and pinkie? I regularly do stretches and I get about 180 degrees between thumb/pinkie and 120 degrees between index/pinkie.

It's the fascia in my palm and between fingers that I've been stretching. My hands are not gigantic, and I can get 4 frets low on a 34" easily.
 
#15
DarkArwen said:
I'm 5'2" so I don't have the long fingers that help with this instrument. No way I am getting 4 frets low in the neck. I also want to get a 5 string one day, but I may not have a whole lot of selection because I'm not a 6' tall dude.
Do you other short fingered players just stay higher up the neck and do more shifting? Or have you been able to stretch your hands some. I have been playing about a year and I am curious to see what others experience has been.

I guess one day I could build my own 5 string.......
Click to expand...

You can build your own 5 string parts basses and use 4 string necks and put 5 strings on them. That is what I do.

http://www.3dentourage.com/425/425.htm
 
#16
DarkArwen said:
That's one awesome looking bass Mayers. How heavy is that thing!
@everyone.
Don't know why I never thought of short scaled basses, but when I am ready to buy I will look into that. I also forgot that the extra string will give me more options in a shorter space. I just wanted extra low notes! I'm all excited.
Click to expand...

Thank a lot !!! It weight around 9,5 lbs not to bad for a 6 strings bass with swamp ash body and maple neck.
 
#20
You could also do like a double bass player in the lower range: 1-2-4. You will have to come up with strategies to play things like fast chromatic runs, but that little half step shift won't slow you down if you spend a little time in the woodshed. You'll spend less time developing technique than you will looking for an instrument that has both size and sound.
 

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