Short scale 5 string for travel?

[Mighty Thumb]

Work has me traveling on a more regular basis now, often driving, occasionally flying. Ironically I'm also playing more now with a new band and starting on the worship team in the new year.

When my travel is by car, I'd like to take a bass so I can continue to learn songs and keep up a practice regiment. I have a ToneX Plug, so I'm all set for headphone practice in the hotel with bass and phone.

Both gigs are on 5 string so I'd like to stick with that, but am also aware that options are much more limited. There will sometimes be opportunities to jam (several coworkers are great players!) so it needs to be a serviceable instrument.

I'd like to keep the spend at or below $800 if possible, but could prob stretch a little for the right bass. I'd also like to stick with a 30" scale or shorter. Would be great if it could fit in a guitar gig bag.

There was an Ibanez headless short scale (not fanned fret) in my budget on Reverb over the holidays that I slept on which would have probably filled the bill. New ones are more than I want to spend.

I've also looked at, but not played, the Kala U-Bass solid body 5 string and the Ibanez TMB35.

Looking for others experience and options I've not considered.

 

[crazycloud]

Steinberger Spirit XT25. Full scale though.
It's the smallest, even more so than most shorties with a headstock.

 

[Mighty Thumb]

Steinberger Spirit XT25. Full scale though.
It's the smallest, even more so than most shorties with a headstock.

I have actually looked at that, but also read a fair number of pretty unfavorable reviews. Do you have personal experience with this bass?

 

[ahbass2500]

I have actually looked at that, but also read a fair number of pretty unfavorable reviews. Do you have personal experience with this bass?

I had the four string version years ago. Does not sit well in your lap, but was okay on a strap for me. Stock electronics were weak and I sold it as a result. Look into pickup swap options for it if you decide to go with one. A preamp pedal might even have been enough to fix my concern. I did not hate the tone, it was just low output and very little range.

Look at the Ibanez EHB605 or Talman TMB35. EHB saves some size with headless. Talman is a short scale. I have not tried either Ibanez, but Ibanez is usually decent.

 

[evil1603]

Ibanez Mikro 5

Pretty short, but I have no personal experience with it.

 

[pingvuiini]

Ibanez Mikro and Kala solid body uke basses are excellent values (far left and 4th and 5th from the right). They played and sounded great right out of the box. I have done a lot of upgrades to them, but the base instruments are solid and great quality for the money. The Tiny Boy (now known as Tiny Bass, 4th from the left) is even smaller than the Kalas, but the bridge is shifted closer to the bottom of the body and sort of makes it harder to play.

 

[jurberg]

Work has me traveling on a more regular basis now, often driving, occasionally flying. Ironically I'm also playing more now with a new band and starting on the worship team in the new year.

When my travel is by car, I'd like to take a bass so I can continue to learn songs and keep up a practice regiment. I have a ToneX Plug, so I'm all set for headphone practice in the hotel with bass and phone.

Both gigs are on 5 string so I'd like to stick with that, but am also aware that options are much more limited. There will sometimes be opportunities to jam (several coworkers are great players!) so it needs to be a serviceable instrument.

I'd like to keep the spend at or below $800 if possible, but could prob stretch a little for the right bass. I'd also like to stick with a 30" scale or shorter. Would be great if it could fit in a guitar gig bag.

There was an Ibanez headless short scale (not fanned fret) in my budget on Reverb over the holidays that I slept on which would have probably filled the bill. New ones are more than I want to spend.

I've also looked at, but not played, the Kala U-Bass solid body 5 string and the Ibanez TMB35.

Looking for others experience and options I've not considered.

 

[Mighty Thumb]

I watched that video as I started this quest. That's what put the Kala on the list. Travis has some great content!

 

[crazycloud]

Do you have personal experience with this bass?

Yep, both 4 and 5 strings, plus the guitars in HSS and HSH and the older Hohners. Still own several of them.

What are the review comments that have put you off?

 

[TheDuff]

Work has me traveling on a more regular basis now, often driving, occasionally flying. Ironically I'm also playing more now with a new band and starting on the worship team in the new year.

When my travel is by car, I'd like to take a bass so I can continue to learn songs and keep up a practice regiment. I have a ToneX Plug, so I'm all set for headphone practice in the hotel with bass and phone.

Both gigs are on 5 string so I'd like to stick with that, but am also aware that options are much more limited. There will sometimes be opportunities to jam (several coworkers are great players!) so it needs to be a serviceable instrument.

I'd like to keep the spend at or below $800 if possible, but could prob stretch a little for the right bass. I'd also like to stick with a 30" scale or shorter. Would be great if it could fit in a guitar gig bag.

There was an Ibanez headless short scale (not fanned fret) in my budget on Reverb over the holidays that I slept on which would have probably filled the bill. New ones are more than I want to spend.

I've also looked at, but not played, the Kala U-Bass solid body 5 string and the Ibanez TMB35.

Looking for others experience and options I've not considered.

This is going to sound totally different but I think it relates to the situation at hand and keeping in the groove while making a contribution to the group.

Other suggestions might be better.

However you could get an Ipad and download the 'Korg' music performance apps; Module Pro 3, and especially Gadgets 2 or 3. These are inexpensive and always on sale.

So, with only an Ipad and headphones you can wirelessly tap out all kinds of rythyms and beats and other arrangements with the on screen various bass gadgets snd groove machines, beat machines, and drum machines, including traditional acoustic analog synthesized drum kits, etc. Congas, bongos, things you never heard of before but cool.

Nothing else required except for an Ipad, newer the better. This assumes that you already have Bluetooth headphones or bt earphones.

The apps display various full screen input surfaces from iconic synthesizer klones as well as totally new fantastical but cool imaginary synthesizers never heard of. You press the keys or pads on the screen expressing your musical ideas. It is easy to find great sounding gadgets to espress your ideas or objectives with.

Easy to carry on the plane. Great excuse for getting a new Ipad.

The audio can be connected from the usb-c port on the Ipad to the audio interface located at the PA or stage monitors.

Ask the church keyboard players about this. They are pioneers in this type of Ipad assisted performance. Many use Ipad page changers for turning the sheet music pages, 12" Ipad preferred. Automatically turns the sheet music while they just play.

The church keyboard players also have pioneered the electronic keyboard synthesizers seen everywhere today, in the church music setting. Many think electronic keyboards are toys but keyboard players know differently and many plug usb cables into the back of the electronic keyboards. Into the Ipad and the opportunities of that environment.

Simple page turning to interconnecting hardware keyboards and groove machines. Musical wizards with Ipads and PA systems.

Possibly some people like this are in your music environment of associates. It can be useful to talk to someone about this idea that actually knows something about it.

The most likely place to find a musician with an understanding of using Ipads and music production apps (as in the korg apps) and apps like GarageBand are going to be church keyboard players. They know more about using this in a music performance setting than any other group of musicians that I personally myself have met.

 

[OnlyFlats]

I'm not generally happy with low B on a short scale. I recommend exploring your headless options at full scale. That Ibanez ehb you missed has been on my radar too.

Don't be scared off by fanned fret. They aren't a big deal, easy to adapt to.

If you're traveling by car most of the time, no point trying to keep it below carry on luggage length. Have something that can competently deliver what you need.

 

[TheDuff]

I just got a new Ibanez Mikro bass 4 string metallic purple. Very cool minature bass guitar.

I was thinking it looks like a mini version of my big Gibson 34" EB bass with a stock distinctive Thunderbird or bird of prey headstock.

I held the Gibson up next to it and the body shapes mirror each other, and neck style, etc. Images of each other like relatives sometimes are similar in appearance. I was impressed with the parallelism.

The big Gibson Eb 34" bass feels lighter than the Ibanez Mikro bass. Doesn't feel like it weighs more than the Mikro for sure. And I have a digital dog scale I weigh guitars on. For now I am impressed with how light my big Gibson is as well as how good my Ibanez Mikro sounds and plays.

I knew what I was getting when I bought the new purple Mikro for $219. US.

It sounds great straight into my tiny Warwick Gnome 200 watt head into my sealed 15" Eminence Ca154 4 ohm single speaker cabinet I built with the help of a i. You have to keep a close eye on a i … Anyway my home made sealed cabinet sounds great and can withstand everything the Warwick Gnome can deliver to it.

The Warwick Gnome diminutive little amp head delivers a straight up sound into the cab. No flubbing around. It sounds tight, strong, clear. 5 knobs on the Gnome, one is gain. It produces a great range of fundamental bass sounds across its eq range and the master volume allows a lot of tone shaping with full, mellow, old school bass tones in there with the more direct sounds you might expect.

The Mikro sounds great thru this but especially great when I attached my bass multipedal Zoom multistomp ms-60b+ pedal before the Gnome input.

The Zoom bass pedal brings in a lot of other variables.

Some of the presets sound great with the Mikro or any bass. But they are very maxxed out with gain, in my system, and most of the presets need to be restaged in terms of gain. Very easy to do on this pedal.

So, I agree that with my new Mikro a lot of great quality sounds can be had using an effects pedal. Even a delay would be cool…

But the plain stock sound on mine sounds very decent for what it is after my set up. I had to adjust the saddles and experiment with the pickup heights. Still has stock strings. It is easy to pound out some good bass grooves while relaxing with this guitar. I had no problem playing it while sitting or even reclining. No problem. The Mikro feels great in the hands and the neck is not too thin.

Feels great on the strap because of the light weight and ergonomic shape.

The frets are perfect and are of a design that usually is not sharp. The ends are industrially rounded off at the factory. The fretboard is uniformly dark brown after fretboard oil enhanced the darkness of the grain.

The Mikro exceeds my expectations and thru my decent quality rig it sounds great. Most of the sonic enhancement is probably due to the amp head and the effects pedal. As you might expect.

 

[Iristone]

I've just seen a new local brand Chillman, and recently they've started to produce 31", 5-string headless basses that you could pre-order. Lucky coincidence!

My girlfriend commented that these basses (and their guitars) look especially good according to Chinese aesthetics. For Westerners, maybe they look close enough to Ibanez EHBs to look good, too. Availability could be through Reverb?

 

[Mighty Thumb]

Yep, both 4 and 5 strings, plus the guitars in HSS and HSH and the older Hohners. Still own several of them.

What are the review comments that have put you off?

Much the same as what @ahadl2500 expressed. Poor build quality and weak electronics. Most of the time I will be playing sitting down, how do you find that they sit in the lap?

 

[Mighty Thumb]

This is going to sound totally different but I think it relates to the situation at hand and keeping in the groove while making a contribution to the group.

Other suggestions might be better.

However you could get an Ipad and download the 'Korg' music performance apps; Module Pro 3, and especially Gadgets 2 or 3. These are inexpensive and always on sale.

So, with only an Ipad and headphones you can wirelessly tap out all kinds of rythyms and beats and other arrangements with the on screen various bass gadgets snd groove machines, beat machines, and drum machines, including traditional acoustic analog synthesized drum kits, etc. Congas, bongos, things you never heard of before but cool.

Nothing else required except for an Ipad, newer the better. This assumes that you already have Bluetooth headphones or bt earphones.

The apps display various full screen input surfaces from iconic synthesizer klones as well as totally new fantastical but cool imaginary synthesizers never heard of. You press the keys or pads on the screen expressing your musical ideas. It is easy to find great sounding gadgets to espress your ideas or objectives with.

Easy to carry on the plane. Great excuse for getting a new Ipad.

The audio can be connected from the usb-c port on the Ipad to the audio interface located at the PA or stage monitors.

Ask the church keyboard players about this. They are pioneers in this type of Ipad assisted performance. Many use Ipad page changers for turning the sheet music pages, 12" Ipad preferred. Automatically turns the sheet music while they just play.

The church keyboard players also have pioneered the electronic keyboard synthesizers seen everywhere today, in the church music setting. Many think electronic keyboards are toys but keyboard players know differently and many plug usb cables into the back of the electronic keyboards. Into the Ipad and the opportunities of that environment.

Simple page turning to interconnecting hardware keyboards and groove machines. Musical wizards with Ipads and PA systems.

Possibly some people like this are in your music environment of associates. It can be useful to talk to someone about this idea that actually knows something about it.

The most likely place to find a musician with an understanding of using Ipads and music production apps (as in the korg apps) and apps like GarageBand are going to be church keyboard players. They know more about using this in a music performance setting than any other group of musicians that I personally myself have met.

I appreciate you sharing this perspective. It certainly is something to consider, especially when I'm flying instead of driving. I always bring my iPad with me anyway. Thanks!

 

[CMGunther]

I regularly fly for work and bring along a bass to fill all the dead time in the evenings with something productive and interesting. I just bring a regular old 34" or 35" scale bass with me in a sturdy gig bag and then gate check it. Never had an issue. For the record, I travel with a roller bag, computer bag and the bass. I haven't ever gotten a complaint about more than 2 bags as I am not taking the bass on the plane. Trying to squeeze a tiny bass into the on-board mix might be limiting.

One note of caution though...depending on the airport, TSA sometimes needs to hand check the bass at security if they have the newer scanners that require bins.

 

[srayb]

I think the Kala solid body 5-string would be the best solution. Normal 30" short scales don't fit in guitar cases (IME), so they'd take up just as much space a 34" scale bass. The Ibanez Mikro 5-string is the exception, and would probably fit in a guitar case as it is 28.6" scale. But the Kala is considerably more compact, and I've heard nothing but praise for them.

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

Not exactly a "short scale", but my Cort Space Bass 5 (headless) serves well as a travel bass as it fits into a guitar gig bag. Although I'm not crazy about its electronics; full bass + 80% treble + slightly boosted mids + slightly favored neck pickup setting gives a usable active Jazz Bass tone, which I used on some abroad gigs.

 

[brocco]

The Ibanez Mikro5 is my number one now, thick, punchy, great playing neck and weighs 6.5 lbs. ALL my expensive 34" scale basses are gone.

 

[TheDuff]

I appreciate you sharing this perspective. It certainly is something to consider, especially when I'm flying instead of driving. I always bring my iPad with me anyway. Thanks!

The Korg music app, inexpensive (very inexpensive) called Gadgets 2 or 3 is awesome.

It is a collection of synthesizers, bass boxes, and drum machines of totally great quality. These gadgets are cool and you can tap out the exercises with very good sounding audio quality thru the Ipad speakers or headphones, or stage monitors.

Also this Gadgets 3 app is very easy to use, bluetooth, etc. Very simple just using the app and bluetooth headphones. Very absorbing and incredibly useful for music study and performance.

Players use this app for recording and arranging music as well. Editing performances. Even editing individual notes…

In the church music environment there should be a lot of knowledgeable musicians familiar with this type of thing and interested in it.