Short Scale bass for Acid Jazz/Detroit Funk

Try Landing basses thet make custom short scale basses. Here is a picture of a Jazz style.
http://www.landingbass.com/New INDEX for 2013.html

 

There's a short scale Jaguar bass from Squier in the Vintage Modified line (decent products). That would give you the P pickup in the neck, and the Jazz pickup in the bridge. You can get close enough to a Jazz sound out of that.

 

Generally round-wound strings are better for slap. They're a brighter sounding string. You said you don't play slap though, so it depends on what you're going for. You could get a deeper/mellower bass sound out of flatwounds and save your fingers a bit of grief as well. It might be part of the mix in a unique sound for you. Or, you could get a brighter, more-aggressive sound out of rounds.

I don't know enough about short scale basses to know if they need special strings, but I'd imagine you can at least find round or flat wound strings for it.

A lot of people swear by one brand or another for strings, but I've never had a problem just picking something off the top shelf. I'll go with Elixir Nanoweb sometimes but they do lose a bit of brightness over a fresh, new set of non-coated strings.

 

Why would you need to avoid low notes on a SS bass? Why would the Squier PJ have a high school plectrum tone? I don't know how long it's been since you played a SS, but with the string choices available now there's very little you can't do on one.

 

The pop of an acoustic bass is partly from the follow-through of the finger striking the adjacent string (see clip below). For example you hit the E on the D-string and the plucking finger hits the A-string. There are articles and TB threads on how to make your electric bass sound similar (not "just like") a DB (this article's good).



FWIW, I prefer the sound of flats slapped (though I know you don't intend to slap a lot).
+1 for the SS Jaguar

*NB: Speakers may fart out, but doublebasses do not.

Welcome to TB!

 

Welcome to TB

At the top end of the scale, I'd recommend a 32" Status Kingbass with bendwell, but that's going to cost you a King's Ransom...

So I'll second the Classic Player Rascal - I got one for Xmas/Birthday and it's excellent. I don't use the short scale strings. Mine's strung on DR Fat Beams 40-100 and sounds epic

 

Mustang is a great bass. Another thought is a Carvin SB 40 or 60 if you like the Daptones sound.

Just interesting to note that the 2 influences you mentioned played PJ.

 

the low notes on short scale basses sound just as good as long scale/regular

rondo music has a ss called hxb-405 or 406 something. had a pretty solid b, deec electronics all for 350 usd

 

I'd say that might be a combination of playing technique, flats and the fretless neck. I have a fretless jazz bass strung with flats that get's that "farty" sound, though there isn't much of the percussive pop without adjusting technique.

 

I just found this btw : http://www.hagstromguitars.eu/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=120&Itemid=12

It has a 6-way rotary pickup selector which tells me there's probably some coil-split sounds in there as well. Seems like a pretty versatile bass. They're going for 550 on reverb.com and some other places, so if you're looking for a slightly "upgraded" instrument it might be a decent start.

It's not a J configuration but you might be able to get some good sounds out of it. My guess is the neck is really dark/muddy/bassy. The bridge pickup looks like it's somewhere between the MusicMan position and a Precision Pickup position.

 

Check out the Jag SS. If you want a ton of info, check out the club links in my sig. Don't let anyone fool you about the low notes on any SS, they keep up quite well. And I have a Hipshot Xtender on mine. No issues.

 

I'm pretty sure the bass player from Average White Band back in the 70s used a 30" scale Fender Musicmaster or Mustang bass.

 

Thomastik "short scale" jazz flats (JF324) are 34" from ball to silk and are too long for most short scale basses. I use them on my Mustangs (one fretted, one defretted) and they just fit, since the Mustang is strung through the body. The Mustang sounds much more like a Precision than a Jazz, but the Thomastiks really sing on it.

D'Addario Chromes are available in short scale, as are several varieties of LaBellas. The LaBella "white" tapewounds (actually, they are clear tapes) are very bright.

There is a 30" scale Modern Player Jazz coming (it's in Europe now and is expected in the US this spring). There's a thread here. It's a PJ so it can sound "kinda sorta" like a Precision or a Jazz.

The Squier Short Scale Jaguar sells for $180, is a PJ and gets a lot of love here on TB. They are a bit more neck heavy compared to the Mustang, but otherwise play and sound great.

 

A bass like this one should fill your needs:

 

Read this about short scale basses http://www.innertainment.net/medium.html
And Thank you to Basshappy for this great read.