I have gone a bit crazy for Short Scale Basses lately. Here is my take on the four in the title:
Fender Mustang:
Great feeling neck, although there is a bit of neck dive. Pickups are standard Fender PJ sound. Nothing spectacular. I have replaced them with Duncan vintage PJ versions, so that is much improved. I like the body shape. It is extremely comfortable to play. The one thing I really disliked was the toggle switch pickup selector. My knee hit it while sitting and switched it off the bridge (down) setting too often. I also think it severely limits the tonal options to not have true pickup blend capability. You can run both together, but only full-on. I replaced the toggle with a tone knob and made the 2 original knobs into separate volumes for each pickup. Much more versatile now.This bass feels the most "solid" of the 4, construction wise.
Squier Jaguar Short Scale (older 30" model) I actually think this body shape is a better design for short scale than the Mustang. It sits better, and has less neck dive, even though the weight is very close to the same. Another great feeling neck. Frets on these are not as well finished as on the Mustang, but nothing really "wrong" with them. I like the separate volume blend knobs much better than the Mustang's 3 position switch. Squier PJ pickups are pretty generic sounding. I replaced these with a set of Duncan Designed PJ pickups from a full sized Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar. Sounds much better with those. I also tried a set of Duncan Quarter Pounder PJ's but that was overkill in the low end on this short scale. On this Jaguar Short Scale and one other Vintage Modified Squier Jazz bass, the pickguard warped in the middle to the point that I had to heat it back into shape so I could get my finger under the strings for slap techniques. Overall though, I think this Jaguar SS gives the Mustang (which costs almost 4 times as much new) a serious run for the money even if there was no price difference.
Sterling Stingray Short Scale:
This bass has a MUCH shorter reach than the others, due to the placement of the bridge and where the waist is positioned on the body. It actually feels about the same os the 28" scale Ibanez Mikro, even though the Stingray is 30" scale. I like it, but some with longer arms might find it cramped. Speaking of cramped, the lower cutout on the body is so tight it is impossible for me to reach the last couple of frets on the fretboard without some serious contortions of my hand position. I don't have big hands. The neck feels sturdy, but the finish is definitely not as smooth as the previous two basses. I don't really understand why they would leave it so rough, but a recent Sterling Ray35HH I had was the same, even though it was about twice the price so I guess they just don't think smooth necks are a priority. The neck on this is similar in profile to the Mustang (very jazz-bass-ish), while the Squier is a bit flatter in the back.
The pickup does sound similar to the Ceramic Humbucker in my active Sterling Ray24, but much more tame and a bit duller. I don't know whether this is due to it being a passive bass or the neodynium pickup. You can crank up a little gain on the amp to compensate, and it sounds fine. Make sure you have the Humbucker set far enough away from the strings (Musicman says 12/64ths. That is about 3 times lower than a normal guitar humbucker)
I like the Series/Parallel/Split selector knob. It really does add some versatility, even though it is a bit hard to rotate. The push-push boost knob adds a tiny bit o oomph, but also feels a bit flimsy, so I don't mess with it much. I suspect this bass could benefit from a Seymour Duncan Ceramic Musicman Humbucker, and may try one soon. This is a FUN bass to play, and the best of the 4 to play while leaning back watching TV on the couch.
One note: On the other 3 basses, you can cut a regular long scale string like a 95 gauge and get it down in the tuner holes, but it will not fit in this Stingray, so you will need to use strings tapered specifically for short scale.
Ibanez TMB30 Short Scale:
Out of all 4 basses here, this is actually my favorite one to noodle around on. It is SO comfortable. The neck on this bass feels comparable to the Squier and Fender, and much more smooth than the Stingray. The thing I love most about this bass is the string spacing. It is somewhere between a P-bass and Jazz-bass spacing which is perfect for short scale. Jazz bass spacing is kinda tight anyway, and on short scale basses it can feel even more cramped. This ibanez is in the Goldilocks zone for string spacing and makes slap techniques much easier. The body is also comfortable and the controls are basic, solid and work well. I pretty quickly replaced the pickups on 2 of the other basses, but I actually like these. They are a bit bright, but coming at this from a lifetime playing guitar, I kinda like some bite and snap to the sound. You can always turn the tone knob down. The input jack on these is also very easy to use. I was really surprised how much I liked this little bass. Considering you could get about 4 of these for the price of the Mustang... I really don't think the mustang is THAT much better than the Talman basses right now, but I guess we will have to see what they both look like a decade down the road.
Fender Mustang:
Great feeling neck, although there is a bit of neck dive. Pickups are standard Fender PJ sound. Nothing spectacular. I have replaced them with Duncan vintage PJ versions, so that is much improved. I like the body shape. It is extremely comfortable to play. The one thing I really disliked was the toggle switch pickup selector. My knee hit it while sitting and switched it off the bridge (down) setting too often. I also think it severely limits the tonal options to not have true pickup blend capability. You can run both together, but only full-on. I replaced the toggle with a tone knob and made the 2 original knobs into separate volumes for each pickup. Much more versatile now.This bass feels the most "solid" of the 4, construction wise.
Squier Jaguar Short Scale (older 30" model) I actually think this body shape is a better design for short scale than the Mustang. It sits better, and has less neck dive, even though the weight is very close to the same. Another great feeling neck. Frets on these are not as well finished as on the Mustang, but nothing really "wrong" with them. I like the separate volume blend knobs much better than the Mustang's 3 position switch. Squier PJ pickups are pretty generic sounding. I replaced these with a set of Duncan Designed PJ pickups from a full sized Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar. Sounds much better with those. I also tried a set of Duncan Quarter Pounder PJ's but that was overkill in the low end on this short scale. On this Jaguar Short Scale and one other Vintage Modified Squier Jazz bass, the pickguard warped in the middle to the point that I had to heat it back into shape so I could get my finger under the strings for slap techniques. Overall though, I think this Jaguar SS gives the Mustang (which costs almost 4 times as much new) a serious run for the money even if there was no price difference.
Sterling Stingray Short Scale:
This bass has a MUCH shorter reach than the others, due to the placement of the bridge and where the waist is positioned on the body. It actually feels about the same os the 28" scale Ibanez Mikro, even though the Stingray is 30" scale. I like it, but some with longer arms might find it cramped. Speaking of cramped, the lower cutout on the body is so tight it is impossible for me to reach the last couple of frets on the fretboard without some serious contortions of my hand position. I don't have big hands. The neck feels sturdy, but the finish is definitely not as smooth as the previous two basses. I don't really understand why they would leave it so rough, but a recent Sterling Ray35HH I had was the same, even though it was about twice the price so I guess they just don't think smooth necks are a priority. The neck on this is similar in profile to the Mustang (very jazz-bass-ish), while the Squier is a bit flatter in the back.
The pickup does sound similar to the Ceramic Humbucker in my active Sterling Ray24, but much more tame and a bit duller. I don't know whether this is due to it being a passive bass or the neodynium pickup. You can crank up a little gain on the amp to compensate, and it sounds fine. Make sure you have the Humbucker set far enough away from the strings (Musicman says 12/64ths. That is about 3 times lower than a normal guitar humbucker)
I like the Series/Parallel/Split selector knob. It really does add some versatility, even though it is a bit hard to rotate. The push-push boost knob adds a tiny bit o oomph, but also feels a bit flimsy, so I don't mess with it much. I suspect this bass could benefit from a Seymour Duncan Ceramic Musicman Humbucker, and may try one soon. This is a FUN bass to play, and the best of the 4 to play while leaning back watching TV on the couch.
One note: On the other 3 basses, you can cut a regular long scale string like a 95 gauge and get it down in the tuner holes, but it will not fit in this Stingray, so you will need to use strings tapered specifically for short scale.
Ibanez TMB30 Short Scale:
Out of all 4 basses here, this is actually my favorite one to noodle around on. It is SO comfortable. The neck on this bass feels comparable to the Squier and Fender, and much more smooth than the Stingray. The thing I love most about this bass is the string spacing. It is somewhere between a P-bass and Jazz-bass spacing which is perfect for short scale. Jazz bass spacing is kinda tight anyway, and on short scale basses it can feel even more cramped. This ibanez is in the Goldilocks zone for string spacing and makes slap techniques much easier. The body is also comfortable and the controls are basic, solid and work well. I pretty quickly replaced the pickups on 2 of the other basses, but I actually like these. They are a bit bright, but coming at this from a lifetime playing guitar, I kinda like some bite and snap to the sound. You can always turn the tone knob down. The input jack on these is also very easy to use. I was really surprised how much I liked this little bass. Considering you could get about 4 of these for the price of the Mustang... I really don't think the mustang is THAT much better than the Talman basses right now, but I guess we will have to see what they both look like a decade down the road.
