Short scale basses legitimate basses?

[Keger Jupit]

Which Electromatic? The 5442?
Here’s my 5442 short scale
View attachment 3484428
They’re great

Cool! Reminds me of my '68 Gibson EB-2C! I didn't know they made this, actually. I've never, ever tried a short scale until this year. For some reason, I just picked this one up awhile back & it doesn't sound like...anything else, if I'm honest.

Sorry OP, don't mean to derail your thread!

 

[IamGroot]

Play what sounds good.

 

[Williethump]

Another question. For those of you who have alot of experience with shirt scales, does playing on a short scale for a long time mess up your muscle memory on long scale basses?[/QUOTE]
For over a year I've been playing Fender P-bass, short Beatle bass, and even shorter Luna Tat uke bass.
No problem at all, it takes 5 mins of practice when you put one down and pick up the different scale bass, and then the fingers find the right frets automatically.
And I'm an old and not very gifted student of 2 years. It won't mess up your normal scale playing one bit.
Short scales are fun, handy, often easier to play, and have their own sounds.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I have a 30" Alien Audio 5 string being built. I'll let you know, but I've heard that they sound killer.

 

[Yup]

Thanks guys for the info! And Keger jupit no problem. Go git tha' bass!!

 

[Dabndug]

Anything under 42" is short scale as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Eilif]

I hit "don't care" because I don't care but I also acknowledge that they are completely legitimate instruments.

Time has moved on and I doubt there are many folks left who know much about the current status of bass-guitar-dom who think of short scales as only for beginners.

 

[jamro217]

Let's put it this way, if these basses weren't legitimate the following tunes would not be in our libraries:
Anything from Cream (Jack Bruce)
Anything from Free (Andy Fraser)
Anything from Jefferson Airplane (Jack Casady)
Most classic Beatle's tunes (Sir Paul M)
Most early Rolling Stones (Bill Wyman)

This is just scratching the surface. In the early '60's many bands featured shorties, both hollow bodies and solids.

 

[Jesuguru]

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what a "shirt scale" is. I weigh my basses, do you weigh your shirts?

 

[jamro217]

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what a "shirt scale" is. I weigh my basses, do you weigh your shirts?

I was tempted to answer with some sarcasm there, too, but after being spanked by the mods recently I thought I better stick to less controversial subject matter. If it is relevant, my shirt scale used to be normal, but as I age the ratio of width to height is constantly increasing, and at an alarming rate.

 

[The Owl]

Let's put it this way, if these basses weren't legitimate the following tunes would not be in our libraries:
Anything from Cream (Jack Bruce)
Anything from Free (Andy Fraser)
Anything from Jefferson Airplane (Jack Casady)
Most classic Beatle's tunes (Sir Paul M)
Most early Rolling Stones (Bill Wyman)

This is just scratching the surface. In the early '60's many bands featured shorties, both hollow bodies and solids.

And don't forget Stanley Clarke, when he started playng electric regularly, started on a Gibson, played a Rick briefly then finally the short-scale Alembics he"s most known for.

 

[Mordamir]

I have one, it seems to play everything just fine. That's good enough for me.

 

[Jesuguru]

I was tempted to answer with some sarcasm there, too, but after being spanked by the mods recently I thought I better stick to less controversial subject matter. If it is relevant, my shirt scale used to be normal, but as I age the ratio of width to height is constantly increasing, and at an alarming rate.

Attention moderators, the strategically placed at the end of my lighthearted comment was meant to stave off any potential misperception of malicious intent to troll, mock, insult, denigrate, or any other applicable terminology.
Sincerely,
jesuguru

 

[HelpImaRock]

I only play short scale basses. While Fender certainly has a history of short scales as student models, that's not how other manufacturers introduced them. If anything, Fender was late to the short scale game.

The 30" scale is simply more comfortable to me than longer scales. I'll stick with what works.

 

[jamro217]

And don't forget Stanley Clarke, when he started playng electric regularly, started on a Gibson, played a Rick briefly then finally the short-scale Alembics he"s most known for.

I was starting out from the most popular era of recordings done with shorties and realized that an exhaustive list would be, well, exhausting. This is just the tip of the iceberg. If you can justify the existence/legitimacy of them with so short a list, the case has been made.

 

[IamGroot]

Plays a short scale bass.
(Not that there is anything wrong with that ).

 

[MichaelOz]

"5 string? Has to be 35" " was my position until recently when I decide to build a shorty.

Cuter, super-comfy to play, light, and you know what? The B is better than just acceptable (using DR Sunbeams at the moment). No, it's not quite as defined as the 35" version but its not as far off as I thought it'd be. YMMV.

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And here compared to a Warwick Thumb, just to have a size comparison with a small "standard":
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Love it. Won't replace my standard scale basses but totally useable.

Regards,
Michael

 

[40Hz]

First things first. A belated welcome to TalkBass’ Glad you could join us.

Now to business…are short-scale basses “legitimate” instruments…

Two suggestions:

1. Why not go down to a music store and try a few out for yourself so you can form your own opinion about them? Hands-on is everything in music. Ten minutes with one in your hands will you more than ten months of reading other people’s opinions.

2. In the meantime, try to start hanging out with a more intelligent crowd of musicians than the crew you’re currently talking to.

 

[StatesideRambler]

Try an instrument and decide for yourself if it works for you. Some people hated my EKO violin bass (SS) in 1966; they made fun of my Greco EB copy (SS) in the early 70s; they belittled my natural finish Precision (LS) in the mid-70s; I get occasional grief about the Ibanez Musician (LS) I’ve had for 35 years. (No negativity about my JCB (LS) yet.) I enjoyed playing every one of them and even made a living at it for a time. Few of my critics could say the same. At the music stores I’ve been trying short scale instruments, given that age and arthritis, et al. are out to get me. They’re different but entirely playable with good sounds.

If you’re gonna worry about what somebody else thinks about your instrument preference then your life is gonna be a lo-o-ong slog.

 

[Craig4003]

Another question. For those of you who have alot of experience with shirt scales, does playing on a short scale for a long time mess up your muscle memory on long scale basses?

No. I regularly play 34", 30.5", and 28" basses, and I have no trouble switching between them. Some parts are easier to play on a short scale, though, since less hand movement and sideways finger stretching is required.