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Short Scale Basses. The best thing since sliced bread?

#21
I stopped using Gibson short scales, and went with a Hofner. The Hofner for me, is one of the finer short scales I played. 4.13 Lbs., and no neck dive.

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#22
delta7fred said:
I agree with you there, the intonation with the Hofner-style bridge is pretty hit and miss, but for what I play with my 60's band I rarely get past the 10th fret so it's a non-issue for me.
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Funny you should mention not getting past the 10th fret as it was playing stuff like Taxman or Rain that made me cringingly aware of the intonation issue of these bridges. And, come on, fret wire? Really? These things can cost how much?!?
 
#24
If you want even more info, the SS club is running 4 pages long, probably will be page 5 soon.

The Official Short Scale Bass Club -- Part 4

On top of that, there are clubs for specific basses as well, like SS VM Jaguar, Bronco modding threads, etc. The search function is your friend (be sure to hit the "more" button on the first search page).

I am a convert, I own 10 or so, and the two basses my country band want to see most at the gig are basses I picked up for $80 each on Craigslist: a Gretsch Junior Jet 2202 plywood bass and a Squier Bronco (I added a T-40 neck pickup I found on ebay for $90).

edit: SS Club Part 4
 
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#26
GBassNorth said:
I don't think I've ever seen or heard a SS 5 string bass. Do you have a pic or can you tell us more about it?
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Here's one!.....

Public Peace proudly presents the bass of the month June 2016!
1.jpg


MENSINGER CAZPAR 5a 'Quilted Maple' Custom - € 1.790,00

Body: mahogany with quilted maple top
Neck: birds eye maple, short scale 30", matched headstock
Fingerboard: ebony, 22 frets, abalone custom inlays
Nut width: 45mm
Construction: bolt on
Pickups: Delano Xtender
Electronics: active 2-band Delano - volume (active/passive push/pull switch), balance, bass, treble/passive tone blend
Finish: charcoal burst, body gloss/neck matte
Hardware: chrome, ETS bridge
incl. Gigbag
 
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#28
fjadams said:
I've played shorties since the mid 60s except for a few mid/late 60s, early 70s Ps and Js that I wish I had now because of what they'd be worth.
And I've heard all the reasons for not playing them from people on here.

1: They're just for children and beginners.
2: They're made from inferior parts that were left over from the real basses.
3: You can't get good strings for them.
4: They are impossible to intonate.
5: They all neck dive because of the small bodies.
6: They use cheap wood so can't have good tone.
7: The necks have to be too narrow/too wide, too thin/too chunky so they're unplayable.
8: I look silly playing one on stage as people think I'm playing a guitar.
9: All you can get is lows and no mids & highs or the all you can get is mids & highs as the strings are too short to produce lows.
10: You can't slap on one. Which I'd personally see as a very legitimate reason for using one if it were true.

Right now I have about 30 of them. Every one of them has a set of strings on it. Every one of them has the intonation set properly. Agreed on a couple (Hofner, Danelectro) it was harder to get it set properly but it can be done, it just takes time and patience and realizing it's as good as it's going to get. On both it is completely because of the bridge and not the scale. I have Guild, Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, Squier basses along with quite a few other brands and I don't consider any of my Guilds, the Gibson SS Tbird, any of the Fenders or most of my basses as beginner or child instruments. If you're a child, and your name isn't Richie Rich, you're not going to have any basses that cost in the $1,000 and up range. And a few of them are/were beginner's basses when I bought them. A couple of them still are as I like them like that but the rest have been or are in the process of being upgraded with better electronics and or hardware as that's generally where they cut corners.

Ok, inane rant over, back to watching the 4th round of the Evian Masters on TGC.
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I love my SG basses along with my Mustang and modded Bronco basses. Always looking for something new and different sound wise. In fact right now I'm in the market for something that will fit the ultra low dub club and reggae work I'm doing. Any suggestions?
 
#29
And even a six string shorty....

Invalid Link Removed

caz150268.jpg



MENSINGER CAZPAR 6a 'Tobacco burst' Hollowbody - € 1.390,00 NEW


Body: mahogany with eye poplar top
Neck: 3 pieces hard rock maple, short scale 30", matched headstock
Fingerboard: maple, 22 frets
Nut width: 51mm
Construction: bolt on
Pickups: Domanski in wooden covers
Electronics: active 2-band Glockenklang - volume (active/passive push/pull switch), balance, bass, treble/passive tone blend
Finish: tobacco burst, transparent, body/neck matte
Hardware: chrome, 17mm string spacing
Weight: 4,0kg
incl. Gigbag



SKU caz150268
€1390.00
(Incl. 19% tax)
1 In Stock
 
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#31
GBassNorth said:
I don't think I've ever seen or heard a SS 5 string bass. Do you have a pic or can you tell us more about it?
Click to expand...

There is a thread titled "Brice HXB who has one?" where I have some photos and a first impressions type review. I'd link it, but for some reason my phone is not doing what I want it to.

After putting some new strings on it I'd say it's going to be a great bass. .135 B string intonation was great, and as long as you're not driving rapid fire 8th notes with a pick on the first two frets it's not hard to get a good clean tone.
 
#33
Jloch86 said:
Do you really believe every snowflake is different? I mean think of how many snowflakes have fallen since whenever they started falling. That number is almost bigger than the number of groupies David Lee Roth and Axl Rose had put together and you mean to tell me not TWO of them were EVER the same?
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The science on that one is hazy at best, and the mathematics behind it even hazier. There's no right or wrong answer...
Invalid Link Removed

"No Two Snowflakes the Same" Likely True, Research Reveals

It's True That No Two Snowflakes Are Alike, But Not For The Reason You Think (VIDEO) | Huffington Post
 
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#35
I'm lucky enough to have acquired some great instruments over the last few years including an all original NOV 63 P drool ( my birth year and month!!) and a 74 Jazz.............. and my go to bass is now a beat up but awesome 1972 Yamaha SB-50 short scale!!!!! It fits, sounds great and is comfortable. As I age my rotator cuff tendons are pissing me off so why not play something that is comfortable ?? Who cares what anybody says!!! In fact I'm gassing for the new Fender Mustang PJ that should arrive at my local shop in 2 weeks- got dibs on the first on they get. :bassist:

Dave
 
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#39
Is there any cheap 4 string SS that handles BEAD tuning well? That's been my only problem with them. I love mine for standard tuning stuff, but down tuning it is Impossible.

I would love a Epiphone EB-0 tuned to BEAD for rumbling fuzzy stuff
 

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