Short Scale Journey Didn't Last Long

[WestyBassBob]

"I hear what you’re saying. But the reality is a beginner is not usually going to go out and buy an EBMM 5er with a Mesa subway series and a 4x10 stack. But a beginner might buy a Squier P bass and a Rumble 100. That’s what I meant."

Yes, and that's usually true... But I gotta tell'ya I had to laugh; a Squire P-Bass and a Rumble 100 are items I'd associate with a more advanced experienced player to buy.
Mostly at-home playing, I'm more enthused by Rumble 25's myself....
Greywoulf

Ok fine. Let’s say Ibanez Mikro and a cheap 25watt Acoustic amp. That’s what I bought.

 

[Oig]

Plenty of tone monsters play short scale.

As someone who just got a Squier Vintage Modified Special Jag (with Fender pickups added) as their beginner bass, I enjoyed this post.

Happy to be of service lol

 

[Greywoulf]

Gear Acquisition Syndrome

G.A.S. is when I thought I'd get me a T.C. Electronics 2x8 cab (hey looky it's on sale, it's on sale!!) to go with my Bam200 amp when I already have a real nice Trace Eliot Elf 1x10 cab that's doing a quite excellent job of accompanying the Bam. I lusted for this really unnecessary change (that may not have even been for the better?) until I calmed down, thought slowly and carefully about it, then realized {and finally gratefully accepted} that I already have the best amp-cab rig for myself right now that I could possibly wish for..!
And that's G.A.S.!!!!! -Beware..............
Greywoulf

 

[mcgreivey]

"I think the only thing that separates a quality beginner's bass from an advanced model is the price."

No, not really... A 'beginners bass' is the bass you buy when you're a beginner. Period.
And if you buy a bass when you're an intermediate or an expert player, than you've bought an intermediate player's bass or an expert player's bass. Price has really nothing to do with it IMO...

I also agree with a remark made here that the shortys, while fun and easier to play, usually do not have the tonal qualities of a full 34" scale bass. Not exactly sure why this is, but that's been my current experience also.
Greywoulf

I agree with your first point, but not with your second. I like the tone of my shorties. There are plenty of pro players who think the same. And there are plenty of beautiful-sounding short-scale basses, and plenty of awful-sounding long-scale basses..

But, if course, it's subjective. Everyone has a different feeling for what they want under their hands, and what sound they want to come out of the amp.

 

[Greywoulf]

I think the only thing that separates a quality beginner's bass from an advanced model is the price.

Been thinking more about this post. I didn't get it at first, thinking it meant that the more $$ one spent for a bass always determined it's quality. But now I think it means the opposite (and is quite clever) and I gotta agree with it... ;>})
Greywoulf

 

[raphaeld]

I'd say, let's ask Stanley about short scale's tones
Stanley!! Get over here

 

[A9X]

I've had 4 of them (SS Alembics) over the years. the sound is wonderful, but the ergonomics are terrible.

 

[Volker Kirstein]

I think lot of this "beginner" bass "snobbery" has to do with time dilation.

A lot of us are old men. Beginner basses when we were young were crap. "Beginner"/Budget basses were being built cheaply back in the day. We remember this.

50 years is a long time. There's a lot of us who have never even picked up a modern entry level bass. We think back on the "beginner" basses from when we were kids. It ain't the same.

The 21st century, with its modern technology, has brought quality up, and prices down. This became very apparent in the 2010s. Most of the differences between entry level and pro level instruments of today are "fine points", not gross differences in materials/craftsmanship. If you think about it, a $200 "beginner" bass of today is roughly the equivalent of a $1000 name brand bass in 1970.

As always, there are exceptions.

 

[WestyBassBob]

I agree with your first point, but not with your second. I like the tone of my shorties. There are plenty of pro players who think the same. And there are plenty of beautiful-sounding short-scale basses, and plenty of awful-sounding long-scale basses..

But, if course, it's subjective. Everyone has a different feeling for what they want under their hands, and what sound they want to come out of the amp.

The general consensus seems to be that short scales are better for producing a the bottom end thump but lose some of the harmonic frequencies in the upper frequencies (regardless of whether the note is in the low or high range of the bass).

Whether or not that's better is a different question. The rockabillies sure seem to like short scales.

 

[ejaggers]

I think lot of this "beginner" bass "snobbery" has to do with time dilation.

A lot of us are old men. Beginner basses when we were young were crap. "Beginner"/Budget basses were being built cheaply back in the day. We remember this.

50 years is a long time. There's a lot of us who have never even picked up a modern entry level bass. We think back on the "beginner" basses from when we were kids. It ain't the same.

The 21st century, with its modern technology, has brought quality up, and prices down. This became very apparent in the 2010s. Most of the differences between entry level and pro level instruments of today are "fine points", not gross differences in materials/craftsmanship. If you think about it, a $200 "beginner" bass of today is roughly the equivalent of a $1000 name brand bass in 1970.

As always, there are exceptions.

I agree with you @Volker Kirstein,
In fact, I’m not sure what beginner bass even means, or what difference it makes.

And who does it make a difference to, the audience,
the club owner, some cutie you’re trying to impress, or who?

When a rich kid who has never played a note gets an Alembic for his 10th birthday,
is this a beginner bass?

What makes a difference to me is how it feels in my hands,
and what useable tones I can get.

As I’ve said before, a cheap bass may sound different that an expensive one,
but different doesn’t necessarily mean worse….057912

 

[Greywoulf]

I think lot of this "beginner" bass "snobbery" has to do with time dilation.

A lot of us are old men. Beginner basses when we were young were crap. "Beginner"/Budget basses were being built cheaply back in the day. We remember this.

50 years is a long time. There's a lot of us who have never even picked up a modern entry level bass. We think back on the "beginner" basses from when we were kids. It ain't the same.

The 21st century, with its modern technology, has brought quality up, and prices down. This became very apparent in the 2010s. Most of the differences between entry level and pro level instruments of today are "fine points", not gross differences in materials/craftsmanship. If you think about it, a $200 "beginner" bass of today is roughly the equivalent of a $1000 name brand bass in 1970.

As always, there are exceptions.

Yes, yes, -IMO this is right on! I hadn't thought about it that way, the time thing? But y'know I really do believe that the low priced newer (single pickup) version of the Ibanez GSR100 I recently got is every bit as good as the expensive Warwick single pickup FNA I had in the early 2000's. In fact maybe even better as the GSR100 is much simpler (and passive) and also doesn't have all that weight on it! I know this probably sounds like a sacrilege to retro bass fans but yes I too believe that there's good evidence modern lower cost basses can often be better instruments than many of the famous brand expensive ones of the not too distant past...
Enjoy,
Greywoulf

 

[Oig]

I think lot of this "beginner" bass "snobbery" has to do with time dilation.

A lot of us are old men. Beginner basses when we were young were crap. "Beginner"/Budget basses were being built cheaply back in the day. We remember this.

50 years is a long time. There's a lot of us who have never even picked up a modern entry level bass. We think back on the "beginner" basses from when we were kids. It ain't the same.

The 21st century, with its modern technology, has brought quality up, and prices down. This became very apparent in the 2010s. Most of the differences between entry level and pro level instruments of today are "fine points", not gross differences in materials/craftsmanship. If you think about it, a $200 "beginner" bass of today is roughly the equivalent of a $1000 name brand bass in 1970.

As always, there are exceptions.

This last para is right on the money - the early 00's are when the increase in quality really became apparent, and it became much more difficult to differentiate between something made in say, China, and California.

This is true up to a point though. Corners are still cut to make an instrument cheap, and these days that's mostly in the hardware and electronics department. IMO, that's where you can tell it's cheaper - the tuners work, but they're not the smoothest or the most accurate, or the pickups sound a little lacklustre, or the pots don't have a smooth taper, etc. So it's not like the stock instrument is the same as something costing 5X more. But that's what makes them such great platforms for modding, and with a few judicious tweaks many of these cheapos can suddenly go head to head with something much more expensive!

 

[Greywoulf]

I wonder if it's really only just the regular good slow advancement of BG production that makes today's inexpensive basses so much better than in the past? Or if sometimes there's a freak occurrence, a good accident say, where a new series slips into the mainstream that's a lot better than folks expected?
Reason I say this is I read more than a few posts now where people buy so called 'cheapo' basses mostly just as a platform for mods, then discover they like the bass so much they're not modding it after all! (At least not for a good while anyway...) Some postings here on TB re the newer version Ibanez GSR100 have such comments, and usually from folks who also have other fairly modern basses.
(-Some biased thinking here on my part maybe? *LOL* )
Greywoulf

 

[WestyBassBob]

I wonder if it's really only just the regular good slow advancement of BG production that makes today's inexpensive basses so much better than in the past? Or if sometimes there's a freak occurrence, a good accident say, where a new series slips into the mainstream that's a lot better than folks expected?
Reason I say this is I read more than a few posts now where people buy so called 'cheapo' basses mostly just as a platform for mods, then discover they like the bass so much they're not modding it after all! (At least not for a good while anyway...) Some postings here on TB re the newer version Ibanez GSR100 have such comments, and usually from folks who also have other fairly modern basses.
(-Some biased thinking here on my part maybe? *LOL* )
Greywoulf

Generally speaking things are much easier and cheaper to make now. With all the CNC machines available it's fairly easy to set up semi automated facilities that use semi-skilled or even unskilled labor to simply mind the machines and assemble parts as needed. Combine this with how global supply chains can produce things like pots and wires for practically the cost of the materials and you've got what we have now. Much better low cost products than we had a generation ago.

If you go on the Mikro club here it seems like everyone who joins talks about modding it, but many never bother because they realize its doesn't need to be modded.

 

[Horseflesh]

I am a brand new guitar/bass guy and don't know a Strat from a Tele, but the two inexpensive instruments I bought seem to be really far from firewood. Even the finishes are nice. I feel like I got a lot for my money.

 

[zontar]

Having played primarily a 30" scale bass for many, many years--I never had issues with neck dive playing an EB-3 copy.
Now I mostly play a 34" fretless--but still play my short scale every now & then.
I had nto trubbel with the scale on either.

But how they work for you will depend on various factors
-Size & shape of hands, length & flexibility of fingers, and the same for arms & overall body size, shape & proportions--and who you like to play.

If short scale isn't your thing--thta's fine-it's not your thing--and at least some have given it a shot.

 

[BHaev]

I just created this video on the Ibanez TMB35 5 string short scale bass. It's a pretty thorough review.

 

[jeff7bass]

I met end up with this 32" beauty.

 

[philthygeezer]

Those pickups look like the bass version of P90s.

 

[A9X]

I just created this video on the Ibanez TMB35 5 string short scale bass. It's a pretty thorough review.

Thorough review which i watched all the way through even though I'm not going to buy one (not available locally anyway).
A constructive criticism would be the bass was a bit low in the mix in the first section. I could still hear it though.
And a question would be, what is the model of the G&L case? I have an Ibanez SRC6 and I'd like to find a correctly sized soft case for it and the G&L looks like it would work well.
Cheers.