This is the Mustang I play these days. With the humbucker it brings the thunder (the mud too). I changed the pickguard to black, but don't have a pic of it.
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Short Scale thougths
- Thread starter DrBnz
- Start date
How strange, I have had pretty much the polar opposite experience.
I have one of the earlier Mustang PJ's (2016 I think) maybe they have changed the pickups since but the other PJ basses I have tried all had this weird quackiness in the midrange so I thought it must be a single coil J pickup thing and I was fully expecting to have to swap out the J pickup for a split coil (Model J or similar) but when I got the Mustang I found it had the best PJ tone I had heard.
It sounds like Fender designed the pickups to work well together but knowing Fender they dont usually put that much thought into their pickups so it was probably just a lucky accident.
I just picked up my first short scale (a Gibson Les Paul Tribute DC), and I’m really enjoying it. I like the (not too) chunky neck and single humbucker. Unfortunately, it’s probably the heaviest bass I own.
The first bass that comes to mind when I hear your requirements (light, P-like tone, chunky neck) is the Serek Midwestern with a single B90 or Bisonic pickup in the sweet spot. They have wonderfully comfortable, chunky necks, and top tier build quality. The Midwestern is Serek's most affordable model and they pop up used every now and then.
It definitely doesn't meet your last requirement (cheap), but they're reasonable as far as small builders go- if you can stretch your budget, you won't regret it!
It definitely doesn't meet your last requirement (cheap), but they're reasonable as far as small builders go- if you can stretch your budget, you won't regret it!
The EBMM SS comments are interesting. I'll look for one of those too. I have a full scale version now and love playing it. Oddly, I've always thought that it felt "short" as compared to my Fenders. I realize the neck length is the same, but just the way it hung on you while playing made it feel compact. So to think that there's a SS version of that is interesting. Especially if it shaves some of the weight off. My EBMM full-scale is 9.6lbs.
After reading comments, I am leaning more towards the Mustang or EBMM. I'll go out today and find some to hold. Heck.... I'll "try" all I can get my hands on.... EB-0 / Gretsch
I seen all the people raving about the "JMJ" and I can see the appeal, but that "Road Worn" thing really bothers me. I dunno if I can pay top dollar for a bass that has had it's finish purposely messed up. I guess I should think of it differently as now I don't have to worry about putting that first ding in my new bass. But I don't see it that way.... dunno why.... OCD I guess.... Get me one of those with a nice finish and I'm very interested.
After reading comments, I am leaning more towards the Mustang or EBMM. I'll go out today and find some to hold. Heck.... I'll "try" all I can get my hands on.... EB-0 / Gretsch
I seen all the people raving about the "JMJ" and I can see the appeal, but that "Road Worn" thing really bothers me. I dunno if I can pay top dollar for a bass that has had it's finish purposely messed up. I guess I should think of it differently as now I don't have to worry about putting that first ding in my new bass. But I don't see it that way.... dunno why.... OCD I guess.... Get me one of those with a nice finish and I'm very interested.
Seems like the heavy hitters have been mentioned. I have a Gretsch (G2220), super comfortable, and with 2 pickups I can get a variety of tones. I have played on a Short Scale Stringray and I like them quite a bit. I've played on the EHB1000S, and it actually felt a bit too short. Very light, and surprisingly really good tone (the shop had several EHB's, this one sounded best. Not sure why as the electronics should have been the same). The too short thing could be easily adapted to. I've heard great things about the Sire U5, but haven't played it. I've played on a Hofner Club (cheap import version), and I wasn't impressed with controls. It had bones to be cool, but would take too much modding to get where I would want it, and it would be easier and cheaper for me to buy a different bass.
The biggest thing in short scales (or really any scale not = 34") is you have to pay attention to winding length a lot more. Not all strings will fit. The mini P's and mikro are below 30 in scale, and are harder to find strings. If you like rounds, this is not as big of an issue. I did see labella had some flats for the mini p on it's roadie site the other day, so more are coming since fender released those (why we as an industry have to wait for fender annoys me).
just like everywhere else on TB..... there are many opinions on short scales. Here's the club link. lots of info and even more opinions there.
The biggest thing in short scales (or really any scale not = 34") is you have to pay attention to winding length a lot more. Not all strings will fit. The mini P's and mikro are below 30 in scale, and are harder to find strings. If you like rounds, this is not as big of an issue. I did see labella had some flats for the mini p on it's roadie site the other day, so more are coming since fender released those (why we as an industry have to wait for fender annoys me).
just like everywhere else on TB..... there are many opinions on short scales. Here's the club link. lots of info and even more opinions there.
No one has mentioned the Reverend Wattplower yet. Chunky neck, light weight, plays great, p-bass sound. The MkII version has additional pickup options.
I have many 30” basses, and this is a good one. I did not like the fender mustangs, but I did like the Squier mustangs with Nordstrand pickup replacement and ultralight tuners. Not a chunky neck though.
I have many 30” basses, and this is a good one. I did not like the fender mustangs, but I did like the Squier mustangs with Nordstrand pickup replacement and ultralight tuners. Not a chunky neck though.
I have a couple of shorties on my arsenal that get regular rotation, specially when recording. I trend to classify my basses by tone, not scale... That said my #1 is a Sire M7 six strings, because I can dig almost any tone on it....
Back to shorties, first one is a Fender Mustang Pawn Shop with that big fat humbucker, it is a rumble machine and have an amazing presence on stage. It is all stock, except for the Chromes flatwound strings that has on since day one (almost four years now).
Number two is a heavy modded Squier Bronco. It has a DiMarzio Pro Track pickup, Hipshot Lic. tuners and a Hipshot Kickass bridge. I also upgraded the pots with Dimarzio's including a push/pull on the tone for serial/parallel and a pure tone jack. It is strung with Ernie Ball Regular Slinky strings.
Love both of them, and each one has a particular tonal personality. Both are also a dream and super fun to play.
Back to shorties, first one is a Fender Mustang Pawn Shop with that big fat humbucker, it is a rumble machine and have an amazing presence on stage. It is all stock, except for the Chromes flatwound strings that has on since day one (almost four years now).
Number two is a heavy modded Squier Bronco. It has a DiMarzio Pro Track pickup, Hipshot Lic. tuners and a Hipshot Kickass bridge. I also upgraded the pots with Dimarzio's including a push/pull on the tone for serial/parallel and a pure tone jack. It is strung with Ernie Ball Regular Slinky strings.
Love both of them, and each one has a particular tonal personality. Both are also a dream and super fun to play.
I hope you are right about this! I switched to short scales about a year ago (Gretsch G2220) and like playing the shortie so much that I bit the bullet and ordered a Maruszcyk 30" Elwood in July. Just got my couch pic Friday!
"The Mustang PJ (Mexico) is a good choice for someone that favors P basses. They look good, they sound good, they're not too expensive, and the quality is good. I've owned a couple of them and they were both good. A few comments on them though:
(1) For me, the J pickup was useless. I never used it."
This was my experience on the Mustang PJ. I never used the J pickup. I replaced the P pickup with a DiMarzio Relentless P (which I really like) and I took the J out.
The Mustang PJ is one of my two fave players. Really great quality for the price.
I am also a big fan of my G&L Fallout, BTW
(1) For me, the J pickup was useless. I never used it."
This was my experience on the Mustang PJ. I never used the J pickup. I replaced the P pickup with a DiMarzio Relentless P (which I really like) and I took the J out.
The Mustang PJ is one of my two fave players. Really great quality for the price.
I am also a big fan of my G&L Fallout, BTW
I love my Schecter Banshee. I didn't love the pickups, replaced those with an EMG setup. The tone is sweet and my shoulder appreciates the break.
Did you get 2 or is this a double exposure shot? They are nicely made basses. Congrats.
I have been playing my Uni-7 from Hybrid Guitars more than my other EB, that I am now effectively playing a 3 string short scale bass (longest string at 29.5 but tuned up a 3rd). I got my old Fender Mustang (USA) back as well.
I love the look of those basses, they look very solidly put together and very decent hardware for the price, I think that bass will definitely be in the runnings when I can next afford another bass (just brought a Fender Mustang so could be a while)
Double Exposure shot.
I heard so many good things about the quality I decided to take the chance without playing one. The configurator on their website is amazing and you can really build just about anything you want.
OK, my search / study is over. Many thanks for all the inputs .... they did help quite a bit. So when I started out this morning, I thought I'd play a few, find them cheap feeling/looking/sounding and ditch the entire idea. Quite the opposite.... I "get it" now. Short Scales are a lot more comfortable to play and they sound great. I see why some of you have more than one of these. And for the price, I almost walked out with 2 in hand.
So I took my wireless headset with me so I could play everything I touched and hear it with something I was very familiar with. That worked out great. I just walked around plugging in... jamming for a minute or three... next. I went until I had it narrowed down to a couple and played them each (back-n-forth) until I was ready to pay the man.
GC Delaware had a great selection and I played them all. In short here is my "opinions".
- Epi EB-0 and Schecter were ok. Meaning there was nothing "wrong" with them, but next to the others they didn't stand out in any category either. (I think it was the Schecter that had the dinkiest tuners I've ever seen).
- Tried the Fender Jaguar/Mustang (MIM models). Now I'm not bashing Fender cause I have about 5 of them, but in the examples I held today I wasn't impressed at all. Again, there wasn't anything "wrong" with them. But for the price, they didn't excite me either. Lets just say they didn't have any NICE ones there today.
- The Jackson' did really well in the side by side. They were a strong 3rd (to me).
- They didn't have a EBMM SS or the Mini-P.... now those two represent the polar opposites of the spectrum so throwing out the HIGHs and LOWs probably helps.
In the end I was holding a SBMM SS ($500) and a Gretsch Electromatic JR Jetbass ($300).... I REALLY liked the SBMM (especially the meaty neck) but in the end I realized I already have a 34" EBMM that I'm very happy with.... I don't really want/need a smaller version of the same. (and "NO", it did not get the same growl as my EBMM does when I jump on it). The Gretsch was different in many regards, but mostly it was a light weight (7.7LBS) short scale and had a tremendous range of possibilities with 2 pickups, the 3 way select switch (much better/faster than the knob select of the SBMM) and a tone knob. So that's the one I took home... Yeah, surprised me too. I never would've guessed I'd pick that one. Now keep in mind that price isn't a key factor for me. I gave them all a fair shake under similar conditions and the Gretsch won.
So I took my wireless headset with me so I could play everything I touched and hear it with something I was very familiar with. That worked out great. I just walked around plugging in... jamming for a minute or three... next. I went until I had it narrowed down to a couple and played them each (back-n-forth) until I was ready to pay the man.
GC Delaware had a great selection and I played them all. In short here is my "opinions".
- Epi EB-0 and Schecter were ok. Meaning there was nothing "wrong" with them, but next to the others they didn't stand out in any category either. (I think it was the Schecter that had the dinkiest tuners I've ever seen).
- Tried the Fender Jaguar/Mustang (MIM models). Now I'm not bashing Fender cause I have about 5 of them, but in the examples I held today I wasn't impressed at all. Again, there wasn't anything "wrong" with them. But for the price, they didn't excite me either. Lets just say they didn't have any NICE ones there today.
- The Jackson' did really well in the side by side. They were a strong 3rd (to me).
- They didn't have a EBMM SS or the Mini-P.... now those two represent the polar opposites of the spectrum so throwing out the HIGHs and LOWs probably helps.
In the end I was holding a SBMM SS ($500) and a Gretsch Electromatic JR Jetbass ($300).... I REALLY liked the SBMM (especially the meaty neck) but in the end I realized I already have a 34" EBMM that I'm very happy with.... I don't really want/need a smaller version of the same. (and "NO", it did not get the same growl as my EBMM does when I jump on it). The Gretsch was different in many regards, but mostly it was a light weight (7.7LBS) short scale and had a tremendous range of possibilities with 2 pickups, the 3 way select switch (much better/faster than the knob select of the SBMM) and a tone knob. So that's the one I took home... Yeah, surprised me too. I never would've guessed I'd pick that one. Now keep in mind that price isn't a key factor for me. I gave them all a fair shake under similar conditions and the Gretsch won.
I’ve got to comment on how quickly and efficiently you made a decision. I agonize for weeks, sometimes months, over such a decision.
You? About 24 hours after opening a thread.
I've been "thinking" about short-scale (off and on) for months. But just this weekend I decided I needed to HOLD / PLAY a few before thinking any further. The TB comments help a lot. Some solidified my beliefs already, others planted the seed to look broader then "just" Fender. I didn't really think I'd walk out with a new toy today, but I had a great sampling conditions and in the end it was only $300... I couldn't do all that work and not walk out with it ..... Heck, I can see a few more SS in my future. We got Xmas coming... right???? hahaha....
