Short Scale Tone ...

Currently my favorite bass is a mid-scale (very happy with it) but also curious to see what others post here as we do have quite a number of experienced short scale players. I do think you need to include one bit of additional info as more manufacturers are getting into manufacturing short scale versions of their basses.
how much do you want to spend?

 

I’ve had great results with my GreTsch Junior Jet 2. Short scale, 2 mini Humbucker pups, great tone, light and reasonable price $299. Worth triple the price IMHO.

 

First off, Welcome to TalkBass,
There are a lot of knowledgeable people here, so stick around and enjoy the ride.

Second, your question is so generic that you probably are gonna get a rodeo stadium full of answers.
You could narrow things down by filling in some of the gaps such as:
· How much you want to spend?
· What type of tone you’re looking for?
· What kind of music you play?
· Etc

Now with that said, I have 5 shorties and I like them all, but I am most impressed by my Jaguar.
The sound and play-ability is amazing. It is strung with half-rounds and has a VERY narrow neck profile.
To many here, it feels like a toy. Other swear by it, and I’m in the swear by it camp.


However, my go to bass right now is my Mustang with flats.
I love the play-ability as well, and the sound is amazing.

My Musicmaster is probably my least fav right now because I should change strings,
but it has the same profile as my Mustang because both are actually heavily modded Broncos.


My Coronado is my favorite bass in my stable of 12, and I will be buried with it so I’ll have something to play in the afterlife.
My SG gives me down right thunder for those songs that need it.


The bottom-line is there are many basses that fit your generic description.

057912

 

These sound really good, IMHO. My personal problem is that I prefer narrow string spacing, so the Dub King is less comfortable for me to play than my Guilds. Very high-quality build, in my experience.



https://www.reverendguitars.com/basses/dub-king

They can be found in very nice shape used for well under $1K .

 

Anything with a good set of roundwounds - flats are always slightly problematic as you go up the neck, and 'short scale flats' seem to exacerbate that just a little...

 

On mine, I have GHS Pressurewounds, which are the best of the both worlds.

 

What does "hold tone" mean? Are you talking about consistency of tone in different ranges, at different frets, or do you just want one that sounds good?

 

Birdsong. That's all they do, that is what they are known for. Great builder.

 

I’ve actually found the inexpensive little Gretsch Junior Jet to be a remarkably solid and versatile short-scale bass. I slightly prefer the original single pickup up version over the newer dual pickup models. Probably because the single pup version is packing a TV Jones designed pickup, and I’m a big TV Jones ThunderTron fan. But the two pickup Gretsch mini humbucker version also sounds really good.

Skip flats and put a set of GHS Pressurewounds on it for “best” (IMO ) results.

 

And if the regular Birdsongs are too pricey for you, Scott Beckwith of Birdsong builds his basic Shortbass "on the side". I have both a fretted and a fretless one. The fretless in this demo is the very one he made for me.

The Shortbass is near the bottom of this page: Birdsong — Wingfeather Workshop

 

I have a Squire Bronco with an upgraded pickup and bridge. It is one of the cheapest basses out there. The stock pickup was a very cheap strat pickup. I went with a less cheap strat humbucker. I gig and record with this bass all the time and it has a pretty consistent tone up and down the neck.

 

That's a matter of string flexibility and correct setup. Has little or nothing to do with scale length. Get one with a fully adjustable bridge.

 

1969 Gibson Les Paul Bass!
Awesome bass.

Can't find a good demonstration video, but this one with a 1975 Gibson Les Paul Bass aka Triumph is pretty close

 

I love my Mustang PJ and after setting it up I fretted each note on each string all the way up the neck and the tuner reported no flat or sharp notes. Is that what you are asking?

 

I'm a big fan of 32" medium scale. I play Warmoth basses. They are constructed just like a P or J (solid body, bolt-on neck, same hardware & pickups) so the only change from 34" scale to 32" or 30" is the scale length. Ergonomically they are as good or better than their full-scale counterparts. Less weight, less reach. Many short scale basses are hollow-body or otherwise different fundamental construction than a mainstream solid-body bass so their tone differences are due to more than just the shorter scale.

With my basses there is no "off" character to the sound as you move up the neck. They sound just like a real bass because they are real basses.