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Shortscale - Any G&L Fallout Bass Owners?
- Thread starter Tim Chapple
- Start date
I just bought a new Fullerton Fallout (USA). I've never played a Mustang or Musicmaster so I can't really say.
I'm also still playing with string selection and I'm not liking the La Bella DTF's as much on this bass as on other basses I have. It's a beautiful bass in every respect other than the G&L gigbag is worthless and HSC's are not available (Thanks G&L).
Luckily the Fallout fits in the Epiphone Embassy Pro bass case almost perfectly. Don't ask me how a short scale bass fits a case designed for a 34" bass but, it does.
I'm also still playing with string selection and I'm not liking the La Bella DTF's as much on this bass as on other basses I have. It's a beautiful bass in every respect other than the G&L gigbag is worthless and HSC's are not available (Thanks G&L).
Luckily the Fallout fits in the Epiphone Embassy Pro bass case almost perfectly. Don't ask me how a short scale bass fits a case designed for a 34" bass but, it does.
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Looks rather lovely.
Size wise the Fallout is almost as long as a 34" scale - much taller than a Mustang - big headstock and the bridge much further into the body. I'm intrigued about the pickup - demos I've seen sound marvellous.
Size wise the Fallout is almost as long as a 34" scale - much taller than a Mustang - big headstock and the bridge much further into the body. I'm intrigued about the pickup - demos I've seen sound marvellous.
So Anyway, I bought this Fallout Tribute from SW as a 2nd. I never found any finish flaw and everything works fine. Couldn't find one locally to test out and the price made it an easy risk. Plus The Bass Whisperer recommended it, and we like The Mavericks. 
It's now my primary gig bass. It's light, comfortable, and the neck isn't a toy like some other short scales.
The Fallout Pickup is really strong. I use the three settings depending on the type of song we're playing. The OMG setting has a lot of presence. Mine is completely stock and I won't change anything.
I've only played one Mustang bass for a few songs and that was many years ago, so I've got no comparison.
Mine's a great value for what I paid.
Good Luck with your search.
It's now my primary gig bass. It's light, comfortable, and the neck isn't a toy like some other short scales.
The Fallout Pickup is really strong. I use the three settings depending on the type of song we're playing. The OMG setting has a lot of presence. Mine is completely stock and I won't change anything.
I've only played one Mustang bass for a few songs and that was many years ago, so I've got no comparison.
Mine's a great value for what I paid.
Good Luck with your search.
mine is my #2, and it is a great sounding bass!
...and it's pretty easy on the eyes too!
i purchased it because i was missing some MFD in my life after selling my L-1505, and because i wanted a backup short-scale.
there is a huge variety of tones you can get out of a fallout, although i have not been able to cop much of a jazz bass tone out of mine. OMG mode is massive!
it does not feel like a short scale though, especially on the neck.
mine is currently strung with TI-flats, though i thought it sounds great with rounds as well.
...and it's pretty easy on the eyes too!
i purchased it because i was missing some MFD in my life after selling my L-1505, and because i wanted a backup short-scale.
there is a huge variety of tones you can get out of a fallout, although i have not been able to cop much of a jazz bass tone out of mine. OMG mode is massive!
it does not feel like a short scale though, especially on the neck.
mine is currently strung with TI-flats, though i thought it sounds great with rounds as well.
Fallout is its own species IME and the sounds it can make are pretty ding-dang awesome. I've come close to buying one but the form factor plays too much like a 34", so I'm a Mustang man.
I bought a new Fallout last year (curiosity). OEM strings sounded hideous to me. Now with Flats it sounds amazing. It can nail the "P-bass" sound better than a P-bass. Sounds much like an L-1000 (that makes sense). But with flats I also started to feel as if it were a one trick pony. Meaning there wasn't a lot variation of the tones. But.... (here it comes). So the neck is mounted so far off the body that the overall length of this bass is the same as my medium scale bass. (Note the large blank space just behind the bridge). So for this "short scale" you have the feel of a medium scale with the fret spacing of a short scale. I don't know if that's a desirable feature. I didn't think so. I didn't like the controls much either. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice bass. But it just wasn't for me. Be sure you've held one and played it before buying. "For me" it was disappointing.
Mine is fun to play and has a very authoritative tone with GHS precision flats. But it doesn’t feel small, as the dimensions would suggest. It is my heaviest bass (tribute) and tonally is almost identical to my L-1000 as the pickup is in the same position relative to scale. If you like short scales then it would be the one to get IMO. For me, I end up just playing my L-1000.
Got a launch edition. Not really a fan of the bass or the whole experience of buying it.
Overpriced for what you get, IMO. The bass was not well built. My $200 Squier Bronco from a few years ago has nicer frets. Both the retailer, Music Store Live, and G&L were horrible to deal with.
Wish it had full L-1K controls, including the bass knob. I think the guard is a really ugly design too. They should have gone without a guard, and used an attractively shaped metal control plate. No hard cases for them either. An instrument over $1,000 without a factory hard case is extremely lame. Not that the cases that come (or came) with G&Ls are very well made these days anyhow, but still. I knew all that and accepted it anyhow, just to have the historic first short scale from my favorite bass company.
It was supposed to be, and was originally marketed as, a $1,400 retail price bass. But right before orders opened up, G&L upped the price by $300. When called on this online, they just plain lied about it, and said the price was always going to be $1,700. Meanwhile, every retailer I talked to about it said no, it was $1,400, then G&L changed it at the last minute.
My retailer honored the originally advertised price, but there were other problems. It was supposed to come with flats and the old style knobs. It came with rounds and dome knobs. G&L accepted these spec requests which the retailer had specifically ordered, but then didn't fulfill them. And when the retailer confronted G&L on it, G&L refused to make good by simply sending the retailer the set of knobs and strings that had been ordered. The retailer promised to pay me something like $89 to buy the knobs and strings myself, but it took 18 months of repeated e-mails, calls, and FTC complaints before they actually paid up.
This is not to mention that when the bass came in, the shop put it up for sale online at $1,700, rather than sending it to me. I am glad I was watching like a hawk, or they would have sold my pre-paid-in-full special order right out from under me, and been unable to replace it, as it was a limited launch edition. A big part of me thinks this move was deliberate. Why deliver a bass that someone has paid $1,400 for when you can sell it for $1,700?
Almost completely unimpressed by the bass itself, the G&L company, and the retailer. This was the last straw for me and the modern day G&L company. The bass has done nothing but sit because it just isn't very good, and it just pisses me off every time I play it.
Overpriced for what you get, IMO. The bass was not well built. My $200 Squier Bronco from a few years ago has nicer frets. Both the retailer, Music Store Live, and G&L were horrible to deal with.
Wish it had full L-1K controls, including the bass knob. I think the guard is a really ugly design too. They should have gone without a guard, and used an attractively shaped metal control plate. No hard cases for them either. An instrument over $1,000 without a factory hard case is extremely lame. Not that the cases that come (or came) with G&Ls are very well made these days anyhow, but still. I knew all that and accepted it anyhow, just to have the historic first short scale from my favorite bass company.
It was supposed to be, and was originally marketed as, a $1,400 retail price bass. But right before orders opened up, G&L upped the price by $300. When called on this online, they just plain lied about it, and said the price was always going to be $1,700. Meanwhile, every retailer I talked to about it said no, it was $1,400, then G&L changed it at the last minute.
My retailer honored the originally advertised price, but there were other problems. It was supposed to come with flats and the old style knobs. It came with rounds and dome knobs. G&L accepted these spec requests which the retailer had specifically ordered, but then didn't fulfill them. And when the retailer confronted G&L on it, G&L refused to make good by simply sending the retailer the set of knobs and strings that had been ordered. The retailer promised to pay me something like $89 to buy the knobs and strings myself, but it took 18 months of repeated e-mails, calls, and FTC complaints before they actually paid up.
This is not to mention that when the bass came in, the shop put it up for sale online at $1,700, rather than sending it to me. I am glad I was watching like a hawk, or they would have sold my pre-paid-in-full special order right out from under me, and been unable to replace it, as it was a limited launch edition. A big part of me thinks this move was deliberate. Why deliver a bass that someone has paid $1,400 for when you can sell it for $1,700?
Almost completely unimpressed by the bass itself, the G&L company, and the retailer. This was the last straw for me and the modern day G&L company. The bass has done nothing but sit because it just isn't very good, and it just pisses me off every time I play it.
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I have a Tribute version strung with la Bella flats. I love it. I had my tech set it up perfectly. Lovely sustain, really even tonally over the fret board, neck feels like a thinned P but not quite J thin. Tones and playability are top shelf I keep coming back to it out of my 5 basses. I even play mine with a pick through some drive pedals to moonlight as a bass with round wounds. Such a hot pickup with deep lows I love that.
Unfortunately it's a little heavy and neck divey. I shifted the strap knob positions to counter the dive (if anyone is interested I can post pics of that) and use a wide leather strap to spread the weight on my shoulder.
So if you're interested in this model, I recommend checking it out, especially if you're not fully into small instruments and like a more regular sized bass.
Unfortunately it's a little heavy and neck divey. I shifted the strap knob positions to counter the dive (if anyone is interested I can post pics of that) and use a wide leather strap to spread the weight on my shoulder.
So if you're interested in this model, I recommend checking it out, especially if you're not fully into small instruments and like a more regular sized bass.
I’d like to see a pic if possible.
Also, did you consider switching out the tuners to Ultralight’s?
After trying all the short scales, I ended up buying the tribute Fallout. It was a great bass with a great sound, but don't expect it to be small and light. With the bridge placement it's pretty much the same size overall as a 34. After a couple of years I ended up selling it to get a smaller and lighter Ibanez. I miss the sound of the Fallout however, and I've kind of been keeping an eye out for one on the used market. BTW, I'm not sure that you really get much more with the American. I'm pretty sure the pickup is the same, and mine had excellent fretwork and setup. I usually do a fair amount of setup work on new instruments, but that Fallout tribute was great out of the box.
I'm still considering switching to ultralights, they would cost me 1/4 to 1/3 of what the bass cost new. That's why I just moved the strap button and used a wide strap to start with.
A few caveats with this mod I did.
Obviously the resale value is much lower now I've modded this. Before drilling I assumed "if I drill this I'll never sell it". Worth it.
Secondly, this is a Thin Guy Mod. Note the side picture, study the angle of the instrument and fretboard. The fatter I get, the more the fret board will angle down and away from me. Right now it's perfect for 'standing and looking at audience ' playing. To look at my fretboard while I play I have to crain my neck forward a little more than usual. This is because I've effectively shifted the pivot point of the instrument in the horizontal plane as well as the vertical. I find in my preferred standing and head up at the audience position, the fretboard angle is spot on for my fretting hand and maintaining cleaner technique.
Thirdly, look at the upright angle I prefer, it's pretty extreme! I acknowledge that. It's how I like to play, with sliding thumb just touching the mid line of the neck back.
I doubt anyone reading this post would ever consider doing this mod, I'm only posting this because you asked islapdabass!
I got the idea from a photo of Bootsy Collins playing a P bass in his JBs era. He'd made the strap position mod.
I did. Noticeably improved the balance, which was not great to begin with. Had a Ultralite set laying around, so why not. The holes I drilled will be covered if/when I put the OEM tuners back on someday. This was a clearance bass without any discernable flaws. The only downside was the somewhat poor balance. Fixed now. For a shorty it has a pretty bold sound. I'll be saving this little rascal for when I'm too old to handle 34 inches (if I live that long!).
I'll have to measure and get back to you on that. They're small diameter posts, though.
Edit: 3/8" as far as I can see.
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