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Show your *Short-Scale* 6-string basses

Not my bass, but this is a 33" scale from FBB (#077-04, I think a TB'er owns it but I don't remember who) with 17mm spacing (again, I think that's right but not 100% sure).

m077-front.jpg


Matt is also in the process of building a 32" 6 string (#p-108) but I don't have pics or specs for it. You might want to contact him for updated progress pics .... :cool:
 
Not my bass, but this is a 33" scale from FBB (#077-04, I think a TB'er owns it but I don't remember who) with 17mm spacing (again, I think that's right but not 100% sure).

m077-front.jpg


Matt is also in the process of building a 32" 6 string (#p-108) but I don't have pics or specs for it. You might want to contact him for updated progress pics .... :cool:

That was my bass built for me by Matt at FBB, it has been sold and the scale on it is "33". It sounds amazing. The string spacing is actually 18.5mm.
 
I adore that body shape :D

What kind of woods are in that one?

Body:
"Larry Davis Birthday Walnut" top, thick curly maple accent line, wenge accent line, butternut core, wenge accent line, thick curly maple accent, walnut back.

Neck:
Macassar ebony and padauk 3 piece. Padauk fingerboard.

a couple more pics...

Link Removed

43b17e0c.jpg
 
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Reactions: Emanuel Apascaritei
How would the shorter scales affect the low b? Everybody talks about the tighter feeling and punchier low b on a 35" scale, but these basses you guys have posted intrigue me....
 
ive talked about this with martin keith a lot recently, a sim not sure if i want a standard 5 string or strung E-C...although i really want a 33 inch scale. he said if a lighter touch was used there shouldnt be any issue with a low b, but would recomend a logner scale if a heavy attack is used. some other luthiers i know of, namely ray rogers of r-basses claim that the scale length isnt as big a deal as most make it to be, and he has made some amazing short scale multistring basses. i tend to dig in a bit, and for this reason might wind up goign with the high c instead of the low b...especially since i dont usually need those lower notes, but love chordal technique and soloing options provided by that 5th string in the upper register.
 
an aside: i dont think you need to be intrigued by anythign else right now man...you've gone through too many boutique basses lately...unless of course you're thinking of placing a custom order, in which case, all the power to you tony...id love to see what kind of specs a gear nut liek yourself would go for.
 
an aside: i dont think you need to be intrigued by anythign else right now man...you've gone through too many boutique basses lately...unless of course you're thinking of placing a custom order, in which case, all the power to you tony...id love to see what kind of specs a gear nut liek yourself would go for.

Hahaha, nah. My question was purely for knowledge and nothing else.
 
some other luthiers i know of, namely ray rogers of r-basses claim that the scale length isnt as big a deal as most make it to be, and he has made some amazing short scale multistring basses.

I'd agree with that. The low B on my 30" is super punchy and extremely articulate with baritone strings. I also have a Yamaha BB405 that is a 34" scale. With the stock pups the low B barely came through. With Q-tuners it's tight and articulate right down the fretboard - so pups make a big difference. I switched from flat's to roundwounds and found, while still extremely articulate, it did tend to lose some of the note definition lower down the B - so strings also play a part. I think the 35" thing is more urban myth than anything else.
 
I think CB has a few on his page of shorties. I don't know if I'd ever get a low B on one, though. My Fender Urge (32" scale) gets a horrible dropped D. I figured a low B would be even worse on that particular bass. I used to be a 35" scale only for low B, but I'll bend to a 34" scale Curbow since I have experienced it personally with my medium touch.
 

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