Small Scale Bass Guitar

[Steamtronic]

Yes there are short scale strings. Moving the bridge would change the scale length and throw off the intonation big time, kinda shocked a repair shop would suggest that. The only way that would work is if the bridge was a two piece and the bridge portion stayed put and you only moved the tail piece, even then you'd need a lot of space at the end of the body to accommodate the full scale strings.

Thanks Scourge, Ill get me some short strings and see if that makes a difference. Im reading up TB threads on "witness points" and related bumpf to make sure I get it right.

TBH the repair shop I've been to has left me less than impressed before - their last comment was "we don't have any bass players here so you might want to check it out yourself". Should have been a warning not to hand over any money, I wont be back.

 

[scourgeofgod]

Scale length is measured from the nut to the saddles.
If the saddles are all the way back and need to go further, it's reasonable to move the bridge back a half inch or so to give the saddles more room to move.
This won't throw the intonation off, it is done to correct an intonation problem.

Yes I know how scale length is measured, and I understand your point but you're assuming he would only need to move it 1/2 an inch to compensate for the full scale strings, the thing is the fret's positions are not adjustable and eventually they will simply not line up and intonate properly with the adjusted scale length, it would be a much more simple solution to just fit the bass with short scale strings.

 

[scourgeofgod]

Thanks Scourge, Ill get me some short strings and see if that makes a difference. Im reading up TB threads on "witness points" and related bumpf to make sure I get it right.

TBH the repair shop I've been to has left me less than impressed before - their last comment was "we don't have any bass players here so you might want to check it out yourself". Should have been a warning not to hand over any money, I wont be back.

Take my advice with a grain of salt as there is some opposition to my view point apparently, if I were you though I'd at least try the simpler solution of throwing some short scale strings on before modifying the bridge location.

 

[Steamtronic]

Yes I know how scale length is measured, and I understand your point but you're assuming he would only need to move it 1/2 an inch to compensate for the full scale strings, the thing is the fret's positions are not adjustable and eventually they will simply not line up and intonate properly with the adjusted scale length, it would be a much more simple solution to just fit the bass with short scale strings.

Dead right - she stays in perfect tune when I'm playing a piece using only open strings. Its when I start to show off and use frets that it becomes an issue.

 

[fjadams]

Here's a question: are there strings specifically for short scale?

I have a shorty (Burns Marquee re-issue) that I strung with full-scale flats, and i can't tune her. I've wound the bridge saddles ALL the back but she still gets sharper the higher I go. By the time I get to the 12th I'm 1/4 out on all four. I'm considering getting the bridge moved at the recommendation of the local repair shop, but am nervous because I shouldn't have to do this on a good quality make.

Any suggestions?

Yes there are strings sized correctly for short scale basses.
A few companies making them are: GHS, La Bella, Rotosound, D' Addario
They can be had in flats, rounds, tapes and variations of each of these.

Search in the bassstringsonline thread for much more on this. Also search the many short scale threads.

 

[fjadams]

So, I've been trying to find a new/newer bass. Last year I went to the city to a gear shop, and played around with a small scale bass. I loved it, and since it was only around $100, I bought it. I showed it to the guy that I was taking lessons from at the time, and he just kinda shook his head and told me to stick to my other one. I love playing it, but it just doesn't sound or feel as good as my regular size bass.

I know small scale basses are generally seen as beginner basses or for children. I have small, girly hands so, while I can play a regular bass just fine, if I want to get fancy I run into trouble. My small scale bass allows me to play it much more easily.

I'm not a gear head, or whatever you want to call it, so I'm wondering if there are any good, gig-worthy small scales out there. I've looked up discussions on other forums, and it just seems that most people don't take small scales seriously. I really enjoy playing the one I have, but again, I got it used and cheap from a shop.

I appreciate any help you guys/gals can give me.

There are many (dozens?) of threads about short scale basses. I know this is usually used as a snarky comment, but search for "short scale". You should be able to find out most anything you need to know.
Short scales aren't toys, children's basses, beginners, blah, blah blah. They're just another version of a musical tool. If your music teacher says they aren't real instruments then it's probably time for a new teacher.
I have 20+ basses and every one is a short scale except for one medium scale, one Kala U-Bass, and a sub scale I'm building out of a Les Paul.

 

[Rockin Mike]

Yes I know how scale length is measured, and I understand your point but you're assuming he would only need to move it 1/2 an inch to compensate for the full scale strings, the thing is the fret's positions are not adjustable and eventually they will simply not line up and intonate properly with the adjusted scale length, it would be a much more simple solution to just fit the bass with short scale strings.

The bass doesn't "know" how long the strings were before they were wrapped around the tuning pegs. If it's a 30" scale bass the speaking length is 30" whether you use perfectly measured short scale strings or super long strings cut down to size. The reason the intonation is weird when using a long scale set on a short scale bass is that the gauges are different. A typical E for a 34" bass might be .105, for example, and a typical E for a 28" might be .125 to keep the same tension at that pitch. Those two different gauges will need different saddle adjustments and apparently Steamtronic was trying to use gauges that are out of the adjustment range for what his bass manufacturer designed. It doesn't mean the bass is faulty. The issue is the gauge (diameter) of the strings, not the length. If one wanted to find out the correct gauges for the scale length of the bass, then get long scale strings of those gauges and cut them to size, they would work.

I agree that moving the bridge way back just to take up excess string length would be foolish, but I don't think anybody suggested that. According to what Steamtronic posted, there was an intonation issue due to maxed out saddle adjustments. The repair shop suggested moving the bridge to fix this, which is legitimate. It wasn't suggested as a way to fit long-scale strings on a short-scale bass:

I have a shorty (Burns Marquee re-issue) that I strung with full-scale flats, and i can't tune her. I've wound the bridge saddles ALL the back but she still gets sharper the higher I go. By the time I get to the 12th I'm 1/4 out on all four. I'm considering getting the bridge moved at the recommendation of the local repair shop, but am nervous because I shouldn't have to do this on a good quality make.

Before moving the bridge, though, I would try removing the springs from the saddle adjustment screws (assuming it's that type of bridge). That can give you a little more room for adjustment.

 

[scourgeofgod]

I agree that moving the bridge way back just to take up excess string length would be foolish, but I don't think anybody suggested that. According to what Steamtronic posted, there was an intonation issue due to maxed out saddle adjustments. The repair shop suggested moving the bridge to fix this, which is legitimate. It wasn't suggested as a way to fit long-scale strings on a short-scale bass:

Yes but assuming the bass intonated fine before the string change it stands to reason that the culprit is the long scale strings. I'm not trying to call you foolish or start an argument here it just makes sense to me to go ahead and try the short scale strings before making any radical modifications, especially since the shop that recommended moving the bridge admitted they had no experience with basses and even told steamtronic to do the work himself.

 

[Steamtronic]

Before moving the bridge, though, I would try removing the springs from the saddle adjustment screws (assuming it's that type of bridge). That can give you a little more room for adjustment.

Thanks for the suggestion Mike. If short scale strings don't do the job I'll give it a go, but TBH a bass by a reputable manufacturer like Burns should NOT have an issue requiring any form of hardware modification, no matter how small.

 

[Rockin Mike]

Short scale strings will have the proper gauge that the manufacturer intended and will intonate properly and are the easiest solution.

I'm just saying I don't think the shop was incompetent to suggest moving the bridge to give a little more play in the intonation, and I don't think the bass is faulty.

It's just that when using long scale strings on a short scale bass you have to go with a heavier set.

 

[Rockin Mike]

Yes but assuming the bass intonated fine before the string change it stands to reason that the culprit is the long scale strings. I'm not trying to call you foolish or start an argument here it just makes sense to me to go ahead and try the short scale strings before making any radical modifications, especially since the shop that recommended moving the bridge admitted they had no experience with basses and even told steamtronic to do the work himself.

It's all good. I don't think either of us is wrong.
I think you're saying, "short scale strings will work", which is true, and I'm saying, "If you are going to use long scale strings, get the right gauges", which is also true.

 

[mongo2]

I play only short and sub-short scale bases now. In fact I'm in the middle of setting up my early 60's Kay Truetone to put it back into the rotation.

 

[Ken J]

No toys here



Fretless short scales

 

[RedHotFuzz]

Just saw a sweet custom short scale Lakland built for the bassist of Incubus on Twitter.

It appears you can't link to a tweet in this forum?

Then Bass Guitar Porn (the originator of the tweet) has to fuel the silly short scale narrative by calling it "cute." Grrr....

Dang I wish Lakland would do some short/medium solid bodies in the Skyline range.

 

[JACink]

I have a cheap short scale P bass, it was always my favourite for noodling in fronto of the PC, or trying out new songs etc.

One day I changed the pickup for a DiMarzio, and added some Labella flat wound strings (just because I had the p'up and strings in a drawer), and since then I really like the bass. It is not my best bass, or favourite bass, but I find the tone really useful at times, and also really comfortable for a quick pickup and play bass with cold fingers.

Would I have an issue playing this out of the house, definitely not!

 

[fjadams]

Just saw a sweet custom short scale Lakland built for the bassist of Incubus on Twitter.

It appears you can't link to a tweet in this forum?

Then Bass Guitar Porn (the originator of the tweet) has to fuel the silly short scale narrative by calling it "cute." Grrr....

Dang I wish Lakland would do some short/medium solid bodies in the Skyline range.

If they made a Skyline Decade SS I'm thinking there'd be one hanging on one of my walls.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

If they made a Skyline Decade SS I'm thinking there'd be one hanging on one of my walls.

There would definitely be one hanging on my wall!

 

[Bassamatic]

If you use long scale strings on a short scale bass, the strings will not be pulled to the proper tension that they were designed for. It is important to get the right stringa!!

Just scored a Squier Jaguar SS bass today off of CL. After a setup,it plays great and sounds amazing! Even easier to play than my Mustang.

 

[KohanMike]

Yes there are short scale strings. Moving the bridge would change the scale length and throw off the intonation big time, kinda shocked a repair shop would suggest that. The only way that would work is if the bridge was a two piece and the bridge portion stayed put and you only moved the tail piece, even then you'd need a lot of space at the end of the body to accommodate the full scale strings.

That's basically what I did when I converted my Epiphone Les Paul Express 22" scale guitar to a bass using Rotosound Tru-Bass 30" strings. I drilled string-through holes at the tail end of the body to be able to use the longer strings. I also moved the bridge slightly to allow the saddle adjuster screws to have more adjustment space.

 

[scourgeofgod]

That's basically what I did when I converted my Epiphone Les Paul Express 22" scale guitar to a bass using Rotosound Tru-Bass 30" strings. I drilled string-through holes at the tail end of the body to be able to use the longer strings. I also moved the bridge slightly to allow the saddle adjuster screws to have more adjustment space.

View attachment 521527

Any plans to change the pickups on that?