Small Scale Bass Hate?

[TallestCrayon0]

thank you guys

In college I studied jazz performance and I had a short scale Ibanez artcore. It's a semi hollow body and I had put flat wounds on it. Sounded great for jazz melodies, walking lines and even for a Motown Jamerson sound. The small neck was great for bass studies or fast soloing. I enjoyed it, now I play a 5 string fender jazz American deluxe.

 

[DOOGLER]

i ordered one..

hopefully i can do tapping on it. im afraid of it arriving broken

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Hate? Hardly. I just don't care to use them. They don't sound or feel as good (to my ears).

Hate is a word used when you want someone dead. I don't hate much of anything.

 

[NoiseNinja]

i ordered one..

hopefully i can do tapping on it. im afraid of it arriving broken

So, which one did you end up buying?

 

[NoBlackTShirts]

Slap a capo on the 2nd fret and move the fret markers with stick-ons.

You mean first fret. But anyway, that's too hillbilly for me. And I don't need the neck to be heavier.

 

[Batmensch]

the guy at sam ash was like confused that i wanted a short scale bass and said, you know all the fanous people play long scale basses

Well, next time you go there (f you do) ask for another salesman, 'cuz that guy is an idiot.

 

[Ric5]

My first 3 basses were 32", then I got a 33" scale Rickenbacker, it was 30 some years later when I finally owned a 34" scale bass.

 

[fjadams]

Well, next time you go there (f you do) ask for another salesman, 'cuz that guy is an idiot.

It reminds me of the salesman, and that is purely a generic term here, at the GC where I drove from Lincoln to KC to get the only Fender Modern Player short scale Blonde Jazz bass they had.
First they wouldn't hold it, wouldn't take a down payment, wouldn't guarantee it still being there when I got there. It was a quick 200 mile trip. The Prius had the cruise set on 85ish all the way down I-29.
Anyway, when I got there it was sitting there in all its glory. I immediately picked it up, played it and walked it to the counter with debit card at the ready.
After I told the guy I'll buy it he asked me if I wanted new strings as nobody likes Fender's standard strings. OK, he got that right.
Asked him if they carried any short scale flats. Then he informed me they don't carry any short scale or flat strings. If he knew this, and I suppose he at least had a passing knowledge of what this bass was, why would he ask if I wanted to buy a product they didn't carry?
But then if he was a knowledgeable music person, he'd probably be working someplace other than GC.

 

[cfsporn]

I'm aware I will most likely have to start getting bass strings online (As well as the ones I like for my 12 string guitar), but I would prefer to get it all at brick & mortar stores--there's something about the experience I love, and I don't want them to go away.

Not bass string online, bassstringsonline.com Best place for bass strings bar none.

 

[DOOGLER]

So, which one did you end up buying?

I got the Ibanez Mikro GSRM20 black, thanks to MIKROBASS

 

[cfsporn]

Hate? No. Not at all.

I do prefer the tone and the feel of extra long ≥35" scale basses, but my favorite bass to play right now is my 32" Alembic.

 

[000_Unknown]

Yeah..

 

[Imaginary Pony]

I got the Ibanez Mikro GSRM20 black, thanks to MIKROBASS

Don't forget, when it arrives, you're going to have to post an NBD thread!

That means New Bass Day, and you post photos and your impressions of the bass.

Your new bass will get lots of community cyber love!

 

[NoBlackTShirts]

One of the sad days of my life as a player was selling a 31" scale Birdsong cBass. It played like a dream, and I thought it sounded great, but in the world I live in, the people who hire me want to see a Fender or something very like a Fender...

You, sir, are a perfect prospect for a 32" conversion neck. It'll play slicker and nobody would be the wiser.

 

[El Pelusa]

Now, an alto sax isn't gonna sound like a tenor. My Mustang, on the other hand, sounds just as good as my Pbass in the mix and I doubt the vast majority of the audience could tell the difference.

Exactly

 

[jazz Bass 74]

I used to think my Hofner was short scale, but since I got my U Bass with a 21 inch scale, short scale has taken on a whole new meaning!

 

[RED J]

My short scales will hang with any long scale of the same type I have both.

Hint: Don't get a short scale with a warmed over ceramic guitar pickup and expect it to sound other than a warmed over guitar.

 

[RED J]

Well, next time you go there (f you do) ask for another salesman, 'cuz that guy is an idiot.

Be ready to vet several. People who can, do. People who can't, become salesmen. ( generally and more often than not IMHO ) If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with baloney.

 

[KohanMike]

I used to think my Hofner was short scale, but since I got my U Bass with a 21 inch scale, short scale has taken on a whole new meaning!

I thought under 28" was called sub-short scale, at least that's how I and a few others on this forum refer to them. I have seven 21-24" scale, three being worked on right now, see my signature.

 

[NortyFiner]

I wanted to get a small scale four string to use at my home with a cheap amp. Is this regarded as stupid by the community?

Ask Stanley Clarke how playing short scales has worked out for him.