I played my newest bass addition, an SX short scale SBP-57, at a church gig this morning. I was able to get a well rounded sound with a good blend. This particular gig also had an acoustic guitar and a piano (grand). The bass played great and the tone was excellent. Backing off the short scale tone control can make it sound 99% close to the SX SPJ with only the P pick up on. I am still toying with the idea of replacing the pickup with an EMG Select passive which is what I did on my SX PJ.
I solved the neck dive easily. I have a lot of straps from various guitars and basses that I own/owned. I found the best strap is leather with a rough underside (suede like) meaning it was not smooth. That allowed the strap to grip my shirt. The bass stayed in place. My Comfort Strapp also worked well but the small leather strap was easier to store in the bass case. The worst neck dive straps were those where the padded part slides freely along the strap. Also performing poorly are those with any smooth surface that touches the shirt. Yeah I know that is obvious.
So my first gig with this bass went very well.
I solved the neck dive easily. I have a lot of straps from various guitars and basses that I own/owned. I found the best strap is leather with a rough underside (suede like) meaning it was not smooth. That allowed the strap to grip my shirt. The bass stayed in place. My Comfort Strapp also worked well but the small leather strap was easier to store in the bass case. The worst neck dive straps were those where the padded part slides freely along the strap. Also performing poorly are those with any smooth surface that touches the shirt. Yeah I know that is obvious.
So my first gig with this bass went very well.
