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THE SHORT SCALE BASS THREAD!

#281
Smallequestrian said:
Nice Mouse, I believe that was my old one, which inspired me to buy this...
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Why the swap? Walnut just not doing it for ya? :)
 
#284
Thangfish said:
Looks sharp.
How is the sound now?
How was the install?
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I thought the TV Jones pups improved the sound a lot. The mods were easy, just a little extra routing needed to fit the slightly larger pups into the holes. No big deal really. The result was worth it.

I ended up selling it, as I do many of my projects, to buy a vintage Gibson. The new owners likes it and is very happy with it.
 
#289
I am thinking of setting my SX short-scale P up for BEAD tuning. Right now I have a .110-.050 set on and LaBella has a 5'er set that is .128-.041. I would naturally toss the high string. What I'm wondering is whether this would damage the structural integrity of the bass or not. I string through the body so long or standard scale length is no problem. Should I go with a heavier gauge? And yes, I am aware that tension will not be as tight as on a 35" bass. Thanks.
 
#290
policyvote said:
Okay, spamming this place one more time with pics of my beloved Gretsch Thunderjet:

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It's a true shorty @ 30.3" scale, but the body is chambered mahogany and the carved top is maple, and the neck is mahogany/ebony. With the handwound TV Jones pickups, the sound is bigger than anything I've ever heard.

I sold my previous one-and-only to go with this one. Why did I go short scale? Well, besides the sound and beauty of this particular instrument, it's simply more playable. Yeah, you can "get used" to 34" or 35", and the shoulder/wrist pain bigger basses often bring. And yeah, those long- and extra-long scale lengths have all the benefits of manly bragging rights. So, I think a lot of people turn away from short scales because they're percieved as either "girly", or "cheap"--I know I did for years. But the incredible sound of the Gretsch (and other great short-scales like Alembic, Birdsong, etc.) prove that there doesn't have to be a tradeoff in sound to enjoy a comfortable, playable instrument.

Peace
policy
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Man, i was playing around with this bass at gc this weekend. Really like the sound/tone that this thing produces. I was playing it through a mark bass amp. Very impressed with both items.
 
#293
How do you like your Triumph

I really like it a lot. it's got a very wide range of tone that works in almost any conceivable situation. rock, blues, acoustic music, whatever you throw at it. I jam with a friend who plays acoustic piano and the triumph compliments it nicely. when we switch up to Cult covers, it's right there. the only thing I don't care for is the weight, very heavy.
the controls aren't really difficult to grasp, just takes a bit of time to check 'em all out. ;)
if you get a chance to check one out again, you should.
 
#297
I just scored my first short scale: a '73 Guild JS-2 (Jetstar II). Man, I've always played fender-type long-scales up til now (MIM Jazz, SX P, EBMM Stingray) so it's taken some adjustment. I love the way it plays, though I haven't found the perfect stance and arm positioning yet. This thing only weighs 7 lbs so neckdive is pretty ridiculous, but i bought a fat suede strap which is helping. The barely contoured body takes some getting used to as well. But it's been really fun to play, and the ridiculously fat humbuckers are great for overwhelming the guitarists in my band...

This is the photo from the seller I purchased this from... haven't had a chance to take more. It's pretty banged up, just like most of these older mahogany monsters, but it plays fine. It could probably use a little fretwork up around the 18th fret, but I barely ever play up that high. It can wait for now. One thing I did learn already is that this thing needs medium-scale strings, otherwise you wind up with the tapered windings in the middle of the first fret, which is annoying.

GuildJS-2.jpg
 

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