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THE SHORT SCALE BASS THREAD!

#381
BassHappy said:
http://www.innertainment.net/medium.html
Click to expand...

Hey, thanks so much for this write up! Very educational! Sounds like you prefer the medium scale form factor.

It took me many years to figure out the standard 34" scale was a bit too long for me to comfortably handle, but I reached a happy compromise with Rob Allen Solid 4 and Rob Allen Deep 4 fretless basses, as these are 34" scale length with the neck recessed into the body for a shorter overall instrument length. The playability has improved 1000%!

My grandson will definitely benefit with a short scale bass. Looks like there are many options without having to settle for "lower class" tone. This is looking encouraging. I'm putting some time into understanding this because if he eventually decides to not pursue the bass, I'll commandeer his short scale and use it myself!!
 
#382
Ukiah Bass said:
Hey, thanks so much for this write up! Very educational! Sounds like you prefer the medium scale form factor.

It took me many years to figure out the standard 34" scale was a bit too long for me to comfortably handle, but I reached a happy compromise with Rob Allen Solid 4 and Rob Allen Deep 4 fretless basses, as these are 34" scale length with the neck recessed into the body for a shorter overall instrument length. The playability has improved 1000%!

My grandson will definitely benefit with a short scale bass. Looks like there are many options without having to settle for "lower class" tone. This is looking encouraging. I'm putting some time into understanding this because if he eventually decides to not pursue the bass, I'll commandeer his short scale and use it myself!!
Click to expand...

Yep, a short scale does NOT mean a lower class tone, not at all. :bassist:

Although my primary instrument is a standard Precision, I do have an inexpensive 30" scale bass I snagged from a pawnshop several years ago. I've actually done quite a bit of recording with it, its got a deep and powerful growl to it that is really nice for some heavier stuff, and is my secret weapon for when I want a take-no-prisoners reggae and dub tone.

My future bass wishlist includes a couple of short scales mainly for live use, specifically the Mikey Way sig Mustang 'cause I love the sparkle silver and racing stripes, and the other is the Allen Woody sig, which is simply a stunning bass.
 
#384
Ukiah Bass said:
Hey, thanks so much for this write up! Very educational! Sounds like you prefer the medium scale form factor.

It took me many years to figure out the standard 34" scale was a bit too long for me to comfortably handle, but I reached a happy compromise with Rob Allen Solid 4 and Rob Allen Deep 4 fretless basses, as these are 34" scale length with the neck recessed into the body for a shorter overall instrument length. The playability has improved 1000%!

My grandson will definitely benefit with a short scale bass. Looks like there are many options without having to settle for "lower class" tone. This is looking encouraging. I'm putting some time into understanding this because if he eventually decides to not pursue the bass, I'll commandeer his short scale and use it myself!!
Click to expand...

Hey, glad I could maybe be of some help. As I think you can tell i am a big fan of Rob's work as well. It's my only short scale, but I find it great for all day writing sessions - the tape wounds are super easy on the fingertips and the short scale allows me to play for hours and hours....Great for drilling parts.

Let us know what you end up with. I think you are heading in the right direction with your eyes and your wallet focused on something gently used - although some of the brand new prices can be reasonable enough to be head turning....

BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
 
#385
MarkusBass said:
Thanks very much! Yeah... Pat is such a nice guy and does killer work!
Click to expand...

He did the finish on these for me:

1954%20Side%20by%20Side.png


TBass%20Side%20by%20Side.png


One of the nicest guys ever and the incredible quality of his work speaks for itself.

BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
 
#386
Showdown said:
I agree. I'm a big guy with big hands, and while I have a lot of 34" and 35" basses the one I've been playing most of the time lately is this SS Gibson Thunderbird:

Thunderbird-nodive_zpsd3d92f44.jpg
Click to expand...


Yep. They did a nice job on theses. Great neck, good balance. I changed the electronics on mine to V/B/StellarTone. Hopefully get it refinished Arctic White this summer. Changed the jack to a black one as the jack being the only chrome thing on the bass just bugged me.
 
#389
I know you guys have seen my Mustang before, but here it is again. I brought it to a jam on Wednesday night and the host couldn't believe such a deep rumble could come from a short scale.
SDC10426_zpsd26f0de4.jpg


.....here's my Epi Flying V
SDC10065_zps602b75d1.jpg


....and my shorty SX P
SDC10610_zps68cb40bc.jpg
 
#390
I own an SX Ursa 3 JR MN 3TS FL Short Scale Fretless.

I was surprised how good it sounded for such a cheap instrument. I'm not very good with the fretless though. my technique inst perfect and I cant seem to play anything fast like forms of metal because I'm so used to sliding around everywhere. When I play it at all I usually am tempted to play jazzy sounding stuff which, Ive never done and have zero experience listening to. I just use it to build technique for now.
 
#391
I have a Fender P-bass and being fairly new to the bass guitar world, would I notice much of a difference if I picked up a short scale bass and started playing around with it? Are the distances between the frets(closest to the nut) that much shorter? Just curious. Thanks.
 
#394
Showdown said:
How does the StellarTone sound?
Click to expand...


I'm a big fan of them. Have them in a lot of my basses. Think they give better tonal variations, more clarity between the top and bottom.
Use the DuoTones, the regular ones in basses with one pickup or two of them in Gibson style electronics, and. Regular bass and a jazz one in my Starcaster.

But V/B/StellarTone is my current favorite setup. The ceramic pickups in the TBird really come alive with this.
 
#395
fjadams said:
I'm a big fan of them. Have them in a lot of my basses. Think they give better tonal variations, more clarity between the top and bottom.
Use the DuoTones, the regular ones in basses with one pickup or two of them in Gibson style electronics, and. Regular bass and a jazz one in my Starcaster.

But V/B/StellarTone is my current favorite setup. The ceramic pickups in the TBird really come alive with this.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I may give one a try, but I'm thinking about the pedal version so I don't have to modify my bass and can use it on multiple basses.
 

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