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THE SHORT SCALE BASS THREAD!
- Thread starter de la mocha
- Start date
Yesterday, I took delivery on a 30" Luna Tattoo bass. Made in China, its got a mahogany body, maple neck, "Precision-style" pickups and the neck width is 1 5/8" at the nut. It weighs in at 7.2lb. It came with roundwound strings which will soon be replaced with LaBella flats. Factory setup is pretty good. I plan to keep it at work for some lunch hour woodshedding. $199 at Invalid Link Removed and available at some of the online retailers. Luna also has a Invalid Link Removed of the same style.
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I'm quite interested in your impressions as to the sound and feel of the Tattoo. I'm having trouble with the chunkiness of my 34" P-bass neck.
The neck feels slimmer than P-basses I've played, but it's just about as wide. The satin finish makes it nice to play, too. The neck on my MIJ Mustang is a bit slimmer, though.
The sound is very P-bass-ish. So much so that I don't plan on replacing the pickup. The controls are smooth and quiet.
You could get a Jazz neck for your P-bass. Same scale, but much slimmer.
I put a set of LaBella short scale Deep Talkin' Flats on it yesterday - 45-105. They do fit (just barely long enough). The original roundwounds were very close to the same diameter and the new LaBellas didn't change the setup measurements enough to require a truss rod, action or intonation adjustment (and that's the first time that's happened for me). It plays and sounds great.
Another nice surprise was how well the frets are finished.
wintremute
mediocrity at its finest
- Oct 16, 2014
- 6,942
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- Endorsing Artist: Langstrom Carrot Farms
It is time to replace the Gibson SG Std., I sold awhile ago. This SG Std. should be in Tuesday. I really like the grain in the body.
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Here's my favourite short scale. The PseudoMaster!!
It's sounds pretty much like a p bass. It has a sweet satin feel neck. I love the playability. I use it when I travel to practice or local shows. Great tone from a Fender Red Lace Sensor I put in. I actually prefer this bass over my fender standard Jazz. It's fast becoming my "go to" bass.
It's sounds pretty much like a p bass. It has a sweet satin feel neck. I love the playability. I use it when I travel to practice or local shows. Great tone from a Fender Red Lace Sensor I put in. I actually prefer this bass over my fender standard Jazz. It's fast becoming my "go to" bass.
I feel the same way about my Bronco. Where did you get that pickguard and how much drilling did you have to do?
The pickguard is from wd music. The pickguard only just covers so I just marked it where it fit best then drilled about 8 holes. Just got to fill the old cover holes.
Ok, My second ever bass was a Gibson EB -0. My old man and I refinished it, put a brass pick guard and a DiMarzio Model One pickup in it, it was a great bass. I played in my first real band with it. That was about 36 years ago... I sold it as a stupid kid, regretted it ever since, yadda yadda...
I found this Aria EB -3 copy recently, after I broke a finger on my fretting hand, and it was suggested I find a short-scale while healing up. Great idea, right! So I look in my local Craigslist, and this one is an hour away, for $150. I took a chance on the gas and went to see it. Played nice, no apparent issues..
I got it home, 2 days later played a benefit gig with it, and it kills! Tonally, knob-wise just before it becomes a "Wall of Mud", it's a thing of beauty. You can dial in just enough mids to give the sound some elastic-like muscle, surrounded by a great, dark, woofy girth. Great fun, fantastically tone-ful.
I really dig this bass. 70s Aria EB-3...
I found this Aria EB -3 copy recently, after I broke a finger on my fretting hand, and it was suggested I find a short-scale while healing up. Great idea, right! So I look in my local Craigslist, and this one is an hour away, for $150. I took a chance on the gas and went to see it. Played nice, no apparent issues..
I got it home, 2 days later played a benefit gig with it, and it kills! Tonally, knob-wise just before it becomes a "Wall of Mud", it's a thing of beauty. You can dial in just enough mids to give the sound some elastic-like muscle, surrounded by a great, dark, woofy girth. Great fun, fantastically tone-ful.
I really dig this bass. 70s Aria EB-3...
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Very few short scale Decades around to my knowledge. A friend of mine also has one, in white. I think he said his was the first they built, but I have no idea if that's true or not.
That's a gorgeous bass!
Ok it's been a while and I just got it. I had a fretless SSUB, and Bruce Johnson ended up with it. This is an SSUB inspired piece. Lol, yeah. Nice.
This little booger does reggae like no other bass I've ever played. Did an outdoor gig last night, our once a week in Newport RI, and it rocked the house like you read about. Still not quite used to the scale length, but it was fun and inspiring to play. No worries or thoughts about tone, no frequency niggles up the neck on lighter strings, no issues.
This old battle-axe is a sweet bass. $150, not touching the pickups, pots, nothing. Just dumb-lucky.
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I've been considering one of these in the local classifieds as well. Im happy to read a good review!
Do you have it strung with flats or rounds?
It came with rounds, I haven't changed them yet, in part because I haven't found short-scale strings yet. But this may just be the way to go.
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