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The things I hate about loving short scales
- Thread starter AntAir267
- Start date
Have you ever tried thicker strings to retain tension at that tuning? I tune to Eb and use a 55-110 set
I've thought about it but I'm already using a 145 for my B. I don't think I want to go any bigger.
Of course SS basses will be marketed for smaller people, but anyone who plays know that they have a tone and feel of their own. They remind me of compact sports cars like Minis and Miatas-nimble and quick.
I'm a long scale player, but have really enjoyed time spent on a 30" EB-0 with flats (thick and round tones for days) and my 30" Bass VI.
I'm a long scale player, but have really enjoyed time spent on a 30" EB-0 with flats (thick and round tones for days) and my 30" Bass VI.
A little chrome automotive striping tape, a Gretsch pickup and a V8 emblem from Auto Zone. Nothing but the best for me....
I loved my Mikro. 28 inch scale. I wish Ibanez would make a prestige version of the Mikro and put some real pickups in it. They even have a 5 string version. I bet if you tuned that 5 string version to D standard you wouldn't have a floppy low D string.
Anyone who thinks short scales are not professional or are only for beginners need to talk to the bass player of a little known band called the Beetles.
The challenge is in string selection. Short scale string packs are both difficult to find, and poorly optimized. You really need heavier gauges. The extra tension is nothing for most bass necks. Your truss rod will keep up just fine. Keep in mind that if you read a package of strings that lists how many pounds of pressure the strings impart, it is the higher pitched strings that add the most tension. 4 string bass necks are under a lot less tension that most electric guitar necks. Bass necks are also generally a lot more reinforced than guitar necks. The extra tension from using heavier strings is basically negligible for any well made bass; as the truss rod will be more than enough.
Anyone who thinks short scales are not professional or are only for beginners need to talk to the bass player of a little known band called the Beetles.
The challenge is in string selection. Short scale string packs are both difficult to find, and poorly optimized. You really need heavier gauges. The extra tension is nothing for most bass necks. Your truss rod will keep up just fine. Keep in mind that if you read a package of strings that lists how many pounds of pressure the strings impart, it is the higher pitched strings that add the most tension. 4 string bass necks are under a lot less tension that most electric guitar necks. Bass necks are also generally a lot more reinforced than guitar necks. The extra tension from using heavier strings is basically negligible for any well made bass; as the truss rod will be more than enough.
This just about sums it up. Bass is a big instrument and it should feel as big as it sounds, imo. Trying to mess with the nature of bass being a larger instrument does make it feel like a toy. Plus the sound is a lot more thuddy and muddy when you shorten the scale. There's a reason the standard scale is 34", it sounds like a legit bass should. Sorry but I gotta say short scales do feel (and look) like I'm playing a kid instrument.
And U-basses literally feel like a joke to me. I can't take them seriously.
Fat Steve
The poodle bites, the poodle chews it.
Yeah, I get that sometimes too. The difference is that I also play a DB, and as soon as someone starts jawing off about short scales like this guy:
I like to remind them that if one wishes to be a scale elitist and make fun of shorties and the folks that play them, one should remember that a real bass has a 41" scale, weighs about 30 lbs, and doesn't have frets.
My DB smirks at your 34" bass
Uhm yea they are. Nobody considers a smaller car a"kids car" or a"beginner car". Smaller car does not equal "easier to drive". Also MANY MANY very nice, high end, top of the line sports cars have been very tiny, and in fact the "tightness" of the design of these cars symbolized quality in design for decades and decades. There are literally NO parallels in public opinion between small cars (especially sports cars) and short scale basses.
I agree with you that the most "real" bass is an upright, and I dabble in upright bass as well. But that statement of yours only supports the claim that short scales "aren't real basses" (which is not a claim I made. I only said I don't like them). I would also add that I own more extra long scale basses than standard long scale basses, including two 35" basses and one 36". But I am a bigger guy.Yeah, I get that sometimes too. The difference is that I also play a DB, and as soon as someone starts jawing off about short scales like this guy:
I like to remind them that if one wishes to be a scale elitist and make fun of shorties and the folks that play them, one should remember that a real bass has a 41" scale, weighs about 30 lbs, and doesn't have frets.
My DB smirks at your 34" bass
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that people shouldn't play what they want. Please do, by all means. I have no qualms with that and I'm really not talking sh#@&. But as far as MY opinion and preferences go, short scale basses feel toy-like, and I've never played one that gave me the tightness of tone that I want (granted I've never gotten to try an alembic). Really that's all I'm saying.
Don't be so quick to take other's personal preferences as an insult to your own, just because they differ from yours. I never said anything bad about those who like SS.
Yeah, I get that sometimes too. The difference is that I also play a DB, and as soon as someone starts jawing off about short scales like this guy:
I like to remind them that if one wishes to be a scale elitist and make fun of shorties and the folks that play them, one should remember that a real bass has a 41" scale, weighs about 30 lbs, and doesn't have frets.
My DB smirks at your 34" bass
Don't get this "shorts are for people with smaller hands and arms" thing.
I take XL gloves. I have big hands. I have a 73 inch reach. Shoo-in for a longscale , right?
Not.
I dislike longscales for playability. Good sound, yes, generally. But I've never liked playing them compared to shortscales.
Tried all the 'technique' and fingering tweaks.
I can play them o.k if required......but I'll take a shorty anyday.
Funny but I've never had anyone criticise the scale length of my short scale, most punters struggle to tell the difference between a guitar and a bass anyway.
It certainly doesn't sound like a toy through my rig.
It certainly doesn't sound like a toy through my rig.
I agree... maybe for some people who refuse to consider playing anything but long scale, inadequacies of a certain part of the male anatomy may be a more accurate analogy
Both of the cars mentioned do the same thing basically...one is just a bit smaller than the other.
Both basses do the same thing....one is just a bit smaller than the other.
Yeah, you just learn to ignore his posts.Yeah, I get that sometimes too. The difference is that I also play a DB, and as soon as someone starts jawing off about short scales like this guy:
I like to remind them that if one wishes to be a scale elitist and make fun of shorties and the folks that play them, one should remember that a real bass has a 41" scale, weighs about 30 lbs, and doesn't have frets.
My DB smirks at your 34" bass
