Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Tiny Basses
- Thread starter fingerguy
- Start date
A couple more headless blasts from the past are the Yamaha BX-1/BX-5 and the Ibanez Axstar that were available in the 80s. They show up every now and again on eBay and Reverb and aren't generally very expensive.
Edit: just remembered the Ibanez RB999, better known as the "Bean Bass". It's not headless, but it has a pretty tiny body.
Edit: just remembered the Ibanez RB999, better known as the "Bean Bass". It's not headless, but it has a pretty tiny body.
Update:
So still have my Hofner Violin Bass which really shows the lack of quality in it, but still playable. I am still poking around but leaning towards just getting the low-end model of Steinberger Spirit. I did look into Zon and one place hasn't gotten back to me, the other has but said even though they are listed as a dealer with Zon they haven't heard from them for a couple of years. Also after going to Zon's website and seeing selling for 3k this is way out of the price range I am willing to spend.
For my new Fender I am willing to go 2k if necessary. But the travel bass is for traveling and couch playing, so not willing to go past $500.
That's where I am at for now.
So still have my Hofner Violin Bass which really shows the lack of quality in it, but still playable. I am still poking around but leaning towards just getting the low-end model of Steinberger Spirit. I did look into Zon and one place hasn't gotten back to me, the other has but said even though they are listed as a dealer with Zon they haven't heard from them for a couple of years. Also after going to Zon's website and seeing selling for 3k this is way out of the price range I am willing to spend.
For my new Fender I am willing to go 2k if necessary. But the travel bass is for traveling and couch playing, so not willing to go past $500.
That's where I am at for now.
I just bought this one... in fact, it should show up today according to the tracking. I've read a lot, but no experience with the bass. I was debating between this and the Hofner-- tuners and knobs made the difference for me.
Thanks!
Very cool. Didn't know they sold/made that. I really need to look deeper. I wish there was just a traveling bass section and I can remove "Traveling Bass's" brand from the list.
I want it to fit in an overhead and still have 24 frets. I originally was going to use a Kala (that I owned) but found more and more songs I work on past the 12th fret and doing it on a Kala sucks.
Also, I just learned Steinberger just re-issued the Spirit this year. I am most likely going that direction. Trying different headless bass's isn't as easy as one would think since they aren't that common. I think lefty bass's would be more common but that is just an assumption.
I take that back, Steinberger is out. I don't like things that are special custom where I need to track down something as basic as strings. My preferred music shop says they don't stock those strings and would need to special order them.
Yeah if I am some famous musician with direct contact with Steinberger sure, but I am not so forget that.
Back on the search and might have to give in having a head. I do like the looks of that Epiphone but I do remember owning a Les Paul Silver Burst Epiphone and that thing just would not stay in tune. I finally had a enough and sold it.
So keep on the suggestions, but if the headless requires special strings, then not interested. I want to be able to stop in any music store and buy strings right there and then. Special order...no thanks!
Yeah if I am some famous musician with direct contact with Steinberger sure, but I am not so forget that.
Back on the search and might have to give in having a head. I do like the looks of that Epiphone but I do remember owning a Les Paul Silver Burst Epiphone and that thing just would not stay in tune. I finally had a enough and sold it.
So keep on the suggestions, but if the headless requires special strings, then not interested. I want to be able to stop in any music store and buy strings right there and then. Special order...no thanks!
Ibanez Mikro:
Invalid Link Removed
Jackson JSX-1 Minion bass
Google search: Jackson JS1X Minion Concert Bass - Google Search
BnB
Invalid Link Removed
Jackson JSX-1 Minion bass
Google search: Jackson JS1X Minion Concert Bass - Google Search
BnB
Last edited:
I think there is an adapter so you can use single ball strings on the Steinberger, so maybe it is still in play! Not sure if it has 24 frets, probably not, but the SB-2 at smallguitars dot com might work. You could get more than 24 frets on the Wingbass by using an octave pedal, they were designed with that in mind as the naturally tune like you are play from 12 to 24+.
If I had $1200 or so, I'd have a custom 23ish inch scale Wingbass made that could use the LaBella flats made for the Gold Tone Micro Bass! My problem is I'm cheap and only play for fun so anything over a couple hundred dollars gets the stink eye from the wife! I've had 5 basses (still have 3), two guitars (both are gone), two combo amps (have both) and a Zoom B3 effects pedal (still have) and probably don't $1000 into everything. So I'll probably just end up getting the Kala Journeyman in black once it is available.
at the risk of redundancy, a traveler bass is as high quality as anything else you are looking at in your specified price range. the one with the p-style body is the one to get.
This is a small travel-size bass designed and built by my friend Keith Horne, whose shop is right across the hall from mine, here in the Secret Underground Lab. It's called the Marvin Mini-Bass.
This project originated with our friend Juan Perez, a veteran bassist here in the Los Angeles area.
Juan travels a lot on business, doing quick recording and performing gigs all over the place. His main bass is one of my SSB short scales, but he hates the risk and hassle of having to check it as luggage when flying. Last year, he asked me about building him a special little bass just for traveling. He owns one of those rare Japanese micro 22.5" scale P-Basses, which he travels with sometimes. It conveniently fits in the overhead compartments. It's a fun little bass, but it's limited in sound and feel and playability. He wanted something as easy to fly with, but better.
I'm too busy with my own projects, so I passed the whole thing over to Keith. The outline of the project was to develop the best possible pro-quality bass that could fit into the case that Juan carries the micro P-Bass in; a maximum total length of 33 3/4". I helped Keith with some of the engineering and hardware, but he did the bulk of the design and construction of the two prototypes.
It uses the same truss rod and neck construction as my Scroll Basses and SSB's. We settled on a 27" scale length as the longest possible that could fit reasonably within the length limitation. It's got a stubby little 2 + 2 headstock, but the neck is 1 5/8" wide and a nice modern shape. The string spacing at the bridge is standard Fender-size. The body is mini-P shaped, what it needs to be for the small size. It's a single pickup in the middle, with passive wiring in a brushed aluminum control plate.
Juan liked what we showed him enough to order two of them. One of them is a maple neck and alder body, painted Sonic Blue, with a P-Bass pickup. The other is all walnut: neck, body, fingerboard, and cap on the pickup. The walnut one uses my AMB-2 pickup. The blue one weighs 6 lbs; the walnut one 6 1/2 lbs. We designed the Mini-Bass to use a Hipshot KickAss bridge, but ended up putting Gotoh bridges on these two prototypes.
They both sound fantastic. The walnut one in particular thunders on the bottom end, with the AMB-2 pickup. It's the first time I'd heard an AMB-2 pickup with roundwound strings. He's getting some special flatwounds made for it, which is probably what he'll normally keep on that one.
It's a neat little bass, very much like a more compact version of my SSB. Not a toy at all.
Keith is now offering these Mini-Basses as a standard model, with some custom options. Pricing is in the range of $1800 for the satin walnut and $2400 for gloss finish. Keith's brand name is Marvin Guitars. That's why this is the Marvin Mini Bass.
Here's a picture of the Sonic Blue one with the P-pickup, next to one of my AMUB-2 Scroll Basses, to give you an idea of the size.
Here's the all-walnut one with the AMB-2 pickup.
This project originated with our friend Juan Perez, a veteran bassist here in the Los Angeles area.
Juan travels a lot on business, doing quick recording and performing gigs all over the place. His main bass is one of my SSB short scales, but he hates the risk and hassle of having to check it as luggage when flying. Last year, he asked me about building him a special little bass just for traveling. He owns one of those rare Japanese micro 22.5" scale P-Basses, which he travels with sometimes. It conveniently fits in the overhead compartments. It's a fun little bass, but it's limited in sound and feel and playability. He wanted something as easy to fly with, but better.
I'm too busy with my own projects, so I passed the whole thing over to Keith. The outline of the project was to develop the best possible pro-quality bass that could fit into the case that Juan carries the micro P-Bass in; a maximum total length of 33 3/4". I helped Keith with some of the engineering and hardware, but he did the bulk of the design and construction of the two prototypes.
It uses the same truss rod and neck construction as my Scroll Basses and SSB's. We settled on a 27" scale length as the longest possible that could fit reasonably within the length limitation. It's got a stubby little 2 + 2 headstock, but the neck is 1 5/8" wide and a nice modern shape. The string spacing at the bridge is standard Fender-size. The body is mini-P shaped, what it needs to be for the small size. It's a single pickup in the middle, with passive wiring in a brushed aluminum control plate.
Juan liked what we showed him enough to order two of them. One of them is a maple neck and alder body, painted Sonic Blue, with a P-Bass pickup. The other is all walnut: neck, body, fingerboard, and cap on the pickup. The walnut one uses my AMB-2 pickup. The blue one weighs 6 lbs; the walnut one 6 1/2 lbs. We designed the Mini-Bass to use a Hipshot KickAss bridge, but ended up putting Gotoh bridges on these two prototypes.
They both sound fantastic. The walnut one in particular thunders on the bottom end, with the AMB-2 pickup. It's the first time I'd heard an AMB-2 pickup with roundwound strings. He's getting some special flatwounds made for it, which is probably what he'll normally keep on that one.
It's a neat little bass, very much like a more compact version of my SSB. Not a toy at all.
Keith is now offering these Mini-Basses as a standard model, with some custom options. Pricing is in the range of $1800 for the satin walnut and $2400 for gloss finish. Keith's brand name is Marvin Guitars. That's why this is the Marvin Mini Bass.
Here's a picture of the Sonic Blue one with the P-pickup, next to one of my AMUB-2 Scroll Basses, to give you an idea of the size.
Here's the all-walnut one with the AMB-2 pickup.
)
