Here's my story. I started playing bass uke/mini bass guitar in mid 2014 when I was 64, a year after I joined a uke group of 35. The leader asked if anyone would like to take up the bass to fill in our sound. Before joining, I played rhythm guitar for almost 50 years, often being told I should play bass because I had good tempo and feel, but I didn't want to be encumbered by a large bass guitar, forget a standup double bass.
When she asked, I got online and discovered bass ukes and mini bass guitars and went for it. Over the next years, I went through 45 of them, until the nerve damage in my neck from radiation treatments for lymph cancer years ago made me settle on one model that is most comfortable, the RondoMusic.com Hadean violin/Hofner style Chinese knockoff 21" scale.
Once I settled on that, I bought a few, having them modified to play and look the way I wanted. Early in 2025, the Chinese manufacturer discontinued them, but I was able to obtain 15, giving me plenty to design to my liking. Eric's Guitar Shop in Sound City (yes, THAT Sound City) did all the modifications, and Pat Wilkins did the finishes, both in Van Nuys, CA, not far from me. I actually have one custom from Bruce Wei Arts in Vietnam that also works.
The 45 I went through since mid 2014 (some were modified from 3/4 guitars):
The 15 violin/Hofner 21" scale, all modified the same way and finished to distinguish each:
The custom Bruce Wei gypsy/jazz style:
