Who makes a 23 inch scale bass?

[cultrvultr]

I've got the Goldtone, Kala and The SmallGuitars.com MB-2 (a rebranded Greg Bennett/Samick MCR-1). The SmallGuitars MB-2 blows the uke basses out of the water for playability, fit & finish and of course sounds much more like a standard electric bass.

It looks like the price has gone up a bit, but I think it is still a pretty good deal. Quality is on par with the squire and other budget models. I've gigged with it recently and I haven't even changed the OEM strings in 3+ years.

 

[Nickweissmusic]

Hello ...

I’m not a bass player but I’m looking for a good quality small 23 inch scale bass for myself.

Besides the below is there anything obvious I’m missing?

Kala California solid body UBass

Greg Bennett Corsair MCR-1 Mini Bass (I’m not sure if its still made)

Jay Turser JTB-40 (I’m not sure what size it is) but it seems impossible to find in the UK

Liuteria 3g Microbass (made in Italy) but it seems they don't respond to email.

I would be grateful for your wisdom.

Graham

The Ohana bass ukuleles are FANTASTIC. Looks like some idiot reviewed the fretless model I recently also tried the fretted version, fantastic as well.

 

[TolerancEJ]

My small basses include a Kala U-Bass SUB Solidbody, DeArmond Ashbory, and a Donner UBass.

My wishlist includes the VB Custom I already mentioned, the Savannah already referenced by another TB'er, the Gold Tone ME-Solidbody Micro bass.

The Kala Paddle Bass (1-string) for $199 intrigues me as well. (I might ask my wife to get me this for Xmas this year.)

Paddle Bass - Kala Brand Music Co.

 

[diegom]

The Kala Paddle Bass (1-string) for $199 intrigues me as well. (I might ask my wife to get me this for Xmas this year.) Paddle Bass - Kala Brand Music Co.

Doesn't $199 seem excessive for a 1-string bass? Maybe you should wait for the Hadean version

 

[TolerancEJ]

Doesn't $199 seem excessive for a 1-string bass? Maybe you should wait for the Hadean version

I was sort of hoping a used one would show up somewhere (TB Classifieds, Reverb, etc)

 

[GrahamNN3]

The Ohana bass ukuleles are FANTASTIC. Looks like some idiot reviewed the fretless model I recently also tried the fretted version, fantastic as well.

Looks good - but I’m after a solid body.

 

[GrahamNN3]

A 24” bass here

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[KohanMike]

Do the LaBella metal flat wounds sound good? Do they play in the same octive as a regular bass?

Yes, same octive. I really like the sound and feel of them, like standard electric bass guitar but with smooth strings.

 

[GrahamNN3]

Yes, same octive. I really like the sound and feel of them, like standard electric bass guitar but with smooth strings.

Thank you

I wonder if tbe GoldTone La bella metal flats would work on the Greg Bennett Corsair MCR-1 Mini Bass?

 

[cultrvultr]

Thank you

I wonder if tbe GoldTone La bella metal flats would work on the Greg Bennett Corsair MCR-1 Mini Bass?

maybe, but could require changing the nut or action. I have both those strings and that bass, but haven't felt the need to change the strings on the mini bass. The shorter scale +P pickup gives you a bit of a more flat wound tone anyways.

 

[GrahamNN3]

maybe, but could require changing the nut or action. I have both those strings and that bass, but haven't felt the need to change the strings on the mini bass. The shorter scale +P pickup gives you a bit of a more flat wound tone anyways.

Ok - thank you, thats very useful to know.

 

[KohanMike]

Thank you. I wonder if tbe GoldTone La bella metal flats would work on the Greg Bennett Corsair MCR-1 Mini Bass?

maybe, but could require changing the nut or action. I have both those strings and that bass, but haven't felt the need to change the strings on the mini bass. The shorter scale +P pickup gives you a bit of a more flat wound tone anyways.

I've put the LaBella flatwound on all my magnetic short basses; a SmallGuitars MB-1 P-bass using the existing nut, a custom Telecaster (guitar style), an ESP guitar to bass conversion, and I find them to work very well. I never liked the noise of round wound strings.

 

[Will_White]

I don't know of any that hasn't been said yet, but can I ask why you want a sub short scale bass?

 

[cnltb]

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Best of the best right here.

I agree and disagree.
It is a lot of fun but WWAAYY too expensive, I think.

 

[caledoneus83]

My EB/SG styled Japanese lawsuit era bass from Savoy is like 24.5" scale... heck of a lot of fun to play

 

[GrahamNN3]

I don't know of any that hasn't been said yet, but can I ask why you want a sub short scale bass?

I don't know of any that hasn't been said yet, but can I ask why you want a sub short scale bass?

Hi Will ... I understand your asking most probably because good advice would say learning on a bigger bass would be better - but in my case its unfortunately to do with a health issue. Thats just how it is .. but it could be a lot worse.

 

[Nickweissmusic]

Looks good - but I’m after a solid body.

I saw that, just threw this one in because it’s not just great for being small, it’s an incredible bass instrument period, and an uncommon value for $500. Looks like there are a lot of solid choices out there, all kinds of fun to be had...

 

[GrahamNN3]

I saw that, just threw this one in because it’s not just great for being small, it’s an incredible bass instrument period, and an uncommon value for $500. Looks like there are a lot of solid choices out there, all kinds of fun to be had...

Yes - I totally agree.

A few of the instruments are a tad difficult to find in the UK - but theres still a good selection to try.

 

[BluesBear]

I have a Kala U-Bass SUB and I love it. But it was stolen.
So I bought a Savannah STB-700 lightning because I also love Thunderbirds. I hate it.
The ThunderGut strings that came on it sounded horrible compared to my Kala.
I have since found another Kala to replace the stolen one. So I bought some Kala roundwounds to put on it thinking it would sound better for rock tunes. They sound absolutely horrible.
Now I am wondering if it is the strings or the bass itself. The Savannah piezo bridge does seem a lot noisier than my Kala. Did I get a dud or is this a common issue?

 

[KohanMike]

It's a common issue. I have 10 basses with that piezo pickup, 8 Rondos and 2 Savannahs, half of them have a problem with the pickup. One remedy that has worked on two of them (but not on another) is to slice apart the plastic saddle that looks like it's four pieces, but is actually one. There's a pickup element under each section and by cutting them apart, each saddle puts pressure only on that pickup element. I've also changed the piezo assembly on a couple of them.

On one of the Savannahs, I changed the strings to LaBella/Gold Tone flatwound 25" which helped, but the E string is being dampened somewhere.

I just used my new red Kala Journeyman U-bass that came with their round wounds, which I didn't like, and the A string rattled. I changed the strings to a set of Thunderguts, but it still rattled, I changed the nut, still rattled. Next I'm going to try a set of Red Pahoehoe, but I have to get new nut made. It's a blem I got for $270, but if that doesn't work, I'm going to contact Kala and see what they say.