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Why DON'T you play a short-scale?

#181
BassHappy said:
I repeat myself when under stress
I repeat myself when under stress
I repeat myself when under stress....

:D

Here they are - my medium scale Fenders - and not a dead spot ANYWHERE among em. That is correct, not even a HINT of a dead spot, we are talking PERFECTION here with virtually equal sustain all the way up on every fret:

Hamm%20Sideways.png


Maybe I gave up too soon, but NEVER found a full scale that didn't have problems in this regard.

Two more Fenders on the way soon!

Be pluckin you mothas...

BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
Click to expand...

Looks like a full scale. Maybe just the 24 frets throwin me off.

My bass is a full scale, mid-range priced, 35" and not a single dead spot on it. I played every single fret when I was trying it out to look for dead spots. Nothing.

Guess I got lucky?
 
#184
Hey Arock0627

Yes, the 24 fret full two-octave neck IS throwing you off. This is an original proto-type of a Stu Hamm Urge I medium scale bass from the early 90's. All original Stu Hamm Urge models were medium scale. This is the only two octave medium scale production neck that Fender ever made.

Best,

BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
 
#189
First of all; what do you mean by "Short scale"? To me, anything shorter than my Rickenbacker is "Short Scale". I know, the Short Scale Bass Club on TB says it's 31.5" or less, but, still...:rolleyes: If their definition of short is what you mean, I do play them, sometimes. I have 2 violin basses, and a Gretsch Broadkaster, and play one of the violin basses quite a bit. I don't have a solid body shortie at the moment, because I'm left handed; for me, the pickings are pretty skimpy, unless I want real cheap, or a high-$ custom. I'm always looking, though, and something will turn up eventually. Personally, I see no advantage/disadvantage to them; if it sounds good and looks good, I'll own it.:D
 
#190
RockNRollAl said:
Since a guitar is 25.5 inch scale, and a low E on a bass is one octave down, shouldn't the scale length really be 51 inches?
Click to expand...

It would be if you wanted to keep the same string gauge and tension as a 25.5 inch guitar uses. Bass guitars not only use a scale length that is too short, compared to traditional guitars, for their octave they also run quite a bit higher string tension. And that is why bass guitar strings are so thick. Tension, frequency, scale length, string mass: pick any three and the fourth is chosen for you.

Ken
 
#191
Marko5657 said:
Playing a fiver, I’m often higher up on the neck where the frets are already closer together. I’m also kinda ‘wide-built’, and would rather have the extra space to my side that a longer neck affords me.

I had a Mustang bass and I liked it a lot; I have absolutely nothing against short-scale basses.
Click to expand...

I also play a fiver - an ESP LTD B5-JR. It has a narrow neck like a 4, and is short-scale. The B string seems to be offset a bit, so you can play it like a 4-string if you want. Not bad for under $200.

I also have a 35" scale fretless 5-string Roscoe. Nice...
 
#192
RockNRollAl said:
I also play a fiver - an ESP LTD B5-JR. It has a narrow neck like a 4, and is short-scale. The B string seems to be offset a bit, so you can play it like a 4-string if you want. Not bad for under $200.

I also have a 35" scale fretless 5-string Roscoe. Nice...
Click to expand...

where do you get strings for it? ive almost bought on of those many times for noodling but I cant find strings for it. . .
 
#193
bassbenj said:
I don't think that height has anything to do with it. I happen to have a short scale 4 string that I never play anymore and I am average-tall (6').

Back when I was playing 4s I played it all the time. What I really liked about it was the way it allowed me to reach double stops and other things I couldn't stretch to on a 34" scale.(my hands are not small) But say what you will, the thing I didn't like about it was I felt that the E string sound was a just about the limit of how short a bass scale could go and get away with it and for that reason when I went to 5s I simply never found a short scale B string that did it for me.

One thing that might work and would be very interesting to try would be a fanned fret short scale! This would help with the low string tone problem and yet give you compressed distances to help you reach things. I've never seen such an animal!
Click to expand...
How is it hard to reach double stops? I have relatively small hands, and I have no problem playing double stops, at least 5ths and octaves. Not that hard to reach from the 1st fret to the 3rd fret between index and pinky.
 
#194
Sartori said:
How is it hard to reach double stops? I have relatively small hands, and I have no problem playing double stops, at least 5ths and octaves. Not that hard to reach from the 1st fret to the 3rd fret between index and pinky.
Click to expand...

Aye. I feel comfortable on short and long scales. I don't know what all this hubbub is about "being easier to play." They're both plenty easy to play, they just sound different.
 
#195
I like my Gibson SG Reissue short scale. I play it frequently. I'm using short scale Rotosound flats on it. I've used it for everything from Jazz to classic rock. IMO it doesn't seem to fit well with my blues trio. Fender or G&L are the weapons of choice for the trio.
 
#196
Sartori said:
How is it hard to reach double stops? I have relatively small hands, and I have no problem playing double stops, at least 5ths and octaves. Not that hard to reach from the 1st fret to the 3rd fret between index and pinky.
Click to expand...

How about reaching a 5th stop from 1 to 3 between index and ring, and leaving the pinky free for the octave or 4th above it?

Or something like this, with a barre on the first fret:

1--h3
1--h4

Short examples so not very musical, but wouldn't those be tough to play on a 34"?
 
#199
topo morto said:
How about reaching a 5th stop from 1 to 3 between index and ring, and leaving the pinky free for the octave or 4th above it?

Or something like this, with a barre on the first fret:

1--h3
1--h4

Short examples so not very musical, but wouldn't those be tough to play on a 34"?
Click to expand...

I'm not understanding what your weird tabs mean.

If I'm doing root, 5th, octave, I just bar the upper two with my pinky. Generally speaking, I use upright-style left hand technique, so I rarely use the ring finger independently of my pinky.

So far I've found that the most comfortable neck for me is on a bass that happens to be 33.25" scale. And yeah, I've tried short scale. Used to have a 30" scale bass. Sold it.
 
#200
Sartori said:
I'm not understanding what your weird tabs mean.

If I'm doing root, 5th, octave, I just bar the upper two with my pinky. Generally speaking, I use upright-style left hand technique, so I rarely use the ring finger independently of my pinky.

So far I've found that the most comfortable neck for me is on a bass that happens to be 33.25" scale. And yeah, I've tried short scale. Used to have a 30" scale bass. Sold it.
Click to expand...

What is it about a 33.25" that does it for you, if you don't mind me asking?
 

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