Why would anyone play a bass longer than 30" scale?

[sawzalot]

Funny, I never considered short scale basses. Like, ever. Not out of snobbery. Back when I started playing they were simply not a thing, and I never considered anything else. I've owned a 35" scale bass, which was very nice but not something that would make me play them exclusively.

 

[rtslinger]

My first electric bass was a short scale Norma from Japan, went to a 34" Kay SG after that it was long scales basses up to a few years ago I added my EB-O because I had no short scale basses in my collection. It is great bass, but it doesn't work for some songs I cover, so I can't use it for everything and "for that reason I'm out"

 

[jnsnj]

Because the first bass I ever owned was a short scale and I hated it.

 

[BassBrass]

Why would anyone wish to play an 8' grand piano? You could fit 10 spinets in that same space. Seriously my friends, it is about vibrating string length and fundamental pitch perception in the lower registers.

Exactly this. 34" seems to be a great compromise that works well down to E. My 5 string 35s are better than my 4st 4's even the non B strings. I love my Epiphone Allan Woody and Dan El Longhorn but for their midrange... something is missing and there's less sustain. In high brass it's allot like comparing a cornet to a trumpet. Trumpet has a certain "depth" to the sound and also more highs when pushed. Cornet is prettier, rounder sounding. and physically compact.

 

[Meyatch]

feels like there's an awful lot of pseudo science flying around in here. Just because an epi eb0 sounds like farts doesn't mean that's inherent to the sound of a short scale.

A lot of short scale basses are cheap, and they sound cheap. Some of them are not cheap and they don't sound cheap.

I'm 6'3, and I have long skinny fingers, and they work on 30" scale and 34" scale. My number 1 bass is bouncing back and forth between my Hammersmith C4 (34"), and a Mustang PJ (30"). Sometimes I feel like playing one, and sometimes the other. They both sound good, and there's nothing thuddy and dull about my Mustang, and it doesn't have floppy strings.

If longer scales were required to sound brighter, then why are guitars so short?

 

[Jazzjames]

You can see from the OP's profile picture that he likes to play with his thumb hooked over the top of the neck bassball bat style. Fine if you're chugging along on single notes, but it's going to get uncomfortable if you try to play one-finger-one-fret for more complex passages.

Also, the neck could be a bit low, making the wrist and elbow angles suboptimal, if he does try to play with the thumb behind the neck opposite the middle finger.

Maybe this could be the reason for his preference for smaller instruments?

I don't play a short scale bass with any regularity because whilst the sound is pleasing in certain situations, it doesn't work for me in the vast majority of electric bass playing I do. Each to their own in that regard.

I'm 5'9" and play a 59 P bass and an MTD 635 (35").

I find both easy to play. It's all about getting the strap height correct and hanging/positioning it in a way so you can address the instrument efficiently and comforably.

 

[jd56hawk]

I'm serious about this. I see lots of threads about is it OK to play a short scale but never any from the other perspective. Maybe it's because I only started playing bass 6 years ago in my mid-50s and started on a Squier Jag SS, maybe it's because I get tennis elbow if I play anything longer than a 30" scale on a regular basis, or maybe it's because I'm a lead singer and have to try to play everything without looking down (as best I can LOL!). But I don't get it... why would anyone handicap themselves by playing a bass that is longer than necessary.
Short scales are easier to play no question. I don't think that's even worth debating. The selection of shorties is better than ever (and there should be more...). String selection is no longer a problem and tension issues can be resolved with the right strings (again it could still be better and will be once everyone switches to short scale ). Tone is pretty subjective and for God's sake, most personal preferences can be solved by string choices and amp settings.
So why do you guys play 34"s? Do you like clubbing your lead guitarist and/or singer in the head? Are you challenged by the longer scale? Is it an image thing? Is it tone? Is it Machisomo?
I used to think it was an image thing, but in the 200+ shows I've played with short scales not one person has ever said 'hey... your bass is too short'. In fact when I tell people I play a shorter scale than normal they are totally mystified by what I am saying.
So why are you still playing a 34" bass?

Let me be the first to tell you that what you're trying to do won't work.
Your organization tried this in the late '60s and again in the mid '80s to no avail.
Now, during a period when you and your ilk have more options than you've ever had before to express yourselves with your choice of non-standard basses, far more choices than the underappreciated left-handed bassists, you insist on attempting to subvert the established system once again instead of existing in harmony alongside us.
This, sir, is not what music is all about!

 

[overit]

34"+ because I try as hard as possible to not be confused with the guitar player. Lol

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I'm serious about this. I see lots of threads about is it OK to play a short scale but never any from the other perspective. Maybe it's because I only started playing bass 6 years ago in my mid-50s and started on a Squier Jag SS, maybe it's because I get tennis elbow if I play anything longer than a 30" scale on a regular basis, or maybe it's because I'm a lead singer and have to try to play everything without looking down (as best I can LOL!). But I don't get it... why would anyone handicap themselves by playing a bass that is longer than necessary.
Short scales are easier to play no question. I don't think that's even worth debating. The selection of shorties is better than ever (and there should be more...). String selection is no longer a problem and tension issues can be resolved with the right strings (again it could still be better and will be once everyone switches to short scale ). Tone is pretty subjective and for God's sake, most personal preferences can be solved by string choices and amp settings.
So why do you guys play 34"s? Do you like clubbing your lead guitarist and/or singer in the head? Are you challenged by the longer scale? Is it an image thing? Is it tone? Is it Machisomo?
I used to think it was an image thing, but in the 200+ shows I've played with short scales not one person has ever said 'hey... your bass is too short'. In fact when I tell people I play a shorter scale than normal they are totally mystified by what I am saying.
So why are you still playing a 34" bass?

Big worked 70 years ago, big works now. Why would anyone handicap themselves by playing short scale instruments, without also playing full scale instruments? That makes no sense to me. Bass guitar is a big instrument. Big sound, big feel, big role. It isn't anything but right to me.

 

[J_Bass]

For me it's 34". I like the looks, the feel, the sound, the balance. I play one finger per fret easily.

A 30" is to small for me, there is no space between the notes, especially in the upper octave. Looks and feels like a toy, or a guitar. Too light, also.

I also play a 3/4 double bass, and wouldn't want any smaller, the sound just isn't the same.

Steve Swallow plays a 36" acoustic bass and he doesn't use a B string, he uses E to C. He should know a thing or two.

 

[nonohmic]

I'm pretty happy on a 30", but my tonal palette is kind of limited. If I did more slapping or and wanted brighter sounds, I'd want to use a longer bass.

Yah I just picked up a cij mustang and absolutely love it. But def harder to get different sounds out of it compared to even my 34" P.

 

[SteveCS]

...
...I don't think that's even worth debating. ...

If you believe this, why start the discussion?

 

[J-Mags]

Yah I just picked up a cij mustang and absolutely love it. But def harder to get different sounds out of it compared to even my 34" P.

I like it because I was switching from guitar and didn't want to sound like a guitar player, and I wanted an identifiable "sound". Mine is strung with flats. Most of the players here are more concerned with versatility, getting paid, etc., so a longer, or at least brighter, setup makes more sense. You can't say that the short stuff doesn't sound different. There's no substitute for that string tension and length. Then again I heard a podcast with JMJ and he was playing all kinds of stuff on his signature Mustang and sounding great, and his tone is significantly darker than mine.

The most intense bass sound I've ever heard live was Robbie Shakespeare in the early 80s with a Beatle Bass and 2 SVTs.

I don't think my low E is sloppy, BTW. It doesn't have that high-tension, steel girder sound, but it's not slightly weird, the way it's felt to me on an EB0 or a Musicmaster in the past.

 

[Turnaround]

Why do double bass players mostly play 3/4 size basses? You see a few 7/8 size, but 4/4 is exceedingly rare. Why is that? Probably the same reason that most electric basses are 34" or 35" scale. I guess it's what most people like.

 

[neddyrow]

is this a real thread?

people are different.

people like different things.

you only need to be on talkbass for about 12 minutes to figure this out.

 

[crlujan]

...because the best basses come in at 34".

 

[lbbc]

I have a 34" scale G&L JB2, a 32" scale Dave Pushic Custom and a 30" Ibanez AGBV200A. It's all a matter of comfort, preference and what you're used to. Being a short guy with chunky hands, the 30 and 32 are the most comfortable for me.

 

[Kriegs]

 

[TuneIn]

Because, Longer,harder,faster,stronger vs. Shorter,softer,smaller,weaker

 

[Lowendtech]

Because 4 comes after 3. So 34 is in tune with nature.
5 comes after 3 if you're counting in odd numbers. So 35 a plausible number.
0 after 3 is out of order. So 30 is dirty.