Obrienp

I would say it’s many advantages outweigh, the few disadvantages. You get used to the dot markers. I see the luminous thing being an additional plus, so if it doesn’t work that well, then you are just where you would be with a lot of other basses. As Woodinblack says, the “issue” with the pickups is very subjective. The OEM Bart’s are a bit old school but then how many basses at this price point come with pickups you would never want to change? I whinged about it at first but I now realise that, with all its other features, the budget would not stretch to more expensive pickups. I did put Aguilars in mine but I was being a sheep really. I wanted to hear what everybody else was raving about. They do sound very good by the way and probably make the bass more versatile tone wise. I don’t think this is unique to the EHB1000S: I know plenty of people who have bought more expensive “standard” model Fenders and the first thing they did was replace pickups and bridge. I do have to state a bit of a vested interest here, in that I am probably going to have to sell mine soon. I operate a strict one in, one out policy and it looks like my Nordstrand Acinonyx may finally be arriving this month. I will be sad to part with the EHB1000S. It is probably the most ergonomically designed instrument I have ever owned. It balances well on the strap, weighs very little, has a minimum reach neck, is nicely contoured, so no sharp edges digging into the picking arm, etc. All of this adds up to a bass you can play for a long gig with minimum discomfort.

Might I ask if that was new, or secondhand? If the former, where did you get it? I’m getting a little impatient waiting.

Each to their own IMO. Perhaps Chowny could offer a pickguard as an aftermarket accessory. Mine would have to be the other side though: I play acoustic guitar as well and my nails mess up the finish by the E string on my basses. I’ve found one of those clear electrostatic guards they use on flamenco guitars is quite effective and doesn’t spoil the aesthetic.

All the Ibanez basses I have bought new came with a D’Addario tag hanging off them, so I assumed they were OEM on all their basses. However, I notice the spec on the Ibanez website doesn’t mention string manufacturer for this one, whereas for some other models it gives the D’Addario code. I guess there might be a price point below which D’Addario are too expensive for OEM. Edit: I have always found D’Addario work well on Ibanez basses, although I tend to go for a full medium, or light set, rather than the light top/medium bottom sets they tend to put on OEM. I find the hybrid sets a little too bright on the top end but they are probably ideal for slapping (which I don’t do).

Yes, I think you are right. I’ll just have to accept I’ve been an idiot and return them. Still interested to know if I can use them in the EHB 1000S though.

I managed to accidentally buy a set of Labella Gold Flats thinking I had got a short scale set. Not sure how I did that but I have Covid at the moment, so perhaps my mind is scrambled. Anyway, before I try to return them, I think I have three options to use them: long scale 51 P bass with through stringing (Labella say they are not suitable for string through bridges); Ibanez EHB1000S, which would mean cutting them; cut them and use them on a standard short scale. Has anybody tried using 760 FGS on a through body bridge? Was it OK or did they cause issues? Is it OK to cut them for the EHB1000S, or will they unravel? If they don’t unravel, I guess another option would be to cut them and use them in a standard short scale, provided I can get them in the machine head slots. Again LaBella says only the cloth wrapped part of the string should be on the machine heads. Anybody tried any of this?

Would it be worth the effort and additional administration involved to create, and maintain a Short Scale Basses sub-forum in the Basses for Sale forum? The sub-forum would cover short and medium scale basses for sale, in the same way that there is a sub-forum to cater for lefthanded basses. It would make it easier for sellers to address the specific short scale market and buyers would not have to wade through pages of listings to pick out the shorties. Obviously, it would involve extra effort to create the sub-forum and then administer it for the Admins and Mods who are all volunteers. Therefore, we need to gauge whether the sub-forum would be used enough to warrant that effort. Please would you complete the poll to help us quentify interest. It is multiple choice but there are only three responses, so it will take an instant to complete. I hope it is self-explanatory but for the sake of clarity: if you select response 3, you shouldn’t also have selected responses 1 and/or 2.

For what it is worth; I just measured up some Northwest Guitars own brand vintage tuners and they seem to have the same dimensions as the OEM ones on my TMB35. NWG say they come from the same factory as Wilkinson but they are not quite as chunky as the Wilkinson vintage tuners. I haven’t tried fitting them to my Talman, so make sure you check dimensions before buying.

That must have been irritating. I would probably stick with standard chrome, so retain the originals as is. I tend to do this anyway to avoid having to drive the original collets out of the headstock: one less thing to go wrong. On that theme: I am sure I have seen spacer collets on one of the online store websites. These are designed to take up the slack in situations like yours but it just adds to the cost. Your solution is more cost effective.

Thanks, that’s useful to know if I ever have to replace mine. I will have the cocktail sticks and wood glue on standby. At least you don’t have to drill out the post holes.

The Talman makes a great modification platform. The bridge (actually the OEM is not bad) is 7 screw mounting (on my 5 string) but looks as though modern Fender 5 screw fit will do; the machine heads are big old vintage style, so lots of choices; pickups may be a bit of an issue on the 5, if you don’t want to route, as the jazz is the same size as a four string; OEM nobs are horrible but easily replaced; the pots are tiny but seem to work OK. Fretwork, etc was fine on mine. Based on my 5 string, the only mod I really needed to make was to shield the cavities because it hummed a lot out of the box. The OEM P pickup isn’t bad to my ears and I only use the jazz to add some tonal colour to the P. I did more mods but IMO you need to be careful not to spend too much, as you will never recover it if you decide to sell.

Well, the GAS got the better of me, so I have ordered one in Lake Placid Blue from the Bass Gallery. The wait starts now and I think my victim is going to be my Ibanez EHB1000S. I will be sad to see it go but one in one out is the rule ☹️.

I know what you mean about setting your tone and leaving it there. I don’t need anything much more than a P Bass for the kind of music I am playing at the moment. I was thinking of using this with the blues band I play in, so really just a couple of traditional tonal variations are fine. If I can call those up using preset buttons and some amp tweaking, so much the better. I certainly don’t need a club like traditional P Bass neck: I have smallish hands and arthritis in my left thumb. Consequently, I have had to go short scale recently to be able keep playing. The Acinonyx sounds as though it would be perfect in the circumstances and the lightweight would help with a 3 hour gig we have coming up. Unfortunately, I don’t think I will be able to get hold of one before that and my one in one out policy means I’ve got to select a victim to be culled: difficult!

Many thanks for that detailed feedback. I was reading reviews on the Talkbass forum yesterday and the GAS is building to irresistible levels! It’s good to get a UK perspective. It sounds like the perfect bass for me. I don’t need a huge range of tones, just two or three good ones that I can call on easily and the push buttons sound like the perfect solution for that. The other requirement is for a bass that sits well in the mix.

I am hoping to revive this thread. I note that quite a few BassChat folks have bought these but I also note that there have been quite a few sold on here too. I hear nothing bad about it in the various reviews available online but then they don’t use it long term. It would be great to hear what the long term experience is from any owners out there. Is it something that you can use as your only bass at a gig, or do you find yourself just using it to get a particular sound on a couple of songs in a set? Is it a one trick pony, or an all rounder? How does it hold up to gigging, especially those push buttons? What about the narrow nut and string spacing: too cramped, or a joy to play? Thanks in advance for any insights. I am fighting serious GAS, tempered by the fact that you can only pre-order at the moment (definitely a good thing for my credit card bill).

Wow, dmc79 lots to answer there and some of it is a bit subjective, so a lot of this IMO. Yes, the 4 fret stretch is easier. One of the bands I play in is a blues band that does a lot of up tempo stuff, with some rock and roll thrown in for good measure (so lots of 4 fret stretches). A combination of age related issues and small hands was combining to make it real murder on my big boy ‘51 Precision (copy): by the second set I was finding it physically impossible to keep my speed up and my hand would literally cramp up. Moving to a 30” scale has made it so much easier. I can now do a 2 set gig and keep my speed up without discomfort. Fret 1 to fret 4 on my 30” basses is about 11.5 cm/4.5”. Weight: shorties do tend to be lighter but there are some notable exceptions, so it is worth checking before pulling the trigger. The Reverend Watt Plower is made of lead according to some folks and some Chowny basses were a bit weighty but they say they are addressing that now they have moved to UK manufacture. Generally they are lighter, so less shoulder and back strain on prolonged gigs. A drawback that comes with diminished size and weight can be neck-dive but that can be countered with a grippy strap and/or lightweight tuners. Not all shorties suffer: my Ibanez EHB1000S is perfectly balanced but it is far from your Fender aesthetic. I have noticed that there are quite a few slab bodied shorties: e.g. Fender Mustang, Gretsch Junior Jet, etc. it’s a matter of taste but I find the lack of an arm contour causes forearm pain playing standing up for protracted periods. This isn’t unique to shorties of course. Strings: I think it is fair to say there isn’t the same huge choice that you get for standard bass and that can reflect in a price premium. Most of the big manufacturers do rounds and flats for 30 and 32” scale basses. Finding one that suits your Fender P Bass preference: well it depends on what you want to spend. There is actually a much wider range of short scale basses than a perusal of the usual online shops would lead you to believe. If you have Fender Standard/Performer range money both Sandberg and Maruszczyk do short and medium scale versions of their P Models (and Jazz). Maruszczyk seem to do every colour combination you could think of. If you really can’t find what you want, getting a custom bass made is not as expensive as you might think. I had a custom P/J shorty made on a ‘51/54 P Bass theme for the same money as the Fender Performer Mustang by Tony Edwards Guitars and I am sure other luthiers will do similar. There is a thread on the short scale Stingray somewhere on this forum.

Would a Bronco be better from that respect? I found the neck pretty thin on mine. One that would really fit the bill from the neck size/width perspective is the Nordstrand Acinonyx but probably above budget. Obviously a different aesthetic as well.

30” = short scale in my book. 32” = medium. I noticed on the Chowny thread that their CHB models are approx 31” and 33” , which they call short and medium respectively, so I guess it is open to interpretation. Does that make basses in the 28” and a bit range micro scale?

Yep; if I hadn’t looked at this thread I would be GAS free at the moment. You got me on lighter weight but that burst is incredible!

I can see why you are asking, even the Hofner website doesn’t give much detail on them. The Bass Direct site gives the best info I could find. This is for the Ignition version for instance: https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Hofner_Igintion_Violin_Limited_Edition.html. 42mm at the nut to 50mm at the 12th fret is pretty narrow IMO. By comparison my Ibanez EHB 1000S shorty is 42mm to 58mm. You can get the Ignition a lot cheaper if you shop around a bit: under £300.