short scale bass

[bigjohn170]

hi just looking for a bit advice im looking to buy a short scale bass , can anybody advise me i have a few full scale fenders which i prefer to my other basses .im not looking in the budget area im going to treat myself , any advice would be appreciated . john

[Big_Stu]

How big a treat? I'd be looking for a late 60's Gibson EB3 - unmodded, no damn DiMarzios.

[lozbass]

I think Big_Stu is asking the right question - how big a treat? Depending on what you intend to spend, options are a bit limited beyond the obvious EB0 and EB3. Much depends on whether you're thinking about vintage or modern tones. My favourite shorties by far are Alembics - if you're talking really serious cash, there are Series I and II shorties around. For a bit less, you can pick up a really lovely Stanley Clarke (30.75" scale). If you want to go medium scale (32"), you could have a look at Status - there's the tiny Streamline and various choices in the Kingbass range. You'll see a reasonable amount of Alemic medium scales around too. Good luck, I'm a short-scale devotee!

[neepheid]

You say you prefer your Fenders. Seeing as you're looking to spend a bit more than what is required to secure a Squier Bronco Fender's current short scale offerings are limited to the CIJ Mustang. Historically speaking, Mustangs do go back a fair way if you'd prefer to look for a USA made model (1966-1981).

There was the Musicmaster, but it was Fender's budget instrument at the time (uses a 6 pole Strat pickup under a solid cover amongst the cost saving) and as such I would suggest that the Mustang is a superior instrument. However - the discontinued Squier Musicmaster (Vista Series) is a surprisingly much improved reissue of the original Musicmaster with a proper bass pickup (like with 4 pole pieces over which the strings actually traverse), through body stringing and matching colour on the headstock.

Other Fender short scale oddities (good luck finding them) would be the hollow Coronado and the short scale Bullet Bass.

Edited May 20, 2011 by neepheid

[BigRedX]

[url="http://www.birdsongguitars.com/"]Birdsong[/url]

[franzbassist]

I'm biased, but a [url="http://www.veilletteguitars.com/electric_bass_nylon.shtml"]Veillette Minotaur[/url] would be awesome.

Edited May 20, 2011 by walbassist

[bassist_lewis]

On the subject of shorter scale has anyone ever tried a 30-32" scale 5/6 string? I'm curious coz I find 34" a bit of a stretch towards the nut (I reckon its contributed to my sprained wrist) and was thinking of having a shorter scale one built.
Any advice?

[benebass]

[quote name='bassist_lewis' post='1239511' date='May 21 2011, 05:46 PM']On the subject of shorter scale has anyone ever tried a 30-32" scale 5/6 string? I'm curious coz I find 34" a bit of a stretch towards the nut (I reckon its contributed to my sprained wrist) and was thinking of having a shorter scale one built.
Any advice?[/quote]

Unless it is a very good luthier then the B might be a bit floppy due to the lower tension of the shorter scale. From what I understand, this can be oversome with choice of materials to a degree (e.g. harder wood on the neck), but I'm no expert. Birdsong have a patented design that wraps the low B through the body & out again under the strings to increase tension on a 31" scale & there's a demo on You Tube - looks interesting, but they're not cheap & as they're handmade in the US it's difficult to try one.

I think there's someone on here with a 5 string 32" Status King Bass & they were pretty pleased with it - might be worth a search.

Over on talkbass.com there's a medium scale bass club with a few discussions on 32" 5 strings that's worth a read too.

Lower than 32" might be a bad idea - I remember reading about a high-end 30" build with a low B & don't think it turned out great (might have been Alembic, but not sure...).

Cheers,

B.

[Grendel]

How about a Lakland Decade? I really dig the chi sonic pickups

[BigRedX]

[quote name='benebass' post='1239556' date='May 21 2011, 06:16 PM']Birdsong have a patented design that wraps the low B through the body & out again under the strings to increase tension on a 31" scale & there's a demo on You Tube - looks interesting, but they're not cheap & as they're handmade in the US it's difficult to try one.[/quote]
This design doesn't change the tension. That is exactly the same as it would be without wrap mechanism as tension is dictated by the speaking length of the string (the distance between the nut - or zero fret - and the bridge saddle), the pitch it is tuned to and the unit mass of the string. What it does change is the compliance which is affected by length of the string between the speaking length points and the actual anchor points.

[Lorne]

If money is no problem, then you could get a vintage B.C.Rich Bich, 30.5" scale length, these are my 2, but they made 4 string versions as well as the 8 stringers

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Whatever you do, don't waste your money one this one [url="http://www.wunjoguitars.com/shop/bass/fender-musicmaster-bass"]http://www.wunjoguitars.com/shop/bass/fend...usicmaster-bass[/url]

The new Squier jaguar short scales are very cool - how about one in each colour?