Long Or Short Scale Basses

[gsgbass]

Hi folks. What neck length preference do have, Long, short, or doesn't matter?

Edited July 9, 2011 by fjbass

[henry norton]

[quote name='famstd' post='1257253' date='Jun 5 2011, 01:25 PM']Hi folks. Just wondering if other players with small hands and fingers prefer, and play a long scale bass over a short scale bass. I myself seem to get my fingers a bit tangled up on the fretboard, with the short scale. I found the extra area on the fretboard of the long scale, spreads my fingers about right.[/quote]
It just depends on what you're used to. I like playing both and I think you just need a slightly different approach to each instrument - play them each in a different way. My hands aren't huge but I don't have any trouble going from 30.5" to 42". (scale length that is )

[chris_b]

I agree, I prefer long scale, but you are supposed to move your hand to place your fingers over the note so small hands aren’t an excuse for not being able to reach a note. Esperanza Spalding has smaller hands than most here and easily plays the double bass!!

[BigRedX]

Makes no difference to me. I don't have particularly big hands.

My main bass in the 80s was a 29½" scale Burns Sonic, during the 90s in was a 36" scale Overwater. At the moment it's a 34" scale Gus. Takes me about 5 seconds to adjust.

[stingrayPete1977]

It wasnt until I joined basschat that I found out these things were any different, I just bought the one that played and sounded good in the best colour they had in the shop ,Now I find out about string type and gauge, action, releif, spacing, maple or rosewood etc Its a minefield.

Edited June 5, 2011 by stingrayPete1977

[chris_b]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1257490' date='Jun 5 2011, 05:19 PM']....It wasnt until I joined basschat that I found out these things were any different, I just bought the one that played and sounded good in the best colour they had in the shop ,Now I find out about string type and gauge, action, releif, spacing, maple or rosewood etc Its a minefield....[/quote]
You were right before!

[Nostromo]

Where exactly does short scale end and long scale begin ? . . .

I mostly play fender Jazz's . . . but to be honest I expect there are a lot of people on the forum like me who arnt up to speed with "terminology" and wouldn't know if if a fender Jazz is a long scale or a short scale . . . I think it must be long scale but I'm not sure and wouldn't wanna have to bet my guitar collection on it ! ! ! ? . . . I guess this may be because I probably haven’t tried out that many different types of basses over the years ?

I look forward to being technically enlightened and lifted out of my ignorance ! !

[BigRedX]

It used to be fairly straight forward. Short scale basses were 29½-30½", Medium scale was 32" and long scale was 34".

Then came the extra long scale basses from makers like Overwater which were 36".

However nowadays you can get basses with all sorts of different scale lengths. Birdsong basses are 31" and they class them as short scale. There's plenty of manufacturers making 35" scale instruments (usually with 5 strings) and there are at least a couple of BassChatters with 33" scale bass. And then there are companies like Knuckle Guitar Works who build 39.55" scale length instruments.

These days I find it easier to ignore the old labels and simply refer to the actual measurement.

[Nostromo]

Thanks for that . . . .

I don't feel so bad about exposing my ignorance now !

[BasH]

When I was bass hunting, I was able to compare 3 basses (Maruszczyk's) that were exactly the same, except for their scale.

A 34", a 32" and 30" one.

Ended up buying the 32", because for me it was the best compromise. The 30" just felt to flubby to me. A bit lacking in definition.
And although I always played 34" basses, I felt immediately at home on the 32" one.
Did not hear/feel that much difference in definition, so I went for that one (well, I actually bought two of them)


Strung them with the thickest Thomastik's I could get, though... (individual strings ordered from Schneidermusic.de)
Gauges: 0.106 > 0.072 > 0.57 > 0.044

[Ross]

Little stubby sausage fingers here and 34" is all I've ever played.
I struggle with anything more than a 4 string though, as much as I'd love a 5/6 string it's just too wide for my hands to play comfortably.

[derrenleepoole]

After playing 34" scale for over twenty years, moving to 30" short scale was the best thing I ever did. I personally find it a lot more comfortable, it feels more natural, especially over longer sets. I get along fine with long scale, I just prefer it shorter. Hey, I play upright bass okay, so it's whatever suits you

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1257584' date='Jun 5 2011, 06:48 PM']It used to be fairly straight forward. Short scale basses were 29½-30½", Medium scale was 32" and long scale was 34".

Then came the extra long scale basses from makers like Overwater which were 36".

However nowadays you can get basses with all sorts of different scale lengths. Birdsong basses are 31" and they class them as short scale. There's plenty of manufacturers making 35" scale instruments (usually with 5 strings) and there are at least a couple of BassChatters with 33" scale bass. And then there are companies like Knuckle Guitar Works who build 39.55" scale length instruments.

These days I find it easier to ignore the old labels and simply refer to the actual measurement.[/quote]

And then there's Rickenbacker....

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1281559' date='Jun 24 2011, 09:46 PM']And then there's Rickenbacker....[/quote]
Exactly...

Time to ditch the short/medium/long labels which are just too imprecise and use the actual length in either inches or mm.

[Wylie]

I had a short scale Squier as my first bass. I found the string tension too relaxed ... well, not tight enough. I like to play aggressively, and it didn't suit that at all. Just not a good feel for me.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1281661' date='Jun 24 2011, 11:23 PM']Exactly...

Time to ditch the short/medium/long labels which are just too imprecise and use the actual length in either inches or mm.[/quote]
What size is a Ric 4001 BigRedX? I have never given it much thought when playing them really.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1281754' date='Jun 25 2011, 01:04 AM']What size is a Ric 4001 BigRedX? I have never given it much thought when playing them really.[/quote]
The 4001 scale length is 33¼".

Your comment sums up exactly why I think that some players get too hung up on the numbers instead of treating the bass as a whole. I went from playing a 29½" scale Burns in the 80s to a 36" scale Overwater in the 90s. The basses had little in common other than they suited the music I was playing at the time. In fact I didn't even realise that the Overwater was longer than 34" scale until I bought my first set of (normal "long scale") strings for it and then wondered why they didn't fit properly!

Edited June 25, 2011 by BigRedX

[stoker]

both my basses are sub 34" scale and i love 'em! it helps where i play guitar as well so it's easier to move from one to the other.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1281883' date='Jun 25 2011, 09:49 AM']The 4001 scale length is 33¼".

Your comment sums up exactly why I think that some players get too hung up on the numbers instead of treating the bass as a whole. I went from playing a 29½" scale Burns in the 80s to a 36" scale Overwater in the 90s. The basses had little in common other than they suited the music I was playing at the time. In fact I didn't even realise that the Overwater was longer than 34" scale until I bought my first set of (normal "long scale") strings for it and then wondered why they didn't fit properly![/quote]

Thats very true my earlier post was partly troll but mainly true, I used to look at them first to see if I liked it, then the price tag, then play it if there was a chance of buying it. The only others would be ones for the hell of it in musical exchanges just to see what the fuss was about with the expensive ones, I probably never noticed scale length or number of frets, just did it feel like I could use it for world domination as a rock star! Never happened so I must of bought the wrong ones

[Spike Vincent]

Personally I find short scale basses easier to play,but I have yet to find one that sounds as good as a 34" scale.

Edited June 26, 2011 by Spike Vincent

[Chris2112]

I prefer 32" scale for slap (as in, my Kubicki) and 34" scale for fingerstyle. If you get your string gauges right and your action set correctly it makes little difference in the end though!

[GremlinAndy]

I'm having Jon Shuker build me a 39.5 inch scale monster... just for the wheeze. Lets call it a victorian style folly!

The build has already begun.

Will keep you posted with photos as they arrive. (slowly I imagine)

[fretlessguy]

YOU play what you feel the most comfortable with, regardless of scale or finger size/length.

[Spoombung]

I play a 31" most of the time. Easier down the bottom end. Strung with heavy gauge 110-50 to compensate for less tension. Treble pickup is closer to the bridge so it picks up plenty of low mids.

Short scale can be Bassier, muddier, floppier so use these tricks to compensate.

Edited April 23, 2013 by Spoombung

[basstheface]

I started off learning bass on a short scale Jedson and then went on to long scale cheapy basses which was all I could afford at the time. My first 'proper' bass was a Fender Mustang. It was short scale and I loved it, both the action and the tone. I upgraded from that to a MusicMan Stingray. In those days, I had to sell a bass if I wanted to buy one. However, in hindsight I wish I'd been able to keep my Mustang as well! Since then I've always used 34" scale. Though I have smallish hands and a short scale would be more comfortable, I prefer the tone of long scale basses. I also have a Pangborn which has a 36" scale which is a beast to play but sounds wonderful!