sussexbassman Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I'm looking for a cheap bass guitar I can easily take on flights to allow practice while away on business trips. So it needs to be small and light. Ideally a short scale or even folding neck (if any exist) - I've looked at a few possibles like the Ministars (although light, still rather long at over 40" to take on planes) or something like the Hofner shorty. It doesn't need to be great tonally because it's just for learning songs & practicing in hotel rooms with headphones. Does anyone know of other low cost options that might fit the bil? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throwoff Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Traveller guitars do a bass, quite a nice wee thing it is too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussexbassman Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Thanks throwoff, yes they look interesting but a little pricey for my needs at around £450. Don't want to pay more than £200 really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrederikVanDuuren Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 (edited) Hi, I have 2 travel basses:[list=1] [*][b][url="http://www.fernandesguitars.com/products/basses/nomad.html"]Fernandez Nomad Travel Bass[/url][/b] $499 (The Nomad Bass is a unique instrument to say the least! With its’ very short scale (“25 1/2”), and under the bridge Piezo pickup, it offers you another set of useful tonal options on stage and in recording situations, plus you can take it anywhere!) [*][url="http://www.zonguitars.com/zonguitars/vb.html"][b]ZON VB[/b][/url] $2575 (Designed for portablility and ease of travel, this bass will fit in the overhead compartment of an airplane or behind the seat of a tour bus, making it ready to take anywhere you go) [/list] Well its obvious what sounds better, the ZON, but nevertheless i like the speaker inside the Fernandes, playing unplugged electric if interested i could sell my Fernandes... hope this helps... Edited January 12, 2012 by FrederikVanDuuren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 The Ministar looks like a good option but a few others are also listed on this page: http://www.playawayguitars.com/play_away_guitars_shop.php?itemID=558 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussexbassman Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Thanks for the suggestions so far. As I mentioned, the Ministar is a bit long at over 40" for carrying onto aircraft. The Zon looks very nice, but also very pricey!! The Fernandes Nomad looks interesting .... reminds me of the Ashbory (which is another candidate) - both of these are very hard to find in the UK though .... Keep suggestions coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throwoff Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 [url="http://www.playawayguitars.com/play_away_guitars_shop.php?itemID=547"]http://www.playawayguitars.com/play_away_guitars_shop.php?itemID=547[/url] For the life of me I cannot remember the name of the Gentleman who owns this store, I used to be a rep selling to him, might be worth giving him a call, if what you are looking for exists he will know about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Theres a Kramer The Duke headless for sale in the classifieds here. Hohner B2A crop up regualrly and are really portable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorick Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 What about one of the Guild/Fender Ashbory basses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrederikVanDuuren Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I know everybody loves Fenders, but i dont sorry Great neck & body, but crappy hardware... But talking about basses is like comparing women. Very personal! In other words: Try them out & see what feels better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I had similar difficulty finding what I needed in a travel bass so had a headless 30" scale made by Paul Rose (Prosebass). Couple of pics here - http://s1090.photobucket.com/albums/i370/iankay/ It's 90cm long (35.5") fully assembled and in its carry case (outside dimension of case). The neck is bolt on and built with rugged machine bolts/threaded inserts to allow frequent disassembly. When travelling by air I usually break the bass down. The neck and body easily fit inside my regular luggage case which avoids any hassle with carry on restrictions or checking the bass separately. Paul has recently stopped taking orders but may be worth having a chat with. He's a member of BC (prosebass) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrederikVanDuuren Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) [quote] I had similar difficulty finding what I needed in a travel bass so had a headless 30" scale made by Paul Rose (Prosebass). Couple of pics here - [url="http://s1090.photobucket.com/albums/i370/iankay/"]http://s1090.photobu...ms/i370/iankay/[/url][/quote] NICE!!! cost price? Edited January 13, 2012 by FrederikVanDuuren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 If you want a 34" scale bass then it's worth looking at the Aria Sinsonidia (easily within budget used). With the 'wings' removed it is essentially a stick bass but the 'wings' are easily stored and fitted to make it more conventional for comfort and it has the added bonus of working with headphones (even some active basses don't have enough clout to drive headphones)... and most importantly, they sound bliddy good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) Doesn't really fit within budget but look for a Kala U-Bass - about £300 used. Edited January 13, 2012 by dannybuoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstriper Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 The Ashbory is ideal, very small with a huge sound and lots of fun to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussexbassman Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Thanks for more inputs. I've looked at the Aria, but similar to the Ministar, it's still too long to take on many planes. The Ashbory is just too short a scale at 18". The Kala is better at 21", but a little expensive. I'be been considering the idea of having a bolt-on neck type that I could remove for flight travel. The Pico by Paul Rose looks very interesting ....but is it likely to fit in my £200 budget?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrederikVanDuuren Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 you can have my Fernandes for your budget: 200 pounds i dont use it anymore... fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstriper Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 The Ashbory may surprise you and I would recommend you try one before deciding. It is the ultimate travel bass imo after trying the Aria and the Kala among others - it's easy to play, sounds great and it's tiny. It is fretless and intonation can be tricky at first, but nowhere near as hard as you might think - I gigged one exclusively for a year and recorded an album with it. It's no good if you want to play slap style, but brilliant for old school jazz, reggae, soul, blues etc. I would like to try one of the new Kala Sub U-Basses like this: [url="http://www.musiciansfriend.com/folk-traditional-instruments/kala-s-u-b-u-bass-solid-body-ukulele-bass-guitar"]http://www.musiciansfriend.com/folk-traditional-instruments/kala-s-u-b-u-bass-solid-body-ukulele-bass-guitar[/url] Don't know if they are available in the UK, or what price they will be, but they have the longer scale and frets, so might suit you better than the Ashbory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussexbassman Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Both the Ashbory and Kala are very hard to find in the UK, but I like the look of the Kala U_bass! It would cetainly fit the bill, but importing form the USA would add a lot of cost ........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstriper Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Ashborys often come up on ebay and sometimes on here too. Otherwise I would recommend these people: [url="http://www.largesound.com/"]http://www.largesound.com/[/url] They have sold lots to the UK and have a very good reputation. I would also recommend changing the strings to the pahoehoes used on the Kala basses because they are stronger and more stable. This is the Kala UK distributor, they might know of any plans to import the solid body Sub U-Bass: [url="http://www.sutherlandtrading.com/category/brand/kala/"]http://www.sutherlandtrading.com/category/brand/kala/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mart Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 If you can stretch your budget a little (and maybe haggle), there's a second-hand Traveller at this shop: [url="http://www.cardiffguitars.co.uk/ForSale/sh/sh.aspx"]http://www.cardiffguitars.co.uk/ForSale/sh/sh.aspx[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussexbassman Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Thanks mart, I might have gone for that, but I see they don't post their guitars (store collection only) and since I live in Sussex, this isn't practical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ras52 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 This is a timely thread, as I'm away on work at the end of the month... The Ashbory looks ideal for me; has anyone experience of either of these US sellers, and any idea how long shipping from the US takes? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-FENDER-GUILD-ASHBORY-BASS-GUITAR-BLACK-Free-Extra-Ashbory-Sring-Set-/380400177327?pt=Guitar&hash=item58919e10af#ht_1432wt_988"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-FENDER-GUILD-ASHBORY-BASS-GUITAR-BLACK-Free-Extra-Ashbory-Sring-Set-/380400177327?pt=Guitar&hash=item58919e10af#ht_1432wt_988[/url] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Fender-Ashbory-Fretless-Travel-Bass-Guitar-BLUE-/270883744607?pt=Guitar&hash=item3f11edeb5f#ht_1803wt_1095"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Fender-Ashbory-Fretless-Travel-Bass-Guitar-BLUE-/270883744607?pt=Guitar&hash=item3f11edeb5f#ht_1803wt_1095[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ras52 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 [quote name='ras52' timestamp='1326474575' post='1497788'] This is a timely thread, as I'm away on work at the end of the month... The Ashbory looks ideal for me; has anyone experience of either of these US sellers, and any idea how long shipping from the US takes? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-FENDER-GUILD-ASHBORY-BASS-GUITAR-BLACK-Free-Extra-Ashbory-Sring-Set-/380400177327?pt=Guitar&hash=item58919e10af#ht_1432wt_988"]http://www.ebay.co.u...f#ht_1432wt_988[/url] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Fender-Ashbory-Fretless-Travel-Bass-Guitar-BLUE-/270883744607?pt=Guitar&hash=item3f11edeb5f#ht_1803wt_1095"]http://www.ebay.co.u...#ht_1803wt_1095[/url] [/quote] Der, just found the answers to my second question thanks to Mr Google and the USPS website: Express Mail International - 3 to 5 days Priority Mail International - 6 to 10 days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstriper Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I would be wary of buying a new Ashbory on ebay because there have been reports of B stock models with dodgy tuners and electrics being sold on there in the past. I would stick with Largesound (link above) when buying new from the states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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