Will a Short Scale help?

[Guest MoJo]

I've been playing, on and off for more than 30 years and have always played 34" long scale basses. Whilst learning material for a dep job in September, I've noticed that I'm finding playing in the first five frets a bit of a stretch now (Steelers Wheels - Stuck in the Middle is a prime example). Would a Short Scale 30" bass make a significant difference?

[Machines]

You can play that song using open notes and 2nd fret. But i suppose in general yes it will.

[cocco]

Sounds like it would. I've always been intrigued by short scales. Mostly the mustang and eb3.

[Legion]

Something to bear in mind is that short scales do have a certain quality to the sound, this is particularly evident above the 12th fret on the E string. Not a nice sound either to my ear, sort of like a wolf tone warbling thing.

The design of any 34" scale bass can have quite an effect on the problem you are having - worst example is the Lakland Decade where the bridge is mounted a good few inches from the end of the body, combined with a short upper horn makes it a serious stretch for the 1st few frets. The total opposite is my rob allen which is 34" scale but feels smaller than most 30" scale basses due to the position of the bridge and body shape e.g.



So you might just find that a better designed 34" bass will work for you?

[Lorne]

This might help, the lefthand bass is a 34" 2007 Customshop B.C.Rich Widow bass, the righthand bass is a 1994 34" Customshop B.C.Rich Widow bass, the one in the middle is a 1985 "30.5" Customshop B.C.Rich Bich bass

The Bich's Fretboard is much smaller, yet they all have 24 frets :-)


[URL=http://s169.photobucket.com/user/share6_album/media/2_zpsa162b30d.jpg.html][IMG]http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u230/share6_album/2_zpsa162b30d.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Edited August 17, 2014 by Lorne

[Guest MoJo]

[URL=http://s1332.photobucket.com/user/markmojo1962/media/20140817_121044_zpsxg9370b7.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1332.photobucket.com/albums/w614/markmojo1962/20140817_121044_zpsxg9370b7.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
This is what I'm struggling with. The stretch from the 2nd to 5th fret. That's going to be the same on all 34" scale length basses. I think my hands just aren't as flexible as they were and they're not that big anyway. I'd never be able to manage the B string on a Dingwall

[Myke]

I'm unsure about the short scale thing but you could always make use of more open strings something I fail to do almost all of the time!

[Guest MoJo]

[quote name='Lorne' timestamp='1408273962' post='2528464']
This might help, the lefthand bass is a 34" 2007 Customshop B.C.Rich Widow bass, the righthand bass is a 1994 34" Customshop B.C.Rich Widow bass, the one in the middle is a 1985 "30.5" Customshop B.C.Rich Bich bass

The Bich's Fretboard is much smaller, yet they all have 24 frets :-)


[URL=http://s169.photobucket.com/user/share6_album/media/2_zpsa162b30d.jpg.html][IMG]http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u230/share6_album/2_zpsa162b30d.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[/quote]

How does it compare, tone wise, to it's big brothers?

[EssentialTension]

Tune down your 34" scale bass to DGCF and put a capo on the second fret. You now have a 30.3" scale bass tuned EADG. Try it to see if you like it.

Edited August 17, 2014 by EssentialTension

[Guest MoJo]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1408281209' post='2528564']
Tune down your 34" scale bass to DGCF and put a capo on the second fret. You now have a 30.3" scale bass tuned EADG. Try it to see if you like it.
[/quote]

Thanks. I'll try that

[gadgie]

good idea that:)

[JapanAxe]

As a Mustang owner/player, I can confirm that long-stretch bass-lines on the lower frets are much easier on a short-scale. The difficulty comes when you revert to 34in scale!

[BassHappy]

Personally, i find short scalers a bit cramped in the upper registers, where yes - I spend some time up there. Medium Scalers for me are a perfect fit.

BassHappy
www.innertainment.net

[SaxyBassist]

I make use of the open strings quite a lot, but when I do stretch I cant reach so I kind of move my hand quickly [size=4] [/size]

[Doddy]

If playing over a 4 fret range is uncomfortable in the lower positions, look at your technique first. You don't
have to play with one finger per fret. Try the Double Bass fingering of playing over 3 frets, (so if you are in
first position your index finger would be on F, middle on F#, ring and little together on G), and use your thumb
to pivot and shift.As you go higher up the 'board you can move to a 4 fret stretch, but I'd recommend trying
the other position in the lower range.

[Paultrader]

I tried a Fender Coronado bass (30in scale) in a shop recently and loved it - fantastic tone range and great fun to play. I thought the transfer to a shorter scale was no problem at all, and it must surely make a difference with finger stretch. The Fender Mustang and the old Gibson EBs are lovely basses. Go for it, I say!

[r16ktx]

I had a quick play on a dingwall, the scale lengths range from 34" to 37" and the 2nd to 5th stretch you posted in the pic I can just about make the same on the 34" string and on the 37" string the 4th finger is halfway between frets so I reckon there's about 15mm extra needed in stretch for the extra 3" oh er! So if the reverse be true going from 34 to 31 would that be useful? Plus I can't make that stretch under 'playing' conditions anyway (small hands too) neither do I use my fourth finger a great deal nor have I been conscious of working around that even with stuck in the middle. HTH.

[Guest MoJo]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1408288831' post='2528637']
If playing over a 4 fret range is uncomfortable in the lower positions, look at your technique first. You don't
have to play with one finger per fret. Try the Double Bass fingering of playing over 3 frets, (so if you are in
first position your index finger would be on F, middle on F#, ring and little together on G), and use your thumb
to pivot and shift.As you go higher up the 'board you can move to a 4 fret stretch, but I'd recommend trying
the other position in the lower range.
[/quote]

This was a great help. Thanks

Edited August 17, 2014 by MoJo

[Manton Customs]

Yes, the 30" will be quite a bit more comfortable for that stretch. Below is the distance between the 2nd to 5th fret on a 34" bass and for a 30". As you can see there is a 14.5 mm difference. While that doesn't sound huge and it isn't going to be the difference between not being able to reach a note ,it can be enough to make a big difference in comfort.

34" 4.82 (122.5 mm)
30" 4.252 (108 mm)

Edited August 17, 2014 by Manton Customs

[3below]

Having recently acquired an SG bass from a BCer I am very pleasantly impressed with the short scale. I have small hands and am really noticing the ease of it against my 34" basses. Pyramid golds seem to suit this bass well, good tension, no string flapping.

[HowieBass]

I was also going to suggest pivoting on the thumb as that's how I've always approached playing, particularly when there's a need to span more frets than I can comfortably stretch. Great idea about the down tuning and using a capo (as long as you don't navigate using position markers)! And yeah I also calculated that you reduce the span by just over a half inch by playing a 30" scale length.

[BassHappy]

Thumb pivot and all the proper technique adjustments mentioned here are great and very helpful - however, you should play the bass that fits you.

[Lorne]

[quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1408277203' post='2528502']
How does it compare, tone wise, to it's big brothers?
[/quote]

I cannot really give an accurate answer to that, as both the Widows have Maple necks and Alder wings, whereas the Bich has Koa wings with a Maple neck, and of course, the full circuit, but the tone is deeper on the Bich, it is much faster to do runs on as well, all 3 basses have Ebony Fretboards

[only4]

I would suggest you go for it, i made the switch to playing only short scale around a year ago due to the early onset of arthritis in my thumb/wrist and have never looked back.

I had been playing standard scale for 30ish years and since making the switch everything seems so much better, i haven't noticed any real issues with sound or feel and i'm sure most people don't even notice it's a short scale.

Quality in short scale basses does vary so i would try a few different options first, i started with a Squier Jaguar SS to see if the short scale concept would work for me and once i was happy i upgraded to a Spector Shorty which is fantastic.

Just play what feels right, there are plenty of options out there.

[ambient]

Why are you stretching from 2 to 5 ?

Wouldn't 7 to 5 make more sense ?