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Harley Benton PB-20 or PB-Shorty for a first bass?


infragreen
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Hi, knowledgeable people.

As I haven't managed to bag a deko bargain project from Thomann I've decided to treat myself and pay the ludicrously spendy full sticker price.
I'm stuck though on whether to go for the full scale or short scale variant?
Tempted to go shorty because; guitarist (actually that's an insult to guitarists...), small of glove size, good enough for McCartney, might just be easier to get started.

I actually can't think of a reason [i][b]not[/b][/i] to get the Shorty but a while back when I had a guitar teacher and was thinking of trying bass he made a face when I suggested starting on short-scale.

Oh but I like hard rock so it might spend some of it's time tuned down. Is this really an issue?

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If you can't try them before buying (or at least try a bass or two of the different scale lengths) you could do worse than Thomann - with their return policies you can't go too far wrong (of course you could lose the cost of postage).
If you want a traditional P bass sound I'd go for the long scale - but if you're OK with a different voicing, different feel of the strings (short scales are generally much slinkier under the fingers) Or just want to make it as easy as possible to switch between playing say a 25.5" scale length - Definatly pick up a short scale. It won't handle extreme tunings as well (for example tuning BEAD like the lowest strings on a 5 string will feel much looser than long scale tuning with the same strings). I know because I am currently testing out a 5 string bass with a capo on the 2nd fret (34" scale, 2nd fret is approx 3.7 inch shorter) making it around a 30" scale length - and this sounds just fine with 40 - 125 gauge roundwounds Tuned BEADG. Quite low tension though!

The descision is of course, yours.

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The shorty is decent enough and a useable instrument when set up when I got one it had one high fret tho still useable. One thing to mention is that the body is downsized too. Makes it in some ways easy to handle so might be good for a beginner. Another thing to mention although short scale the neck is full width and might feel larger to small handed players although guitar necks are wider so maybe not an issue in your case but worth a mention.
As with all the lower end range of hb's the string they come with are not the best useable but really you need to budget for some nicer strings.

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[size=4]If you don't mind the extra cash the [color=#000000][font=verdana, tahoma, arial, helvetica]Harley Benton PJ-4 HTR Deluxe Series is a brilliant starter bass. Loads of tone and under £100 brand new posted.[/font][/color][/size]

[color=#000000][font=verdana, tahoma, arial, helvetica]I have had two (a four and a five)![/font][/color]

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