32" Medium Scale Bass Thread

[Rumple]

New Squier medium scale, Quite like the grey one with Laurel fingerboard.

https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2021/04/06/squier-unveils-the-affinity-series-jaguar-bass-h/

[Hellzero]

Here is my 32 inches scale translucent blue Alembic Elan IV, but I won't keep it. I'm definitely a 34 inches scale (6 strings fretless) bass player. And it looks like a banjo on me. 🤣 

[Merton]

6 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

Here is my 32 inches scale translucent blue Alembic Elan IV, but I won't keep it. I'm definitely a 34 inches scale (6 strings fretless) bass player. And it looks like a banjo on me. 🤣 

That's very pretty

[bloke_zero]

19 hours ago, Rumple said:

New Squier medium scale, Quite like the grey one with Laurel fingerboard.

https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2021/04/06/squier-unveils-the-affinity-series-jaguar-bass-h/

Tasty! I'd neeed to change the pickup cover to white or something

[Munurmunuh]

When browsing the Bass Bros site just now, I saw they've a mid 80s MIJ Yamaha BB-VIs, which they've mislabelled as a BB-IVs. (I don't know what the extra EX suffix means - "export", @AndyTravis?) I guess the "s" stood for short, but the scale length is something like 31½". And it's RED. 

 

[Rumple]

1 hour ago, Ricky Rioli said:

When browsing the Bass Bros site just now, I saw they've a mid 80s MIJ Yamaha BB-VIs, which they've mislabelled as a BB-IVs. (I don't know what the extra EX suffix means - "export", @AndyTravis?) I guess the "s" stood for short, but the scale length is something like 31½". And it's RED. 

 

 

 

I think I had a white one of those for a wee while, must check back at old pics 🤔

[jazzyvee]

On 30/06/2021 at 15:12, Hellzero said:

Here is my 32 inches scale translucent blue Alembic Elan IV, but I won't keep it. I'm definitely a 34 inches scale (6 strings fretless) bass player. And it looks like a banjo on me. 🤣 

Wow that is a nice looking alembic!!!

 

[Stub Mandrel]

14 hours ago, jazzyvee said:

Wow that is a nice looking alembic!!!

 

See... anything's possible! 🙂

[Hellzero]

It's also very nice sounding, especially since yesterday as I've fitted some (expensive) Alembic CX-3 strings. Strangely, this is my fourth Alembic (two Series One, a Spoiler and this Elan), and every time I've put these Alembic strings on them, they sounded way better... Odd, I know.

[jazzyvee]

I use new ones of those strings on my series II, as the top end is crisp but smoother than regular steels. But once they loose their brightness, i then move them to my europa which is the bass i use for warmer music such as reggae. It means i can use less eq to get the tone i want. 
 

[jazzyvee]

22 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

See... anything's possible! 🙂

??? Am i missing something?

[Stub Mandrel]

11 minutes ago, jazzyvee said:

??? Am i missing something?

It's elegant, tasteful and restrained as well as, no doubt, being beautifully made.

Most Alembics are only the last of those, IMHO, YMMV 🙂

Many Alembics are like ormolu mirrors ... you either love all the ornamentation and craft or see it as pointless* decoration.

 

 

*Actually most Alembics have several points.

 

 

 

P.S. Please don't take me to seriously 😉

[jazzyvee]

Im a big time alembic fanboy and wasn’t thinking anything bad just wanted to grasp your point. 👍🏾

Edited July 3, 2021 by jazzyvee

[fretmeister]

I'm loving my medium scale basses so much I'm actually beginning to think about selling off the long scales.

 

Took me about 30 years to find the perfect P bass for me and now I'm not playing it!

 

Decisions, decisions!

[Duarte]

Aria pro II CSB-450. It's wonderful. The neck is the same thickness from the first fret to the 22nd fret, and it has this super aggressive sound and responds very well to a pick. I play this more than any of my other basses!

Edited September 25, 2021 by Duarte

[Chienmortbb]

I have succumbed. I have a 32" Ibanez Mezzo in Sea Foam Green on the way. Purchased on Reverb. It's not new as I don't think they do this colour in a 4. Pictures when it arrives. Oh and its my first 32". I have tried short scales but did not get on with them. You never know it may turn up in the for sale on here if I don't get on with it.

[Chienmortbb]

On 25/09/2021 at 03:00, Duarte said:

Aria pro II CSB-450. It's wonderful. The neck is the same thickness from the first fret to the 22nd fret, and it has this super aggressive sound and responds very well to a pick. I play this more than any of my other basses!

That and a number of Aria basses  are based on the Matsumoto design that included the Thunder 1/1A. It is a beauty.

[Chienmortbb]

On 01/11/2021 at 21:56, Chienmortbb said:

I have succumbed. I have a 32" Ibanez Mezzo in Sea Foam Green on the way. Purchased on Reverb. It's not new as I don't think they do this colour in a 4. Pictures when it arrives. Oh and its my first 32". I have tried short scales but did not get on with them. You never know it may turn up in the for sale on here if I don't get on with it.

Still waiting! Hermes seem to have had a major problem in the last week with the tracking system just saying major error. It looks to be fixed now and hopefully it will arrive tomorrow. 🤞Here is a picture from Reverb.

Edited November 3, 2021 by Chienmortbb

[shoulderpet]

4 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Still waiting! Hermes seem to have had a major problem in the last week with the tracking system just saying major error. It looks to be fixed now and hopefully it will arrive tomorrow. 🤞Here is a picture from Reverb.

 

Nice, lovely colour

 

Great basses but a couple of things to note

*Tonally they are very bright basses, I think possibly due to the maple fretboard , I have found that they benefit from a darker voiced P pickup, you might like the brightness just fine but something to consider

*The stock preamp is junk, at the centre detent the bass and treble are already significantly boosted, I found the best tone with the stock preamp is to roll off the treble completely and roll off the bass to about 9 o clock, they sound good like this but I found the biggest improvement was when I ditched the preamp altogether and went passive

 

[Chienmortbb]

On 03/11/2021 at 13:03, shoulderpet said:

 

Nice, lovely colour

 

Great basses but a couple of things to note

*Tonally they are very bright basses, I think possibly due to the maple fretboard , I have found that they benefit from a darker voiced P pickup, you might like the brightness just fine but something to consider

*The stock preamp is junk, at the centre detent the bass and treble are already significantly boosted, I found the best tone with the stock preamp is to roll off the treble completely and roll off the bass to about 9 o clock, they sound good like this but I found the biggest improvement was when I ditched the preamp altogether and went passive

 

Well despite Hermes* best efforts the bass arrived and guess what? No output from the preamp. So I can either strip it out and go passive or fit a new preamp. Or send it back as faulty. Decisions decisions.

 

As for the pickups I could put the ones I originally had in my Fender Aerodyne. I think they mighty sound quite good in this bass. I put DiMarzios in the Aerodyne and they improved that bass. Decisions decisions!

 

*To be fair to Hermes, I sold a bass on here and sent it  this week,  next day Hermes. It arrived -----next day.

[Rumple]

4 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Well despite Hermes* best efforts the bass arrived and guess what? No output from the preamp. So I can either strip it out and go passive or fit a new preamp. Or send it back as faulty. Decisions decisions.

 

As for the pickups I could put the ones I originally had in my Fender Aerodyne. I think they mighty sound quite good in this bass. I put DiMarzios in the Aerodyne and they improved that bass. Decisions decisions!

 

*To be fair to Hermes, I sold a bass on here and sent it  this week,  next day Hermes. It arrived -----next day.

Worth contacting the seller for a bit of a refund as it's faulty.

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, Rumple said:

Worth contacting the seller for a bit of a refund as it's faulty.

That is what I have done. I thought about it for a while, I am an electronics engineer but have a number of projects on the go. I have culled my bass collection down to 2 and as the other two are both Fender style 24" thought I would try something different and I loved the colour (now discontinued). Of course I did not have much of a chance to play it but the neck seemed chunkier than my other basses.

[shoulderpet]

6 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Well despite Hermes* best efforts the bass arrived and guess what? No output from the preamp. So I can either strip it out and go passive or fit a new preamp. Or send it back as faulty. Decisions decisions.

 

As for the pickups I could put the ones I originally had in my Fender Aerodyne. I think they mighty sound quite good in this bass. I put DiMarzios in the Aerodyne and they improved that bass. Decisions decisions!

 

*To be fair to Hermes, I sold a bass on here and sent it  this week,  next day Hermes. It arrived -----next day.

I would contact the seller and try and get a discount from them, as it is a fundamental aspect of the bass that is not working they should give you a sizeable discount. 

 

Not to be patronising but I assume that you checked that the battery is not dead? When I got mine there was a horrible clipping sound and I thought the pickups were to blame so I lowered them and lowered them some more and then some more and only then did it occur to me to check the battery, replaced it and the clipping went away. 

 

Regarding the pickups these basses really benefit from some dark, mid heavy pickups as they are really bright sounding and the preamp (although I know yours is seemingly kaput) is very bright and scooped

Edited November 5, 2021 by shoulderpet

[Chienmortbb]

2 minutes ago, shoulderpet said:

I would contact the seller and try and get a discount from them, as it is a fundamental aspect of the bass that is not working they should give you a sizeable discount. 

Not to be patronising but I assume that you checked that the battery is not dead? When I got mine there was a horrible clipping sound and I thought the pickups were to blame so I lowered them and lowered them some more and then some more and only then did it occur to me to check the battery, replaced it and the clipping went away

First thing I tried was the battery.

[Rumple]

59 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

That is what I have done. I thought about it for a while, I am an electronics engineer but have a number of projects on the go. I have culled my bass collection down to 2 and as the other two are both Fender style 24" thought I would try something different and I loved the colour (now discontinued). Of course I did not have much of a chance to play it but the neck seemed chunkier than my other basses.

It's a cool colour 👍