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Changing from long scale to short scale!


kevvo66

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Hiya people, been pondering for awhile really with ongoing problem with my fingers thinking of making the switch but to be honest all the shorty I've tried so far seem like toys, I know a lot of great players have played them, any thoughts people or long scale with very slim necks that aren't going to make me remortgage the house

Cheers kev

Edited by kevvo66
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You can get used to the switch by buying a capo and putting it at fret 2 on a 34" scale bass tuned down to D-G-C-F. With the capo you now have a roughly 30" scale bass tuned E-A-D-G.

After you get used to that, buy a Fender Mustang bass or similar.

Story has it that the bass on Hendrix' All Along the Watchtower is Hendrix playing a Fender Mustang.

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I have an Ibanez Talman that I bought new. I rarely use it which is stupid really as it’s cracking Bass and plays really nicely. They cost buttons (I think was around £160 or so new!). I have thought of selling it on a couple of times but never quite manage to let it go as it owes me so little.

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My experience is that there's very little to worry about - I bought a Spector Short Scale CTB - which I love, but then beat myself up about ben able to play a 34" scale again - once I started thinking straight I've had a 5 string built with a 30.5" scale - which too is lovely. 

I found that it takes very little time to adjust and switch from scale length to the other.

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I've gone short scale , no regrets here with regard playability , just hankering now for the right tone , and as my love of the spector tone  means I need a Spector shorty o.O, but the price of them is beyond me , I recall Vinny had a daisy rock short scale that played beautifully:D 

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I went short scale 18 months ago because of neck and arm problems. I have 3 short scale (30") basses, and they have noticeably different playing characteristics. This is mainly because of the position of the neck relative to the body. See Photos. In photo 1, left to right, Lakland hollowbody short scale, Fender MIJ Mustang, Harley Benton Shorty. Notice the different bridge positions relative to the end of the body for each bass. The Lakland's neck projects quite a lot further to my left when I'm playing. It feels much more like a 34" scale bass as a result. The Mustang has a thin, skinny neck which brings my left hand closer in. The HBS brings my left hand even closer in, plus it has a small body, making it feel quite dinky relative to the other two. Howeber, it has the widest neck. See relative nut positions in side-on photos, and see how much "longer" the Lakland neck is.

Kev - don't know where you're based, but you're welcome to pop round anytime to try these basses out for size.

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Just a thought. I bought the Harley Benton shorty as a "throw away" introduction to short scale. I replaced the pickups and wiring loom. Overall cost was under £100. It sounds unbelievably good for that money. It's my back up to my Mustang, but I choose to use the HBS for some Motown and reggae numbers because of its P-like tone. It was a very wise buy. Could be worth considering, Kev? 

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Hiya solo, Three beautiful basses there, not sure where your based as I'm on the phone at the min at work and thanks for the kind offer I'm in Nantwich in cheshire , I've looked at the hb shorty,  too bed myself in, then the long scales can go 

Cheer kev

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Another shorty fan here.

Dabbled a year or so back, but then went back on the full scales.

Decision I regretted, and I hunted for a decent replacement ever since. My personal thing is for the Gibson SG shorties...I think they're a 30.5".

Found one as new example earlier this year, and I've now got a pre-order for a new one. Obviously they stopped them a while back, but there's a limited edition run coming to the UK, well, shortly! Already available in the US.

Tone, playability....it's all here. I do understand that if your a big guy, it can look funny after playing a full scale. However, it's still bigger than a 6-string, and loads of guitarists are far from small!

Proceed with confidence. I've had fun changing my technique on purpose... approaching the instrument differently, good to shake things up.

It'll make you question why the 'Fender' scale became the standard. Good things come in small packages!

 

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1 hour ago, kevvo66 said:

Hiya solo, Three beautiful basses there, not sure where your based as I'm on the phone at the min at work and thanks for the kind offer I'm in Nantwich in cheshire , I've looked at the hb shorty,  too bed myself in, then the long scales can go 

Cheer kev

Kev, I'm in Stockport area - Marple, to be precise.

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On 11/26/2017 at 16:17, EssentialTension said:

You can get used to the switch by buying a capo and putting it at fret 2 on a 34" scale bass tuned down to D-G-C-F. With the capo you now have a roughly 30" scale bass tuned E-A-D-G.

That's such a cool idea, going to try that out straight away. 

On another note, I once heard that scaling down was good for lower tunings, anyone know if there's any truth in this? I don't quite understand how it can physically work, but I heard it on a YouTube rig rundown. I've been jamming the idea of an EB or similar bass, this could be the perfect excuse to get one...

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I have a Dano Longhorn and a Precision Lyte, both of which get used regularly.

My advice would be to get a short scale bass that is not too much the same as your standard scale job,

so that when you play the SS you know straight away it is different from your usual bass. The Dano is

so different from my Fender meaning I never confuse the two and can swap between them fairly easily.

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I have just picked up an Epiphone EB 3. Still in the getting familiar stage with it. It feels wonderful to play and the neck is fantastic. Not sure about the tone though.I am used to PJ pickups, so it sounds quite different with 2 Humbuckers on it. 

I believe it currently has standard long scale strings on it which may not be helping with the tone. Any recommendations for decent short scale strings.

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I have just had a couple of hours banging through some Christmas songs for a gig in a couple of weeks. Half on the Thunderbird and half on the short scale. I am no expert player by any definition of the word but I find I can swap between the two with no problem at all. It’s only a small difference really. 

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