kbuschmann Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 This question may be better posed elsewhere, but I'll try it here first. I've got some nasty-donkey arthritis in wrists and fingers. Have changed all my instruments from 5 to 4. Have stuck with 34 scale for my fretteds. Am getting ACG to build me a fretless 4. Would like to cut the scale (33, maybe even 32) for this build as am having difficulty reaching the first couple of positions. But a significant amount of my playing is reading charts (i.e not looking at the board), and am concerned that in shifting from 34 to 33/32 I will lose 'positional memory' and screw myself up. Would appreciate any informed opinions on the difficulty/advisability of shifting scales in this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 I went from 34 down to 28.5 and the only difference was playing became significantly easier. I had no positional problems whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Hey mate, I went from 34" to 36" to 34" during the first 14 years or so of playing to 33" for about 10 years and now I only play 31.5" basses. I wouldn't worry too much about muscle memory, with a bit of practice it'll become second nature. You might find that you'd rather replace your other basses with shorter scales too, as that's what happened to me If you are having issues with reach due to arthritis, I would go as short as you can. I'm not the biggest bloke and going shorter and then shorter again was an absolute revelation for me, and when the bass is built by someone who knows what they're doing, Alan at ACG would be my recommendation, there's really no loss in tone, only a fatter sound to the upper strings and register, which isn't exactly a negative side effect. Where are you based? If you can get to South Croydon, you're more than welcome to come try my basses out. Cheers, Eude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 I have a 35” and a 34” fretless (both unlined) and don’t have issues moving between them: I am equally bad on both! If reach is the main issue, relocating strap / horn positions can help too. Check out Dingwall’s D-bird strap position for one example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbuschmann Posted April 27, 2018 Author Share Posted April 27, 2018 Thanks all. Reasonable consenus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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