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Bass for 15 years old girl


Lako

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On 09/10/2019 at 15:49, Twigman said:

I would say that to persevere with the 34" long scale neck is the best idea. Most basses are that length. I remember when i was a boy thinking the neck was too long for my little hands but I soon got used to it.

I'd agree with this.

Do you buy a short scale bass to fit her technique or improve her technique to fit all basses? I'd suggest if she is struggling it's time to spend that new bass money on some lessons.

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Something you can do very inexpensively as a temporary measure, so she can keep going for now.. put a guitar capo on the 1st or 2nd fret of the Squier then return down to normal. Gives her easier stretch but still the same notes.

If she has a definite preference for one of the capo positions,  aim for a short scale as close as possible to that length.

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29 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Terrible idea. If someone is struggling, forcing lessons on them is going to make them less interested in continuing. I would be!

So who's talking about force? If someone is using the wrong technique then correcting that is the best, cheapest and quickest solution. Not sure why you can't see that, but never mind. Improving your ability to play any instrument is never a "terrible" idea.

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I would agree that sticking with 34 and looking at technique may be the problem. I’ve taught girls at the Rock Project from 8+ and their size wasn’t normally the issue, but where they had the bass. Strap all over the place, the bass not resting vertically against the body etc.

However, getting a new bass is always inspiring and a shorter scale bass is always good to have in the armoury. Assuming the aforementioned technical elements are fine, anything based on the Mustang body (bronco, Mustang, musicmaster) from Squier and Fender will be nice and compact and should make life a lot easier. They balance well, fit nicely, and no one will complain about them not sounding right when it comes to gigs/achieving those classic tones on records. 

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I'd go for a Fender one if you can find it in budget.

I've been looking at an Ibanez Mikro to try out, myself.

I had an Epi EB0 and it was OK but unremarkable.

I've also got a vintage Japanese something or whatever, which is full-size but short scale (ie. the bridge is further up the body).

A complete flip-around of the idea would be a Kala U-bass.

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1 hour ago, DoubleOhStephan said:

I don't believe this is a technique issue, rather one of physicality.

You wouldn't expect a child to ride a full size adult bicycle, nor would riding lessons improve the situation, same thing with a large instrument. 

A 15 year old girl is not a child and at that age will be pretty close to reaching full adult height.

 

If you had a problem with your swing, the least sensible thing you could do would be to buy a new set of golf clubs.

You would go to the Pro's shop and book some lessons to sort out your swing, and while he was at it, anything else he could find that was wrong with your game.

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25 minutes ago, chris_b said:

A 15 year old girl is not a child and at that age will be pretty close to reaching full adult height.

A 15 year old is a child and still has a number of inches left to grow.

You have no idea how tall the girl in question is, but given that the OP has already identified the issue as being her having trouble with neck length and fret size (probably because he's her Dad and has watched her play and spoken to her about it) I think it's a safe assumption that, with his 25+ years experience of playing guitar, he may just have better understanding of the problem and solution. 

25 minutes ago, chris_b said:

If you had a problem with your swing, the least sensible thing you could do would be to buy a new set of golf clubs.

You would go to the Pro's shop and book some lessons to sort out your swing, and while he was at it, anything else he could find that was wrong with your game.

If you were a small child and were using adult clubs, that may just be the problem.

You would go the the pro shop and be measured for a set of clubs suitable for your height. 

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5 hours ago, chris_b said:

I'd agree with this.

Do you buy a short scale bass to fit her technique or improve her technique to fit all basses? I'd suggest if she is struggling it's time to spend that new bass money on some lessons.

There may not be technical issues and it may just be down to what is comfortable. No size fits all. For example I struggle with 35” scale lengths and 19mm string spacing on 5 strings. It’s not down to technique but comfort. That limits the 5 string options for me but I don’t care. 
 

janek Gwizdala can play 34” scale lengths fine but prefers a 32 or 33. For me he has incredible technique.

 

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6 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said:

If someone is struggling, forcing lessons on them is going to make them less interested in continuing.

Quite so. At age 14 my school music teacher pulled his annual private scam of drafting some of us into the school orchestra. This involved him renting various clapped out POS instruments out to us for a fiver a term each, all of which money went into his own pocket. 

I got a violin with strings so far off the board you could have used it for a cheese slicer. Naturally, I struggled. My parents were convinced that lessons were the answer so off I plodded. It did nothing for my technique but I developed a wretched set of calluses and a profound hatred for the violin. In the end I flatly refused to continue and there was a bit of a scene at school.

Shame, really. It was the 1970's and with a violin I could have been a folk-rock muso and had my pick of those pale, ethereal girls who used to wear purple loons and stick a finger in their ear and warble away about faerie queens and shït like that. In such small ways are our lives changed forever.

Edited by skankdelvar
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  • 3 weeks later...

Might have missed it above, but the Squier Jaguar is a great shortscale bass.  Looks good, plays great, Vintage Modified less than £200 and £340ish for Classic Vibe.

And yes - shortscales are getting more popular in their own right by all types of players.  It can transform the way you play in many cases. 

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6 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Might have missed it above, but the Squier Jaguar is a great shortscale bass.  Looks good, plays great, Vintage Modified less than £200 and £340ish for Classic Vibe.

And yes - shortscales are getting more popular in their own right by all types of players.  It can transform the way you play in many cases. 

+1 for the short-scale (30") Jag.  I've also owned an Ibanez Mikro and TMB30.  The Mikro is impressive for what it is but with around a 28" scale felt like a toy.  The TMB30 was a mess in terms of quality and was immediately returned/exchanged for the Jag.  I used the Jag as a back-up for a while and it proved more than adequate on the couple of gigs when I had to use it.  Btw, all I play is short-scale basses and to regard them as in any way less worthy than a standard 34" scale instrument or 'not for grown-ups' is a big mistake.  They will deliver most of the sounds their longer-scale alternatives can do plus some that the big uns can't.  Of course, if all you want are the distinctive and delightful tones of a classic P-bass, then that's what you need to play - provided you can.

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1 hour ago, scrumpymike said:

Btw, all I play is short-scale basses and to regard them as in any way less worthy than a standard 34" scale instrument or 'not for grown-ups' is a big mistake.  They will deliver most of the sounds their longer-scale alternatives can do plus some that the big uns can't.  Of course, if all you want are the distinctive and delightful tones of a classic P-bass, then that's what you need to play - provided you can.

⬆️ This! I played standard 34” scales for decades when all the time I should have been playing short scales, I didn’t even know such a thing existed, then the first time I played one I was kind of half elated that suddenly I could play so much better than before and also gutted because I’d wasted so many years playing the wrong sized instrument. I think the important thing, especially when starting out, is to try everything...

 

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