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Different Bass Scale Size


la bam
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I'm sure weve all been there..... bought a new bass and it's slightly a different scale which then throws you're muscle memory a fret or two out.

I'm trying to keep to one brand from now on (g&l) which have the same necks, but cover different styles of bass (p, j, pj, mm etc) but also have massive gas for playing my vintage v4s and buying some lovely looking cheapo harley Benton's, but I know these will be different scales and amount of frets again.

Now, playing around the house isnt a worry, but I'd hate to play one bass all week, then get the usual out for the gig and be semi tone to full tone out when gigging!

Has anyone ever done that?

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Hehe, I have 33, 34 and 35 inch.. fretlesses! Also other things from double bass down to mandolin.

It's just a case of relaxing into each of the instruments you have, and after a while your muscle memory switches with instrument.

The brain is an amazing piece of kit!

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I have more problems moving from a P to J. The offset body pushes the neck to the left and throws me out by abut a fret and a half (although mine is fretless, so that half is a whole extra thing). P-bass  to Stingray is uneventful as they sit the same. I also have to remember that I have to tune down a semitone for my main band gig, but not for my own stuff. I use an 'intelligent' harmoniser and it can get really ugly if I forget that one. 

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I believe that if you play them all in rotation then the muscle memory kicks in quickly and, eventually, becomes an automatic thing.  I have played a Uke bass, 30", 32", 34" - fretted and fretless - and EUB over the last few years and nowdays don't have much problem switching between them.

So that's the kiss of death, just there. Next time I pick up a 34" fretless I'll be all over the place :) 

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33 minutes ago, la bam said:

I'm sure weve all been there..... bought a new bass and it's slightly a different scale which then throws you're muscle memory a fret or two out.

I'm trying to keep to one brand from now on (g&l) which have the same necks, but cover different styles of bass (p, j, pj, mm etc) but also have massive gas for playing my vintage v4s and buying some lovely looking cheapo harley Benton's, but I know these will be different scales and amount of frets again.

Now, playing around the house isnt a worry, but I'd hate to play one bass all week, then get the usual out for the gig and be semi tone to full tone out when gigging!

Has anyone ever done that?

I don't get it as all the basses you mention have a 34 inches scale, so exactly the same. You will have different shapes of necks, but not scales.

Just to give you an idea of the difference at the first fret going from 34 inches scale to 35 inches or to 33 inches scale is less than 1,5 millimeter.

To be very precise, here is the distance from the nut to the first fret from 32 to 36 inches scales. 

32 : 4,5619 cm.

33 : 4,7045 cm.

34 : 4,8470 cm.

35 : 4,9896 cm.

36 : 5,1321 cm.

And as I assume you're playing at fretted bass somewhere in the middle between the frets, it won't make any difference.

Even if you play fretless, which I do, it won't make a big difference and will also help you to get a better pitched intonation.

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30 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

I don't get it as all the basses you mention have a 34 inches scale, so exactly the same. You will have different shapes of necks, but not scales.

Just to give you an idea of the difference at the first fret going from 34 inches scale to 35 inches or to 33 inches scale is less than 1,5 millimeter.

To be very precise, here is the distance from the nut to the first fret from 32 to 36 inches scales. 

32 : 4,5619 cm.

33 : 4,7045 cm.

34 : 4,8470 cm.

35 : 4,9896 cm.

36 : 5,1321 cm.

And as I assume you're playing at fretted bass somewhere in the middle between the frets, it won't make any difference.

Even if you play fretless, which I do, it won't make a big difference and will also help you to get a better pitched intonation.

Sorry, I should have said... they have different amounts of frets. With the frets definitely differently spaced out differently - almost a semitone in the 3-7 area of the fretboard.

G&L - 21.

V4 - 20.

Some basses even more.

 

Edited by la bam
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Perhaps it's the different overall geometry of the basses, not the scale length.  Here are two basses with the same 34" scale length but it's the body sizes and bridge positions which make the frets end up in a different place (relative to your body).
 

imageproxy.jpeg

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8 hours ago, la bam said:

Sorry, I should have said... they have different amounts of frets. With the frets definitely differently spaced out differently - almost a semitone in the 3-7 area of the fretboard.

G&L - 21.

V4 - 20.

Some basses even more.

 

It's becoming even weirder now, the amount of frets doesn't change their exact position, the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th being exactly at the same place on all 34 inches scales.

But, maybe the overall shape of the bass is the real problem, because frets position is fixed even with fanned frets and strictly related to the scale length and this formula : scale divided by root twelfth of two equals first fret position. The first fret position then becomes the new scale for the second position, and so on.

This is only valid for our tempered chromatic scale, of course.

Another issue you might have is very badly set intonation, because you are talking of a semitone difference in the region of the 3rd to the 7th fret... 

Please give us some light as it's really strange.

Edited by Hellzero
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Not had an issue on bass (in truth I've never had noticeably different scales on any of my basses, although it did put me off buying a Gibson EB2, not the scale itself, but the slack feel of the strings) but on guitars, it's not the scale length that throws me, but (as others have said) how the instrument hangs. 

Being used to Les Pauls, I can't get on with SGs because playing standing up they feel like the frets have moved across by two or three.  Which is annoying because they are great instruments to play sitting down, but required too much concentration to gig with (sure i could have solved it if I had more patience).  SG got sold on.  Now have a similar issue with a 7 string Explorer, but I'm sticking with it, and looking at moving the strap buttons to see if it'll hang differently

Back to basses, the multi scale length of a Dingwall (other fan frets are available) has always put me off, but whenever I've spoken to people who play them they tell me that they feel very natural to play and they much prefer them.  Anyone with experience?

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Regularly alternate between 34 inch and 30 inch scale (Fender and Danelectro). Been using both instruments for a while now and no problem adjusting TBH. However, I did have problems with a Hohner B2A for the reasons outlined above by jrixn1. Often ended up a fret out and reaching for the lowest frets was hard due to the overall body/neck/ strap button combo. Wish I’d sourced one of the strap button extenders which apparently solves the problem, as I loved the bass but found it a challenge to play.

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I have never noticed the difference between 34" and 35" scales. I move my hand for every fret up or down so a few mm either way is pretty much unnoticeable.

If you are sensitive enough to notice such small measurements then practice should resolve any issues.

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5 hours ago, la bam said:

Nowhere near as bad as I thought, but heres a comparison between the g&l and v4.

 

20191024_103447.jpg

If those are both 34" scale instruments then the frets are identical distances apart. 17" from nut to centre of 12th fret. You need a tape measure not a photo taken at an angle.

If they aren't identical then you've been sold a pup.

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1 hour ago, EssentialTension said:

If those are both 34" scale instruments then the frets are identical distances apart. 17" from nut to centre of 12th fret. You need a tape measure not a photo taken at an angle.

I think the point is the G&L has an extra fret and the neck joins the body one fret further from the nut, this creates a slightly different feel.

I have no trouble swapping from my B2 to my Jag which have about 8 frets difference between where the neck joins the body...

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