The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[msb]

I’ve been looking at an Acinonyx that’s sitting in Toronto for a good price. Tempted , but I’m holding off. Nordstrand will not be doing any more Korean runs , so if they make any in the future they will be built in the US and 3-4 times the price.
I’ve heard great things about them. Nice lightweight short scale. And the closest thing to an FSO I’d have an interest in. 

[MJJS]

No personal attachment or interest, but if I were looking for a passive shortie ….

 

https://bassbros.co.uk/product/atelier-z-baby-z-4j-vintage/

[Ian Somerville]

10 hours ago, Len_derby said:

NBD. A short-scale Squier Jaguar, purchased from our own @Ian Somerville at the lovely Trowell Services on the M1. After giving my HB shorty P to a charity I’d been looking for a backup to my Fender Mustang. Plus, I’ve never had a red bass before. 

Hope you have fun with it Neil!

Great to meet you 👍 

[scrumpymike]

18 hours ago, MJJS said:

No personal attachment or interest, but if I were looking for a passive shortie ….

 

https://bassbros.co.uk/product/atelier-z-baby-z-4j-vintage/

That's a very good call, well spotted! Lovely bass at a very reasonable price. If I had the spare cash I'd be in there.

[BabyBlueSound]

Serious personal interest here, but I am still selling a passive Sterling shortie on the Marketplace 😁

[Obrienp]

On 07/05/2025 at 14:46, msb said:

I’ve been looking at an Acinonyx that’s sitting in Toronto for a good price. Tempted , but I’m holding off. Nordstrand will not be doing any more Korean runs , so if they make any in the future they will be built in the US and 3-4 times the price.
I’ve heard great things about them. Nice lightweight short scale. And the closest thing to an FSO I’d have an interest in. 

I have had one for a few years now and I think they are great little basses but not without their issues and idiosyncrasies.

 

Pros and cons from mine and other folks’ experience:

Pro:

1. Very light weight and well balanced;

2. Slim fast neck (36mm at the nut);

3. Lots of tones available and it can sound massive on some settings;

4. The push-button presets give you instant repeatable tone (not to everybody’s taste);

5. Quality hardware but see some of the cons below.

 

Cons: 

1. Selecting the all-in (series) pickup setting can be very tricky;

2. Some reported issues with the longevity of the push-buttons;

3. First batch basses suffered from the saddles dropping on the Hipshot bridge. The official cure was Loctite and careful location of the string ball ends (not acceptable IMO). My second batch model has been OK in this respect;

4. The pickup screws go straight into the metal baseplate and the thread can strip over time giving the screws no grip, so the pickups drop. My local luthier has had to repair quite a few by attaching a nut to the baseplate. He says the pickups look very cheaply made, which is ironic as they are one of the few USA parts;

5. No body contouring. I haven’t found this as much of a problem as on basses like Mustangs and the Gretsch Junior Jet;

6. The upside down headstock is a gimmick that wears thin after a while and it can be confusing tuning it, if you swap from a conventionally configured bass during a gig.

 

I am thinking of having a pickguard made to accommodate a strat style pickup selector, vol, tone and jack socket. Then I can do away with the buttons. I like the tone presets though, so I would replicate them with a rotary varitone control. Just a thought. There looks to be ample room in the cavity to accommodate this set up.

 

Hope this helps your decision. BTW my experience is with a dual pickup model.

[msb]

It quickly sold. The version I’d like is the two pickup version. 

21 hours ago, Obrienp said:

I have had one for a few years now and I think they are great little basses but not without their issues and idiosyncrasies.

 

Pros and cons from mine and other folks’ experience:

Pro:

1. Very light weight and well balanced;

2. Slim fast neck (36mm at the nut);

3. Lots of tones available and it can sound massive on some settings;

4. The push-button presets give you instant repeatable tone (not to everybody’s taste);

5. Quality hardware but see some of the cons below.

 

Cons: 

1. Selecting the all-in (series) pickup setting can be very tricky;

2. Some reported issues with the longevity of the push-buttons;

3. First batch basses suffered from the saddles dropping on the Hipshot bridge. The official cure was Loctite and careful location of the string ball ends (not acceptable IMO). My second batch model has been OK in this respect;

4. The pickup screws go straight into the metal baseplate and the thread can strip over time giving the screws no grip, so the pickups drop. My local luthier has had to repair quite a few by attaching a nut to the baseplate. He says the pickups look very cheaply made, which is ironic as they are one of the few USA parts;

5. No body contouring. I haven’t found this as much of a problem as on basses like Mustangs and the Gretsch Junior Jet;

6. The upside down headstock is a gimmick that wears thin after a while and it can be confusing tuning it, if you swap from a conventionally configured bass during a gig.

 

I am thinking of having a pickguard made to accommodate a strat style pickup selector, vol, tone and jack socket. Then I can do away with the buttons. I like the tone presets though, so I would replicate them with a rotary varitone control. Just a thought. There looks to be ample room in the cavity to accommodate this set up.

 

Hope this helps your decision. BTW my experience is with a dual pickup model.

Thank you Obrienp. I was watching it , and it quickly sold. It was going for a good asking price. And by good I mean very reasonable. There’s something about the Acinonyx that appeals to me. They’re quirky , and I like them. And many reviews have been very positive. I like that too.

[sPiKi]

Not sure if this is permitted, but I have a Reverend Sentinel short scale for sale in the classifieds. Really superb shortie, both in terms of tone and build. I'm surprised I haven't had any offers, even though there has been a good deal of interest. Branding perhaps? I'm only selling since I have gone back to playing my 34 inch basses but happy to share my experiences playing it

.

Edited 7 hours ago by sPiKi

[scrumpymike]

3 hours ago, msb said:

It quickly sold. The version I’d like is the two pickup version. 

Thank you Obrienp. I was watching it , and it quickly sold. It was going for a good asking price. And by good I mean very reasonable. There’s something about the Acinonyx that appeals to me. They’re quirky , and I like them. And many reviews have been very positive. I like that too.

I have no first-hand experience with these but if I was buying I'd be going for a 3-pickup V2 with fewer push-button switches (looks like one bank of buttons has been replaced by a toggle-switch selector). Interestingly the V1 reviewed for Guitar Interactive by our very own Dood was missing one of the buttons when he received it - nowhere to be found in the packaging either IIRC.

 

Bass Direct have a new black V2 discounted to £899 instead of £950. End-of-line clearance price I guess.