The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[Obrienp]

I would love to play in a band, with a brass section, doing those old soul/R&B numbers. I get to dep with a band at NYE that does quite a lot of old R&B but they don’t quite reach that level. Nice one @Bernardo👍.
 

Nice basses as well. I have had a Starstream but not Aguilar equipped and I still have a Cat. Matter of interest, have you got rounds, or flats on your Cat?

Edited Thursday at 13:23 by Obrienp

[Bernardo]

7 minutes ago, Obrienp said:

I would love to play in a band, with a brass section, doing those old soul/R&B numbers. I get to dep with a band at NYE that does quite a lot of old R&B but they don’t quite reach that level. Nice one @Bernardo👍.
 

Nice basses as well. I have had a Starstream but not Aguilar equipped and I still have a Cat. Matter of interest, have you got rounds, or flats on your Cat?

I love it. I use IEMs and have broadly the full band sound so I enjoy listening as much as playing!

 

Flats on the Cat  - as much for the feel as anything else. 

[slowTwitch]

On 24/09/2025 at 17:25, Clarky said:

New Rick shorties being rolled out

 

Further info here

[Sté]

I'm in. 

At first it was not a real choice: i was playing at home with a Fender acoustic CB60-SCE, and was really happy to be able to play without plugging anything, at correct level to follow music from my stereo. It's 80 % of my playing time; at one hour minimum rate per day. But i'm getting older now and a pain started to arrive in my right shoulder and prevent me to play my acoustic bass due to shoulder position with the acoustic body thickness. My osteo-therapist explained my shoulder has 30 years of bad position playing when seat and advices to change it to the classical guitarist position: bass between my legs, laying on my left leg, 45° angle neck, shoulder without any tension. Problem is with my 34" basses, weight it not comfort and F note on my E string become hard to stay on for my left shoulder.. So after small search in the internet bass galaxy, short scale idea popped in my head. So i looked a lot of vids and listened sounds, read reviews, etc; and finally gone for a Sire U5. I quickly changed tuners for ultralite hipshot ones; that removed completely the slight neck dive. 

I just had to file a little fret edges : The Sire process for rounded frets is very good but let some small rawness on the edge sides

And what i can say: it's the best bass for the price i never had... This bass is ridiculously good, comfort and playability awesome, a really good tone with stock pickups. I have it since May, previoulsy dedicated to my house playing only. Few months after i can say she's entered in my A-Team and took the first rank. I can't wait to rehearse and play outside with. It's really a shock for me that sounds like a before/after moment. 

When i think i've paid 437 euros + 102 euros for hipshot licenced tuners; and she sounds like a 1000/1500 euros bass; this is the best money i spent for musical instrument since 30 years.. 

 

 

 

And to welcome her in my A-Team, i even build her a ramp

 

 

 

So i think my 34" basses will get out less. 

Edited yesterday at 12:57 by Sté

[Obrienp]

19 minutes ago, Sté said:

I'm in. 

At first it was not a real choice: i was playing at home with a Fender acoustic CB60-SCE, and was really happy to be able to play without plugging anything, at correct level to follow music from my stereo. It's 80 % of my playing time; at one hour minimum rate per day. But i'm getting older now and a pain started to arrive in my right shoulder and prevent me to play my acoustic bass due to shoulder position with the acoustic body thickness. My osteo-therapist explained my shoulder has 30 years of bad position playing when seat and advices to change it to the classical guitarist position: bass between my legs, laying on my left leg, 45° angle neck, shoulder without any tension. Problem is with my 34" basses, weight it not comfort and F note on my E string become hard to stay on for my left shoulder.. So after small search in the internet bass galaxy, short scale idea popped in my head. So i looked a lot of vids and listened sounds, read reviews, etc; and finally gone for a Sire U5. I quickly changed tuners for ultralite hipshot ones; that removed completely the slight neck dive. 

I just had to file a little fret edges : The Sire process for rounded frets is very good but let some small rawness on the edge sides

And what i can say: it's the best bass for the price i never had... This bass is ridiculously good, comfort and playability awesome, a really good tone with stock pickups. I have it since May, previoulsy dedicated to my house playing only. Few months after i can say she's entered in my A-Team and took the first rank. I can't wait to rehearse and play outside with. It's really a shock for me that sounds like a before/after moment. 

When i think i've paid 437 euros + 102 euros for hipshot licenced tuners; and she sounds like a 1000/1500 euros bass; this is the best money i spent for musical instrument since 30 years.. 

 

 

 

And to welcome her in my A-Team, i even build her a ramp

 

 

 

So i think my 34" basses will get out less. 

They are really good basses. Much better value than any Squier IMO. That’s not saying Squier bad, it’s just Sire seem to have hit a purple patch in terms of design, features and manufacturing quality. I have the fretless version of the U5 and I can endorse everything you say about them. It is the first value bass I haven’t seen the need to upgrade; even the machine heads are standard but I use a grippy strap to counter any neck dive. I have put black nylon tapes on it but that is just to make the fretless experience even better.

[BassApprentice]

If Sire want to do a short scale P bass - I'm here for that! 

[Sté]

25 minutes ago, BassApprentice said:

If Sire want to do a short scale P bass - I'm here for that! 

Send them a request.  Perhaps they already have received some. Their P pickup is really good on the U5.

[shoulderpet]

A short scale single coil p bass would be good

[ezbass]

8 hours ago, shoulderpet said:

A short scale single coil p bass would be good

https://retrovibe.co.uk/product/retrovibe-p30-slab-precision-bass-30-6-short-scale-black-limited-edition-of-8/
 

or in yellow

 

https://retrovibe.co.uk/product/retrovibe-p30-slab-precision-bass-30-6-short-scale-yellow-limited-edition-of-8/

[dmckee]

Or this lovely thing?? 

 

 

[MNY]

Having been a short scale ‘fan’ from afar without having played many, I recently made the leap after experiencing an unhealthy obsession with upright bass. Just to be clear I wanted to obtain as close a tone to an upright to my ears without having to resort to buying one, which would have proved to be highly impractical.  The bass I chose was a Duesenberg Alliance Dave Landreth Model, which I liked both aesthetically and tonally after I swapped out the stock round wound strings for some Pyramid flats. In the lower registers it sounds close to spot on for my reference at least, although it becomes a little less woody on the G string, something which can be tamed by using the tone control.  To date I am really enjoying the experience of owning and playing this instrument,  everything about it screams quality, it’s built exceptionally well, sounds and looks stunning (even the case is a thing of beauty), it’s also light and very comfy to get around on. 
 

They are not exactly commonplace, but that said they are played by some well known musicians, Dave Landreth, Curt Smith, Rob Mullarkey, Dave Bronze and Chris Chaney for example. 

[AlexDelores]

10 minutes ago, MNY said:

Having been a short scale ‘fan’ from afar without having played many, I recently made the leap after experiencing an unhealthy obsession with upright bass. Just to be clear I wanted to obtain as close a tone to an upright to my ears without having to resort to buying one, which would have proved to be highly impractical.  The bass I chose was a Duesenberg Alliance Dave Landreth Model, which I liked both aesthetically and tonally after I swapped out the stock round wound strings for some Pyramid flats. In the lower registers it sounds close to spot on for my reference at least, although it becomes a little less woody on the G string, something which can be tamed by using the tone control.  To date I am really enjoying the experience of owning and playing this instrument,  everything about it screams quality, it’s built exceptionally well, sounds and looks stunning (even the case is a thing of beauty), it’s also light and very comfy to get around on. 
 

They are not exactly commonplace, but that said they are played by some well known musicians, Dave Landreth, Curt Smith, Rob Mullarkey, Dave Bronze and Chris Chaney for example. 

Oosh, that’s a little bit nice! 
 

What are the pickups in that? 
 

 

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, dmckee said:

Or this lovely thing?? 

 

 

I love that Viv has gone down this route. Rob Allen has something similar (long scale) but really, really expensive ($5.5k at least + import duties)*. This isn’t cheap of course, but it is boutique and that’s always pricey. I’d love one of these, I mean, just look at it 😍.I reckon 32” is probably spot on for me.

 

 

*https://www.roballenguitars.com/solid-4-gallery

Edited 4 hours ago by ezbass

[MNY]

1 hour ago, AlexDelores said:

Oosh, that’s a little bit nice! 
 

What are the pickups in that? 
 

 

Thank you, here’s the complete spec for anyone that’s interested. 
 

SPECIFICATIONS (DAVE'S BASS)

 

NECK

Type:Set Neck, 1-piece Maple

Width:41 mm / 1.6" (nut), 53.5 mm / 2.11" (12th fret)

Thickness:21 mm / 0.8" (1st fret), 24 mm / 0.95" (12th fret)

Shape:Medium D

Fingerboard:Indian Rosewood, radius 305 mm / 12"

Inlays:Cream Dots

Frets:22 Jumbo 2.8 x 1.0 mm

Scale length:768 mm / 30.2"

Trussrod:Steel dual-action

Headstock:Matching Color

 

BODY

Type:Semi-hollow with sustain block, bent sides, f-hole

Dimensions:46 x 34 cm / 18" x 13.4"

Height (sides):4.5 cm / 1.8"

Pickguard:Cream

Binding:Multi-layer binding

Finish:Poly finish

HARDWARE

Tuners:Duesenberg Z-Tuners Bass

Bridge:Duesenberg Bass Bridge

Tailpiece:Duesenberg Trapeze Tailpiece

Strap pins:Duesenberg Multi-Lock

Hardware finish:Nickel

Strings:Duesenberg Custom 050/110 (050-070-085-110). REPLACED BY PYRAMID GOLD FLATS. 
 

ELECTRICS

Pickup (neck):Duesenberg Mobucker

Pickup (bridge):Duesenberg Phonico Gold-Foil 

Wiring:2 Volume, 1 Tone, 1 Slide Switch for Neck Pickup split

 

Edited 4 hours ago by MNY

[bassist_lewis]

3 hours ago, ezbass said:

https://retrovibe.co.uk/product/retrovibe-p30-slab-precision-bass-30-6-short-scale-black-limited-edition-of-8/
 

or in yellow

 

https://retrovibe.co.uk/product/retrovibe-p30-slab-precision-bass-30-6-short-scale-yellow-limited-edition-of-8/

What's the story on these? They look pretty cool!

 

Spied this on Reverb:

https://reverb.com/uk/item/92525158-yamaha-broad-bass-bb-vis-short-scale-solid-body-31-5-scale-mij

 

Short scale (ish) Yamaha form the 80s.

[ezbass]

2 minutes ago, bassist_lewis said:

What's the story on these? They look pretty cool!

I’m not an expert on Retrovibe gear, but it seems to receive a fair amount of love on BC. All I know is that he orders the parts (I assume from a Chinese source, but I could be wrong), assembles and fettles them to his spec and sells the product on. If the Ric-ish ones weren’t single cut, I’d be all over them.

[slowTwitch]

5 minutes ago, bassist_lewis said:

What's the story on these? They look pretty cool!

 

Spied this on Reverb:

https://reverb.com/uk/item/92525158-yamaha-broad-bass-bb-vis-short-scale-solid-body-31-5-scale-mij

 

Short scale (ish) Yamaha form the 80s.

Nice but pricy. Last UK one I saw on Reverb was listed at £260 and hung around for quite a while (now sold).

[Baloney Balderdash]

Yamaha needs to get into the short scale game again.

[ezbass]

1 minute ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Yamaha needs to get into the short scale game again.

I reckon a TRB 5 or 6 string with everything downsized would be a winner.

[AlexDelores]

2 hours ago, MNY said:

Thank you, here’s the complete spec for anyone that’s interested. 
 

SPECIFICATIONS (DAVE'S BASS)

 

NECK

Type:Set Neck, 1-piece Maple

Width:41 mm / 1.6" (nut), 53.5 mm / 2.11" (12th fret)

Thickness:21 mm / 0.8" (1st fret), 24 mm / 0.95" (12th fret)

Shape:Medium D

Fingerboard:Indian Rosewood, radius 305 mm / 12"

Inlays:Cream Dots

Frets:22 Jumbo 2.8 x 1.0 mm

Scale length:768 mm / 30.2"

Trussrod:Steel dual-action

Headstock:Matching Color

 

BODY

Type:Semi-hollow with sustain block, bent sides, f-hole

Dimensions:46 x 34 cm / 18" x 13.4"

Height (sides):4.5 cm / 1.8"

Pickguard:Cream

Binding:Multi-layer binding

Finish:Poly finish

HARDWARE

Tuners:Duesenberg Z-Tuners Bass

Bridge:Duesenberg Bass Bridge

Tailpiece:Duesenberg Trapeze Tailpiece

Strap pins:Duesenberg Multi-Lock

Hardware finish:Nickel

Strings:Duesenberg Custom 050/110 (050-070-085-110). REPLACED BY PYRAMID GOLD FLATS. 
 

ELECTRICS

Pickup (neck):Duesenberg Mobucker

Pickup (bridge):Duesenberg Phonico Gold-Foil 

Wiring:2 Volume, 1 Tone, 1 Slide Switch for Neck Pickup split

 

Sounds great! I made the mistake of googling Duesenberg Short scales and think I’ve fell in love with the Kavalier in red sparkle 😍
 

 

[Obrienp]

1 hour ago, bassist_lewis said:

What's the story on these? They look pretty cool!

 

Spied this on Reverb:

https://reverb.com/uk/item/92525158-yamaha-broad-bass-bb-vis-short-scale-solid-body-31-5-scale-mij

 

Short scale (ish) Yamaha form the 80s.

I would call that medium scale, which puts it right in my bag. I love all those ‘80s medium scale basses from Japan. That one is pricey though.

 

I guess there isn’t sufficient market for them to consider reintroducing them but I’m surprised they haven’t jumped on the short scale band wagon. Shorties seem to be riding a wave of popularity at the moment and a well designed Yamaha SS would surely sell well.

[scrumpymike]

I'd like Ibanez to increase their s-s range. I've got lots of time for the brand as far as value for money goes.

[Baloney Balderdash]

4 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

I'd like Ibanez to increase their s-s range. I've got lots of time for the brand as far as value for money goes.

They ought to make a deluxe version of the Mikro Bass.

 

I would buy it instantly.

[MNY]

1 hour ago, AlexDelores said:

Sounds great! I made the mistake of googling Duesenberg Short scales and think I’ve fell in love with the Kavalier in red sparkle 😍
 

 

They are lovely instruments, I don’t think you will be disappointed if you take the plunge.