The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[msb]

 

Harmony H22 batwing , SG , and Gretsch Thunderjet 6128B , all with flats , I’m a thumper.

[AlexDelores]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Works for me... I hate the feel of flats, so I rarely play them, and they last ages! 😁

I’m the opposite, I love the feel, but hate the sound. They make everything sound clanky to my ears. But, then I’ve only ever really played cheaper flats. 

[stewblack]

8 hours ago, ezbass said:

Depends on your definition of affordable. However, it has to be remembered that flats typically last way longer than rounds, so they might even work out cheaper in the long run. With that said, there are some for sale from JLP..

I appreciate your point. Affordable long scale flats, which are perfectly good strings, are available for about 10 to 15 quid. So for something more specialised I suppose I was thinking 15 to 25 ballpark.

Anyway thank you for the info

[Clarky]

On 24/10/2025 at 18:20, scrumpymike said:

YEEE-HAAA!! Just bought a pre-owned Wlcock Mullarkey from Bass Direct 🙂 Same colour as the one recently sold on here by Clarky but with a scratch-plate from the red end of the tort spectrum. Will be delivered Tuesday - can't wait.

 

Watch this space!

Has the eagle landed @scrumpymike and how are you enjoying it?

[fiatcoupe432]

The craftsmanship on this ..... 

Just love 30 inch basses now

[Aidan63]

Looks great; handcrafted in Brazil, what make is that ?

[scrumpymike]

Just now, Clarky said:

Has the eagle landed @scrumpymike and how are you enjoying it?

 

Yes it has, thanks for asking. Delivered around 2pm yesterday. Perfect timing as the band was working on some new numbers last night. I unpacked it to make sure all was in order (which it was), had a quick play and parked it until the practice.

 

The short answer to your question is I'm loving it!!

 

I hadn't said anything to the other members of the band but much to my surprise they were all over it with 'Ooos' and 'Wows' as soon as I took it out of its gig bag. Much more important than that, they were very complimentary about the way it sounded as the evening went on. For rehearsals I go through a Mesa D800+ and Barefaced SC3 with amp EQ pots centred at 12 o'clock. A few tweaks of the 'voicing' and HPF controls and experimentation with the low boost quickly found the right 'default' sound with both pickups selected on the bass.

 

The Mullarkey has a robust but well-defined presence that sits very nicely in the mix. This is timely because our guitarist's new Strat has very dominant lows that were competing with my stuff.

 

Can't wait to hear this bass through my Ampeg SVT-7 PRO and LFSys Monaco gig rig a week on Friday.

 

More later.

[Obrienp]

@scrumpymike you have got some amazing rigs there to go with your fantastic bass! Enjoy!

[Clarky]

1 hour ago, scrumpymike said:

 

Yes it has, thanks for asking. Delivered around 2pm yesterday. Perfect timing as the band was working on some new numbers last night. I unpacked it to make sure all was in order (which it was), had a quick play and parked it until the practice.

 

The short answer to your question is I'm loving it!!

 

I hadn't said anything to the other members of the band but much to my surprise they were all over it with 'Ooos' and 'Wows' as soon as I took it out of its gig bag. Much more important than that, they were very complimentary about the way it sounded as the evening went on. For rehearsals I go through a Mesa D800+ and Barefaced SC3 with amp EQ pots centred at 12 o'clock. A few tweaks of the 'voicing' and HPF controls and experimentation with the low boost quickly found the right 'default' sound with both pickups selected on the bass.

 

The Mullarkey has a robust but well-defined presence that sits very nicely in the mix. This is timely because our guitarist's new Strat has very dominant lows that were competing with my stuff.

 

Can't wait to hear this bass through my Ampeg SVT-7 PRO and LFSys Monaco gig rig a week on Friday.

 

More later.

Damn, was hoping you'd hate it so I can buy it

 

Haha - no really, delighted for you. Its great when a plan works out 🙂

 

[fiatcoupe432]

3 hours ago, Aidan63 said:

Looks great; handcrafted in Brazil, what make is that ?

Hi mate it's a S. Martyn 30 inch 6 strings 

[BassApprentice]

Just spotted this (via Danny Sapko).

 

A LeCompte 31.18" scale (very precise?) but with a reverse headstock. Having never played a bass with a reverse headstock, does it have a noticeable impact on string feel/tension? I know some complain about the lower strings on short scales feeling a bit off.

 

 

Edited October 31 by BassApprentice

[eude]

44 minutes ago, BassApprentice said:

A LeCompte 31.18" scale (very precise?)

Is that better or worse than 791.972mm?

Weird choice, but might be based on available string lengths, as I would guess the reverse headstock might let you have a full scale E string without any of the wound string on the tuner?
I doubt the reverse headstock will make much difference if any to the tension, as the witness points on the nut and bridge are where that's determined.

 

It's a rather tasty looking bass though, I have to say!

[LeftyJ]

LeCompte makes some interesting pickups, with those triple pole pieces.

They were on my radar through NoTreble, who made their creations Bass of the Week several times. 

This one stood out to me, I love the body shape which appears to blend the offset waist of the Jazz Bass and something a bit Wal or Shergold like. 

 

LeCompte Electric Bass - SHR - Short Scale

 

Interestingly, they spec this one as a 30.3" scale model. 

Edited October 31 by LeftyJ

[Obrienp]

4 hours ago, BassApprentice said:

Just spotted this (via Danny Sapko).

 

A LeCompte 31.18" scale (very precise?) but with a reverse headstock. Having never played a bass with a reverse headstock, does it have a noticeable impact on string feel/tension? I know some complain about the lower strings on short scales feeling a bit off.

 

 

I don’t think the reverse headstock has any impact on string tension but it can be very confusing to tune, especially when you switch basses during a set. I have an Acinonyx, which has a Stingray config but reversed and when I switch to it during a set, I always take ages to tune it.

[scrumpymike]

7 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

LeCompte makes some interesting pickups, with those triple pole pieces.

They were on my radar through NoTreble, who made their creations Bass of the Week several times. 

This one stood out to me, I love the body shape which appears to blend the offset waist of the Jazz Bass and something a bit Wal or Shergold like. 

 

LeCompte Electric Bass - SHR - Short Scale

 

Interestingly, they spec this one as a 30.3" scale model. 

New one on me but I like the look their basses.

[Stub Mandrel]

10 hours ago, eude said:

Is that better or worse than 791.972mm?

 

Well you can measure 0.01 inch by eye, just, with the right ruler.

 

0.001mm is a few wavelengths of lightn about 1/50 as much. Quoting to a thousandth of a mm suggests they got the NPL to measure the scale length 😁

[RichT]

14 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

LeCompte makes some interesting pickups, with those triple pole pieces.

They were on my radar through NoTreble, who made their creations Bass of the Week several times. 

This one stood out to me, I love the body shape which appears to blend the offset waist of the Jazz Bass and something a bit Wal or Shergold like. 

 

LeCompte Electric Bass - SHR - Short Scale

 

Interestingly, they spec this one as a 30.3" scale model. 

 

Wow, that's lovely. Just when I genuinely thought I had no gas left for anything... sigh.

[scrumpymike]

13 hours ago, RichT said:

 

Wow, that's lovely. Just when I genuinely thought I had no gas left for anything... sigh.

I love the headstock on that SHR s-s. Certainly increases your choice of off-the-peg hard cases.

[scrumpymike]

Friday night was my first chance to gig my recently-acquired Wilcock Mullarkey and it delivered everything I had hoped for. Up there with the best in terms of quality and playability, it sits perfectly in our 4-piece mix running through my Ampeg SVT-7 Pro head and LFSys Monaco FR/FR cab, even managing to cut through the powerful lows that our guitarist's new Strat puts out. Can't believe my luck in finding this mint pre-owned example at Bass Direct in my preferred colour and reasonably priced at £1950 for a retail sale.

 

Just by the bye, I'm finding that another important bit of kit in delivering 'heft with definition' is the Always On HPF I recently got from Broughton Audio in Canada. My amp delivers 600w into my 600w-rated cab and I got the HPF to protect the driver from potentially damaging low frequencies. Much to my surprise, this tiny box of tricks does as much for my tone-shaping as my bass and amp controls. I just set everything up as I always did ands then find the frequency floor that gives me the best sound. Shame they don't sell in Europe but luckily I was able to get mine via a contact living in Canada. I know this may seem a bit off topic but I have a feeling that an HPF is especially effective when applied to the signature tones of short-scale basses.

[bassist_lewis]

21 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

Friday night was my first chance to gig my recently-acquired Wilcock Mullarkey and it delivered everything I had hoped for. Up there with the best in terms of quality and playability, it sits perfectly in our 4-piece mix running through my Ampeg SVT-7 Pro head and LFSys Monaco FR/FR cab, even managing to cut through the powerful lows that our guitarist's new Strat puts out. Can't believe my luck in finding this mint pre-owned example at Bass Direct in my preferred colour and reasonably priced at £1950 for a retail sale.

 

Just by the bye, I'm finding that another important bit of kit in delivering 'heft with definition' is the Always On HPF I recently got from Broughton Audio in Canada. My amp delivers 600w into my 600w-rated cab and I got the HPF to protect the driver from potentially damaging low frequencies. Much to my surprise, this tiny box of tricks does as much for my tone-shaping as my bass and amp controls. I just set everything up as I always did ands then find the frequency floor that gives me the best sound. Shame they don't sell in Europe but luckily I was able to get mine via a contact living in Canada. I know this may seem a bit off topic but I have a feeling that an HPF is especially effective when applied to the signature tones of short-scale basses.

not surprised at all you're enjoying it! Viv makes some of the best basses in the UK. The real trick is being happy with just one!

 

Interesting you mention the HPF. I have one on my Noble and I use it with all my basses except my Mullarkey. With the Serek and JMJ it does as you say, takes away the mud and makes it sit nicer in the mix. With my Mullarkey it made it took away too much low end, making it sounds thin. I wonder if the difference is in the basses, the HPFs or our ears?

 

 

[msb]

Broughton make great stuff , and it’s a tiny owner/operator business. 

[scrumpymike]

2 hours ago, msb said:

Broughton make great stuff , and it’s a tiny owner/operator business. 

For such a small outfit they sure do. Bought the HPF online for around 90 bucks, had it delivered to a contact in Toronto and his parents who are my neighbours brought it back with them after a visit. Bit of a hassle at the time but well worth it.

[scrumpymike]

4 hours ago, bassist_lewis said:

not surprised at all you're enjoying it! Viv makes some of the best basses in the UK. The real trick is being happy with just one!

 

Interesting you mention the HPF. I have one on my Noble and I use it with all my basses except my Mullarkey. With the Serek and JMJ it does as you say, takes away the mud and makes it sit nicer in the mix. With my Mullarkey it made it took away too much low end, making it sounds thin. I wonder if the difference is in the basses, the HPFs or our ears?

 

 

If I had the spare cash I'd buy a new one from Viv - probably in black with the roasted neck. Re your HPF comment, my Mullarkey came with black nylon-coated flats fitted and that will be a factor. They sounded surprisingly good in rehearsal so I've decided to keep them on for now. What strings are you using?