The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[AlexDelores]

4 hours ago, BassApprentice said:

If it's only a temporary injury, you could do worse than a Squier Bronco or Gretsch Junior Jet 2nd hand.

I 2nd the Gretsch shout. I picked up a used but basically brand new one from BassBros for £245 and it’s been the best money I’ve ever spent. 
 

3 hours ago, fretmeister said:

 

You might get a Jim Deacon shortie precision for £150. 

I'm regularly on the lookout for one of these (since you posted the picture of your white one) but they rarely pop up from my searches.

[DF Shortscale]

9 hours ago, Clarky said:

This is now significantly reduced in the Fenderfever sale, in case anyone was pondering it

 

edit: here https://fenderfever.com/products/atelier-z-zpo-4-jr-short-scale-natural?_pos=1&_fid=dfd8784d9&_ss=c

This used to be my bass, I can happily vouch for it, it’s a light weight, beautifully built and super easy to play instrument. I got in new from Japan a few years ago. The action can go crazy low on these, definitely lower than I needed and I like low action a lot. The tone is bright and snappy, but you can get a really nice jazz front pickup tone from it, especially with the preamp engaged. It’s basically a modern J style short scale. The body shape is a downsized P, this was the shape before they came out with the Baby Z series. 

 

If anyone decides to buy it, I strongly recommend the Atelier Z short scale rounds, I tried a bunch of different strings on this bass and I liked their own strings so much that I ordered loads of them, I still have a few spare unopened packs so message me if you’d like them. Also feel free to ask if you have any questions about it.

 

(No affiliation to Fender Fever, I had a good experience dealing with him, but I just want to see it go to a good home!)

[JohnDaBass]

15 hours ago, ezbass said:

There’s a bunch of Harley Bentons in different designs for your budget. The Mustang alikes are good, especially since the switch upgrade. The J pickup is not as powerful as the P (not unusual in budget basses of any make), but the whole thing makes for a good upgrade chassis (an EMG GZR set would be perfect).

https://www.thomann.co.uk/short_scale_basses.html?manufacturer[]=Harley Benton&gk=GIEBSC&sp=solr_b&cme=true&filter=true

+1

I can vouch for the HB MV-4SB , great fit and finish with a decent range of tones as stock. Alder body, bound roasted maple neck, makes a great starting point for many upgrade routes.

[fretmeister]

12 hours ago, AlexDelores said:

I 2nd the Gretsch shout. I picked up a used but basically brand new one from BassBros for £245 and it’s been the best money I’ve ever spent. 
 

I'm regularly on the lookout for one of these (since you posted the picture of your white one) but they rarely pop up from my searches.

 

The white one is definitely not going anywhere! 

[Stub Mandrel]

Played a (PJ) Fender Mustang at a jam last Saturday (strictly the early hours of Sunday...)

 

Flats, lots of foam at the bridge, but it played fine.

 

The strap was very short so I felt like Mark King...

[Stub Mandrel]

A while ago I splashed out on a cheap Kay Gremlin.

 

The nachine heads responded to a drop of oil and I decided the pickup was ok. The slightly worn finish I tarted up with ratty mustang stripes and added a tiny amount of extra wear on the upper bout. Needed a shim to let me drop the bridge.

 

Took me a couple of sessions to sort the frets... I suspect a few might lift again. I only resorted to superglue on one. Lots of filing, scraping and stoning. Action isn't super low but is much better.

 

Quite a fun wee thing now.

 

[snorkie635]

8 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

A while ago I splashed out on a cheap Kay Gremlin.

 

The nachine heads responded to a drop of oil and I decided the pickup was ok. The slightly worn finish I tarted up with ratty mustang stripes and added a tiny amount of extra wear on the upper bout. Needed a shim to let me drop the bridge.

 

Took me a couple of sessions to sort the frets... I suspect a few might lift again. I only resorted to superglue on one. Lots of filing, scraping and stoning. Action isn't super low but is much better.

 

Quite a fun wee thing now.

 

"Gay Kremlin?"

 

 

 

 

[LeftyJ]

12 hours ago, snorkie635 said:

"Gay Kremlin?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MJJS]

Can’t imagine many better shorties than this 5 er in the UK atm.

30.5”. looks a very good deal.

 

https://reverb.com/uk/item/92416141-acg-0257-salace-e-type-headless-bass-5-string-eucalyptus-wenge

Edited yesterday at 13:24 by MJJS

[edstraker123]

Here's the Cort GB Short scale I snagged at the weekend. It's truly phenomenal other than the neck dive :

 

[BassAgent]

Don't know if this belongs here, but it's a Mustang-ish bass so I'll post it anyway. An acquaintance of mine bought a bass for his 12 year old daughter and asked me to set it up and see if the electronics or hardware needed replacement. It was one of these Harley Bentons:

He put some Labella Low Tension flats on it himself, and the bass was...magnificent. Finish, fretwork, electronics, setyp, everything was tip top. Not even for the money, just as an instrument. If you need an affordable short scale bass, get yourself one of these. It's only €229 at Thomann and if I didn't have my vintage Mustang, I'd seriously consider buying one.

[fretmeister]

That's a great colour too - would look ace under stage lights!

 

[Obrienp]

1 hour ago, BassAgent said:

Don't know if this belongs here, but it's a Mustang-ish bass so I'll post it anyway. An acquaintance of mine bought a bass for his 12 year old daughter and asked me to set it up and see if the electronics or hardware needed replacement. It was one of these Harley Bentons:

He put some Labella Low Tension flats on it himself, and the bass was...magnificent. Finish, fretwork, electronics, setyp, everything was tip top. Not even for the money, just as an instrument. If you need an affordable short scale bass, get yourself one of these. It's only €229 at Thomann and if I didn't have my vintage Mustang, I'd seriously consider buying one.

Plus this has contouring; something that is pretty rare on shorties and is missing on the Mustang that inspired it.

[Pea Turgh]

If only they did it in oly white…

[LeftyJ]

There's a lefty version too, and I've contemplated getting it but they only offer it in black 

I would get the shell pink version in a heartbeat if they announced a lefty. 

 

They're rather lovely, and the current (second) iteration had a nice hardware upgrade, now sports a pickup selector (the first version only had volume and tone, and both pickups were fully on at all times) and a bound roasted maple neck that looks lush. 

[BTops]

27 minutes ago, LeftyJ said:

the current (second) iteration had a nice hardware upgrade

The original had gotoh tuners, so the current version is a downgrade! Sadly.

[BassAgent]

38 minutes ago, LeftyJ said:

There's a lefty version too, and I've contemplated getting it but they only offer it in black 

I would get the shell pink version in a heartbeat if they announced a lefty. 

 

They're rather lovely, and the current (second) iteration had a nice hardware upgrade, now sports a pickup selector (the first version only had volume and tone, and both pickups were fully on at all times) and a bound roasted maple neck that looks lush. 

Yeah it does miss the Gotoh tuners but the pickup switch is a nice upgrade. That roasted neck feels amazing, and I was really surprised by the quality of the fretwork.

[BTops]

43 minutes ago, BassAgent said:

 That roasted neck feels amazing

The neck isn't roasted, it's just coloured to resemble being roasted.

[Baloney Balderdash]

14 minutes ago, BTops said:

The neck isn't roasted, it's just coloured to resemble being roasted.

It is though.

 

And they downgraded the tuners to keep the same cost while upgrading the electronics with a pickup switch and the associated extra labour.

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Baloney Balderdash

[BTops]

59 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

It is though.

 

And they downgraded the tuners to keep the same cost while upgrading the electronics with a pickup switch and the associated extra labour.

 

I'm not knocking the bass. But if you scratch through the colour it's pale maple underneath, not roasted which would be the same colour throughout.

 

The pickups are another downgrade, from roswell to HBs own generic version.

 

[BassAgent]

You're not knocking the bass, only naming everything you think is wrong with it.

[JohnDaBass]

2 hours ago, BTops said:

I'm not knocking the bass. But if you scratch through the colour it's pale maple underneath, not roasted which would be the same colour throughout.

 

The pickups are another downgrade, from roswell to HBs own generic version.

 

Please excuse my impertinence but do you own one?