shoulderpet Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 Hi all My recent attempts to buy a Squier CV Jaguar left me a little disappointed in terms of the quality control (or lack of)in those basses, however one thing that I did notice was that medium scale seems to hit that sweet spot between good playability and good tone, the accoustic tone was more defined than my short scales but the difference in scale length was small enough that if i didn't know it was medium scale I probably wouldn't notice that it was medium rather than short scale. This has me wondering if anything else is out there in medium scale that is good and sub £400 , the Ibanez mezzo ticks a lot of boxes (32" scale length, active eq) but at around £250 I am thinking it is probably not appreciably better than my VM Jaguar bass, what about the (now discontinued) Squier tele bass Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 I have 2 of the Ibanez Mezzo basses and they are fantastic. I bought the first on a bit of a whim and I'm massively impressed with it - and not just for the money. Mine are 5 strings and the low B is easily as good as my Stingray 5. Only downsides is that the preamp is a bit limited. There's a big thread on the other place about modifications and pickup changes. As it happens I am selling one of them (I need to pay for a PS5) but the other is going nowhere. It has become my main bass despite my Sandberg / Stingray etc. Definitely worth you trying one out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted November 25, 2020 Author Share Posted November 25, 2020 9 minutes ago, fretmeister said: I have 2 of the Ibanez Mezzo basses and they are fantastic. I bought the first on a bit of a whim and I'm massively impressed with it - and not just for the money. Mine are 5 strings and the low B is easily as good as my Stingray 5. Only downsides is that the preamp is a bit limited. There's a big thread on the other place about modifications and pickup changes. As it happens I am selling one of them (I need to pay for a PS5) but the other is going nowhere. It has become my main bass despite my Sandberg / Stingray etc. Definitely worth you trying one out. Interesting, I will have to try one out, I am curious about the 5 string version (would be interesting to string it E to C to chords and upper register bass fills) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 I've not tried E-C but I don't see any reason it wouldn't work well. A vid I did just to show how good the low notes are. Flatwounds (which are often a bit pony for low B) and only iphone audio but it comes across ok. Excuse the playing! It picked up a bit of finger noise as I was too close to the phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted November 25, 2020 Author Share Posted November 25, 2020 Cool, sounds pretty solid, i'm primarily a 4 string player so I think I will try one out once the lockdown is over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rageofklugman Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 I'm pretty keen to find any decent medium scale basses as well. On the forum, Gypsy Rose basses often seem to come up as worth looking out for, provided you don't mind something finished in sparkly pink. There's currently a Gypsy Rose PJ on FB Marketplace for £80. I was sorely tempted but it's over in Grays, Essex and I can't face the trip around the M25. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 I have a Gypsy Rose project that needs finishing if of interest, I have too many medium scale basses at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rageofklugman Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 Not trying to hijack the thread, but certainly something I could be interested in. Feel free to drop me a PM with details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbandit599 Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 I too have an Ibanez Mezzo 5 string in 32" and can confirm that they are cracking little basses - my band managed to squeeze in a couple of rehearsals before lockdown hit us again and they also really liked how it sits in the mix (I'm lucky, my band like plenty of bass!) I found I like the 32" scale, so when a Warwick Corvette in 32" 5 string popped up on the forum I was tempted and snapped it up. Not had a chance to use it with the band yet but at home it sounds good. A tighter sound than the Mezzo, chunkier (but comfortable neck) and narrower string spacing (which I find fine.) At home, the low B on this sounds really good, maybe better than my 34" Sandberg! Either of these are good off the shelf options IMHO 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 Been asking myself the same question. Currently have it narrowed down to the Squier mini and the MM mini Ray (at around £700). There's a short scale Warwick on eBay but my experiences with the Customer (Don't) Care Dept prevents me from giving them (or anybody else selling their products) a penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted November 28, 2020 Author Share Posted November 28, 2020 I think an Ibanez mezzo is the way to go, I really be dont want to play quality control lottery with Squier (after sending 2 of them back I don't have much confidence in them) and the mezzo seems highly regarded and 2 band eq also, just need to wait for my refund for the Squier to come through Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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