Jimothey Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 (edited) Hi all My little boy (he's only 7) really wants to start learning bass but obviously my 34" are way to long for him to play and a 3/4 size is too long aswell so my idea is to convert a spare 24.75" guitar neck into a bass by changing the nut and build him a body for it A problem I can see it having is the string spacing, I would have to get a nut blank and do the string spacing myself but I think the strings wouldn't fit right on the fret board at the heel as the spacing on a standard width bridge will be too wide for a standard guitar neck also would short scale strings work on it or would they not tune properly and be too floppy? 👍🏻 Edited September 27, 2021 by Jimothey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 I know someone who converts cheap 7-strings to 6-strings for ham-fisted people. Might also work for conversion to bass Seriously though, there are several cool ultra short scale basses on the market these days that might fit the bill and you might be able to find used at a decent price: Ibanez Mikro GSRM20 (28.58"), Jackson Minion (28.58"), Squier Mini P (28.58"), Cort Action Junior and Harley Benton Shorty (both 30", might be a little too long). The Ibanez is fairly common. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 1 hour ago, LeftyJ said: I know someone who converts cheap 7-strings to 6-strings for ham-fisted people. Might also work for conversion to bass Seriously though, there are several cool ultra short scale basses on the market these days that might fit the bill and you might be able to find used at a decent price: Ibanez Mikro GSRM20 (28.58"), Jackson Minion (28.58"), Squier Mini P (28.58"), Cort Action Junior and Harley Benton Shorty (both 30", might be a little too long). The Ibanez is fairly common. I did look at a few 'kids' short scale basses but I didn't want to spend too much incase he doesn't stick with it! I think I'll try and convert/make one for him as I did make a electric guitar for his sister! I might try and use a 4 string cigar box bridge to get round the string spacing issue? ..... 👍🏻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Jimothey said: I might try and use a 4 string cigar box bridge to get round the string spacing issue? ..... 👍🏻 Or maybe some cheap monorails if that matches a guitar neck, you can get those as narrow as 16 mm. You can get them as cheap as this (mind you, that's per piece. You'll need 4 of course). A cigar box bridge's saddle slots may be too narrow to feed a bass string through. Edited September 28, 2021 by LeftyJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 50 minutes ago, Jimothey said: I did look at a few 'kids' short scale basses but I didn't want to spend too much incase he doesn't stick with it! I think I'll try and convert/make one for him as I did make a electric guitar for his sister! I might try and use a 4 string cigar box bridge to get round the string spacing issue? ..... 👍🏻 A Squier Mini P is £130. If he doesn't stick with it you could get half your money back flogging it second hand without even trying so net it would cost you £65. How much is your time worth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 I'd have no hesitation in going for the squier mini P for a litte one - in fact I quite fancy one for myself so I can look like a giant. They don't seem to come up second hand so they probably hold their price well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 the Retrovibe 30" necks that they sell to make short scale basses from guitar bodies (mostly telecaster but a few strats as well) are set up to use a 18mm spaced bridge , so that might be a possibility for a 24.75 scale as well, they don't require modification of the neck pocket so that is encouraging. Retrovibe sell a modified Wilkinson bridge that is set to 18mm as well, if you want a cheaper 18mm spaced bridge then i might have one in my drawer that i'm not going to use. Retrovibe 18mm spacing bass bridge For strings i'd look at either the ones they sell for the ibanez mikro or possibly investigate some of the strings made for other short scales like the shortbass one or some of the bass uke metal string options, failing that just have a word with Newtone and have some made to suit. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 Maybe a Hofner style floating bridge would work, they're 14mm from memory. Or a Squier Bronco has a 17mm bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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