SamIAm Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 I've scoured the web for this info, but to no avail ... I'm hoping that a BCer with one of these will be able to help. How much does it weigh? How wide is the bottom (19th?) fret? What is the string spacing at the Bridge? My end game is to obtain a short scale 5 string, that is light (Scratch the TMB-35), available (scratch the GRSM-25) and not the price of a small flat (Scratch almost everything else!) and so I am looking to see if there are any shorty 4 stringers that might take a conversion to 5. S'manth x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 4 hours ago, Smanth said: I've scoured the web for this info, but to no avail ... I'm hoping that a BCer with one of these will be able to help. How much does it weigh? How wide is the bottom (19th?) fret? What is the string spacing at the Bridge? My end game is to obtain a short scale 5 string, that is light (Scratch the TMB-35), available (scratch the GRSM-25) and not the price of a small flat (Scratch almost everything else!) and so I am looking to see if there are any shorty 4 stringers that might take a conversion to 5. S'manth x Having owned one I’d say there is no chance it would function adequately as a 5, and a conversion would be pointless and expensive. I’m sure there must be some cheap 5 stringers out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newfoundfreedom Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 If you're looking for light then Harley Benton probably isn't the way to go. They're superb. But they're almost always on the heavier side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 6 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said: If you're looking for light then Harley Benton probably isn't the way to go. They're superb. But they're almost always on the heavier side. To be fair, the Shorty I had was lightweight, but the neck was far too narrow to be suitable for a 5 string conversion. Attempting it would involve destroying a good entry-level bass in my eyes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 Good moring S'manth. I have one, just checked the measurements: 6.2lbs/2.8ish kg Actually my lightest bass. 41.5mm at the nut, possibly 42. I do't have calipers but by eye it doesn't quite make 42. Then again my eyes aren't so good 19mm spacing at the bridge. As a 4 string there is defo. a vacant couple of mm down each side of the neck. But I think it would be a bit tight to make it a fiver. I wonder if the Hofner Shorty might have a chunkier neck? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamIAm Posted December 19, 2022 Author Share Posted December 19, 2022 32 minutes ago, Paul S said: Good moring S'manth. I have one, just checked the measurements: 6.2lbs/2.8ish kg Actually my lightest bass. 41.5mm at the nut, possibly 42. I do't have calipers but by eye it doesn't quite make 42. Then again my eyes aren't so good 19mm spacing at the bridge. As a 4 string there is defo. a vacant couple of mm down each side of the neck. But I think it would be a bit tight to make it a fiver. I wonder if the Hofner Shorty might have a chunkier neck? Numbers, wonderful ... thank you Paul! 2.8kg would be a fab weight for me. 41.5mm at the nut, that could work. I've a 5er Hohner that has a distance (from the outside edges of the strings) of 38mm at the nut and is very playable. The constraining factor is likely to be the fret width where the neck joins the body, which I gather is the 19th. Once I know that I can run the numbers in the fretfind app to find what the bridge spacing would be (or draw up some lifesize sketches using my long unused o-level trig lol) S'manth x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 width at 19th fret around 62.5mm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineweasel Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 Maybe worth asking @blablas as he’s done a lot of Shorty customisations, for example 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 4 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said: If you're looking for light then Harley Benton probably isn't the way to go. They're superb. But they're almost always on the heavier side. Not ime at least with a HB electric guitar I have (can't recall model off hand). Noticeably lightweight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 9 hours ago, Smanth said: I've scoured the web for this info, but to no avail ... I'm hoping that a BCer with one of these will be able to help. How much does it weigh? How wide is the bottom (19th?) fret? What is the string spacing at the Bridge? My end game is to obtain a short scale 5 string, that is light (Scratch the TMB-35), available (scratch the GRSM-25) and not the price of a small flat (Scratch almost everything else!) and so I am looking to see if there are any shorty 4 stringers that might take a conversion to 5. S'manth x Hi S'manth What tuning / string gauge are you thinking on this. Seems to me that it could be "Floppy City" ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamIAm Posted December 19, 2022 Author Share Posted December 19, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, rmorris said: Hi S'manth What tuning / string gauge are you thinking on this. Seems to me that it could be "Floppy City" ? BEADG. Likely to go for Rotosound Tru Bass 88 (Which run .060 to .135), I used them on Twiggy my 760mm self build bass and found them spot on. I could perhaps go a bit lighter as the Ibanez TMB35 has a 30 inch scale, is reviewed as being OK with a Low B and comes with 0.045 - 0.130 strings S'manth x Edited December 19, 2022 by Smanth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamIAm Posted December 19, 2022 Author Share Posted December 19, 2022 I've run some calculations on the viability of using the PB Shorty neck with 5 strings, I've started a new thread asking for feedback S'manth x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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