Kithara short scale - anyone tried one of these?

[DF Shortscale]

These look very nice but there’s very little info about them outside of instagram, does anyone have any experience with this brand? Not cheap, but not insanely priced either, seems to be in line with other builders. Basically a Musicmaster with pickup / colour options, looks great if you’re into this kind of thing. 

 

https://www.kitharaguitars.com/samson

 

 

[BassAgent]

Isn't that the bass that Dave Landreth uses? They look and sound absolutely killer.

[bloke_zero]

4 hours ago, DF Shortscale said:

 

https://www.kitharaguitars.com/samson

 

Killer demo

[BigRedX]

That's a lot of money for something that is essentially a copy of Fender's more budget offerings.

[BassAgent]

Well, except they're not.

[DF Shortscale]

23 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

That's a lot of money for something that is essentially a copy of Fender's more budget offerings.

 

It's a copy in body shape only, looks to me like it's a hand built instrument, which would bring it in line with other small builders' prices - actually probably on the cheaper end for a custom hand-built bass.

Fender Musicmasters are between £1-2K on Reverb, and they have a crap pickup, single coil hum, terrible bridge and who knows what other issues. They tend to need a bunch of mods to make them playable, and in the process they also lose their 'vintage' value, so the price is actually fairly realistic given the current state of things (which isn't to say it's a price I personally like very much). What makes Musicmasters special is that they are short scale, they have a fairly unique tone, they have 18mm string spacing and they feel really good to play. Until they became collectible in recent years, they were also a cheap mod platform while still being an old Fender. Part of the reason Musicmaster copies have started popping up in recent times is that their value has gone up. 

Edited December 10, 2024 by DF Shortscale

[DF Shortscale]

2 hours ago, BassAgent said:

Isn't that the bass that Dave Landreth uses? They look and sound absolutely killer.

Yeah looks like you're right! Wasn't aware of that (or him). Here's a video:

 

[BassAgent]

You're in for a treat. Bros. Landreth is one of my favourite alt country/americana groups. Here's a live session with Dave on a Kithara:

 

[DF Shortscale]

Yeah, really nice sounding duo for sure.

I'm not 100% sold on that bridge pickup, it's really nice in that context but I think I'd prefer a single coil / J style pickup back there for the kind of stuff I play. I know there are a bunch of options for pickups, I think I'd configure them a little differently. Although that front pickup sounds nice, not as boomy as I expected.

[Bigwan]

Oh, local builder I wasn't aware of... Might have to look into these!

[DF Shortscale]

5 hours ago, Bigwan said:

Oh, local builder I wasn't aware of... Might have to look into these!

If you get a chance to try one, pls let us know what you think.

[knicknack]

This little bass caught my attention... and accidentally fell into my bass rack!

 

 

[BassAgent]

Poah, killer looking bass! Congrats!

[Schnozzalee]

Dig it - Windmill Guitars in Bangor used to sell the guitars, so if they come up there, I'd recommend them.

 

I bought a Peerless there and the owner added me on Facebook, in order to put a t-shirt in my size in the case. Really nice family run shop. 

 

Kithara have sold a few charity pieces with them too.

[Obrienp]

Wow, £2,599! Is that reasonable? It hasn’t even fixed things like the lack of contours! I’m sure it’s well made but that still seems a lot. I had a completely custom built (to my spec) short scale bass made by a local luthier for under £1K . Material costs have risen a bit in the intervening few years but I reckon it would still come in under £1,500.

 

I think if I was in the market for a Musicmaster style bass, I would buy a Squire Bronco and put my choice of pickups and hardware on it. It would still come in around a fifth of the price of the Samson.

 

Each to their own though.

[itu]

Some short scales are on the pricey side: http://www.schorrguitars.de/the-owl-bass/ 

Check how to order for prices. 

[HeadlessBassist]

I had a go on their configurator this afternoon. The pickup choices are very confusing. I had to go and look them all up, but ended up with P90 and a Jazzmaster at the bridge. Colours are quite limited too. They do sound good, though, but not 1.5x my American Performer Mustang.