Newbie Short Scale question

[sharpester]

Hi I am new to the forum and after a quick search can't find an answer to my question. So I am hoping someone can help me out.......

Basically my question is

Will a short scale bass help me improve as a player more quickly?

In more detail, I have owned the bass for a couple of years but only now find myself in a position time wise to really try to improve my playing. Plus I have been invited to play with a few more competent people and I am really keen to keep up.

I have a Schecter bass which has a 34" scale, coupled with small hands/ short fingers, which I find quite a stretch to fret sometimes and also find my hands aching after not a great deal of sustained playing. Will a shorter scale bass help or should I just work through it and put it down to poor beginners technique?

A second related questions is, how does the sound differ with a change of scale length?

Sorry for the rambling nature of the post, it's difficult to really explain what could just be what everybody new to playing bass goes through!

Thanks in advance for any opinions/ help
Rob

[geoffbyrne]

I've got small hands & prefer 5ers. It took me a while to realise I needed a **narrower** fretboard, not a shorter scale.

Try a bass with a proper 'J' sized neck.

I have a Hohner B bass 5 which has a narrow neck for a 5 & also a Peavey Cirrus BXP which, while not as narrow as the B is still pretty good for me.

G.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='sharpester' post='594115' date='Sep 9 2009, 05:54 PM']Will a short scale bass help me improve as a player more quickly?[/quote]
The simple answer is no. However, if you find a shorter scale bass that somehow suits then maybe it would help you - but not magically so.

Shorter scale basses (or some of them anyway) do have a faster feel because there is less of a stretch but speed is not the only thing that matters (I'd say there are many things more important than speed).

On the aching hands - I think most bass players have that at least sometimes and anyway it may be related to your technique more than the scale length of the bass.


[quote name='sharpester' post='594115' date='Sep 9 2009, 05:54 PM']A second related questions is, how does the sound differ with a change of scale length?[/quote]
Well, it differs with different basses but - on average - I'd say shorter scales have a tendency to sound kind of darker. But McCartney's Hofner and Jack Bruce's Gibson are both 30" scale and sound nothing like each other.

[Apex]

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='594231' date='Sep 9 2009, 07:44 PM']I've got small hands & prefer 5ers. It took me a while to realise I needed a **narrower** fretboard, not a shorter scale.

Try a bass with a proper 'J' sized neck.

I have a Hohner B bass 5 which has a narrow neck for a 5 & also a Peavey Cirrus BXP which, while not as narrow as the B is still pretty good for me.

G.[/quote]

+1 on the 5-string. With short fingers I started on a standard cheap 4-string and realised that playing across the strings was a great deal easier for me than up and down the neck. When I got the chance to upgrade I had the funds for a reasonably nice 5er, then settled for a less expensive Peavey Millennium 5 - a cheaper version of the Cirrus - simply because the neck felt right. There's no substitute for trying the out!

Switching to a 5 was no problem and has given me a lot more versatility. Still got short fingers though!

[lozbass]

Some good advice above I'd say.

1. I think you need to do a lot of testing to find a bass that feels good/comfortable and easy to play
2. A short-scale won't necessarily help you to improve your playing more rapidly - if however, you find the bass comfortable (short-scale or not) and you suffer from less aches, then you're more likely to want to pick up the instrument and practise for longer
3. Some people complain that some short-scale instruments have a slightly dull tone and less sustain in comparison to their longer-scale counterparts. In my experience, a lot depends on the bass. I have three short-scales and one is relatively dull sounding (the other two are fairly expensive and sustain extremely well)
4. I've spent a lot of time working out exactly what suits me - for a long while, I thought that my stretch problems were caused by scale length. I now believe that this is not the case. It is general neck (and other) dimensions- in terms of nut width, string spacing, depth of the neck, profile along the neck and board, action and string tension - that need to be taken into account. I am perfectly comfortable playing on very slender, shallow 34" scale, four string basses, especially with low action and low string tension. I have problems with pretty much any five string bass, or wider or chunky necked four strings. My favourite basses, however, are shallow, narrow necked four string short-scales

I hope this helps and good luck - there's no real substitute for trying out a lot of basses (it's fun too)

[alexclaber]

I'd recommend some lessons to ascertain if you're on the right road with technique, and also to find out if your bass setup is making life unnecessarily hard.

I wouldn't recommend switching to shortscale unless you prefer that sound - there are plenty of great bass players with small hands playing long scale bass guitars and even longer double basses.

My analysis of scale length suggests that shortening the scale narrows the bandwidth, so less depth to the bottom and less clarity to the top. A rounder softer sweeter sound. If you want to find out for yourself, detune your bass by a three semitones and ignore open strings and frets one and two (you'll probably have to raise the action to avoid too much fret rattle). Likewise for a longer scale, tune the bass up a few semitones and play stuff that doesn't need your lowest three notes (because your bottom string will now be tuned to F# or G). It'll take some time but it's a cheap route to enlightenment!

Alex

[sharpester]

Guy’s thanks very much for the replies.

I am not looking for the quick way to learn to play, but mainly a route to comfortably being able to play more and enjoy the experience. As a novice I wasn’t sure if a shorter scale would help. It would seem that the answer may actually be to try more basses as I may not have the one that best suits. This sounds like fun in itself so got to be worth a try!

From my limited playing so far it’s something I am going to stick at and would like to play more regularly and also with other people. It’s seems the more I master the more I want to play, I’d just like the experience to be more comfortable.

Thanks again and I will update as I manage to try some alternatives.

Also if anyone has any ‘fret stretch’ exercises they would be appreciated.
Rob