eude

I think when we met in Moffat, I'd fully converted to 33" basses, and over the years I loved playing that scale compared to regular and longer scale, but when I talked to Alan about making a headless 6, I fancied going shorter to make it even more compact and playable. I'd played a few 31.5" basses that Alan had made, a scale length I believe he came across by accident, but a happy accident as it works very well. I'd also played a 32" 6 string Alan had made so I knew that scale worked just fine with a low B, so we decided 31.5" was worth a shot. It worked even better than I expected, in conjunction with custom made Newtone strings, there really isn't any noticeable loss in sound or playability going shorter, for my needs anyway. It's been such a success that I sold all my other basses and now have a stable of exclusively 31.5" basses, bar one which is 30.5". I should add, the whole experience doesn't hinge on the custom strings either, going for strings brands and gauges that are a little tighter means I can use those off the shelf with similar results. I've got some La Bella steels on my headed 31.5" just now bad it's extremely playable! The Newtones are certainly my preferred string however. Hope that helps dude, any other questions just shout. Eude

Here's my headless basses, both ACG 6 strings, both 31.5" scale, one fretted, one fretless.. I totally resisted headless basses for many years, thinking that they were a bit "too 80's", turns out I was very very wrong. The ergonomics and design of headless basses makes a hell of a lot of sense, and even better, these little basses even fit into regular guitar gig bags, with them being so much more compact. I love them! Eude

Holy Moly! That is gorgeous! Congratulations mate! Eude

Absolutely stunning mate! Enjoy!

I think you're right, I was very much under the impression that stabilising the wood it the only way to make it any use whatsoever, I guess how it's stabilised might be what we're chewing the cud over here. I believe Alan uses resin to fill the gaps and hold it together while then finishes it with satin lacquer. Can't wait to see this bass, I'm probably as excited as you! Eude

I agree, the design is perfect, but I expect it'll be heavy. If they would make a more lunchbox sized amp with that ABM power stage, that looked a bit like this, I'd be a very happy, but poorer man... Eude

I have indeed got a short scale ACG with a split coil P in it and it's phenomenal! Really P Bassy tone and it's incredible with flats on it. Not quite a proper P Bass tone here, but I have a couple of other vids I shot at the same time which I can dig out. All in, short scale Ps work beautifully and I would absolutely have a chat with Alan about something if you're going custom. Eude

Sweet infant baby jesus! Stunning! Eude

5!

I think you can rest assured it'll work just fine! Eude

That is stunning! Eude

If it's a choice between curved or diamond, curved every time.

On a jazz, I like a straight line, having said that, that's my ACG and I really like the controls following the contour too. From the Jazzes I've seen that Jon makes, I'd vote for a straight line, I reckon that'll look bang on. Eude

Shorter scales have come a long way. Having them expertly made and then great strings to match help too. As much as bass building is getting better, I think strings have really come along recently, having said that though, I've found even regular scale strings feel and sound pretty darned good on my 31.5" basses. Here's a wee snippet on my 30.5" ACG, this is wearing full scale flats too, and the low E string is bloody marvellous! >> I think the bulk of the magic is in the ACG though, something the OP will be realising this week Eude

No, I wasn't lucky enough to own that particular ACG. Ever since going down the custom route I've been going shorter and shorter, and I've settled on 31.5" now for all my basses bar one shorty which is 30.5". A full scale bass would've been too big... I've owned and sold a lot of ACGs on my journey, but I doubt the ones I have now will ever leave. Here's my main squeeze for reference... Eude

What an absolute peach, congratulations! This was one of a few of @skelf's early basses that absolutely set my world on fire, and set me on a path to owning more ACGs than I know what to do with! I can't believe how good the condition of the bass is, it looks as good as new! Enjoy it, then more pics and sound samples please Eude

Holy crap! Absolutely stunning! Eude

I've found that if Zilla are busy, they aren't bothered about bringing in little jobs like amps sleeves. I had contacted them about my sleeve before going with Mike Walsh, I got a ballpark figure after about 4 unanswered emails, chased it up by phone, which again took several attempts over several days before any one actually picked up, followed by another couple of unanswered emails. Mike swept in, beat the Zilla price and the end product is absolutely fantastic! Mike also makes very nice cabs too Eude

If he had, there wouldn't be Musicman or G&L, both of which play a big part in the bass and guitar landscape I do find all this Fender wheel reinvention tedious and frustrating, but I guess I'm just not their target market. If I was a guitar player, I would certainly be coveting a new Jazzmaster, but their basses are just meh to me these days, have been for a very long time now if I'm honest. Eude

Can we report Fender for "fake news" on this one? They regularly market their refreshes as ground breaking, brand new, better than ever before, and all they are ever really offering is a few new colours, and if you're lucky a pickup combination they haven't offered for 9 months. I am SO bored with this stuff, I appreciate that's just my opinion, but surely most of you find these announcements massively underwhelming? Eude

Here's a pic for reference...

Another vote for Mike Walsh from Zootbass, Mike made a sleeve for my Ashdown ABM RC and it's beyond what I expected, absolutely perfect with incredible attention to detail. Eude

Wow, looks like they already tried this a while back >> https://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/guitar-pedals/multi-fx-units/second-hand-fender-mustang-floor-pedal-inc-box-psu Wonder if they might look to revisit it at some point, even just for us bassists...

Exactly what I was thinking. The guitard stuff they do has been well received too. I wonder if they've already got something on the way. It seems a very logical thing to do... Eude