FinnDave

You have a good memory! The six string basses were down to the band I was playing in, but I was never very comfortable with them, so reverted to my trusty four stringers. The move to short scale is an attempt to prolong my playing life as I have arthritis in my fretting hand. I found that the smaller stretches of a 30" scale don't cause any pain (at the moment) whereas the 34" scale was next to impossible for me, despite or because of playing them for the last 50 years.

Please send pics of what you're offering 🤪

Sadly not, she's a one-off!

Will do. I'll be using the rehearsal room's amp and cab, but it should sound fine. Quite a wide range of tones from those pick ups.

In case anyone is wondering how I sneaked this one past my wife - I took her to the shop with me and she said I should buy it. She's a good one!

Band rehearsal tomorrow!

Yes, I played this one on Tuesday but decided to buy the cheaper Squier, having played that to several full gig recordings, I decided I wanted the Fender as well. Most shops are awaiting stock, but I knew this one was still hanging on the wall in my local PMT. I couldn't get the natural body out of my head, reminds me of my Framus Jazz bass of 45 years or so ago. I'm setting it up at the moment, lost a little of the neck relief and just the intonation and pick up height left to check. I will be applying some fretboard treatment, can't remember the name of the stuff I use, but it was recommended by my local set-up chap.

On the off chance that anyone reading this is wondering what SNSSBDTW is supposed to mean, it stands for second new short scale bass day this week. I was enjoying playing my new Squier Mustang bass (bought new on Tuesday) so much that I decided to buy another Mustang yesterday. Back to Oxford PMT and left 30 minutes later with a Fender Player Mustang with P/J pick ups and a lovely natural finish. I haven't set it up yet, but hopefully will be rehearsing with my band tomorrow. I failed to post a picture of Tuesday's acquisition, but to make up for it, here is the one I bought yesterday:

Thanks, Snork, I will keep that in mind if my current experiment with a 30" scale conventional bass causes any issues with my hand. My problem is osteoarthritis in the fingers, the osteoporosis is something that autocorrect slipped in when I wasn't looking! I played the Mustang bass for about an hour this morning and that didn't cause any problems, so I am hoping to get a band rehearsal together in the next couple of weeks and hopefully pick up a few summer gigs.

Played along with the first set of a Wirebirds gig I had recorded, no problems at all. Hoping to get a band rehearsal organised in a week or so.

I shall look at the short scale bass thread after dinner. I bought a Squier Mustang today and have played it without any complaints from my arthritic finger(s) so far.

Anyone who has read my recent posts will probably get what NSSBD stands for, but for those wise enough not to have read my previous outpourings, I shall offer you a clue. I have bought a Squier Mustang bass to try and beat the osteoarthritis in the fingers of my left hand. Today I have played about 6 times more than I have been able to play in the last six months. I'll add a pic if really necessary, but it's a standard Olympic white/tort/rosewood substitute Mustang. The Fender natural finish with PJ pickups played and sounded much better, but I was reluctant to spent over £600 on what is basically an experiment to determine whether I can continue to play bass or not. If it works, then it's worth every penny.

I tried it and it did help. Hoping to try out a short scale bass on the next few days to see if it really helps. If it does, I'll be shopping for one.

Thanks for the replies, some god advice there. Interesting that no one has said anything negative about shorter scale basses. Once this weekend's over (daughter's wedding) then I will find a shop with a shorty in stock and have a go.

I've been playing bass now for about 50 years. I reckon 49 of those years, I have played standard 34" scale basses. For the last fix months or more, I have not been able to play because I have developed osteoporosis arthritis in the fingers of my left (fretting) hand, primary the index finger. If I play for more than a few minutes it becomes too painful to continue. I had a random though that a short scale bass would be less likely to aggravate the OA, as the stretch is much less. Has anyone any experience of switching to a short scale because of OA? I think the one and only short scale I have owned was my first bass, a Vox that I bought from a guitarist neighbour in 1973/4 for £7.00. I remember it as having little tone and floppy strings, but I know a bit more about strings now and have decent amp and speaker to compensate. To me, a short scale means a Fender Mustang, but I am sure there are others out there. Any suggestions? I plan to drop in at a music shop and try one out, but reluctant to buy one straight away in case it doesn't really help. Any suggestions, advice, or just plain 'forget it' will be welcome (some more than others, obviously). I just finished chatting with our guitarist and he thinks it's a good idea, but he is a guitarist... Last time I played was two gigs with different bands on October the first. That's far too long without playing!

I'd fit a DFA knob so you can be seen to turn down when someone says the bass is too loud.