Osiris

Cheers guys. I'm veering more towards classic Fender body shapes over the semi acoustic and single cut styles at the minute, but all options are open For the record I currently have a P/J Mustang which I'm more than happy with and an Ibanez Talman short scale that has had some new pups and is regularly gigged alongside a couple of other basses that cost 10 times as much. I'm happy with both but I've got the itch for something more expensive. You know how it is I briefly had a Chowny SWB and although it was a well made bass with a fantastic sound, the way it sat on a strap meant that the first fret was in more or less the same position as the first fret on a 34" bass which defeated the object of a shorty for me! There's a couple of shouts for the Gretsch, the one I tried a while ago had a neck that was so sticky that it was difficult to play, but looking on the thread above it seems that others haven't experienced that issue which suggests the one I tried was a Friday afternoon special. @Merton Cheers for the link to the white Marusczcyk, I reckon with a change of scratch plate (3 ply black/white/black?) and some black pickup covers that could well be a serious contender, although I find pickup selector switches quite limiting in comparison to a blend pot. Jeez I'm hard work, I think I must be turning into my dearly beloved! Right, I'm off to play with that Marusczcyk configurator (Thanks @crunchman)

Cheers guys, there's some good suggestions coming out, I'm particularly intrigued by the Maruskything one, although I'd have to have one in a different colour scheme as I just can't cope with turdburst and tort finishes 🤢 Keep 'em coming!

Is that the Bantam? From the YouTube clips I've seen it's a very modern sounding beast which isn't really what I'm after but I'd need to get my hands on one to try to see if it's something I could live with.

I'm on the lookout for a new 30" short scale and have a maximum budget of about a grand (or at least I will have once I've sold my Sandberg TT) but looking online there doesn't seem to be much choice in that price range. There's loads of entry level shorties and some well above my budget. There's the JMJ Mustang (although I'm not sure about the Thomas the tank engine blue finish) and the Supro range (although I'm not really a big fan of the aesthetics) and that's about it as far as I can find. Used is also an option too (I just missed out on the cracking ACG short scale on the market place!) Does anyone else know of anything else in this sort of price range? Generally speaking I'm into a more traditional design and prefer passive to active but they're only guidelines in terms of ideas.

No. Sunflowers.

Never mind the Marmite design of the Richard Bona, that gold monstrosity has made my eyes bleed.

I use a Gator GM-1W (Line 6 G55 for the bass) and Gator In ear monitor bag for my IEM system (LD MEI 1000 G2 for IEM's). Both are well made and have decent zips and loads of storage for odds and sods. If anything I prefer the smaller In ear monitor bag but the rear cut away when it's unzipped was in the wrong place for the G55 antennae (but spot on for the IEM transmitter) so I picked up the GM-1W which is a better fit for the Line 6 unit. Both bags also allow you to leave the units in a semi set up state too with the power supply still connected and the antennae still in place.

Me too. I tend to be a bit hamfisted when it comes to jobs like that but if it's pretty straightforward then I might give it a go, pending a successful test drive that is 😀

It may have been that they were a little over zealous with the gloss on the one I tried but it sounds like it's not common issue, so if it can easily be resolved with a little wire wool...

Thanks, is there an art to doing that or just a lightweight touch and take your time?

Thanks, sounds like the one I tried wasn't duff in that case. Because of the sticky neck I didn't get as far as plugging it in to see what it sounds like at volume but if it's half as good as you guys are claiming I might be tempted to give one another go sometime. Agreed, something other than a high gloss finish would have been preferable, to me at least. Something like a satin finish would have been the bass more playable, IMO.

How do you guys that own, or have played the Gretsch find the finish on the neck? I tried one in my local PMT a few weeks ago and although the neck profile felt slim and comfortable, it was really sticky and there was a noticeable resistance to my left hand as I was playing up and down the neck. I'm not sure what the neck is finished with but it put me off the bass straight away. Is this normal for this model? Or was the one I played a duffer?

I wear my belt with the buckle to the side so it's over my hip rather than above my gentlemen area. It probably looks a bit daft if you've got your shirt tucked in but with the shirt untucked the buckle isn't visible.

Surely Mark Bass have missed a trick by not calling it the STU HAMMP ? 😊 As has already been said it's not pretty, even by Mark Bass standards. Having just checked out the 2019 Ibanez range it seems this year's new bass gear is all about hideous aesthetics.

Not quite, he's still (just) pre-teen, so no doubt these are the techniques he'll be focusing on in a year or 2 Funnily enough, i wouldn't be surprised if it goes full circle by then

When he was younger, Osiris junior would occasionally drop his britches and proceed to whack my bass with his winky (which for reasons that are not entirely clear he refers to as Steven Spielberg) so it's not an unprecedented technique.

Has anyone tried the cheap and cheerful Adagio or Olympia flats on a short scale? It doesn't look as though either are available in an off the shelf short scale length so I wondered if a full scale set would fit without too much fuss? I appreciate that there are other brand short scale flats available but I can't find any under around £35 which is more than I want to drop on bit of a whim!

It's not pretty that's for sure, but it's no more hideous or offensive than the ubiquitous turdburst/turdashell combo finishes which have set the bar for fugliness far as I'm concerned, they really make my eyes bleed!

Another happy Talman shorty owner here, have fun with it Lots of love on here for the Squier Jaguar shorty too, I really must get round to trying - and probably buying - one

I think it depends on who you are dealing with, unfortunately. I pop in there once in a while and there's usually a new face or 2 behind the counter since the last visit, but there's also 2 or 3 guys who have been there for some years now. The guy who looks after the bass department, Heath, is one of the good guys in there and knows his stuff, and looks after you as a customer. Not that that's of any help to you right now But in your shoes I'd no doubt be feeling exactly the same. As for the missing price tags, that seems a bit bizarre, however, I've found that they'll usually offer prices matching the lowest online prices without even having to ask. Funnily enough I was in there about a month ago looking at IEM systems and the guy who dealt with me was helpful and friendly if not exactly a wealth of knowledge on the subject of IEM's. If I recall correctly, anything on channel 70 can be legally used without the need for a licence but anything on any other channel - I seem to think that the Shure PSM200 run on channel 38 - will therefore requires a licence. But don't quote me on that as I'm far from certain so it's worth double checking before buying anything. FYI - There's a helpful and more detailed post about it here.

That could explain it. I tend to either hook my thumb over the P pup or increasingly lately I find myself using the floating thumb technique but still playing between the 2 pups as though my thumb was still anchored on the P. Forgot to mention that I also have an Ibanez Talman short scale that is fitted with D'Addario 50-105 gauge short scale strings. There is noticeably more tension in the strings on that than there is with Mustang.

My Mustang P/J still wears the stock (presumably Fender?) strings that came with it when I bought it new in the summer. They feel quite loose but in a good way, not too stiff and easy to bend, but very definitely different to what you have experienced. I've not played another Mustang to compare the feel and tension so I don't know if mine is 'normal' for a Mustang or not. As @naxos10 and @grandad have said, changing the strings will affect the tension. The strings on mine appear to be standard scale strings as the point where the string tapers is wrapped around the tuning peg and not between the nut and tuning peg as you'd expect, so this could possibly be why they have such a loose feel. I really like the sound and the feel as they are and have no immediate plans to change them but I'll report back as and when I do.

@Mykesbass enjoy your new amp, they are fantastic I've got the Magellan 350 too, bought as a back up to my Magellan 800 They are seriously great sounding, versatile amps. The 350 has more power and volume than most of us are ever likely to realistically need, I've never needed to push my master volume above 9 o'clock.