dmc79

My JMJ Mustang has arrived. I've never owned a roadworn instrument before, so it takes a little getting used to visually, but I do like the nitro finish. This vintage and (intentionally) beat-up looking beast will be going up against the modern, looks like it just came off the production line short SBMM Stingray. I played that on Sunday and whilst still not really used the stingray sound, I did enjoy the parallel mode and how light and easy the bass is to play. Acoustically I wasn't sure about the jazz width nut, but plugged in I can't say it bothered me too much. Still, it will be fun to try a shorty with a P width nut in the JMJ. I'd just like to raise the action a bit to remove some rattle. I now have a bit of a quandary, as the guitar tech I use is giving minimum 10 day turnaround. Bearing in mind that I've learnt to do setups myself on P basses, I now have the choice to either take it in and face said 10 day+ wait, or order a truss rod tool and do it myself in maybe a couple of days. Has anyone taken a Phillips screwdriver to those + shaped truss rods or am I best ordering a special tool, or just taking it in and being without it for a while? I saw a post where a B&Q paint tin opener was used, I have one of those but not sure I want to risk it. Also, for those who've setup Mustangs, I hope this isn't a silly question, but is a short scale setup the same as you'd do for long scale? I setup my P bass with a combination of Fender's own 'How do I set up my bass guitar properly?' guide and YouTube videos and was very happy with the end result. So is stuff like the neck relief (Fender recommend .012" for 9.5" radius) and raising bridge saddles, exactly the same as you'd do for a long scale bass? Thanks.

So pretty much any long scale strings are fair game on a Mustang then?

Thanks. I’ve read that the stock JMJ Fender flats are long scale (seems somewhat odd) & don’t look right wrapped around the E string post. I found a useful Mustang guide on TB with string, bag recommendations, etc. Seems it’s either flats or rounds. I have a topic on here asking about pressurewounds & half rounds, as I’m interested in that option for long scale. I can’t recall seeing anyone mention using those on Mustangs or shorties in general. I do know that GHS discontinued medium scale pressurewounds though. It doesn’t look like there are many medium scale pressurewounds / half rounds out there, unless anyone uses the long scale equivalent. Anyone used pressurewounds / half rounds on a through body Mustang?

Loving the open & half open pick tone on the JMJ early on in this video. I wonder if the stock flats are on it

Thanks for clarifying. Just looking at the JMJ specs & for some reason I had it in my head that the JMJ neck finish was satin, but I see it is 'Road Worn® Nitrocellulose Lacquer'. I am guessing that 'worn lacquer' is kind of fast like a satin finish, as opposed to the sticky-looking gloss neck finishes on the likes of the Squier CV & MIJ Mustangs?

Enjoy your new basses. Don't suppose you have a decent way of weighing these? Always wondered what sort of weight the P/J Mustangs are, and if they neck dive at all.

I have a black JMJ on the way. I couldn't resist any longer after all the positive comments I've seen about them on here. The thought of a Fender shorty with a P width nut really appealed to me, so I figured I might as well get one now to give it a good test against the EBMM Stingray shorty. I've never shown any interest in roadworn basses, yet somehow I really like the look of the relic'd black nitro finish JMJ. Out of curiosity, in what ways do you prefer the JMJ to the Ray? Can't wait to give the 'stang a play next week

Matt bought some pickups / a wiring loom from me. Paid up quickly and was great to deal with again, thanks

Consensus on TB posts I'm wading through is that the Medium Light GHS Pressurewounds (ML7200, 44-102) have a "near-perfect balance both in tone and tension" and are a good choice for a 45-105 rounds equivalent, being less stiff than the Medium gauge 44-106 PWs. I think I'm gonna have to try these strings.

Thanks for replies so far. I read a bunch of stuff on TB earlier and GHS Pressurewounds get a lot of love. Just reading some of the comments on them makes them sound exactly what I’m after. I’d still love some more thoughts here though

Just wondering if there is much love out there for half round strings. I've always played rounds (long scale P bass), but a Mustang I briefly tried came with flats (D'Addario Chromes I think) and whilst they didn't stay on for long, I was fascinated by the smooth feel of them, and it made me wonder about trying flats on my P bass. I'd never even considered flats before, so have since tried to educate myself on different types of string. It seems that flats are expensive, but last longer and don't eat your frets like rounds do. When I tried the flats on that Mustang, I think the smooth feel of the Chromes was highlighted more than usual, as I'd recently put some stainless Roto rounds on a Squier PJ bass briefly, so obviously going back and forth running my hands over both sets of strings, they were like chalk and cheese, it felt a relief to go back to my usual nickel plated rounds, but I still keep thinking about how nice those flats felt and am curious about trying them on the P bass. Now, whilst I've always been happy with rounds, over time I'm finding that finger noise/squeaks can really irritate me, especially on newer strings. Of course I can wear them in and this will disappear a bit, but then when new strings go on, there it is all over again. So, then research then led me to half rounds (I think pressurewounds / groundwounds are different names for what is essentially the same thing, right?). Given that I am a tone fully open player who likes a fairly bright sound, I'm now wondering if half rounds are a good kind of middle ground between the feel and playability of flats and a bit more brightness / zing that rounds give (minus the finger noise)? I'm not sure I want to go full on flats, I want a more punchy sound, not a mellow/motown kind of thing, which is why I shy away from all out flats. But I'm really interested in a string that lessens finger noise, and I guess lessens fret wear too as a bonus. So, I'm interested in half round recommendations. I've seen mixed reports on Cobalts, with some loving them, whilst others reported rust issues / fret wear / sticky feeling strings. Am I right in thinking they are technically flats which are meant to sound like rounds? I will read some reviews, but am interested in general opinions on half rounds, and on these in particular, or any others I should investigate: GHS Pressurewound Rotosound Solo Bass 55 (pressurewound) D'Addario ENR72 half rounds Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt Thanks

EBS flat patch cables are great and take up very little space. I wouldn't go back to chunky patch cables since using these.

@FinnDave In case you haven't seen it, there is a huge short scale topic here. Look for 'The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!' in this forum. Sorry, work PC not letting me copy & paste link. I have dipped my toes into SS briefly once before and am now having another go with the SBMM Stingray that others have already mentioned. It's too early to make my mind up on it, as I need to play it plugged in some more. But acoustically, it's a lot of fun to play in my lap. Very well built and an excellent smooth satin neck finish. I am considering moving over due to back issues, whilst I'm still getting my head around the shorter left hand reaches and jazz width nut, I mostly love the lighter weight and fact that it's easier to transport (fits in car boot even in hard case). If weight is an issue for you, don't presume that all short scale basses are considerably lighter than long scale ones, it's not always the case. That said, my Stingray comes in at a very comfy 3.3Kg / 7.8lbs. Good luck with your search.

So let me get this right, you want the button out for parallel & series mode, and in for single coil?

Bought a short scale SBMM Stingray from Will. Great bass, clearly well looked after & arrived in good time very well packaged. He was very helpful & informative throughout. Deal with confidence!

Some early thoughts on the short SBMM Stingray. . . I am still yet to plug it in, so these are just first impressions / observations from playing it on my lap: Firstly, whilst I expected this with the Ray being in a different price range, it just seems like a real quality bass, and a big step up from the only other 2 short scale basses I've tried (Squier VM Jaguar & Squier VM Mustang), and feels like it will be a lot of FUN to play. Let me say that at this moment in time I am considering going short scale more out of necessity than actually wanting to. . . as much as I love my P bass, my back always aches after playing & carting it about, and my left hand aches going from G# to F. So the lighter weight (I mean playing and load in/out too), lesser stretch, and fun factor of short scale is starting to appeal more and more. The Stingray weighs in on my digital luggage scales at a manageable 3.3Kg / 7lbs 8oz, almost a pound lighter than my Player P bass (which itself is light-ish for a P). I just realised that using the weight conversion, the 2 are slightly out of kilter, but that's what the scale read for both after several goes. Always nice to get a sub 8 pounds bass anyway. I've never had a Stingray before but own a fair bit of music that features one, so have always been curious. I've had it in my head that they are heavy and expensive, also I prefer a passive bass and to my knowledge they are generally active. So I've always passed on them, until now. I wanted to try another shorty for the above reasons, so getting a short Stingray was a 2 birds with 1 stone thing. Visually it's quite a departure for someone who is more used to Fenders. I still need to get used to the sight of the huge banana control plate. I guess this is just part of the quirky nature of a Ray, speaking of which I quite like the 3+1 headstock. I've only ever had 4 inline tuners before, and I like this headstock more than I thought I would. Also the string tree notches are a nice touch, never seen those before. Soon I will actually plug it in and play it, then will have to get my head around the controls - the somewhat bizarre push/push volume boost/cut thing, and the series / single coil / parallel selector knob. I'm normally a tone wide open guy, but I've read where some roll this off a little to take a touch of the zing / brightness off if needed. Interested in thoughts on the different modes. . . It feels well balanced, and the very cool looking quality bridge is very close to the end of the body, the 1st fret does not feel far away at all. The body doesn't feel particularly small resting on my knee, but it does look it in the mirror when standing. The cutaway seems to offer decent reach to the upper frets, though I doubt I'll be going above the 15th anyway. Not sure I've ever had 2 full octaves before - the shortest bass ever but with the most frets! It's a real joy to play on my lap, and nice to have a good body contour, which I missed when trying a Mustang. I must say that white on white isn't my first choice of colours, but the creamy white finish is very nice indeed. For sure looks better in person than in photos. Also I like that white doesn't show up every scratch & bit of dust that black does. I can live with the white pickguard for now, but may look into other options. That said, I'm not sure there are many outside of importing from the USA. Has anyone here got a replacement 7 hole guard for their short Ray, and if so where was it from? I do like some contrast, so quite fancy a black or black pearloid plate, I think those would look better against the white body. This may sound odd, but I've always like the pickups to be 'hidden' against a darker plate rather than standing out on a white one. That said, the big fat humbucker with its large pole pieces does look rather badass! Also I'm normally a maple guy, but when I saw this, GAS got the better of me. It's a lovely dark rosewood board, a world away from the indian laurel board that was on the short Jaguar I had briefly, and the 'dry cardboard' Pau Ferro boards I've seen. I like the big dot inlays too. The neck is an absolute delight - fast, smooth, looks & feels great. It seems a tad chunkier than what I'm used to, but the slim nut & obviously shorter finger stretches make it so easy and fun to play. It came to me with Ernie Ball Super Slinky 40-100 nickel rounds on - they feel & sound good enough to me acoustically anyway. I don't think I will be fiddling about with setup - there's no buzz or rattle, it just feels great. It came with a well padded matching gig bag, which was a lot better than I'd expected. From reading a ton about these basses on TB, it seems pot luck whether a gig bag was sent out with these, so I guess it's good to have one anyway, especially if I want to shed even more load in/out weight. But I'd already ordered a Gator ELEC XL hard case, which is awesome, and a perfect fit for the short Ray. The combined weight of bass & case is 1.5Kg down from the cased P bass. A bonus is that the hard case fits in the boot of the car, a long scale case never did. Now, I just need to plug it in, get my head around the controls, and get over the 'big guy/small bass' / 'this is a toy' / 'this is not a proper instrument' thing in my head. Given how much fun this is to play, that shouldn't be too hard.