benebass Posted November 5, 2010 Share Posted November 5, 2010 Hi all - been messing about in the house with an old Westone Concord I bass recently that has a 32 1/2" scale. It's a pretty nice bass for the cash & I really like the shorter neck, but it definitely sounds different to a 34" - much more punchy to my ears. Just wondered if anyone else is playing a 32"ish scale bass round here & how you were finding it. Cheers, B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted November 5, 2010 Share Posted November 5, 2010 I have two Fender Urge Mk1s, a Westone quantum and a Thorne Mk 1 (built it myself when 17). All 32 " and love them all. 32" is really comfortable. They all sound quite different (Even the two urges (one Mex, one MIA)), so its hard to say if there is a general '32" sound, or whther its more to do with the choice of strings and pickups etc. Sadly I'm getting into 5 strings and you don't seem able to get a 5 string 32" at a sensible price (by which I mean sub £600), so I'm currrently torn, using the 5 stringers mostly, but using the four stringers when I need that bit of extra span. If someone made one (in that range) I'd have a fretted and a fretless and I'd be set up for life. Landing do a 32" five string, but £1500 is too much, especially for a bass that you've not been able to try out, and the same goes for custom jobs. Ah well, there you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorne Posted November 5, 2010 Share Posted November 5, 2010 I play 2 30.5" scale basses and they are definately bassier, but then that could be down to the complicated electronics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil.mcglassup Posted November 5, 2010 Share Posted November 5, 2010 (edited) Having always played 34" scale basses, usually Precisions, I recently acquired a Hofner Contemporary Violin Bass which has now been fitted with a set of Hofner flats and is by far the best bass I've ever had IMO. It is very easy to play, is fairly light, has a 30.5" scale and the strings are a little closer together. However, they don't suit everyone!! Edited November 5, 2010 by phil.mcglassup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebass Posted November 5, 2010 Author Share Posted November 5, 2010 You're right that the strings/wood/construction/electronics make a massive difference, but I've found that 30" is defintely more bassy than 34" & 32" seems to add a lot of mids to the acoustic tone... Count Bassy - I think Crafter do a semi-acoustic (i.e. acoustic bass with electronics rather than Gibson EB-2 style) 32" five string with a RRP of less than £500, but that's the only one I've heard of. It's way over budget, but Birdsong do a 31" five string with something called DST that adds tension to the B string. More info [url="http://www.birdsongguitars.com/instruments.htm"]here[/url]. If you ever think of selling one of those Urge basses, give me a shout! Cheers, B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2pods Posted November 5, 2010 Share Posted November 5, 2010 I've been thinking more and more about what an idiot I was selling my old Aria TSB 550. It was perfect for me. IMHO it wasn't just the the 32" scale, it was also the really tight string spacing all the way up. If I ever come into any loot (ha !) I would have a bass made to the same scale, same string spacing, and this time won't have it defretted. Yamaha also did a BB 32" version that was nice. I'd love to try a 32" 5 string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted November 5, 2010 Share Posted November 5, 2010 I love mine......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebass Posted November 5, 2010 Author Share Posted November 5, 2010 Didn't know that Yamaha did a 32" BB, 2pods - any idea what the model number was? That 5 string King Bass looks great Crez! A lot of people reckon you need 35" for a 5 so have you found any drawbacks to the B string on a smaller scale? Cheers, B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2pods Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 (edited) I knew someone would put a Kingbass up I'd love one The Yammie was a long time ago. Around the time of "Power Of Love" by Huey Lewis, and "set Them Free" by Sting, because I remember they were both in the set at the time, and I gave up on it after breaking the nut on two of them in the slap bit of the Sting thing I bought it (and got it replaced with another one) from Sound Control in Glasgow, when they where at the Saltmarket (I think it was the Saltmarket, though it could have been the Trongate), and I think it was a BB300. Edited November 6, 2010 by 2pods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 Been a long-scale player for most of my playing life (huge hands and gibbon-esque arms!) , but my fascination for old Gibsons eventually led me to own a couple of short-scale basses (EB2's) and a medium scale ('85 Explorer) Medium I think gives best of both rather than the worst of both; the punch and sustain of long scale, but the ability to play faster up and down the fretboard that short scale gives. Makes me gutted that I turned down a medium series 1 Alembic for a grand a few years back because I didn't think I'd get on with it....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 Crez, That Kingbass looks like my perfect bass, headless 32" scale, 16.5mm spacing .... but I suspect a bit expensive for me, both in terms of absolute £s, but also in what is justified for my level and frequency of playing. Mind you if I sold everything else ..... Only other problem is that people would expect greater things from it than I could deliver! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2202 Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 My first bass is/ was a 32" Encore which i find is good if im playing a song that uses the whole fretboard, as it quicker to move around on than the longer scale basses.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaver Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 Any excuse to put the Spoiler up again. I love it, still stick to gigging with the Precision mind you [attachment=63173:Alembic_004.jpg] [attachment=63174:Alembic_034.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebass Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 Interesting replies. 2pods - I think the Yamaha might have been the BB-VIs, which wasn't very common by the look of it. Looks pretty solid though. By the way, does anyone know where to get decent medium scale flats? Cheers, B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2pods Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 You're probably righr re the BB-VIs. I ended up swapping it for a Korg synth expander, solidiering on with the TSB fretless, then buying a 34" scale Aria RSB Deluxe II. Metallic red sparkle, um.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebass Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 [quote name='2pods' post='1015134' date='Nov 7 2010, 12:01 PM']You're probably righr re the BB-VIs. I ended up swapping it for a Korg synth expander, solidiering on with the TSB fretless, then buying a 34" scale Aria RSB Deluxe II. Metallic red sparkle, um....[/quote] Well, considering it was the '80s, I think that was relatively tasteful! Cheers, B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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