What really pi***s me off

[alembic1989]

I see some gorgeous basses some that like the schack carbon basses ( dreamt of owning one like Kai Ekhardts one for years!) , overwater 5 ers and 6 ers, Dingwalls....all with 35" + scale lengths....I mean FFS !!
I know all about the reasons...but some over waters seem to go for really reasonable prices secondhand...then I read 35/36" scale length AAAAARRRGGGHHH!!

Edited April 4, 2014 by alembic1989

[JapanAxe]

Capo at first fret. Sorted.

[alembic1989]

Never thought of that.

[EMG456]

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1396649386' post='2416199']
Capo at first fret. Sorted.
[/quote]

[ezbass]

I had a 35" Lakland, the only difference I noticed was how clear the B string was really clear. That extra inch over 22 frets didn't seem to add up to a hill of beans from a playability perspective although this may have been down to how close the bridge was to the endpin, which is why it felt 'normal'.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1396649386' post='2416199']
Capo at first fret. Sorted.
[/quote]

This but a lot of the time a 35 inch scale isn't doing anything, conventional knowledge leads us to think that it strengthens the tautness of a low B.

I can't say I've played anything that's had a floppy B that's been shorter than the 35 scales out there.

[ambient]

[quote name='alembic1989' timestamp='1396649307' post='2416197']
I see some gorgeous basses some that like the schack carbon basses ( dreamt of owning one like Kai Ekhardts one for years!) , overwater 5 ers and 6 ers, Dingwalls....all with 35" + scale lengths....I mean FFS !!
I know all about the reasons...but some over waters seem to go for really reasonable prices secondhand...then I read 35/36" scale length AAAAARRRGGGHHH!!
[/quote]

Both of the really beautiful (even if I do say so myself ), 6 string basses I'm selling are 34" scale.

My Modulus is a 35", but that's never for sale, in fact I want a fretless 6 to join it.

I don't notice it's a 35", but also don't notice any difference between its B and the B on the other 2.

[Cameronj279]

Ive had 2 35" scale basses (Lakland 5501 and a Spectorcore 5) and didnt notice a difference in feel of the bass but the Low B sounded much more present than any 34" scale bass I've owned. Ive noticed a lot of really nice 5 string basses in the marketplace that were 33" which perplexes me but I guess I can't knock it till I've tried it!

[chrismuzz]

It's worth trying the basses out, in case they're constructed in a way that the extra inch doesn't affect playability.

I've actually played plenty of 34" basses where the neck felt a mile long because the bridge was too far into the body!

[BigRedX]

I went from playing a 30" Burns Sonic to a 36" Overwater Original 5-string. Never bothered me in the slightest.

[alembic1989]

The thing is I suppose it depends if you play 1 finger per fret....34" is just about ok.....but anything more especially when playing fast passages in the first position..is too much for me.

[goblin]

Not going to lie, I've owned 34 and 35 inch scale basses, and I've never had issues going between them, or even really noticed to be honest. The only real difference on the 35 is that the B was tighter and more focused. I wouldn't let the scale bother you too much, and I've got relatively small hands too!

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1396649386' post='2416199']
Capo at first fret. Sorted.
[/quote]

yes and dont forget to hack out the inlay markers and woodfiller and redrill new ones in the new positions

[quote name='alembic1989' timestamp='1396709788' post='2416660']
The thing is I suppose it depends if you play 1 finger per fret
[/quote]

aaaaaaaaarrghhhhhhhhh

[mcnach]

[quote name='alembic1989' timestamp='1396649307' post='2416197']
I see some gorgeous basses some that like the schack carbon basses ( dreamt of owning one like Kai Ekhardts one for years!) , overwater 5 ers and 6 ers, Dingwalls....all with 35" + scale lengths....I mean FFS !!
I know all about the reasons...but some over waters seem to go for really reasonable prices secondhand...then I read 35/36" scale length AAAAARRRGGGHHH!!
[/quote]


I cannot really tell between 34" and 35", to be honest. My Lakland 5502 is a 35" and if I didn't know I would think it was a 34". Never tried a 36", but I bet the difference is easy to adjust to.

[BigRedX]

I didn't realise that my Overwater was a 36" scale until the first time I changed the strings and wondered why the standard long scale set I'd bought didn't fit properly and the silks on the machine head end of the string protruded past the nut and into the fingerboard area. If those strings hadn't had silks it might have taken me even longer to find out!

[ambient]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1396799105' post='2417433']
I didn't realise that my Overwater was a 36" scale until the first time I changed the strings and wondered why the standard long scale set I'd bought didn't fit properly and the silks on the machine head end of the string protruded past the nut and into the fingerboard area. If those strings hadn't had silks it might have taken me even longer to find out!
[/quote]

I've never played a 36" scale bass, there are a couple of really nice fretless 6's for sale that are a 36".

I don't notice 34" to 35", wonder if I'd notice 35" to 36" ?

[BigRedX]

If you knew in advance that it was a longer scale you would probably notice. At the time I bought the Overwater I didn't realise that basses came in scale lengths longer than 34" and the bass I was most familiar with before was a 30" Burns. I was expecting the Overwater to be a bit more of a stretch but I didn't realise how much more it was until I bought the strings that didn't fit.

I have a Reverend Rumblefish which has a 35" scale which I use at home for practicing new songs on, the rationale being that if I can execute the basslines flawlessly on it then it will be even easier when I do it my 34" scale basses that I use live.

[JTUK]

Same sort of debate with bolt-on and neck-thru... IMO.
If the bass is well made, then I can't see what the difference is
supposed to be....

[alyctes]

I've a Peavey Cirrus BXP, 35". I couldn't tell and assumed it was 34" till I actually measured it

[uncle psychosis]

I have relatively small hands and the only thing that annoys me about my 35" bass is getting strings that are long enough. Playing wise its fine.

[EmmettC]

All my fivers are 34 inch, but I would like to try a 35. I don't think the extra length would be a problem, does it really make the B feel much better?

[BigRedX]

[quote name='EmmettC' timestamp='1396952231' post='2418978']
All my fivers are 34 inch, but I would like to try a 35. I don't think the extra length would be a problem, does it really make the B feel much better?
[/quote]

Depends entirely on bass.

IME a lot of manufacturers simply add another inch onto the scale length in an attempt to find a cheap solution to getting a good sounding and feeling low B. However this is IME never successful. There's far more to it than that. It's all about the overall construction of the bass, and that is far more important. A well made 34" scale bass that has been designed and built with the needs of the low B string in mind will always out-perform a bass that simply has 35" scale length and a wider neck to accommodate the extra string. TBH any manufacturer capable of building a 35" scale bass with a great B string will be able to do exactly the same with a 34" scale.

Of all my 5-string basses the ones with the 35" scale length are the poorest performers when it comes to getting a good B string.

By all means go for a 35" scale if you prefer the feel of the fret spacing, but don't automatically expect the extra inch to make the B string better.

[fluffo]

Sometimes that extra bit of tension on a 35" is a bit much depending on the bass, especially if you do any slap playing, A friend of mine has the GB spitfire 35" 5 string hes having to use lighter strings than he would normally so what you gain in the longer scale you can loose with the lighter string, give me a 34" any day, but I didn't even notice it with a Peavey Cirrus, it felt right.

[thodrik]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1396953117' post='2418994']
Depends entirely on bass.

IME a lot of manufacturers simply add another inch onto the scale length in an attempt to find a cheap solution to getting a good sounding and feeling low B. However this is IME never successful. There's far more to it than that. It's all about the overall construction of the bass, and that is far more important. A well made 34" scale bass that has been designed and built with the needs of the low B string in mind will always out-perform a bass that simply has 35" scale length and a wider neck to accommodate the extra string. TBH any manufacturer capable of building a 35" scale bass with a great B string will be able to do exactly the same with a 34" scale.

Of all my 5-string basses the ones with the 35" scale length are the poorest performers when it comes to getting a good B string.

By all means go for a 35" scale if you prefer the feel of the fret spacing, but don't automatically expect the extra inch to make the B string better.
[/quote]

Great point. My Vigier has a scale length of just under 34 inches. Perfectly decent B string performance. I suppose ultimately it depends on the bass.I tried a few 35 inch scale Overwaters and really didn't take to them, but really liked a couple of 35 inch scale Laklands I previously tried.

[steve-bbb]

only had one low B'er and that was my old trb6p - the scale length on that is 33-7/8 and the low B was awesome