scale length

[Geek99]

I'm really hankering for a jazz bass (probably a Squier VMJ) - I dont have the longest fingers in the world though.
I've read that Rickenbackers have a shorter scale, does anyone know if that extra inch makes them that much easier to play?

I want to know if the extra money is worth it for the comfort!

thanks

[BigRedX]

I'm just under 5'6" and have fairly small hands and for 10 years my main bass with an Overwater with a 36" scale length. No problems playing that at all (and before that I played a Burns Sonic Bass with a 29.5" scale length)

[7string]

I found that string spacing affected me more than the scale length.

I've played basses with 32",33",34",35" scale lengths. The 35" Yamaha that I had was really difficult to play. It was only when I played another 35" scale that I realised it was the wide spacing that was doing the damage.

I found 32" and 33" easier to play than a 34". However, the shorter scale felt funny when I went back to my regular 34" basses.

A bit of a rambling answer, but I hope you get the idea !!

[lozbass]

I've been thinking about scale length, string spacing, action, string tension and neck width and neck profile a lot recently (I'm playing mainly shortscale now). I'm of average height (5'9"), have long arms (I'm possibly not as evolved as many contemporaries), and reasonably long fingers. I find that I'm significantly more comfortable on short-scale instruments with very narrow and fairly to very shallow necks. The more I think about it and the more basses I play, the whole selection issue seems to be down to personal taste, technique and playing style. My advice would be to try a lot of basses and find the one (or some) that suit(s) your preferences and requirements with respect to comfort. I'd agree with other posters that string spacing (and other factors - tension, action, profile etc.) can be at least as important as scale length. Experimentation is probably the optimum solution - it's also fun, especially if you have access to a lot of music stores. If you don't have such access, it's probably a good idea to invest in a train ticket - investing a few quid in a ticket and time in finding something that you feel comfortable with could save you a lot of money in the medium to longer term.

[Geek99]

well, unfortunately I dont have long arms either which might offset the short fingers problem. There are comparatively few music stores round our way and thtey tend to stick to the budget end of the market, hence my question about rickenbackers - I've never seen one in the flesh to try.

Interesting to hear that BigRedX had no trouble with a 36 though

[Prosebass]

[quote name='Geek99' post='258451' date='Aug 8 2008, 07:53 PM']I'm really hankering for a jazz bass (probably a Squier VMJ) - I dont have the longest fingers in the world though.
I've read that Rickenbackers have a shorter scale, does anyone know if that extra inch makes them that much easier to play?

I want to know if the extra money is worth it for the comfort!

thanks[/quote]

A simple answer is probably not....and what do you call short ? (my index fingers are only 105mm from mid knuckle to tip)

A lot depends on exactly what you are trying to achieve and what you want out of a bass. I have short (sausage ) fingers but with the styles I like to play scale length is never an issue. You can overcome lack of reach to a point, if you have fast , strong hands.
If you want to emulate Jaco or Stanley (he has hands like shovels) then stubbies may be a problem. Its a case of horses for courses but certainly try a Ricky out before you buy or go the whole hog and try an old short scale Gibson.

[BigRedX]

I find that's not so much the overall length of the neck is how it relates to the body and playing position that can cause problems. My Overwater is comfortable to play and I don't really notice the extra length (in fact the first time I realised that it was longer than 34" was when I bought my first set of long scale strings for it and they didn't fit!). On the other hand I can't get on with Fender P or J basses because of the way they hang on the strap when I wear them the first fret is too far away...

[OutToPlayJazz]

I often see these threads on string spacing/scale length etc., and I wonder what the real problem people are having is...?

I have pretty average hands witrh shortish fingers & I can comfortably play a full size double bass (whatever the scale length is there!), my Yamaha TRB-6 (35"), Fenders & Status SII's (34") & my KingBass (32") with no adaption between them at all.

Is it perhaps that some of you are playing one finger per fret in the lower reaches of the neck? I never use the third finger at all below the 7th position, always compacting the hand to use 4 fingers over the space of 3 frets/gaps. This method also frees up the tendons in the left wrist, as the player isn't expanding the hand unnecessarily.

I've also found that making sure the thumb is behind the neck (never peeking over the top edge) placed behind the middle finger maintains this hand shape perfectly.

I'm not criticising anyone's playing technique, but wondering if the problems people have are more technique related than gear related?

Rich.

[Bassy]

[quote name='Geek99' post='258451' date='Aug 8 2008, 07:53 PM']I'm really hankering for a jazz bass (probably a Squier VMJ) - I dont have the longest fingers in the world though.
I've read that Rickenbackers have a shorter scale, does anyone know if that extra inch makes them that much easier to play?

I want to know if the extra money is worth it for the comfort!

thanks[/quote]


I've never had a problem going from 34" to 35", but what i don't like is what the extra inch does to the tension of the A, D, G strings? Does anybody else think that the trade off betwen a slightly tighter B string with a questionably better sound is worth the tightning of the rest of the strings?
I used to play Wal's and they were 34" scale and had amazing B's. I switched to Status with 35" and felt that even though the B sounded slightly clearer (i still put this down to the graphite through neck), it had lost the bottom end of the Wal?
So 34 or 35?? I read that Ken Smith said that the 35" scale was a fad. He still makes his basses with 34", however with the licensed KSD basses, the distributer wanted 35" scale because he thought that they would sell better?
Sadowsky 34", Pedullar 34"
Sorry to get off topic a bit, i think if you have small hands, it's probably not the scale length but the string spacing that might cause problems? I have banana fingers and i can't get on with any bass that has wide string spacing - 19/20mm. Ricks and Jazz's have very fast slim necks, either which i think you'll like, but you can pick up a decent Jap Fender for not a lot of money, whereas Ricks are fairly pricy. Also i have ben told to watch out for neck warping on old Ricks.
Sorry for the long post, i'm bored :-)

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='258979' date='Aug 9 2008, 06:06 PM']I find that's not so much the overall length of the neck is how it relates to the body and playing position that can cause problems. My Overwater is comfortable to play and I don't really notice the extra length (in fact the first time I realised that it was longer than 34" was when I bought my first set of long scale strings for it and they didn't fit!). On the other hand I can't get on with Fender P or J basses because of the way they hang on the strap when I wear them the first fret is too far away...[/quote]

My Warwick Infinity has a 26fret neck, a small but long body and a big upper horn. It's a 34"scale, but throws the first fret out beyond the reach of all but Gibbons and Orang-Utans...

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='259044' date='Aug 9 2008, 09:39 PM']I often see these threads on string spacing/scale length etc., and I wonder what the real problem people are having is...

...Is it perhaps that some of you are playing one finger per fret in the lower reaches of the neck? I never use the third finger at all below the 7th position, always compacting the hand to use 4 fingers over the space of 3 frets/gaps. This method also frees up the tendons in the left wrist, as the player isn't expanding the hand unnecessarily.

I've also found that making sure the thumb is behind the neck (never peeking over the top edge) placed behind the middle finger maintains this hand shape perfectly.

I'm not criticising anyone's playing technique, but wondering if the problems people have are more technique related than gear related?

Rich.[/quote]

Most people ought to be able to play most basses, I'd have thought. A bit of a change in technique should accomodate most instruments.

Full-sized double bass? Scale's about 41" give or take IIRC