Ceedubya Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Due to a nasty touch of the old arthriticals (!!), I am struggling to play my trusty Warwick Rockbass. Does anyone out there in Basschat land know if it's possible to swap my neck for a short scale neck and where I might buy one. Is it that simple? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 No it isn't. Consider that the 12th fret is exactly half the scale length. So one half is nut to 12th fret, second half is 12th fret to bridge. Shortscale is 30", so each 'half' is 15". Long scale is 34", so each half is 17". Which means your bridge would need to be moved forward by approx. 2". Assuming the shorter neck fits in the pocket in the exact same way. I think that may be a bit simplistic, but the principle applies. Maybe someone with some science can come along and explain it properly. There are plenty of good, cheap shortscale basses out there - with plenty of discussion on here if you use the search facility - no need to destroy your existing bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfretrock Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 [quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1452499129' post='2950392'] No it isn't. Consider that the 12th fret is exactly half the scale length. So one half is nut to 12th fret, second half is 12th fret to bridge. Shortscale is 30", so each 'half' is 15". Long scale is 34", so each half is 17". Which means your bridge would need to be moved forward by approx. 2". Assuming the shorter neck fits in the pocket in the exact same way. I think that may be a bit simplistic, but the principle applies. Maybe someone with some science can come along and explain it properly. [/quote] No I think you did it properly . Best to avoid the rule of 18, or the twelfth root of 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulhauser Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 [quote name='Ceedubya' timestamp='1452465909' post='2950262'] Due to a nasty touch of the old arthriticals (!!), I am struggling to play my trusty Warwick Rockbass. Does anyone out there in Basschat land know if it's possible to swap my neck for a short scale neck and where I might buy one. Is it that simple? Cheers [/quote] As said above it is NOT simple, more to the contrary. I see no reason whatsoever for a mod like this given the fact that there are a couple of nice shorscale basses just in the BC classifieds alone. Also do you think that a short scale bass is the only remedy for your problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jecklin Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 (edited) As a short term (or perhaps permanent) solution buy a capo that will fit the neck of your bass, detune the strings by a tone and place the capo at the 2 fret. Voilà you have just knocked about 2inches off your scale length. You could detune further and capo up the neck accordingly, but you may want to experiment with slightly firmer strings, either higher in gauge or just higher tension. As long as you don't mind people asking stupid questions about the capo then this may solve your woes as you'll retain a lot of what you like about your current bass albeit with slightly wider effective nut measurements. You will lose the higher notes though. Edited January 13, 2016 by Jecklin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceedubya Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 Hi Guys, sounds scary. I have ordered one of Scott Whitely's SWB1s and will sell the rockbass. Thanks to all. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happynoj Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 There is a short scale Rockbass available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Undead Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 There is, I have one and love it. Worth mentioning that the rock bass short scale corvette body is the same size as the long scale, so if you found a rock bass SS neck you could swap them out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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