32" Medium Scale Bass Thread

[0175westwood29]

Did a thing! 

[ezbass]

3 hours ago, 0175westwood29 said:

Did a thing! 

Ooh! Colour me intrigued. I think some details are required here.

[0175westwood29]

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

Ooh! Colour me intrigued. I think some details are required here.

Needs a selector switch added! But basically I had my pickup from the new orange bass where i put in the Bart so I just thought why not! 

[Waddycall]

Just tried one of these jaguars and really liked it until I tried it on a strap and found the neck rapidly heading towards the floor. Anyone else had this and if so how do you find it for regular use on a strap?

[0175westwood29]

9 hours ago, Waddycall said:

Just tried one of these jaguars and really liked it until I tried it on a strap and found the neck rapidly heading towards the floor. Anyone else had this and if so how do you find it for regular use on a strap?

i honestly dont even notice, it i did its not really been a big deal over how well they play and sound.

[MarshallBTB]

Excellent deal on one of the Spector Bantam 5ers at pmt at the moment. Someone buy it so I don’t ! 
https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/spector-bantam-5-5-string-electric-bass-solid-white-gloss?gclid=CjwKCAjwpKyYBhB7EiwAU2Hn2ZcXqjZ_I5T4ggUHgaLszXhF3cat20akT57fEDeNOjkhR4VCNr9eMhoCaeAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[0175westwood29]

the heft in the double pickup bass is crazy!! Sounds massive!!! And the bartolini in the orange sounds very nice!! 
 

am still thinking I might grab another with a maple neck!  

[Guest]

There’s an Atelier Z Beta 5-32 in Bass Direct at the moment. I tried it at the weekend and nearly bought it, but it overlaps too much with a bass I already own. Very very nice, lovely neck and feel, and a rock solid B that would embarrass many 34” and 35” basses. I didn’t even realise it was 32” scale until it was pointed out.

[MacDaddy]

All my custom Shukers are 32" to the open fret, including the latest:

[LeftyJ]

This monstrous medium scale Atelier Z Beta 5 was just shared on a Dutch forum that I frequent, and I think it is a beast! Though some of you lot are probably going to complain about the maple board / matching headstock combination 

https://www.tools4tones.nl/index.php?route=product/product&path=76&product_id=11614 

 

Edited October 3, 2022 by LeftyJ

[Rich]

No complaints here. That would tick almost every single one of my personal boxes. Although if I was being fussy, I'd prefer a MM pickup in the bridge, and candy apple red rather than dark grey. 

[roger]

[ezbass]

1 minute ago, roger said:

Ooh, I like that, more details would be great.

[Frank Blank]

Wrong thread ffs

Edited December 28, 2022 by Frank Blank

[roger]

10 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Ooh, I like that, more details would be great.

Apologies, it’s a Roadster RS721TB, it was a hideous turquoise blue colour. I added some hipshot ultralight tuners, the balance is perfect and very comfortable to play. I wanted to scratch that medium scale itch and it’s excellent. 

[KK Jale]

Nice job. Do you happen to know the nut width on your Roadster please @roger?

Edited December 28, 2022 by KK Jale

[roger]

11 hours ago, KK Jale said:

Nice job. Do you happen to know the nut width on your Roadster please @roger?

A ‘nats’ under 40mm👍

[Merton]

It’s about time I updated this. I now have two sets of non-identical twins plus a cousin for one set of twins…

 

Zoot Funkmeisters:

ACG Finns:

 

ACG Skelf:

[BCH]

Wow

 

[invertigo]

 

My entry to the club - expect I'll end up swapping pickups out at some point as well as adding phase/parallel switching but enjoying it so far. Neck feels lovely!

[Obrienp]

On 30/12/2022 at 16:00, invertigo said:

 

My entry to the club - expect I'll end up swapping pickups out at some point as well as adding phase/parallel switching but enjoying it so far. Neck feels lovely!

I’ve gone for one as well but in black with maple board. Mine only had a two conductor pickup lead but I got a local luthier/pickup maker to convert it to a 4 conductor lead and he potted it as well (originally it was very noisy). I wired it for parallel/single coil/series switching using a 3 position DPDT. I understand the FSRs have a 4 conductor lead as standard, so you may not have to mod the pickup. It’s quite easy to drill the control plate to take the DPDT between the pots.

 

Be warned the control cavity is really tight. I bought full size CTS pots only to find they wouldn’t fit. I had to use Alpha mini pots instead. Wiring it all up with the DPDT switch was like keyhole surgery! I also shielded the cavities with copper tape as they hadn’t even used graphite paint. It was worth the effort though: it sounds great and there is a real difference in tone between the 3 switching options. The OEM pickup is surprisingly good (to my ears). 
 

The only other mod I made was fitting a Fender high mass bridge, which was a drop in fit and helps a bit with the balance on a strap. The OEM machine heads are pretty good, so I am sticking with them until they play up. I now have an excellent, easy playing and great sounding bass. The neck is perfect me. Feels great and I love the unfinished feel. No sprouting frets, or rough ends. The medium scale almost seems easier to play than a 30”. All this for £180 (stock), plus about £60 for the parts. This is a real bargain IMO; so much better made than Squier Affinity offerings of old.

 

This is what it looks like with the switch fitted.

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by Obrienp

[jeffbonny]

This is the first lay-up of the 32" scale hollow body bass Tom Ribbecke is making for Bobby Vega. It's the first bass like this he's done and it'll look something like this Testadura model guitar. 

 

 

 

[Pea Turgh]

I popped in to James Music in darkest Carmarthen today.  Nice chaps behind the counter.

 

I had a go on a Squier Jag in bright metallic orange.  I think 32” is a great scale length!

 

Unfortunately the neck is a little too narrow for my liking.  It also felt a tad thicker front to back compared to my P bass.  Reminded me a little of my mate’s Rickenbacker (though I only had a go on it once many moons ago, so that might not be a particularly accurate comparison).

It was strung with clanky rounds, and there was some fret buzzing.

The pickup was damn comfortable to rest my thumb on.  The body is a great shape, and nicely compact. The orange is lovely in real life, too.

 

If Squier (or Fender) brought out a medium scale version with a P width neck, I’d have one in a flash.

 

[Paul S]

I think I mentioned it earlier in the thread but I had a bitsa put together that has a 32" scale neck from a Hondo II H1015.  The body was massively over my weight limit so I mated the neck with something else, after some fiddling with scale length and bridge position (an Encore double cutaway short scale) Entistle PBXN (yum).

 

Boy, what a neck!  40mm at the nut, chunky in hand D profile.  One of my nicest necks to play, I reckon.  Fits my hand just perfectly and just that little bit easier to navigate than the long scales.

 

[Obrienp]

17 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

 

If Squier (or Fender) brought out a medium scale version with a P width neck, I’d have one in a flash.

 

I guess it’s different strokes for different folks. The neck suits me fine but I have short fingers. I hadn’t noticed it being thick: perhaps the FSR versions have a different profile?
 

I think Jaguar basses have always had Jazz style necks, so you might be waiting a long time for one with a P neck profile but wouldn’t it be great if they did a medium scale P bass in the Affinity line to compliment the Jag. The Japanese medium scale Ps and Js seem expensive to me, plus there is all the hassle of having to import them.