32" Medium Scale Bass Thread

[Merton]

2 hours ago, dmckee said:

Has anyone tried this bass? https://reverendguitars.com/basses/basshouser-fatfish-32/

No but it looks very cool!

[BassApprentice]

2 hours ago, dmckee said:

Has anyone tried this bass? https://reverendguitars.com/basses/basshouser-fatfish-32/

I see you're Edinburgh based - if you are genuinely intrigued then Merchant City Music in Glasgow have one and it's currently on sale!

 

https://www.guitar.co.uk/reverend-basshouser-fatfish-32-midnight-black

[crazyhorse]

Folks - I posted a question on the Fender Reddit AMA today regarding any future Fender medium scales and this is what they came back with 

 

"Great feedback. We have been thinking about where we could fit a medium scale bass in the range. We’ll keep this in mind for future launches"

[neepheid]

Suppose I'll add this to the pile - who hasn't modded one of these?

 

 

It's my first 32" scale (that I remember) and has been modded thus:

 

Ibanez CAP double humbucker (from an ATK810)

Series/single/parallel switch added

Cheapo Amazon high mass bridge (not that I buy into that, but the original BBOT had a rattly spring which was annoying me)

Black/white/black pickguard made by earlpilanz

"Block inlay" stickers

[Obrienp]

Nice! I did the series/single/parallel switch wiring too. Made the bass very versatile. I moved it on in the end because of the dreadful neck dive, even with a wide grippy strap. I guess lightweight machine heads would have helped but by that stage I had decided not to throw any more money at it. 
 

Bet yours sounds good with that Ibanez pickup! 

[neepheid]

1 minute ago, Obrienp said:

Nice! I did the series/single/parallel switch wiring too. Made the bass very versatile. I moved it on in the end because of the dreadful neck dive, even with a wide grippy strap. I guess lightweight machine heads would have helped but by that stage I had decided not to throw any more money at it. 
 

Bet yours sounds good with that Ibanez pickup! 

 

I must have got lucky - mine was prone to a bit of a flirt with gravity when it arrived, but adding the high mass bridge and the chonkster of a pickup seems to have tamed it somewhat - it won't stay at 45 degrees, but it's holding a position above the horizontal now (using a Neotech Mega strap - grippy, 4" wide at widest point, neoprene)

[Merton]

Shameless plug for two excellent 32” 5ers for sale in case you’ve missed them:

 

 

 

[Obrienp]

Lovely looking basses @Merton. I can’t manage a 5er any longer and these would be way out of my price range anyway but some lucky people will be very happy! GLWTS.

[BassApprentice]

Another option - albeit and bit pricey. But if you're looking for something a bit different this could work well! The Eastwood Rivolta

 

https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2024/12/07/eastwood-guitars-announces-the-rivolta-mondata-bass-guitar/

 

[Obrienp]

23 minutes ago, BassApprentice said:

Another option - albeit and bit pricey. But if you're looking for something a bit different this could work well! The Eastwood Rivolta

 

https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2024/12/07/eastwood-guitars-announces-the-rivolta-mondata-bass-guitar/

 

Are those humbuckers? The spec doesn’t say. Expensive for a (presumably) Far Eastern made instrument! I suspect the street price is going to come out a bit less than that after a bit.

[bloke_zero]

7 hours ago, Obrienp said:

Are those humbuckers?

On the guitars Rivolta Fumante are referred to as mini-humbuckers, so presumably.

[Obrienp]

The short scale basses thread drew my attention to the Ibanez website: they have a new 5 string EHB that is a 30” and a very nice looking new take on the fan fret 32-30” multi-scale. While I was there I had a look around and the Mezzo models seem to have been dropped. Even a search of the site turned up a blank. There goes one affordable take on the 32” theme! Shame for me because medium scales with a Jazz neck seem to be the sweet spot for me.

[Daveee]

Random question - which medium scale has the thinnest neck?

 

Mezzo?

[Obrienp]

2 hours ago, Daveee said:

Random question - which medium scale has the thinnest neck?

 

Mezzo?

Unfortunately, now discontinued by the looks of it: the specs have gone from the Ibanez website as far as I can see.

 

From memory and It depends what you mean by thinnest: it had a 38mm nut like the SR series but also widened quite a bit by the 12th fret upwards (like other Ibbies). Neck depth was very much like the SR series, so shallow. 
 

MTD do a medium scale that just looks like an expensive version of the Mezzo (just under £1K) but I guess it’s got more than that going for it: active electrics, etc and it is available still (at Bass Direct anyway). Might be worth checking out.

 

The Squier Jaguar Bass with the single MM style humbucker has a nice Jazz style neck. Again from memory I remember it being a bit deeper than the Mezzo but not quite as wide at the dusty end. I might be mis-remembering though. Others might be able to help.

 

An addendum to the above: that’s all about the 4 string versions. I don’t know how the Mezzo and MTD fives pan out but they are bound to be wider than the above.

 

You might also want to check out the Warwick Rockbass Star Bass semi that has a 38.5mm nut. I’m not sure what the depth and width are like further up the neck but it looks Jazz like in the pics. I had serious GAS for one but opted for the Guild Starfire 1  shortie in the end. It was about £500 versus about £900. I would have preferred the medium scale of the Warwick though.

Edited January 25 by Obrienp

[Daveee]

Thanks for that extra addition.

 

[bloke_zero]

I have a medium scale Warmoth build going cheap if anyone is interested? 

 

 

[thebrig]

Thought I would put a medium scale bass together on the cheap because I just had the urge to try one.

 

The medium scale neck from the USA cost me £85 and came with standard P or J bass heel dimensions, it has 21 frets and an overhang, this takes it closer to the bridge.

The Sycamore body cost me £18 new from Temu, it came with no bridge or ground wire holes drilled, this meant I could position the bridge at the 32" position.

 

Bridge: NW Guitars (Gotoh 201B-4 Clone) £13.99

Tuners: Fender Player Series - Brand New (Unused) £25

Pickup: Kent Armstrong - Hot Vintage P Bass Pickup - Alnico - PBV-1 - Brand New (Unused) £29.25

 

I already had the rest of the parts laying around at home.

 

It plays nicely, sounds great, and the intonation is fine.

[Obrienp]

29 minutes ago, thebrig said:

Thought I would put a medium scale bass together on the cheap because I just had the urge to try one.

 

The medium scale neck from the USA cost me £85 and came with standard P or J bass heel dimensions, it has 21 frets and an overhang, this takes it closer to the bridge.

The Sycamore body cost me £18 new from Temu, it came with no bridge or ground wire holes drilled, this meant I could position the bridge at the 32" position.

 

Bridge: NW Guitars (Gotoh 201B-4 Clone) £13.99

Tuners: Fender Player Series - Brand New (Unused) £25

Pickup: Kent Armstrong - Hot Vintage P Bass Pickup - Alnico - PBV-1 - Brand New (Unused) £29.25

 

I already had the rest of the parts laying around at home.

 

It plays nicely, sounds great, and the intonation is fine.

Nice! Interesting grain on the body. Is that zebra wood?

[thebrig]

1 hour ago, Obrienp said:

Nice! Interesting grain on the body. Is that zebra wood?

Sycamore, according to the Temu website.

[Paul S]

I have recently welcomed a brace of medium scale basses back into the fold - having owned and sold both and tracked them down again.

 

An Aria pro II CSB 'Black n Gold'.  These are beautifully made, top end basses with an aggressive tone that is all about the mids.  I've had two before but they were both too heavy to keep, usually coming in over 4kg.  This one must be made of different wood as it is 3.4kg.  Neck dives as a result but a wide grippy strap offsets that.  lso non-original tuners and knobs but I can live with that!

 

The other one I am massively chuffed about.  A few years ago I took a punt on a Yamaha SB-35 - very little online about these - and absolutely loved it.  Then I, ahem, changed to playing 5 string basses exclusively, ahem.  And sold it.  Biggest sellers remorse I have ever had.  The 5 string only policy decision lasted less than a year, of course.  Unbelievably another one came up just before the new year, think I flagged it up on here, and as it stood was too heavy at 4.1kg.  Luckily no-one bought it so I did, largely for old times sake, and presented it to the guy who does all my tech stuff to see what he could do to lose weight.  He routed out 400g of wood from under the scratch plate - voila, no longer too heavy.  I 'could' change the tuners to Hipshots or similar but these are superb and it would be a shame to take them off.  Anyway, seems OK now at 3.7kg and a wide strap.  No neck dive, either, despite the weight loss.  This is a special bass and I am not going to sell it, ever.

 

[Obrienp]

On 29/01/2025 at 13:17, thebrig said:

Sycamore, according to the Temu website.

Much nicer than the grain on my sycamore bodied P. 👍