Shortscale advice - Mustang PJ or ??

[crazydancer]

I'm still playing the little Bronco I bought as a complete beginner to see how I'd get on, and 2 years down the line I'm still playing, and decided I need to upgrade. Shortscale is a must for me, just so much easier. I had a quick try of a Mustang PJ and liked it, and a Gretch (no sure what model but felt heavier than the Mustang) at my local store. 

I'm not doing anything amazing or challenging, very basic player, and play in a small band but mainly just for fun. 

Any advice on other shortscales around the same price £500-£600 ish that I should consider before heading down he store and handing over my cash? If I was to pick my ideal colour it would be a duck egg blue, the Mustang they have is Sonic Blue but it's so pale you can hardy tell the difference from the white one! 

Thanks

[therealting]

The Mustangs are great, I like mine a lot. Ultimately I think I’m a medium scale guy, but I think it’s hard to go wrong with them. Mine is the MIJ verno with the split pickup.

Also consider the Hofner Violin which is the same scale. 

[hooky_lowdown]

The Hofner will give a very different sound to that of a bronco or Mustang.

You can't go wrong with a Mustang, they are a classic bass, and classic for a reason - they are excellent basses.

If you like your bronco, which are well made and the necks on them are excellent, then a change of pickup and electrics for the bronco maybe a quick and simple solution. There are some amazing pickups which can drop straight  into a bronco.

Alternatively, this website will give you great insight into short scale basses and strings...

http://www.shortscalebass.co.uk

[bigsmokebass]

I was going to link you to a Second Hand Fender Jaguar MIJ shortscale that was on GAK but has since sold. Great basses, no matter what scale they are. 

Another good one is the Rascal bass by Fender too, a crazy little bass and so fun to play and so many tones to play with. Looks an absolute quality made bass from Mexico too. 😉👌🏻

Now you don't always see these come up, a bit of a rare beast and when they do, you have to act fast but promising you for £500-650 you won't be disappointed with your purchase. 

Edited March 31, 2019 by bigsmokebass

[Swaffle88]

I’ve been thinking about getting a short scale for the collection.. I found this video pretty good

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye2CmlCF8CU

I’m torn between the mustang and the Gretsch 🤔 I’ve heard great things about both..

[Osiris]

I have a PJ Mustang that I regularly gig and I love it! If you want classic Fender tone and feel with a short scale then look no further. You may also be able to stretch to a Japanese Mustang with your budget, it's the same body and neck as the PJ but with a single unique pickup that is similar to the P but with its own twist. It also has its own unique bridge design. 

I tried a couple of the Gretsch short scales after hearing good things about them on here but the ones I tried had had their necks finished with treacle, the finish was so sticky that I'd guess it'd be virtually unplayable on a sweaty gig. I don't know if all of them are like that or whether I just managed to get a couple of duff ones but it's something to keep in mind if you go for one. 

[Paul S]

Danelectro made a cool retro styled single cut 30" scale bass in a vintage aqua colour.  Not sure you can still get it new although you can get black ones.

 

[jezzaboy]

There is a lovely Jap re issue Mustang in Guitarguitar at the moment for £579 s/h. If I had the cash I would be all over it.

[crazydancer]

14 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said:

If you like your bronco, which are well made and the necks on them are excellent, then a change of pickup and electrics for the bronco maybe a quick and simple solution. There are some amazing pickups which can drop straight  into a bronco.

Alternatively, this website will give you great insight into short scale basses and strings...

http://www.shortscalebass.co.uk

Thanks! That was interesting reading about the strings, never occurred to me but of course is total sense. 

So if I was to look at making a few tweaks to the Bronco, that might be an easy solution for now. I can do a bit more research then before I take the plunge and buy a new bass. I'll search other threads on here, I'm guessing I'll find some useful info but if you have anything to suggest tat would be helpful. 

Cheers!

[hooky_lowdown]

1 hour ago, crazydancer said:

Thanks! That was interesting reading about the strings, never occurred to me but of course is total sense. 

So if I was to look at making a few tweaks to the Bronco, that might be an easy solution for now. I can do a bit more research then before I take the plunge and buy a new bass. I'll search other threads on here, I'm guessing I'll find some useful info but if you have anything to suggest tat would be helpful. 

Cheers!

Do a Google search on bronco bass mods (or modifications), there's lots of threads about it, with tonnes of advice. Loads of options available!

I recently switched to short scale, picked up a SX spb62, which is really well made for a bass similar to the bronco in price, upgraded the machine heads and bridge to Wilkinson, and dropped in some SD Quarter Pounders, Daddario half wound strings and it's a beast. Neck on the SX is super slim and nice to play.

[jahfish]

On 31/03/2019 at 04:57, bigsmokebass said:

I was going to link you to a Second Hand Fender Jaguar MIJ shortscale that was on GAK but has since sold. Great basses, no matter what scale they are. 

Another good one is the Rascal bass by Fender too, a crazy little bass and so fun to play and so many tones to play with. Looks an absolute quality made bass from Mexico too. 😉👌🏻

Now you don't always see these come up, a bit of a rare beast and when they do, you have to act fast but promising you for £500-650 you won't be disappointed with your purchase. 

Ooh I didn't know you could get short scale MIJ Jaguars - will look out for these!!

[martthebass]

15 minutes ago, jahfish said:

Ooh I didn't know you could get short scale MIJ Jaguars - will look out for these!!

Not seen any MIJ SS Jags, thought they were all Indonesian Squiers(?) but I could be wrong on this - someone will correct me if so.

I had one of the SS Squiers - nice enough bass but not up to the quality of the MIJ Mustang re-issues.  Made a pleasant noise though, but had a lot of neck dive.

[jahfish]

2 minutes ago, martthebass said:

Not seen any MIJ SS Jags, thought they were all Indonesian Squiers(?) but I could be wrong on this - someone will correct me if so.

I had one of the SS Squiers - nice enough bass but not up to the quality of the MIJ Mustang re-issues.  Made a pleasant noise though, but had a lot of neck dive.

I totally agree. The Indonesian Squier Jaguars just have a mehh neck - nowt special

[Dosi Y'Anarchy]

If you can find one, the MIM Fender Pawnshop Mustang is great. It's comparable to the MIJ Mustang in feel and quality. So much so, I actually got rid of my beloved MIJ and replaced the widerange humbucker on the pawnshop with a nordstrand Mustang pickup. 

[bigsmokebass]

@jahfish @martthebass

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F372631429860

 

First one to it 😜

[jahfish]

8 minutes ago, bigsmokebass said:

@jahfish @martthebass

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F372631429860

 

First one to it 😜

cheers!

 

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited March 3, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[martthebass]

8 minutes ago, bigsmokebass said:

@jahfish @martthebass

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F372631429860

 

First one to it 😜

Never seen one of those - must be like rocking horse pooooo

[Storky]

8 hours ago, martthebass said:

Never seen one of those - must be like rocking horse pooooo

I think I tried this bass when I was in Gak recently. It’s mis labelled, it’s the jap long scale version. I pointed out their error. The staff couldn’t care less, just said “yes I know it’s a long scale” but did nothing to change the tag.

[Osiris]

11 hours ago, Storky said:

I think I tried this bass when I was in Gak recently. It’s mis labelled, it’s the jap long scale version. I pointed out their error. The staff couldn’t care less, just said “yes I know it’s a long scale” but did nothing to change the tag.

Cheers for that, I was weighing up my finances with a view to possibly buying it but it sounds like you may have just saved me from a ball ache of a situation, 

[Storky]

Yes it’s annoying, it played ok; necks got a few scrapes which you can feel while playing; definitely long scale though. 😏

Going back to the OP, I had the Jap Mustang which was really nice. It was fast, easy to play and sounded great! I wish I still had it although it always felt very small to me. (I’m 6’6” though!)

[crazydancer]

3 hours ago, Storky said:

'2Going back to the OP, I had the Jap Mustang which was really nice. It was fast, easy to play and sounded great! I wish I still had it although it always felt very small to me. (I’m 6’6” though!)

LOL that's why a short scale works for me, I'm only 5'2"  

I'm checking out plan A, mod the Bronco, and if not, go to plan B, buy a Mustang.

GAK have one in the colour I like with a gig bag included for £50 less than my local store. I'd prefer to buy local but hey, that's £50 towards a pair of those decent ear plug things, too many Motorhead/Sabbath/AC/DC concerts in my yoof means I've already got buzzy ears. 

[bigsmokebass]

6 hours ago, Storky said:

Yes it’s annoying, it played ok; necks got a few scrapes which you can feel while playing; definitely long scale though. 😏

Going back to the OP, I had the Jap Mustang which was really nice. It was fast, easy to play and sounded great! I wish I still had it although it always felt very small to me. (I’m 6’6” though!)

Ah sorry guys, was pretty sure that was a limited edition SS a few years back too but hey ho.... Looks like the Rascal and Mustang are back on the menu 😂🙈

[Storky]

 

6 hours ago, crazydancer said:

LOL that's why a short scale works for me, I'm only 5'2"  

I'm checking out plan A, mod the Bronco, and if not, go to plan B, buy a Mustang.

GAK have one in the colour I like with a gig bag included for £50 less than my local store. I'd prefer to buy local but hey, that's £50 towards a pair of those decent ear plug things, too many Motorhead/Sabbath/AC/DC concerts in my yoof means I've already got buzzy ears. 

That’s a great idea. I’m half way through a Bronco mod; it’s got an Amstrong custom pick up (with series/parallel pull/push) and a Musicmaster pick guard. It sounds way better than it cost. Just needs a respray to finish it off. 

My first gig was Motörhead in about 1980 and my hearing has never been the same since! 

[ikay]

I love my Bronco. It's well put together and with a few mods and a bit of fettling it plays and sounds way above it's price point. Mine has a Sentell Big Sis pickup (https://www.sentellpickups.net/bass.html), Hipshot Vintage bridge and Hipshot 3/8 Ultralites. Fabulous little bass!