lou24d53 Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Interesting read - I seem to be noticing far more short scale basses on the market than I used to. As someone who's never even played a short scale, let alone owned one, what would be the main driver to buy one for a player? Is it mainly a 'comfort' decision rather than a 'tonal sound' one? I'm curious, I think I'd like to experiment with one, but I've no doubt it for me would be a fad and I'd more than likely have it relisted on here shortly after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tut Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 7 minutes ago, lou24d53 said: Interesting read - I seem to be noticing far more short scale basses on the market than I used to. As someone who's never even played a short scale, let alone owned one, what would be the main driver to buy one for a player? Is it mainly a 'comfort' decision rather than a 'tonal sound' one? I'm curious, I think I'd like to experiment with one, but I've no doubt it for me would be a fad and I'd more than likely have it relisted on here shortly after. I play short and long scale basses. I've got tiny hands so I can play faster and more comfortably on short scales. I only really continue with long scale because I have some beautiful basses and I can't bear to let them go. I only really play continue to play a Ric in Stray because the original bass player used one and the rest of the band, crew and fans kind of expect it! The Ric does have a slightly shorter scale than a Fender mind!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 2 hours ago, lou24d53 said: Interesting read - I seem to be noticing far more short scale basses on the market than I used to. As someone who's never even played a short scale, let alone owned one, what would be the main driver to buy one for a player? Is it mainly a 'comfort' decision rather than a 'tonal sound' one? I'm curious, I think I'd like to experiment with one, but I've no doubt it for me would be a fad and I'd more than likely have it relisted on here shortly after. I've always had a preference for the shorter scale length. Back in the day it was the early Gibsons rather than Fenders that floated my boat - probably because two of my heroes played them (Jack Bruce and Andy Fraser). I moved on to Fenders in the '80s but then back to s-s Gibsons. Nowadays there's a huge choice of s-s basses and I wouldn't play anything else. More comfortable to wear and play and I prefer the subtle difference in sound that comes from the different s-s overtones. The only word of caution I usually add is that, if you're a P-bass worshipper, don't expect any s-s bass to give you exactly that (although I can get close enough with some of mine). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meterman Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 I prefer playing short scales, and I've owned probably a dozen of them of varying quality over the last 30 years, mostly Fender, Squier or Fender-ish, but for recording I'll generally opt for a long scale. I wouldn't rule out owning another S-S but I'm not sure what it would be. Colin Moulding's modded Epiphone Newport always looked good but I think they're a good way out of my flimsy price range 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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