The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[Vin Venal]

23 minutes ago, TK4261 said:

I just recently finished modding this 30" Schecter Banshee and I am really happy with how it turned out. I basically only ended up using the neck and body but they were both great quality and nice and light. It is very balanced and still light after completing it.

 

Mods:

Schaller tuners

Hipshot B style brass bridge (chrome) w string through option

Aguilar 4P-60 pickup

Noble 250k pots with cloth wire  &  Sprague .1uf cap.

Luminlay side dots

Schaller strap locks

Ernie Ball string retainer

Custom Maple pickguard & Rosewood control plate

Custom wood knobs   Maple/Rosewood

LaBella Deep Talkin Flats short scale strings

 

 

 

 

 

Oh my. 

 

That's absolutely gorgeous. 😍

[TK4261]

16 minutes ago, Vin Venal said:

 

 

Oh my. 

 

That's absolutely gorgeous. 😍

 

Thank you very much! Plays and sounds great also

[MoonBassAlpha]

1 hour ago, TK4261 said:

 

Thank you very much! Plays and sounds great also

Yeah,  nice job!

[dmckee]

I too have G&L Fallout GAS.  I wrote to Andertons to ask about weight of the surf green one they have for £349 new just now (which is a crazy good deal) but they said it was 10.2lbs!! That’s too heavy for ANY bass, never mind a short scale IMO. I’ve had a few great G&Ls over the years, but their Tributes often seen to be inordinately heavy. Shame. has anyone ever found a light-ish one? 

[dmckee]

OR, anyone any recommendations on short scale fretless?? 

[Obrienp]

2 hours ago, dmckee said:

I too have G&L Fallout GAS.  I wrote to Andertons to ask about weight of the surf green one they have for £349 new just now (which is a crazy good deal) but they said it was 10.2lbs!! That’s too heavy for ANY bass, never mind a short scale IMO. I’ve had a few great G&Ls over the years, but their Tributes often seen to be inordinately heavy. Shame. has anyone ever found a light-ish one? 

That passes up one of the advantages of short scale basses! Shame! I understand the Reverend Watt Plower is a hefty brute as well.

[scrumpymike]

15 hours ago, TK4261 said:

I just recently finished modding this 30" Schecter Banshee and I am really happy with how it turned out. I basically only ended up using the neck and body but they were both great quality and nice and light. It is very balanced and still light after completing it.

I love what you did there!  I did something similar after I bought a Fender Rascal 5 years back.  Loved everything about it except the quirky body shape - not an aesthetic issue, just that the body extending so far south of the bridge put everything in the wrong place for me.  I bit the bullet and had the bass re-bodied a la P Lyte with a nice piece of walnut that I already had, and that's been my go-to gig bass ever since.  I loved this bass so much that I decided to have the original body re-shaped as the basis for a similar build with the amazingly versatile Rascal pickup/control configuration.  All in all, most satisfying thing that's ever happened in my bass world.  You just have to be ready to take that leap of faith, but that's easier said than done!  All work done by my Basschat buddy Andyjr1515 with build diaries to prove it.

 

 

[dmckee]

SO, I spoke with Andertons and they offered to weigh the 3 surf green Fallouts they have in the warehouse. All 9.2lbs. Still not light by any means, but….. have ordered one anyway! Arrives tomorrow. 😃

[Obrienp]

1 hour ago, dmckee said:

SO, I spoke with Andertons and they offered to weigh the 3 surf green Fallouts they have in the warehouse. All 9.2lbs. Still not light by any means, but….. have ordered one anyway! Arrives tomorrow. 😃

Well, enjoy it! At their price it’s a bargain.

[dmckee]

Cheers @Obrienp.  Any flatwounds string recommendations? I have EB Cobalt Flats on my regular basses but they don’t have short scale. Quite like their amount of tension. Tried TIs once and they were def too floppy. Looks like Chromes, Labella Deep Talkin or maybe Dunlops? 

[Obrienp]

10 minutes ago, dmckee said:

Cheers @Obrienp Any flatwounds string recommendations?  Looks like Chromes, Labella Deep Talkin or maybe Dunlops? 

I think all the strings you mention there are good. In my experience there are intonation issues with Rotosound shorts, so I would avoid those. I am too mean to pay for Labellas but I have tried D’Addario and Dunlop. They were both pretty good and intonation was as good as you are going to get with short scale IMO. Loads of people swear by Labella, so maybe it is worth spending a bit more on them.
 

All short scale strings are overpriced IMO but I guess they don’t make them in the same quantities as 34”, so there aren’t the same economies of scale (no pun intended!).

Edited December 19, 2021 by Obrienp

[ezbass]

44 minutes ago, dmckee said:

Cheers @Obrienp.  Any flatwounds string recommendations? I have EB Cobalt Flats on my regular basses but they don’t have short scale. Quite like their amount of tension. Tried TIs once and they were def too floppy. Looks like Chromes, Labella Deep Talkin or maybe Dunlops? 

I have long scale Cobalts on my Mustang. It’s only the E string that wraps beyond the silk (doesn’t seem to be a problem). They feel and sound great (I have them on all but 1 of my basses).

[scrumpymike]

2 hours ago, dmckee said:

Cheers @Obrienp.  Any flatwounds string recommendations? I have EB Cobalt Flats on my regular basses but they don’t have short scale. Quite like their amount of tension. Tried TIs once and they were def too floppy. Looks like Chromes, Labella Deep Talkin or maybe Dunlops? 

The La Bella 760FS-S flats are my choice.  Pricey maybe but mine last so long that it's not an issue.

Edited December 19, 2021 by scrumpymike

[Woodinblack]

The fender flats were my choice, they had the right combination of being basically flat, sort of fitting and not costing much!

[Frank Blank]

32 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

The La Bella 760FS-S flats are my choice.  Pricey maybe but mine last so long that it's not an issue.

 

Couldn't agree more, they might cost a bit but they'll see you good for decades.

[Osiris]

There's always one, and it's usually me. And this is no exception 

 

I had a set of La Bella's come fitted with a short scale Warwick Corvette and I couldn't take them off quick enough! I don't like bright bass sounds by any stretch but the La Bella's were devoid of any definition, just an non-descript, woolly thud. The closest analogy I can come up with is when the elderly couple next door (we live in a semi joined onto theirs) turn up their telly up really loud and you can hear something but can't make out what it is, it was like that. No punch, no clarity, no life. And no amount of EQ'ing could get a usable sound of them for me. 10 minutes later they were off the bass for good. My JMJ came with factory Fender flats and they were much better, there was more clarity and definition and you could recognise different pitches and notes which I couldn't do with the La Bellas.

 

But I still prefer rounds and once I'd fitted my favourite Nikel D'Addario 50-105's to my short scales they all feel like they have much more life in them, the audio equivalent from going from VHS to 4K HD without bothering with DVD or Blu-Ray in between. 

[dmckee]

Thanks everybody. Still rummaging…. Oddly, I just came across Status Hot Wire flats that seem to be only £18 a set. Suspiciously cheap!

[shoulderpet]

1 minute ago, dmckee said:

Thanks everybody. Still rummaging…. Oddly, I just came across Status Hot Wire flats that seem to be only £18 a set. Suspiciously cheap!

Check with them before you order, last I heard they were having supply issues with the flats, that was a while ago though

[TK4261]

On 18/12/2021 at 05:30, scrumpymike said:

I love what you did there!  I did something similar after I bought a Fender Rascal 5 years back.  Loved everything about it except the quirky body shape - not an aesthetic issue, just that the body extending so far south of the bridge put everything in the wrong place for me.  I bit the bullet and had the bass re-bodied a la P Lyte with a nice piece of walnut that I already had, and that's been my go-to gig bass ever since.  I loved this bass so much that I decided to have the original body re-shaped as the basis for a similar build with the amazingly versatile Rascal pickup/control configuration.  All in all, most satisfying thing that's ever happened in my bass world.  You just have to be ready to take that leap of faith, but that's easier said than done!  All work done by my Basschat buddy Andyjr1515 with build diaries to prove it.

 

 

 

Thank you! thank you for sharing this also...It looks amazing with that Walnut body. So cool that you used the rascal  pickup layout and bridge. I bet it sounds great!

[MoonBassAlpha]

18 hours ago, shoulderpet said:

Check with them before you order, last I heard they were having supply issues with the flats, that was a while ago though

They're available again, I ordered the flats and half rounds this time last year. I put the half rounds on first and haven't even tried the flats yet! The half rounds are interesting,  like  flats with a little more bite, but the feel is almost indistinguishable from flats. I might try them on fretless,  I think they would be great. 

[javi_bassist]

I'd never owned a short scale, but I've always wanted one. One night, after a rehearsal, a friend of mine told me that the bass player of his band had moved to another country and that he gave him this bass because the bass player didn't want it. I told him that I liked it and that if he didn't want it, I'd buy it from him. He gave it to me and told me that it was mine if I wanted it. I don't know the brand. I have to change the jack plug and give a good adjustment, but so far, I really like it. With both pickups on, it sounds pretty bad (IMO). But using just one of them sounds really really good. I love it.

 

[mr4stringz]

Quick question for any Danelectro Longhorn owners out there. Any tips on what flats work well? I know there’s a La Bella specific set, but wondering if there are others people like and use? Opinions on the web seem to suggest that the slots on the tuning pegs won’t accept all strings? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited March 16, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[martthebass]

3 hours ago, mr4stringz said:

Quick question for any Danelectro Longhorn owners out there. Any tips on what flats work well? I know there’s a La Bella specific set, but wondering if there are others people like and use? Opinions on the web seem to suggest that the slots on the tuning pegs won’t accept all strings? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I had d’addarios on mine, sounded spot on and we’re ok on the wee tuners

[MoonBassAlpha]

3 hours ago, Jus Lukin said:

 

 

 

As I understand it, they are just selling the last of their stock of the flats and halves. I think the prices on the site are pre-VAT, too, so that will be added at checkout.

I don't remember vat being added a year ago. Also,  I  thought the flats were from their new supplier,  but could be wrong there. I  thought I read something that hinted hinted they were now supplied by Piccato, but have no evidence 😀