The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[Gray C]

Just discovered this thread. Here is my 32 scale Aria, bought in ‘88. It’s a Thor Sound, Aria Pro 2 TSB400. Had to replace the knobs as one of the originals sheared off when it fell over one day. Needs an overhaul and some tlc as my go to bass these days is a MIJ Fender Precision, but I wouldn’t part with as it was my first ever bass guitar.

[Pea Turgh]

Anybody catch Wet Leg at Glastonbury?  What was the bassist playing?  Thought it was a JMJ but the scratchplate is all wrong and the cameras never linger on the bassist.

[dmc79]

28 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

Anybody catch Wet Leg at Glastonbury?  What was the bassist playing?  Thought it was a JMJ but the scratchplate is all wrong and the cameras never linger on the bassist.

I saw a bit of them on BBC at a Cardiff festival recently and it looked like a blue JMJ

[Pea Turgh]

Nah, this is definitely something else.  Might not be short scale either, sorry!

 

[barrycreed]

It's from Trent Guitars.

[nick]

Seem to have ended up with a trio of these Vista Musicmasters now..... I do like them though, I think they're cracking basses 🙂

 

 

[thisisswanbon]

Just realised I've accidently gone fully short scale!  Recently traded my Sandberg for a Nordy Acinonyx, which means my gigging line up is now an Ibanez EHB1005sms and the Cat bass!  I'm surprisingly happy about this, as they're both tremendously fun basses to play and incredibly lightweight!

[fretmeister]

On 26/06/2022 at 20:15, Pea Turgh said:

Nah, this is definitely something else.  Might not be short scale either, sorry!

 

 

 

 

Trent Guitars did a thread about the design on the fretboard

 

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/229261/i-made-a-bass/p1

 

 

[Pea Turgh]

17 hours ago, nick said:

Seem to have ended up with a trio of these Vista Musicmasters now..... I do like them though, I think they're cracking basses 🙂

 

 

That’s a sahweeeet collection - only missing the white one for a full set!  Love the blue one.

 

Whats a ball park figure for one of these?  Reverb has one at over £700 which seems a bit… optimistic?

Edited July 6, 2022 by Pea Turgh

[Aidan63]

£400-600 seems to be the range on Ebay recently, I think including some or all of the above, odd one a bit cheaper

[bassist_lewis]

7 hours ago, thisisswanbon said:

Just realised I've accidently gone fully short scale!  Recently traded my Sandberg for a Nordy Acinonyx, which means my gigging line up is now an Ibanez EHB1005sms and the Cat bass!  I'm surprisingly happy about this, as they're both tremendously fun basses to play and incredibly lightweight!

Welcome to the short side! How do you find the Nordy on gigs?

[barrycreed]

Those Reverend Sentinels. You don't see many videos etc. Anyone ever snag one?

[thisisswanbon]

18 hours ago, bassist_lewis said:

Welcome to the short side! How do you find the Nordy on gigs?

 

Only gigged it the once upto now... It's frighteningly light though; I'm pretty active when I play and it nearly ended up over my shoulder on a few instances!  From what I could tell it sounded great out front, output seems a bit hot for my sovtek big muff but it's a work in progress!

 

Here's some ropey gopro footage, if you can hear anything from it 

 

https://fb.watch/e6JD0ur-lH/

Edited July 7, 2022 by thisisswanbon
Link added

[Bunion]

I’ve had a hankering for a musicman Stingray short scale, don’t know why, don’t know where it came from… 

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, Bunion said:

I’ve had a hankering for a musicman Stingray short scale, don’t know why, don’t know where it came from… 

I’m currently really enjoying the single coil setting, with the tone wide open, it has that P Bass/ Rick thing going on.

[bassist_lewis]

8 hours ago, thisisswanbon said:

 

Only gigged it the once upto now... It's frighteningly light though; I'm pretty active when I play and it nearly ended up over my shoulder on a few instances!  From what I could tell it sounded great out front, output seems a bit hot for my sovtek big muff but it's a work in progress!

 

Here's some ropey gopro footage, if you can hear anything from it 

 

https://fb.watch/e6JD0ur-lH/

Sounds beefy! I feel like the Acinonyx is very different from the more familiar Jazz/Precision/Stingray tones in most recordings, so it still feels a bit odd playing it live, but I'm sure I'll get over it! That's a great set btw!

[Obrienp]

8 hours ago, bassist_lewis said:

Sounds beefy! I feel like the Acinonyx is very different from the more familiar Jazz/Precision/Stingray tones in most recordings, so it still feels a bit odd playing it live, but I'm sure I'll get over it! That's a great set btw!

I would agree with that. It doesn’t really have a bright setting in the same way as say, a Jazz bass. Even the bridge pickup solo is pretty bassy. Nothing like as bright as a Jazz bridge pickup and it has much more grunt. That’s not to say the highs aren’t there, it’s just that the bass and mids don’t fall away to the same extent. There is no drop in volume between neck and bass pickup. 
 

I am still getting used to them but the switches on the Acinonyx are no gimmick. It’s great to have those preset tones at the push of a button. 

[ezbass]

I’m not a big fan of the nasal sound of soloed, Jazz placement, bridge pickups on long scale basses. However, all the demos I’ve heard with that style of pickup, in the same place (relatively speaking) on short scales, definitely have less nasal twang and more low end, which I like very much.

[thisisswanbon]

10 hours ago, bassist_lewis said:

Sounds beefy! I feel like the Acinonyx is very different from the more familiar Jazz/Precision/Stingray tones in most recordings, so it still feels a bit odd playing it live, but I'm sure I'll get over it! That's a great set btw!

 

Thanks, Lewis!  I feel the same way, although I do think that the respective pick ups to reach the same ball park as the standards (Neck: P, Bridge solo: Stingray, both parallel: all on Jazz).  I found I gravitated towards series mode though for this gig, but it was running through a fairly big PA.  Tomorrow I'm going to try both on parallel through my GK and barefaced rig and see how it goes.  I agree that it's taking some adjusting to though but I love mine. 

 

Tempted to tuck that volume knob inside though, seems redundant with a mute button and doesn't half get in the way when I use a plectrum!

[bassist_lewis]

5 hours ago, Obrienp said:

I would agree with that. It doesn’t really have a bright setting in the same way as say, a Jazz bass. Even the bridge pickup solo is pretty bassy. Nothing like as bright as a Jazz bridge pickup and it has much more grunt. That’s not to say the highs aren’t there, it’s just that the bass and mids don’t fall away to the same extent. There is no drop in volume between neck and bass pickup. 
 

I am still getting used to them but the switches on the Acinonyx are no gimmick. It’s great to have those preset tones at the push of a button. 

Agree and agree. I really like the bridge pick up sound, its mid-rangy and cuts but isn't too bright, as you say. On my other bass with a bridge pick up I don't tend to use it solo'd but on the Acinonyx it really works. And I kind of prefer having the preset tone settings, less faffing around! 

3 hours ago, thisisswanbon said:

 

Thanks, Lewis!  I feel the same way, although I do think that the respective pick ups to reach the same ball park as the standards (Neck: P, Bridge solo: Stingray, both parallel: all on Jazz).  I found I gravitated towards series mode though for this gig, but it was running through a fairly big PA.  Tomorrow I'm going to try both on parallel through my GK and barefaced rig and see how it goes.  I agree that it's taking some adjusting to though but I love mine. 

 

Tempted to tuck that volume knob inside though, seems redundant with a mute button and doesn't half get in the way when I use a plectrum!

I agree in the same ball park, and I use them a such, but there is a little extra something' something (which I love btw). It was why I bought in, its got a unique sound I'd never heard before (on something I could afford!)

[dmckee]

I managed to get my hands on a Wilcock MM that was floating about here, through a trade. I have to say, while I do like it, there are a few things that aren’t quite at the standard I would have expected for a handmade bass of this value. Just little things but the route for the pickup isn’t especially accurate, nor is the scratchplate actually. Also, the neck felt oddly unfinished.  

 

I’ll see how it goes but I have to say, if I’d waited 11 months and paid £2k for it I think I’d have been quite disappointed.  It does explain why it has passed though a few folk’s hands recently…. Anyway, just sharing another perspective…. 

[barrycreed]

Any idea what those two pickup lawsuit SG basses are like? Burny, Columbus etc? 

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, dmckee said:

I managed to get my hands on a Wilcock MM that was floating about here, through a trade. I have to say, while I do like it, there are a few things that aren’t quite at the standard I would have expected for a handmade bass of this value. Just little things but the route for the pickup isn’t especially accurate, nor is the scratchplate actually. Also, the neck felt oddly unfinished.  

 

I’ll see how it goes but I have to say, if I’d waited 11 months and paid £2k for it I think I’d have been quite disappointed.  It does explain why it has passed though a few folk’s hands recently…. Anyway, just sharing another perspective…. 

Ooh, that’s not good to hear, especially as I have huge GAS for a Mullarkey. The one that I played at The Gallery was lovely, although I didn’t play it for long or really inspect it particularly closely, as it was out of my budget. 

[scrumpymike]

Re the comments about the Acinonyx pre-sets, I get arguably more versatility from my Andy Rogers custom-builds without the use of push-push buttons that are prone to mechanical failure in my experience.  Mine have 3 pick-ups and 8-way switching that allows instant pick-up selection - singly or in any combination of two or all 3. Now I'm used to this, I wouldn't be without it and it beats me that the only adoption of this configuration I've come across from the usual suspects was Fender's limited-run s-s Rascal. Its quirky body shape and bridge position made it feel more like a standard-scale and IMHO stopped more players from buying this otherwise superb bass. It's got the best s-s neck I've ever played.

 

 

Edited July 11, 2022 by scrumpymike

[Duarte]

On 16/06/2022 at 05:48, BCH said:

Try this SS...

 

The full size mute bridge on the SS Ray looks absolutely mental, I love it!