The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[scrumpymike]

22 hours ago, Obrienp said:

Just looked at the Vox UK website to check out a claim made by somebody selling a Vox Starstream bass on a FB forum. He said they were no longer available and rare as hens teeth. It turns out that all 4 models are available on the Vox website and furthermore they have a sale price of £299 on both the passive versions, which seems like reasonable value to me. The active versions are both £799, which is a different proposition but still reasonable given the quality of the hardware. 

They have also got the teardrop basses greatly reduced but still pretty expensive IMO for such a niche product.

 

Anyway, no vested interest, apart from owning a passive 1H, which I reckon is a pretty good bass in the ‘Ray mould. The sale price smarts a bit though!

 

Last time I looked I think they had all the cheaper range but only a limited choice of the more expensive Artist version.

[scrumpymike]

13 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Is it possible to remove the feet and fit a normal strap button without damage?

 

In a word, no ☹️.  As supplied, the large-diameter buttons are fixed to the wooden body core using long chunky wood screws. The 2 screws are of unequal length (one very long, one even longer) with oversize heads that are too big for a standard strap button. I had to think long and hard before daring to remove just the shorter screw in case I couldn't get it re-aligned with the hole drilled in the body afterwards. I managed to do it but had to be really careful. IMHO if you unscrewed both, the ABS outer frame could move relative to the wooden core. If it did, you could be in trouble without an assembly jig of the type the manufacturers must use to get everything aligned.

[fretmeister]

I've currently got a set of Roto flats on my shorty. They only come in 1 gauge - 40-90.

 

They are a little light for me. Will a Roto flat long scale cope with being wound round the post on a shorty?

 

 

 

EDIT: I emailed Rotosound - they advised against it and thought the string was likely to break round the tuning post.  

They don't make a 45-105 for a shorty. I find that a bit odd - usually need a heavier string for a shorty to keep the tension up.

Edited November 25, 2022 by fretmeister

[dmckee]

4 hours ago, ezbass said:

That colour scheme is really nicely understated; I like it. I for one would be interested in how this compares to the Wilcock MM.

 

Compared to the Wilcock…. The G&L neck is a little wider and chunkier, which I like. Not like L2000 Tribute baseball bat chunky - it’s 1 5/8” slim C, which I think is just right. Really nicely finished neck, and SO much better than the neck on the Tribute Fallout I had briefly. 

 

Tonally, also a bit chunkier! G&L in parallel feels more like Wilcock in series, then of course the G&L has OMG, which is almost too much! You can see why Ed Friedland got the 2 band passive EQ fitted to his Fallout.  And single coil is lighter and brighter. 

 

The Wilcock is a great bass too - both basses (with Labella 760s fitted) sound really sweet on the more acoustic-leaning project we’re working on just now, but I get the sense the G&L might hold its own better in rockier territory. I wish the G&L was as light as the Wilcock was though! 

[martthebass]

10 minutes ago, dmckee said:

 

Compared to the Wilcock…. The G&L neck is a little wider and chunkier, which I like. Not like L2000 Tribute baseball bat chunky - it’s 1 5/8” slim C, which I think is just right. Really nicely finished neck, and SO much better than the neck on the Tribute Fallout I had briefly. 

 

Tonally, also a bit chunkier! G&L in parallel feels more like Wilcock in series, then of course the G&L has OMG, which is almost too much! You can see why Ed Friedland got the 2 band passive EQ fitted to his Fallout.  And single coil is lighter and brighter. 

 

The Wilcock is a great bass too - both basses (with Labella 760s fitted) sound really sweet on the more acoustic-leaning project we’re working on just now, but I get the sense the G&L might hold its own better in rockier territory. I wish the G&L was as light as the Wilcock was though! 

 

I've been pretty impressed with the neck on the Fallout, I thought it would be a bit wide (based on G&Ls I've had in the past) but I'd say it's somewhere between the JMJ Mustang and my 1.5" nut Mustang (Mikey way). Pretty comfortable overall.  Tonewise, it is a high output job, it's not that far off my US Sterling in series mode.  The OMG can be a bit much but I find it adds a bit of depth at lower volumes, normally on a gig though I'd be pretty much 90% on the parallel setting.  The single coil is a bit weedy to my ears but I'd expect that - never been a fan of Jazz type basses and I never run my Sterling single coil for the same reason.

 

The US ones are nicely made, easily up with US EBMM but I've never owned a Tribute so I can't comment there.

 

I've still got a hankering for a US Shortscale Ray but I can't really justify another shorty; if a Starry Night version came up though I might just crumble.

[dmckee]

21 hours ago, martthebass said:

 

I've been pretty impressed with the neck on the Fallout, I thought it would be a bit wide (based on G&Ls I've had in the past) but I'd say it's somewhere between the JMJ Mustang and my 1.5" nut Mustang (Mikey way). Pretty comfortable overall.  Tonewise, it is a high output job, it's not that far off my US Sterling in series mode.  The OMG can be a bit much but I find it adds a bit of depth at lower volumes, normally on a gig though I'd be pretty much 90% on the parallel setting.  The single coil is a bit weedy to my ears but I'd expect that - never been a fan of Jazz type basses and I never run my Sterling single coil for the same reason.

 

The US ones are nicely made, easily up with US EBMM but I've never owned a Tribute so I can't comment there.

 

I've still got a hankering for a US Shortscale Ray but I can't really justify another shorty; if a Starry Night version came up though I might just crumble.

How does the JMJ compare to the Fallout btw? 

Edited November 26, 2022 by dmckee

[martthebass]

1 hour ago, dmckee said:

How does the JMJ compare to the Fallout btw? 

To be honest I consider them a bit chalk and cheese. If I’m looking for ‘that’ vintage vibe the JMJ nails it perfectly. The Fallout hits a more modern sound and has a bit more flexibility. It’s great to have both, if I could only have one I’d struggle to choose tbh.

[msb]

I’ve never had an issue with the stock 3point bridge , but I’ve loved the look of the hipshot. This has been my favourite player for quite a while now, it’s a beautiful little thing to play. With a single pickup in the classic sweet spot this actually behaves much like a Pbass. Lightweight , and fun. 
I love this bass.

[Clarky]

4 minutes ago, msb said:

I’ve never had an issue with the stock 3point bridge , but I’ve loved the look of the hipshot. This has been my favourite player for quite a while now, it’s a beautiful little thing to play. With a single pickup in the classic sweet spot this actually behaves much like a Pbass. Lightweight , and fun. 
I love this bass.

The chrome Thunderbucker type pickup looks very cool too, much more so than the stock black one.

[NHM]

I've been looking for a chrome Thunderbucker cover and ring for some time for my DC Tribute but can't find a supplier in the UK. Anyone know a source?

[msb]

I went looking in the uk and couldn’t find a thing. Thomann did have some Gibson guitar pickup covers online so they might be able to order some , might be faster to just buy on on eBay though…

[ped]

These look quite fun. £380ish on Reverb

 

Aria Pro DMB-206

 

 

[ped]

18 hours ago, NHM said:

I've been looking for a chrome Thunderbucker cover and ring for some time for my DC Tribute but can't find a supplier in the UK. Anyone know a source?

I bought one of these recently, no idea if it’s a standard size or not but worth asking perhaps 

https://www.geminipickups.co.uk/degenerate-tb

[NHM]

thanks, but this is a complete pickup, whereas I'm looking for a chrome cover (and ring) to go over the stock pup, like our friend in Nova Scotia has (see above)

[Aidan63]

why not phone the guy at Gemini and ask if he can supply the cover separately, if they make the pickups in Wales then they have component parts

[ped]

1 minute ago, Aidan63 said:

why not phone the guy at Gemini and ask if he can supply the cover separately, if they make the pickups in Wales then they have component parts

Yeah that was my thinking too. 

[NHM]

good thinking!

[Stub Mandrel]

On 25/11/2022 at 13:29, scrumpymike said:

 

In a word, no ☹️.  As supplied, the large-diameter buttons are fixed to the wooden body core using long chunky wood screws. The 2 screws are of unequal length (one very long, one even longer) with oversize heads that are too big for a standard strap button. I had to think long and hard before daring to remove just the shorter screw in case I couldn't get it re-aligned with the hole drilled in the body afterwards. I managed to do it but had to be really careful. IMHO if you unscrewed both, the ABS outer frame could move relative to the wooden core. If it did, you could be in trouble without an assembly jig of the type the manufacturers must use to get everything aligned.

 

Shame. After the initial shock the weird body has grown on me, but I don't like those feet!

[martthebass]

Just seen a fretless Lionel up for sale and it’s making me nervous.....

[3below]

16 hours ago, martthebass said:

Just seen a fretless Lionel up for sale and it’s making me nervous.....

Very tempting, if it is the blue one on *bay, it did not attract any bids the previous time. Starting price now £100 lower than previous time. I am resisting.

[martthebass]

18 minutes ago, 3below said:

Very tempting, if it is the blue one on *bay, it did not attract any bids the previous time. Starting price now £100 lower than previous time. I am resisting.

It is, even with the mod I’m tempted. Wrong time of the year though and I don’t fancy selling/trading one of the existing herd to finance.

[cheddatom]

Are there any short scale 6 string basses? Like a proper 6 string bass tuned B, E, A, D, G, C but short scale?

[Aidan63]

4 minutes ago, cheddatom said:

Are there any short scale 6 string basses? Like a proper 6 string bass tuned B, E, A, D, G, C but short scale?

ACG build such things

[cheddatom]

yeh I was hoping someone might know of one that's "off the shelf" IE cheap(er)

[eude]

13 minutes ago, cheddatom said:

Are there any short scale 6 string basses? Like a proper 6 string bass tuned B, E, A, D, G, C but short scale?

 

9 minutes ago, Aidan63 said:

ACG build such things

 

Yes indeed, I have 3 31.5" scale ACGs tuned B to C.