The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[Pauld]

Ibanez Talman TMB30 has a nice chunkier neck. It's 41mm wide at the nut and 21.5mm thick at the first fret. Feels nice in he hand, fairly cheap but you may get a bit of neck dive, mine has licenced hipshot ultralites which help. 

[martthebass]

9 hours ago, ead said:

 

Thanks for the recommendation but string spacing would be an issue for me (fat fingers).  I will amend my post to reflect this.

Take a look at the Sandberg Lionel, decent string spacing and 40mm nut width. If you get an alder one, about 7.5lbs, the ash ones are about a pound heavier.

[scrumpymike]

19 hours ago, martthebass said:

Take a look at the Sandberg Lionel, decent string spacing and 40mm nut width. If you get an alder one, about 7.5lbs, the ash ones are about a pound heavier.

Excellent recommendation but scarce second hand and not cheap new.

[Obrienp]

On 11/11/2024 at 11:31, Woodinblack said:

Yes the talman has a wide neck, and is quite a good bass (although shocking QC, but then really cheap) although it has to be said its balance isn't the best.

Yes, QC is a bit dodgy but it makes an excellent modding platform. With a little bit of work (shielding, etc) you can get a decent bass. Just ignore the jazz pickup, it’s pretty weak and doesn’t add much, so not a priority for replacement IMO  (if I remember correctly it’s not full size Jazz bridge size either, so difficult to find a direct replacement).

 

The chunkyness is what made me move mine on but would probably suit the OP well. They do vary a bit in weight also: mine was a boat anchor but I’ve seen other reports of examples that weighed less than 8lbs.

[martthebass]

28 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

Excellent recommendation but scarce second hand and not cheap new.

True.  Even new there's not many about.  I think Bass Direct have 2 or 3 but no other stock in UK that I could see when I was looking a few weeks back.  Worth the search though.

[BabyBlueSound]

2 hours ago, Obrienp said:

Just ignore the jazz pickup, it’s pretty weak and doesn’t add much, so not a priority for replacement IMO  (if I remember correctly it’s not full size Jazz bridge size either, so difficult to find a direct replacement).

 

I had to file off the plastic from the sides of my EMGs 😅

 

Does anyone know what electronic trickery it would take (apart from going active) to make it match the output of the P, if there's even a way?

[msb]

I dropped in a Tbird style humbucker. Much closer.

[SonnyBassPlayer]

On 09/10/2024 at 10:07, SonnyBassPlayer said:

Just starting to revive my BroncoMaster. I'm working on a paint tone to make it cream-yellow with nitrocellulose and I'm currently having a custom split coil made the size of a strat as pickup. The Duncan Hot Stack never really made it.

Sooooo here's the bass now!

 

It has a custom made split bobbin neodymium pickup that sounds really awesome. As for the paint I mixed and can painted it before doing a light relic on it. This Bronco now slaps. The string are Ernie Ball Cobalt flats SS tuned in D standard.

Edited Wednesday at 09:19 by SonnyBassPlayer

[Obrienp]

17 hours ago, BabyBlueSound said:

 

I had to file off the plastic from the sides of my EMGs 😅

 

Does anyone know what electronic trickery it would take (apart from going active) to make it match the output of the P, if there's even a way?

Every P/J I’ve ever had and every replacement P/J pickup set (several different brands) has suffered from the Jazz having less output than the P. It would be great if someone does have an easy wiring fix for it but I’m not hopeful.
 

At one stage I did think of doing a mix and match based on the output of pickups; I.E. seek out a really powerful Jazz and a less powerful P pickup but I am sure I read somewhere that it doesn’t necessarily produce the result you expect. Also a really powerful Jazz pickup is likely to produce a different tone to the standard. That may or may not work for what you are after.

 

I decided in the end that it didn’t really matter for me, as I only use the Jazz pickup to blend in a bit of upper mids. I never solo it. I’m no Jacko! You might have different requirements of course.

 

Probably irrelevant but one wiring trick I have used, is a push/pull to put both pickups on but in series. It sounds massive! 

Edited Wednesday at 10:58 by Obrienp

[Lozz196]

In an old Aerodyne Jazz I replaced the stock pickup with a Seymour Duncan Hot Stack, made a much better balance between the two pickups and without any radical changes in sound, was pretty much the same but just about 20% "more" if that makes sense.

[AlexDelores]

I’ve picked up a double electric guitar soft case for a decent price. 
 

It’s to fit my Gretsch Junior Jet and Mustang basses. 
 

But, as it’s a guitar case it’s a couple of cms too small really… The basses fit and the case zips up. But, the end of the mustang headstock is pushing quite a lot into the material.
 

With it being a soft case. Anyone think this will affect anything too much? My worry is that it’s putting too much pressure on the neck, but with it being a soft case, I’m wondering if I’m overthinking it as surely cases stretch a bit over time anyway?
 

Any thoughts are appreciated. 
 

Curious if anyone with short scale basses has gone down this road with guitar cases and has had any problems (or not!) 

 

Thanks

Alex

[ped]

9 minutes ago, AlexDelores said:

I’ve picked up a double electric guitar soft case for a decent price. 
 

It’s to fit my Gretsch Junior Jet and Mustang basses. 
 

But, as it’s a guitar case it’s a couple of cms too small really… The basses fit and the case zips up. But, the end of the mustang headstock is pushing quite a lot into the material.
 

With it being a soft case. Anyone think this will affect anything too much? My worry is that it’s putting too much pressure on the neck, but with it being a soft case, I’m wondering if I’m overthinking it as surely cases stretch a bit over time anyway?
 

Any thoughts are appreciated. 
 

Curious if anyone with short scale basses has gone down this road with guitar cases and has had any problems (or not!) 

 

Thanks

Alex

 

I should think it's fine for the neck, but I'd be worried about the tuners - IMO they need a bit of space, and with the G string tuner being right at the end of the headstock I'd be worried about it getting bashed

[Lozz196]

I use the Mono M80 guitar cases for my Mustang Basses, yes it’s a bit tight but I’ve had no issues and my gigging/rehearsing bass stays in the M80 unless I’m using it.

[Obrienp]

I have a Thomann deluxe guitar gig bag for my Sire fretless shorty. It was recommended as a “perfect fit” on their website when I bought the bass and it is. There is a little bit of room spare above the headstock and plenty of room around the body, plus 25mm padding. Not bad for a tadge over £40.
 

It is much better designed than the Fender SS gig bags that I have used previously. They don’t have any reinforcement at the bottom of the bag, so it doesn’t take long for the strap button to split the seam.

Edited Wednesday at 17:18 by Obrienp

[AlexDelores]

Thanks guys. Decided to send it back after another try. 
 

It’s 1040cm internal and the mono is 1060cm (from internet specs). I think this just feels a bit too tight to get away with. 
 

G4M do a double with 15mm foam which would be long enough but I think I’m gonna hang fire and buy something a bit better. 
 

I don’t really ‘need’ a double case tbh. But, with another premier inn stay coming up after Saturdays gig, I’m remembering how annoying it’s been the last few times trying to get my long scale hard cases into the room 2 stories up at 2am 😂