The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[AlexDelores]

20 hours ago, Bone Idol said:

Have you tried increasing the value of the cap on the tone pot?... That would only cost pennies and should make the tone darker as you turn down the tone pot.

Changing from single coil to humbucker pickups usually requires changing the pots too as their values will be different.... I'd try changing the cap as it's 5 minutes with a soldering iron and only about £3 from your pocket....

If you don't like it, you can put the original one back in... Hope this helps.

That’s a good shout. Will have a look. Thank you 🙏 

[AlexDelores]

8 hours ago, DF Shortscale said:

 

The G&L Fallout is basically a Mustang with a humbucker, they might be worth a look if you like that sound.

Yeah I did look at them as there’s one for sale in my local shop… But, I really, really don’t like the shape of the headstock on G&L basses. Shallow, I know. But it’s just not my thing. 
 

 

[ezbass]

On 11/01/2025 at 08:00, AlexDelores said:

Who’s put a humbucker on a Mustang? 
 

Has it noticeably changed the sound? 
 

I’d like to give mine a more ‘woolly’ sound as I’m not a massive fan of the single coil ‘twang’ and tend to dial the tone right down. 
 

Humbuckers are generally my favourite pickup sound but I’m cautious that the positioning and scale of the Mustang might not impact the sound that much. 
 

I’m pretty clueless when it comes to mods etc so just getting an idea of if it’s worth it before I go down a rabbit hole. 

Fender did a Mustang with a Wide Range fitted.

 

That said, the right Mustang split coil might be a better way forward. The custom Seymour Duncan in the JMJ can go from roaring P Bass to very dubby. I understand that the Curtis Novak is even more old school.

[AlexDelores]

56 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Fender did a Mustang with a Wide Range fitted.

 

That said, the right Mustang split coil might be a better way forward. The custom Seymour Duncan in the JMJ can go from roaring P Bass to very dubby. I understand that the Curtis Novak is even more old school.

Yeah I’d essentially be looking at replicating the Pawn Shop but I don’t think those pickups are available? 
 

Not sure I didn’t think of trying just trying a split coil upgrade first but that could well be the first step! 
 

Thanks all!

[Stub Mandrel]

On 06/01/2025 at 13:22, Bone Idol said:

You're too kind... But you're also quite correct!!!... By blending the the two pickup volume controls it transforms the EB0 away from being a 'one trick pony' into quite a versatile bass.

 

Amongst all the stuff that one holds onto over the years, I knew that I had an old Teisco single coil guitar pickup from the 1970's.

I used the innards of this pickup and an un-drilled 'Dog Ear P90' pickup cover, together with the original Teisco 100K volume pot that I'd kept and hey-presto... It works... And probably more by luck than judgement, it sounds great!

 

I forgot to photograph my pickup before the installation but here's the exact same thing I found a photo of on the net... I lost my cover years ago, hence the P90 one I bought for about £3... Plus the Telecaster type jack socket & plate... The whole modification cost me less than £15 😃

 

 

 

Old Kay/teisco 'harmonica' pickups are actually really good.

[ped]

39 minutes ago, AlexDelores said:

Yeah I’d essentially be looking at replicating the Pawn Shop but I don’t think those pickups are available? 
 

Not sure I didn’t think of trying just trying a split coil upgrade first but that could well be the first step! 
 

Thanks all!

 

I bought a vintage mustang which had a pickup change to P/J in the 70s. It sounded great - just like a full scale P/J but more even across the board. It lost the 'tubby' sound and had a much wider range. However the pickups weren't installed perfectly straight (and shrinkage of the pickguard pushed the P out of position a bit) so i had them changed to Thunderbird (dual coil) and Rickenbacker pickups, mostly because they were the only ones that would fit the existing cavities. Full story here and clips of what it sounds like here

 

 

[AlexDelores]

56 minutes ago, ped said:

 

I bought a vintage mustang which had a pickup change to P/J in the 70s. It sounded great - just like a full scale P/J but more even across the board. It lost the 'tubby' sound and had a much wider range. However the pickups weren't installed perfectly straight (and shrinkage of the pickguard pushed the P out of position a bit) so i had them changed to Thunderbird (dual coil) and Rickenbacker pickups, mostly because they were the only ones that would fit the existing cavities. Full story here and clips of what it sounds like here

 

 

Thanks for this, I’ve seen the build diary before and really enjoyed it! Hadn’t seen the recordings, sounds really good that! 

[scrumpymike]

15 hours ago, Obrienp said:

I don’t see a short scale 4 string EHB on the Ibanez website. Has it been discontinued? If they released one in the new finishes on those 5s I would be interested. I kind of regret selling my Sea Foam 4 but I was always missing my notes on it. I kept hitting a tone too low. I had to look at the neck all the time to make sure I didn’t make a mistake. I could have done with the neck being a bit narrower too but it was manageable as is. 

I've just jumped on the Ibanez website and I can't find a s-s 4 either. I thought the Sea Foam was still in the catalogue because they're still out there for sale but that must just be remaining stock at the retailers. I think they're making a mistake by withdrawing the s-s 4.

 

Interesting what you say about missing notes on the one you had. I found the same with the 3 headless basses I've owned. I really had to concentrate to avoid it. My conclusion was that the headstock provides a reference point in your peripheral vision. You're not really aware of it until you take it away.

[Obrienp]

38 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

I've just jumped on the Ibanez website and I can't find a s-s 4 either. I thought the Sea Foam was still in the catalogue because they're still out there for sale but that must just be remaining stock at the retailers. I think they're making a mistake by withdrawing the s-s 4.

 

Interesting what you say about missing notes on the one you had. I found the same with the 3 headless basses I've owned. I really had to concentrate to avoid it. My conclusion was that the headstock provides a reference point in your peripheral vision. You're not really aware of it until you take it away.

They also seem to have withdrawn the Mezzo medium scale. I’m hoping that they are working on a new finish for the EHB 4 and that something will be announced soon.
 

I  agree the lack of headstock is part of the problem, plus on the EHB the neck seems to be set very far into the body, probably caused by the exaggerated top horn and the body being the same size as the full scale, with the bridge as far back as it can go. It makes for a very short bass tip to toe.

 

I kind of wish a manufacturer would adopt the string clamping and bridge tuning but with a decent sized headstock. I guess there would be no point as far as most people are concerned but it gives me an idea for a self build/custom. The ability to chose any string on the market is a distinct plus and cost saver over short scale strings.