The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[scrumpymike]

1 hour ago, Rumple said:

Nordstrand - Acinonyx     I quite like the body but not the headstock design.

I like that headstock!  As the man said, "different strokes for different folks".  Me, I've always been drawn towards quirky alternative stuff.  Having said that, even I can see why Leo didn't choose (or even consider) the above design when he created his industry standard headstock.  As for those buttons, punching them too hard too often could be a potential reliability issue.

[Woodinblack]

47 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Yep, that headstock is grim. I’m also not keen on the push button concept. However, there seem to be plenty of other folk who like it.

Funny - I see it the other way round, I like the headstock but the body isnt anything special.

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited March 15, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited March 15, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[mr4stringz]

2 hours ago, Jus Lukin said:

I'm very aware that my soundclips for it are well overdue, but here's my custom shorty at a recent local wedding.

Not generally keen on headless basses, but that looks rather nice!

[three]

Messing around on a very grey and wet morning in the North. Recording and deciding what works best on what tracks. The shorty with humbuckers is good all round. The PJ Shorty a bit more pokey and the Wilcock just lovely for vintage rock. Thought it was about time I posted. Piaying short-scale almost exclusively now

[scrumpymike]

4 hours ago, three said:

Messing around on a very grey and wet morning in the North. Recording and deciding what works best on what tracks. The shorty with humbuckers is good all round. The PJ Shorty a bit more pokey and the Wilcock just lovely for vintage rock. Thought it was about time I posted. Piaying short-scale almost exclusively now

That's a great s-s collection you've got there!  I've played a Spector Shorty that Grantd was selling on here and very nearly bought it.  Instead went for the cheaper headless,  single-cut ACG Border Reiver he was also selling and bought a new Spector Bantam but couldn't get on with the standard pups (both Bantam and ACG now sold on).  Very interested in the Wilcock.  Not tried one but love the look and they're nice by all accounts.  Thanks for posting - I'll grab a shot of my current s-s collection that may be of interest to you and others on this topic.

[bnt]

On 02/07/2021 at 14:11, Rumple said:

Nordstrand - Acinonyx     I quite like the body but not the headstock design.

Review video:

 The shape & button system is not random; it's an update / fix of the Goya Pantheon from the '60s, made at the behest of Juan Alderete.

Edited July 3, 2021 by bnt
typo

[scrumpymike]

1 hour ago, bnt said:

Review video:

 The shape & button system is not random; it's an update / fix of the Goya Pantheon from the '60s, made at the behest of Juan Alderete.

Thanks for for posting the demo that also tells quite an important part of the story of this bass.  I discovered the Goya Pantheon heritage when researching an Acinonyx recently FS on here - but then completely forgot about it!

[scrumpymike]

OK, so here's my three s-s gig basses (R-L):  Andyjr 'Swift' custom-build - simply the best bass I've ever played regardless of price and first choice for gigs; another Swift custom-build as backup to the first; Sandberg Cali IV "don't call me" Lionel  Not your typical line-up, I'm sure you'll agree.  For those who are interested, didn't see the build diaries, and can stay awake, here's the story.

I've always had a preference for s-s basses.  This goes way back to my early playing days, when many of my favourite players such as  McCartney, Wyman, Chas Chandler, Andy Fraser and Jack Bruce were NOT playing 34 "-scale Fender basses.  I loved the look and sound of the Gibson EB/SG and so that's what I played in various guises, the last one being a lovely black 2011 SG re-issue.  Then two things happened.  First, I started to get fed up with the neck-dive and relatively restricted tonal palette.  Second, I suddenly became aware of the growing range of s-s alternatives offering better-than-Gibson quality and performance (not difficult!) at affordable prices.  It's been a long journey since then and I've owned a shed-load of stuff from Spector, Hofner, Maruszczyk/Mensinger, ACG, Ibanez and Fender - none of which completely did it for me.  The best was a MIM Fender Rascal.  I loved everything about it except the quirky body shape that put my right hand over the bridge and made the lower frets too much of a reach.  After some thought, I decided to have a chat with our Andy Rogers.  Like many on this forum, I'd been deeply impressed with Andy's build diaries and asked him if he could use a nice piece of walnut I already had to re-body the Rascal a-la Fender P Lyte that I remembered from the late 80s/early '90s.  This he was happy to do and I was so chuffed with the result that I then got him to build a (functional if not visual) clone based on a suitable re-shape of the original Rascal body.  Both these basses give me the exact spec I wanted but could not buy off the shelf.  The features are: 30" scale with fast neck around 40mm wide at the nut; pups and electronics that produce the 'tone in my head'; 7-position switch that selects any permutation of the 3 pups.  I've had these basses a few years now and I have no wish to gig anything else.  However, GAS being what it is (!?), I'm still chopping and changing my third 'backup for the backup' bass.  Currently, it's the Sandy pictured below, which narrowly displaced the s-s SBMM Ray I had before.  Happy days!

Edited July 3, 2021 by scrumpymike

[sPiKi]

What's your opinion of the Lionel, Mike?

[scrumpymike]

12 hours ago, sPiKi said:

What's your opinion of the Lionel, Mike?

Outstandingly good - matches my two Andy Rogers basses in every way but without my preferred pup/switching configuration.  I've played most of the mass/batch-produced s-s basses out there and the Lionel is the best for me - so far.  For my 3rd bass I was looking for a convincing s-s P-type bass and this is it.  Having said that, a s-s Maruszczyk Jake would probably hit the same spot if you were careful with your choice of pick-up.  For me though, the Sandy has the edge in terms of quality.  It's hard to explain but it somehow has that satisfyingly solid 'standard' feel of a really good Fender.  One of my new custom Maru's (the most expensive one!) was definitely a rushed  'Friday afternoon' job, so no more of those for me (not new ones at least).

Edited July 4, 2021 by scrumpymike

[sPiKi]

Cheers Mike. My Reverend Sentinel ss is still my number one and the Sandberg is the only other ss that has caught my attention...so far. Who knows what next year brings!

[three]

On 03/07/2021 at 21:15, scrumpymike said:

OK, so here's my three s-s gig basses (R-L):  Andyjr 'Swift' custom-build - simply the best bass I've ever played regardless of price and first choice for gigs; another Swift custom-build as backup to the first; Sandberg Cali IV "don't call me" Lionel  Not your typical line-up, I'm sure you'll agree.  For those who are interested, didn't see the build diaries, and can stay awake, here's the story.

I've always had a preference for s-s basses.  This goes way back to my early playing days, when many of my favourite players such as  McCartney, Wyman, Chas Chandler, Andy Fraser and Jack Bruce were NOT playing 34 "-scale Fender basses.  I loved the look and sound of the Gibson EB/SG and so that's what I played in various guises, the last one being a lovely black 2011 SG re-issue.  Then two things happened.  First, I started to get fed up with the neck-dive and relatively restricted tonal palette.  Second, I suddenly became aware of the growing range of s-s alternatives offering better-than-Gibson quality and performance (not difficult!) at affordable prices.  It's been a long journey since then and I've owned a shed-load of stuff from Spector, Hofner, Maruszczyk/Mensinger, ACG, Ibanez and Fender - none of which completely did it for me.  The best was a MIM Fender Rascal.  I loved everything about it except the quirky body shape that put my right hand over the bridge and made the lower frets too much of a reach.  After some thought, I decided to have a chat with our Andy Rogers.  Like many on this forum, I'd been deeply impressed with Andy's build diaries and asked him if he could use a nice piece of walnut I already had to re-body the Rascal a-la Fender P Lyte that I remembered from the late 80s/early '90s.  This he was happy to do and I was so chuffed with the result that I then got him to build a (functional if not visual) clone based on a suitable re-shape of the original Rascal body.  Both these basses give me the exact spec I wanted but could not buy off the shelf.  The features are: 30" scale with fast neck around 40mm wide at the nut; pups and electronics that produce the 'tone in my head'; 7-position switch that selects any permutation of the 3 pups.  I've had these basses a few years now and I have no wish to gig anything else.  However, GAS being what it is (!?), I'm still chopping and changing my third 'backup for the backup' bass.  Currently, it's the Sandy pictured below, which narrowly displaced the s-s SBMM Ray I had before.  Happy days!

Thanks Scrumpymike - an incredible selection and a great story.  I too have been extremely impresssed with Andyjr's work and his realisation of your ideas in the two Swifts is superb.  Both look fabulous but I'm a big fan of walnut.  The pickup configuration is really interesting and I can imagine that these are very versatile instruments.  I've only ever had lipstick pickups on a Danelectro Longhorn but found them really bright (good!).  I'm not sure if yours are custom wound/produced etc. - I need to go back and read the thread.  Thanks for posting, it's great to see some of the less common designs and brilliant that these work so well for you

Edited July 5, 2021 by three

[scrumpymike]

On 04/07/2021 at 15:21, sPiKi said:

Cheers Mike. My Reverend Sentinel ss is still my number one and the Sandberg is the only other ss that has caught my attention...so far. Who knows what next year brings!

And the Sentinel has caught MY attention!  Someone on the 'bay knocking them out at £879.  What can you tell us about yours?  (Sorry if you've already posted and I missed it.)

[edstraker123]

Here's my three - got flats on the SWB pro and rounds on the ACG which is just an absolute masterpiece.

The baby in the middle is an RMI Boomslang nano which is strung piccolo and great fun to play.

[ezbass]

3 minutes ago, edstraker123 said:

Here's my three - got flats on the SWB pro and rounds on the ACG which is just an absolute masterpiece.

The baby in the middle is an RMI Boomslang nano which is strung piccolo and great fun to play.

Those SWB Pros look the absolute business.

[edstraker123]

Yes the swb is also a joy to play - perfect balance and the EMG's sound great.

[eude]

3 hours ago, edstraker123 said:

Here's my three - got flats on the SWB pro and rounds on the ACG which is just an absolute masterpiece.

The baby in the middle is an RMI Boomslang nano which is strung piccolo and great fun to play.

Man alive, that ACG!

Eude

[scrumpymike]

I've been aware of the Reverend stuff for a while but decided to have a proper look following sPiKi's post about his Sentinel.  Very interesting, especially the Triad with its 3 pups and 5-position switching.  Given how much I love my 3-pup Andy Rogers custom-builds, I'm starting to think that a Triad would be the best choice for my 3rd bass.  So it's long live GAS and watch out Lionel, looks like you're for the chop 😋

[scrumpymike]

Well, that's it.  Deposit down on a Korina Burst Triad.  Delivery in time for Xmas!

[2x18]

1 hour ago, scrumpymike said:

Well, that's it.  Deposit down on a Korina Burst Triad.  Delivery in time for Xmas!

Isn't the Triad  34" Scale?

[scrumpymike]

1 hour ago, 2x18 said:

Isn't the Triad  34" Scale?

Just checked again - and you're right!  All I can say in my defence is it's an age thing - and I'd like 23 similar offences taken into account before sentencing m'lud.

Seriously though, thanks.  I'll maybe change my order to a Sentinel that has 3 switchable 'voices' (who knows, that might arrive before Xmas) - or perhaps it's another order for Andyjr.

[sPiKi]

Reverend make three short scales - the Wattplower, the Dub King and the Sentinel. They also make a 32" scale, the Fatfish 32.

I have written about my Reverends elsewhere on this site and have two 34" scales, a Mercalli and a Decision. Both are great basses but I fancied trying out a SS bass and the Sentinel appealed most to me. I received mine in March 2020.

It is a lovely bass to play. Although is is light at just over 7lbs, you can tell that a lot of thought has gone into it  - the ergonomics, aesthetics, components etc. and I was very impressed when I first plugged it in and the huge sound it produced. I

Regarding the 3 way toggle, I prefer the middle setting. The neck setting is just not a tone that I would use, the bridge I do use for lighter, poppier, acoustic type material but the middle position is the best of both worlds.

To sum it up, I would describe the tone, not as vintage but a more modern take on a P bass.

 

 

[scrumpymike]

Thanks sPiKi, great selection you've got there!  Changed my order with Merchant City from Triad to Sentinel this morning.  Best part is that they've got a couple of black ones already in transit.  They've got a Mulberry Mist in stock but not sure about the colour and waiting for the black ones gives me time to sell my Lionel if that's what I decide to do.  All good again 🙂