The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[Frank Blank]

Last year I had a moment of slight madness and sold my short scale ACG. A month ago or so I had a much more serious moment of absolute madness and I sold all my basses and amplification, all I had left was a forlorn bag of leads. Yesterday I regained my sanity somewhat and was very lucky to be able to buy back my ACG Recurve SS 4 and very pleased I am too, this beauty is for keeps. @Clarky gets visiting rights.

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by Frank Blank

[BCH]

1 minute ago, Frank Blank said:

Last year I had a moment of slight madness and sold my short scale ACG. A month ago or so I had a much more serious moment of absolute madness and I sold all my basses and amplification, all I had left was a forlorn bag of leads. Yesterday I regained my sanity and was very lucky to be able to buy back my ACG Recurve SS 4 and very pleased I am too, this beauty is for keeps. @Clarky gets visiting rights.

 

Fabulous bass and a lesson learnt...ha...great news

[ezbass]

1 minute ago, Frank Blank said:

Last year I had a moment of slight madness and sold my short scale ACG. A month ago or so I had a much more serious moment of absolute madness and I sold all my basses and amplification, all I had left was a forlorn bag of leads. Yesterday I regained my sanity and was very lucky to be able to buy back my ACG Recurve SS 4 and very pleased I am too, this beauty is for keeps. @Clarky gets visiting rights.

 

Back in the bass owning fold. Just when you thought you were out, you were pulled back in again (to paraphrase Al Pacino).

[Obrienp]

On 12/08/2021 at 15:01, Baloney Balderdash said:

 

Wouldn't you actually want the body to be as havey as possible to at least counter some of the neck dive?

I guess if your only concern is neck dive but a lot of us play short scale basses because they generally (but not always) are lighter than standard scale equivalents. For me this is a major concern to reduce back and shoulder pain and compliments the other joint related benefit of reducing the fretting hand stretch.
 

As others have said, reducing the weight at the other end of the lever (the neck) is just as effective as increasing body weight. For me I have found the ultimate example of that is the Ibanez EHB series of short scale basses. I know other headless basses are available but possibly at a higher price point. I have the EHB1000s and it ticks all the boxes for me: lightweight, short scale (chambered body), ergonomic and extremely well balanced either on a strap, or sitting.

[Woodinblack]

5 hours ago, scrumpymike said:

I've found fitting Ultralites is a game changer as the weight at the headstock end exerts the biggest leverage effect on the pivot point, i.e. where the strap sits on your shoulder.  At around £100 for a set of 4, even if you fit them yourself it's not a cheap fix though.

 

Mine were a lot cheaper than £100 but yes, it wasn't terrible but it was just a bit too heavy at that end. I think that is why the 1605 was almost immediately discontinued, and when there was another spalted poplar one it had another wood behind it. However, makes for a very nice bass with the weight, and after all these changes, I still feel it is my favourite.

[Stub Mandrel]

5 hours ago, Frank Blank said:

Last year I had a moment of slight madness and sold my short scale ACG. A month ago or so I had a much more serious moment of absolute madness and I sold all my basses and amplification, all I had left was a forlorn bag of leads. Yesterday I regained my sanity somewhat and was very lucky to be able to buy back my ACG Recurve SS 4 and very pleased I am too, this beauty is for keeps. @Clarky gets visiting rights.

 

 

I won't say I told you so.

 

Yes I will.

 

I told you so.

[bigsmokebass]

Not much of a shorty fan myself based on years of buying and selling a few models on a whim of finding the perfect one.

 

I found for my size, they were just too short but also tonally they were pretty "muddy" for a clean and clear sound I hoped for. Mainly had 2X Gibson 2014 SG (120th Anniversary) chocolate brown and sunburst and numerous versions of the Fender Mustang bass each time they released one. Now I'm not saying they're bad by any means, they just weren't for me and I couldn't justify the price for basses I weren't happy with. 

 

This funky thing though, I got by accident. I was looking for UK made basses on Reverb, just out of curiosity of what we make over here and give a stab at something that wasn't Fender, Gibson and other mainstream names/shapes. Found a guy called J Douglas from Leeds who made his own instruments and after exchanging a few messages, I managed to purchase this to see how well he makes his basses and quite honestly, it's really not something I'd pick at first sight but after some play time, I fell in love and surprisingly, considering the neck pickup, isn't muddy sounding or lacking tone. It looks all sorts of wrong but it grows on you over time and sounds much better than it looks. 

It's a keeper for me, lives in my living room and picked up more than some basses I've spent far too much on 😂 

 

John actually makes some awesome short scale basses though, from Rickenbacker and Gibson inspired, to his own creations. All handmade and shipped worldwide. 

I've actually got a full scale prototype and a custom made "studio" bass. 

 

Jay from #GuitarNerds podcast also did an episode namely around one of JD's basses. Check it out: 

 

Podcast

 

Instagram

 

YouTube

 

[Larry_M]

If anyone is looking for a cheap short scale I’ve just put an SX up for sale. Link is here 

 

[MrFingers]

This has the be the smallest bass I've ever had in my actual posession (I did have a 24" National Valco on loan for a while), and it is by far the one with the most thunderous and brutal sound.

 

1999 Epiphone "Elite" EB-3. From the period when Orville shut down, but before the Elitist-series were rolled out. Basically an Orville with the Epiphone name on it. To all intents and purposes an accurate copy of a pre 1965 Gibson EB-3, except for the bridge, including the rather chunky neck. Has an actual early sixties Gibson mudbucker in the neck.

 

[BCH]

On 10/08/2021 at 09:27, BCH said:

Some better pic's of the Short Scale ACG Krell

Full spec' as requested...

 https://www.acguitars.co.uk/project/0410microkrell4-30-5/

 

[barrycreed]

Any advice on guage and flatwounds for a squier bronco bass? La bellas? Stay away from light guage right?

[Woodinblack]

I have medium gauge (in face probably over - 50-100) on my mustang

 

[scrumpymike]

22 minutes ago, barrycreed said:

Any advice on guage and flatwounds for a squier bronco bass? La bellas? Stay away from light guage right?

Personally I've found that medium-guage La Bella flats work best for me on my 30"-scale basses even though the band drop-tunes to Eb.

[barrycreed]

Thanks guys!

[flutophilus]

21 minutes ago, flutophilus said:

I'm already loving this Sandberg VS4. Satin black, rosewood fb with abalone. Superb balance either sat or standing. Nice wide fingerboard, but not full PBass width, 22 frets with really good access, flattish radius and (for me) the perfect string spacing High output passive pickups (anyone know what they are?).  30in scale (it's the strangely named "Lionel" edition).

 

I'm a very happy chappy.

 

[scrumpymike]

2 minutes ago, flutophilus said:

 

Very nice too, I've got the blue finish.  The pick-up is the Sandy Black Label.

[Chienmortbb]

wrong thread

 

Edited August 25, 2021 by Chienmortbb
Wrong thread

[scrumpymike]

28 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

Mike it looks like I might have to miss the Bash this year. Will we be going back to April next year?

Wrong thread John - I'll pm you re S-W Bass Bash 🙂

[barrycreed]

While not a fan of Limp Bizkit, this is a crazy looking short scale Wes Borland is playing here? Or is it a tenor guitar or a 4 string baritone or bass "IV" etc..

 

Link starts at track where he is using it.

 

 

[mr4stringz]

10 minutes ago, barrycreed said:

While not a fan of Limp Bizkit, this is a crazy looking short scale Wes Borland is playing here? Or is it a tenor guitar or a 4 string baritone or bass "IV" etc..

 

Link starts at track where he is using it.

 

 

Ugh, Durst et al.

 

Anyway, the skinny is here it seems…

 

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/wes_borland_says_primus_inspired_4-string_guitar_he_uses_on_limp_bizkit_classic_isnt_sure_he_should_talk_about_how_courtney_love_behaved_in_studio.html

[eude]

He's recently received a rather lovely PRS version of the concept >> https://www.instagram.com/p/CM3DAnuHURK/
"It’s a guitar/bass hybrid tuned F# F# B E or AADG, 80 42 32 22 ... it has guitar and bass pickups and 2 outputs. Scale length is 26.5"

[Woodinblack]

8 minutes ago, eude said:

He's recently received a rather lovely PRS version of the concept >> https://www.instagram.com/p/CM3DAnuHURK/
"It’s a guitar/bass hybrid tuned F# F# B E or AADG, 80 42 32 22 ... it has guitar and bass pickups and 2 outputs. Scale length is 26.5"

 

That would be an interesting signature model. Most are fairly pointless.

 

[eude]

26 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

That would be an interesting signature model. Most are fairly pointless.

 

Very true, something actually unique to the player, unlike almost every other signature. Can't image they would sell many though.

 

A lot of folks really dislike Limp Bizkit, but I think they're fun, they really do not take themselves seriously. I also really rate Borland's stuff he's done on his own, some of the Black Light Burns stuff is fantastic, and he's released some demos that never saw the light before for a band called Eat the Day, where he plays that weird 4 string bass guitar hybrid thing exclusively, along with another guitarist doing more regular guitar stuff. Worth checking out, and nothing like Limp Bizkit.

 

Eude

[Obrienp]

My custom shortscale arrived yesterday! Thank you Tony Edwards Guitars! https://tonyedwardsguitars.co.uk.
 

Apology for the quality of the pic. It doesn’t do justice to the burl on the fretboard and the tone of the sunburst. It’s 30” scale, 40mm nut, Babicz bridge and Tony’s own hand wound pickups. All for less than a Fender Mustang (USA).
 

 

[Woodinblack]

20 minutes ago, eude said:

Very true, something actually unique to the player, unlike almost every other signature. Can't image they would sell many though.

 

Probably not a huge amount but I am sure they would have a following.

 

20 minutes ago, eude said:

A lot of folks really dislike Limp Bizkit, but I think they're fun, they really do not take themselves seriously.

 

The songs are great fun to play