The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[BCH]

Arrived today Tim Commerford Music Man Stingray short scale (30") active #14 of 50. Its a great build, size, weight & comfort. So far the tone is very promising...cant wait to gig. So my Mike Lull short scale will have to go!!!!!!

[Osiris]

21 minutes ago, BCH said:

Arrived today Tim Commerford Music Man Stingray short scale (30") active #14 of 50. Its a great build, size, weight & comfort. So far the tone is very promising...cant wait to gig. So my Mike Lull short scale will have to go!!!!!!

 

Oooh, I like that, and I don't even like Stingrays 

 

Out of interest, what are the details of the Mike Lull?

[Bunion]

23 minutes ago, BCH said:

Arrived today Tim Commerford Music Man Stingray short scale (30") active #14 of 50. Its a great build, size, weight & comfort. So far the tone is very promising...cant wait to gig. So my Mike Lull short scale will have to go!!!!!!

That’s not helping my sudden unexplained urge to try a short scale… 

[bassist_lewis]

51 minutes ago, BCH said:

Arrived today Tim Commerford Music Man Stingray short scale (30") active #14 of 50. Its a great build, size, weight & comfort. So far the tone is very promising...cant wait to gig. So my Mike Lull short scale will have to go!!!!!!

😍 so much love

[BCH]

43 minutes ago, Osiris said:

 

Oooh, I like that, and I don't even like Stingrays 

 

Out of interest, what are the details of the Mike Lull?

Mike Lull custom P430 (4string 30" scale 7lb) will  post full spec on BC asap...if you are interested PM

[BCH]

45 minutes ago, Bunion said:

That’s not helping my sudden unexplained urge to try a short scale… 

Wait till you see the Mike Lull P430 custom...ha

[Bunion]

52 minutes ago, BCH said:

Wait till you see the Mike Lull P430 custom...ha

Stop it now, I’m already drooling over other stuff, I don’t need more GAS! 🤣😂

[meterman]

I wasn't familiar with Soame basses, they're a custom builder from Argentina. But they popped up randomly on my Instagram feed and there's a few of their short scale basses that look great to me, so I thought I'd share some screenshots. All seem to be offset Mustang types, some semi-hollow, and priced around 2400 dollars. Nice looking 😎

 

 

 

 

s

 

https://www.soamecustomguitars.com  

 

 

 

 

 

[bassist_lewis]

22 minutes ago, meterman said:

I wasn't familiar with Soame basses, they're a custom builder from Argentina. But they popped up randomly on my Instagram feed and there's a few of their short scale basses that look great to me, so I thought I'd share some screenshots. All seem to be offset Mustang types, some semi-hollow, and priced around 2400 dollars. Nice looking 😎

 

 

 

 

s

 

https://www.soamecustomguitars.com  

 

 

 

 

 

Seen these before and they look cool af

[BCH]

On 21/01/2022 at 17:22, bassist_lewis said:

😍 so much love

Just added the Short scale Mike lull on Basses for sale...enjoy

 

[Merton]

4 minutes ago, bassist_lewis said:

Seen these before and they look cool af

Yep. The black one at the bottom of @meterman’s post almost came home to me last year as I had a friend in Argentina at the time 😅

[Badscrew]

That crimson sparkle thing is so pretty

[BabyBlueSound]

Hey Shorties, I don't know if this is specific to my Ibanez Talman, or short scales in general, but I find tapping really hard in the higher register, as the longer part of the string towards the head is much, MUCH louder there. I know, I know, I should improve my muting, that's true, and I am indeed a noob. But actually I don't do "real" tapping just the odd note as an "effect" here and there, and I absolutely don't remember this being so hard on a long scale. What do you think?

[Badscrew]

This probably isn't going into pickups

[Woodinblack]

13 hours ago, whave said:

Hey Shorties, I don't know if this is specific to my Ibanez Talman, or short scales in general, but I find tapping really hard in the higher register, as the longer part of the string towards the head is much, MUCH louder there

 

I don't do tapping at all (on a bass), but the volume of tap at various points in the string would be purely down to the action at that point. If the action is higher in one place than another, it will be louder as it has a bigger runup before hitting the fret (which is why you have a really level action on a chapman stick!). If you are finding it too loud on the talman your action is presumably too high. Failing that, get a compressor!

[Manwithvan]

On 19/01/2022 at 20:47, whave said:

The Bronco is pretty nice, I'm a sucker for the maple neck!

 

Have you guys seen the Squier Jaguar in the "for sale" topic? It's so beautiful and cheap! Someone already swooped in, no surprise  

 

Still for sale, I shall have to bump it!

[BabyBlueSound]

On 26/01/2022 at 10:02, Woodinblack said:

 

I don't do tapping at all (on a bass), but the volume of tap at various points in the string would be purely down to the action at that point. If the action is higher in one place than another, it will be louder as it has a bigger runup before hitting the fret (which is why you have a really level action on a chapman stick!). If you are finding it too loud on the talman your action is presumably too high. Failing that, get a compressor!

 

I think you misunderstood me, I never said volume/action is higher at one place than another. What I meant is, when I tap e.g. the high G at fret 12, the sound that the left side of the string makes (between nut and 12) is actually louder than the one that should be ringing (between fret and bridge). I guess it's physics and the longer part of the string rings better which seems reasonable, I just don't remember this extreme difference from a long scale. And I don't have one now for comparison. Compression does not seem to mask these "overtones" from the left side of the string, and where I have my action does not seem to have an impact either on this volume issue.

 

But anyway, I do have a compressor set up, and my action is so incredibly low you would not believe it  

Edited January 27, 2022 by whave

[Badscrew]

How about those ponytail scrunchie things people tie around the first fret?

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 27/01/2022 at 12:55, whave said:

 

I think you misunderstood me, I never said volume/action is higher at one place than another. What I meant is, when I tap e.g. the high G at fret 12, the sound that the left side of the string makes (between nut and 12) is actually louder than the one that should be ringing (between fret and bridge). I guess it's physics and the longer part of the string rings better which seems reasonable, I just don't remember this extreme difference from a long scale. And I don't have one now for comparison. Compression does not seem to mask these "overtones" from the left side of the string, and where I have my action does not seem to have an impact either on this volume issue.

 

But anyway, I do have a compressor set up, and my action is so incredibly low you would not believe it  

 

It's 100% not something inherent to short scale basses, and if your guess on why you got this issue is right then this effect would be even worse on a long scale bass, due to the relatively longer length of the string on the nut side compared to the bridge side of the tapped note, not less.

 

And if it really was due to the short scale for some strange reason, then what, guitar players shouldn't be able to tap?

 

Also I tap perfectly fine on my just 28,6" scale Ibanez Mikro Bass.

 

So this issue of yours got to be something related to either your technique, specific setup, the tone you have dialed in, strings, or something inherent to the design of your bass model in specific.

 

My best guess is that it might very well be something related to your strings, and that you might have gotten a somewhat faulty set.

 

Could be your technique too though, you can't expect copying the way you execute a technique 100% identical from one instrument to another and get identical/optimal results, you always have to make slight adjustment based on the individual instrument you play.

 

Also that you didn't have this issue on your regular 34" scale bass tells absolutely nothing, as long as the pickups, strings, string tension and setup e.t.c was not 100% identical, which it obviously couldn't possibly have been.

 

One possible way that it could actually be related to the shorter scale is if you used too heavy gauge strings, since as you go up the fretboard on a short scale the active vibrating length of the string will be relatively shorter and therefor stiffer/less flexible, compared to on a regular 34" scale bass, which is why one, contrary to common misconception, shouldn't use thicker gauge strings on a short scale bass to compensate for the lesser tension, but instead adjust ones technique accordingly by applying less force when plucking/picking and fretting notes. 

 

As far as I am concerned a gauge .105 to .045 roundwound string set to a short scale is too heavy in E standard tuning, and the low E string will sound like stinky poo as soon as you approach the 12th fret and above, for me the ideal short scale set of roundwound strings is .095 to .040, and you shouldn't go beyond a gauge .100 to 45 set, instead, as said, adjust your technique to accommodate that you are actually playing a different instrument, cause one thing is 100% certain, the instrument won't automatically adjust to your technique, and trying to force it to do so will only bring less than optimal results. 

 

Edited February 1, 2022 by Baloney Balderdash

[ezbass]

NBD! 

 

[Obrienp]

5 hours ago, ezbass said:

NBD! 

 

Enjoy! Let us know what you think once you have used it a bit. I quite fancy one of those but the 9.5” fingerboard radius puts me off a bit. I prefer flatter boards. Interested to hear what you think.

Edited February 1, 2022 by Obrienp

[Obrienp]

11 hours ago, Obrienp said:

Enjoy! Let us know what you think once you have used it a bit. I quite fancy one of those but the 9.5” fingerboard radius puts me off a bit. I prefer flatter boards. Interested to hear what you think.

Whoops! I tried clicking through before but it didn’t work! It just did and I read your review, so apologies. I would still be interested to know how you find the fretboard radius though.

[ezbass]

Just now, Obrienp said:

Whoops! I tried clicking through before but it didn’t work! It just did and I read your review, so apologies. I would still be interested to know how you find the fretboard radius though.

Nice and comfy for me. It seems to work well with the meat/shape of the neck (not bulky, but not like a broom handle). It seems a well worked combination.

[Obrienp]

8 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Nice and comfy for me. It seems to work well with the meat/shape of the neck (not bulky, but not like a broom handle). It seems a well worked combination.

Thanks. Oh dear! Not helping my GAS!

[scrumpymike]

18 hours ago, ezbass said:

NBD! 

 

I had the white one of these for a while - extremely impressed, honestly couldn't fault it, maybe should have kept it!  Moved it on for no other reason than it was my third bass (i.e. backup to my two custom-built gig bass keepers), which I change whenever I spot something else I fancy trying.