The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[ezbass]

7 hours ago, RichT said:

 

Thank you for linking to the review, very informative. Incidentally you mentioned on the thread how noisy your JMJ Mustang was. I've never owned a Mustang, but I was under the impression that the split coil pickup was split for the same purpose a P pickup is - to cancel hum. Is that not the case on Mustangs then? 

It wasn’t massively noisy, but there was some hum, despite the split coil. Any pickup will hum if it’s picking up interference, it’s just a matter of how much and how loud. At least that’s been my experience. TBH, I think it was/is a poor show by Fender to not have any shielding in the cavities of a £1k instrument. After all, the JMJ has modern (albeit reliced) Hipshot tuners, so it’s not an authentic ’60s repro, if that’s their excuse for not using conductive paint in the cavities.

[ots]

2 hours ago, ezbass said:

It wasn’t massively noisy, but there was some hum, despite the split coil. Any pickup will hum if it’s picking up interference, it’s just a matter of how much and how loud. At least that’s been my experience. TBH, I think it was/is a poor show by Fender to not have any shielding in the cavities of a £1k instrument. After all, the JMJ has modern (albeit reliced) Hipshot tuners, so it’s not an authentic ’60s repro, if that’s their excuse for not using conductive paint in the cavities.

 

Mine was noisy too  - relatively easily fixed though with a roll of copper tape and soldering iron. 

[fretmeister]

How chunky is the neck on the JMJ model?

[ezbass]

10 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

How chunky is the neck on the JMJ model?

Not thick, not super thin either, a comfortable handful, if that actually means anything. Fender describe it as a C.

[ots]

24 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

How chunky is the neck on the JMJ model?

What @ezbass said.

 

Edited May 3, 2022 by ots

[scrumpymike]

On 02/05/2022 at 12:08, fretmeister said:

 

 

I've been wondering about the SS ray. Sounds great in every demo I've heard.

I must try one.

I had one of these for a while and was very impressed. One of the best s-s basses I've played and massive value for money even if you buy new as I did. There's lots of love for them over the pond on Talkbass, including from owners of the much more expensive EB/MM version. I only moved mine on because that's what I do with my 3rd bass so I can try lots of stuff.

 

For what it's worth, my top 5 s-s basses so far have been: 1) Andy Rogers Custom (no. 1 gig bass and keeper); 2) Sandberg Lionel (very nearly a keeper and probably should have been); 3) Vox Starstream A2S (probable keeper); 4) Atelier Z Ken-Ken Signature; 5) SBMM 'Ray. Price-wise, the 'Ray punches well above its weight.

[fretmeister]

18 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

I had one of these for a while and was very impressed. One of the best s-s basses I've played and massive value for money even if you buy new as I did. There's lots of love for them over the pond on Talkbass, including from owners of the much more expensive EB/MM version. I only moved mine on because that's what I do with my 3rd bass so I can try lots of stuff.

 

For what it's worth, my top 5 s-s basses so far have been: 1) Andy Rogers Custom (no. 1 gig bass and keeper); 2) Sandberg Lionel (very nearly a keeper and probably should have been); 3) Vox Starstream A2S (probable keeper); 4) Atelier Z Ken-Ken Signature; 5) SBMM 'Ray. Price-wise, the 'Ray punches well above its weight.

 

 

That Vox looks interesting!

[Adee]

2 hours ago, scrumpymike said:

2) Sandberg Lionel (very nearly a keeper and probably should have been) ...

 

... And I am forever thankful that you made the decision to let the Sandberg Lionel go !!

[fretmeister]

Only 12 months until my Lionel gets here....

 

Not that I'm counting down the days or anything!  

[RichT]

4 hours ago, scrumpymike said:

I had one of these for a while and was very impressed. One of the best s-s basses I've played and massive value for money even if you buy new as I did. There's lots of love for them over the pond on Talkbass, including from owners of the much more expensive EB/MM version. I only moved mine on because that's what I do with my 3rd bass so I can try lots of stuff.

 

For what it's worth, my top 5 s-s basses so far have been: 1) Andy Rogers Custom (no. 1 gig bass and keeper); 2) Sandberg Lionel (very nearly a keeper and probably should have been); 3) Vox Starstream A2S (probable keeper); 4) Atelier Z Ken-Ken Signature; 5) SBMM 'Ray. Price-wise, the 'Ray punches well above its weight.

Thanks for that rundown, lots of food for thought there. I looked at the Vox before, love the retro futurism aesthetic of it, it looks like it's escaped from Daft Punk's Interstellar 5555 Tell me more, was it really that good? Have you tried the humbucker version? 

[scrumpymike]

9 hours ago, fretmeister said:

 

 

That Vox looks interesting!

 

5 hours ago, RichT said:

I looked at the Vox before, love the retro futurism aesthetic of it, it looks like it's escaped from Daft Punk's Interstellar 5555 Tell me more, was it really that good? Have you tried the humbucker version? 

I've always been up for different stuff as long as it's not a case of 'form over function'. Aesthetically, I like the look of the Starstream as for me it somehow manages to convey retro and avant-garde at the same time. Functionally, the innovative design offers definite positives and no negatives provided you're a player who 'fits' the 30" short-scale format. Specifically: the compact headstock and Gotoh tuners don't skew the strap balance; the neck is the perfect compromise being fast without feeling too skinny; the 'gappy' body is intrinsically lightweight; the location of the chunky Gotoh bridge (MIJ Artist version only) offsets the weight-saving body and keeps the bottom frets within easy reach; the inclusion of a second bottom strap-button makes the bass more comfortable to wear for some, and standing the bass on the floor safer for all; as well as being a work of art, the ABS moulding that frames the inner wooden core is kind to your forearm wherever you rest it; the Aguilar AG 4J-70 active pickups and OBP-2 electronics (Artist only) with their classic '70s vibe are right on the money for me (deep but clear lows and highs that ring out nicely); you can switch to passive mode with a 2-way toggle; the overall quality is second to none.

 

What's not to like? (All right, so you can't fit strap locks 😞)

 

Haven't played the H version of the Artist myself but our Dood Dan Veall's excellent review suggests that it's a great choice for anyone who likes those distinctive 'Ray sounds. Last time I looked at the Vox UK website, both versions of the Artist were available for £800, which is a massive discount on the £1400-ish RRP and for me makes choosing the Artist over the cost-engineered £500 standard Starstream a no-brainer.

[skelf]

New model just launched.

 

ACG Mule which you can see in the affiliates section or on my website.

[BassApprentice]

Question for all the old slappers out there.

 

I've got a Squier Musicmaster and Bronco, and tried a few other SS in shops etc and none have been very good for slapping, particularly the open E. Just feels a bit weak. I wouldn't say any of my SS basses are set up to their best, but what have others found. Is it the strings or set up or pickups in short scales that make them a bit less suited to slapping?

[fretmeister]

Every bass has its own tone and I wouldn't say a Bronco type bass would be a first choice for slappers even if it was 34 scale.

But that tone has very little to do with scale length. I've had 32s that were far better than Dingwalls.

 

Overall I think you can improve any bass for slap with a proper setup and the right strings - possibly a stiffer set to make up for the shorter scale reducing the natural bounce of a particular string gauge but ultimately you can't make an EBO sound like a J bass. The EBO will have it's own slap sound.

 

Musicmasters and Bronco's have a central pickup and they are going to sound more like a slapped P bass. Can probably get a great 'Forget me nots' sound with a good set of steel rounds, but it won't ever sound like a modern active jazz type slap.

 

I get a very modern slap out of my Ibby Mezzo 32, and I bet a good PJ or JJ at 30 inch would be just as good.

[fretmeister]

Question for the Hive Mind.

 

I'm thinking about either a Mustang PJ (mex) or a Sterling Ray shorty. I cannot decide between them.

 

Which one would you go for and why? 

[Baloney Balderdash]

This new Harley Benton GuitarBass (heavily Fender Bass VI inspired), that I just got with the mail Thursday :

 

 

You can read more about it here :

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by Baloney Balderdash

[Baloney Balderdash]

2 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Question for the Hive Mind.

 

I'm thinking about either a Mustang PJ (mex) or a Sterling Ray shorty. I cannot decide between them.

 

Which one would you go for and why? 

Short scale Sterling Sting Ray !

 

Without any doubt whatsoever.

 

As far as I am concerned it sounds better, has more frets (22 on the Ray Vs. 19 on the Mustang), and easier access to the upper ones too, which to me at least matters a lot.

 

The just 19 frets, and even poor access to the last 2, of the Mustang is a joke if you ask me.

 

But of course if you are one of those bass player who never ventures above the 12th fret and prefers a more old school vintage tone the Fender Mustang would no doubt still be the better choice out of those 2 for you.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by Baloney Balderdash

[EssentialTension]

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

Question for the Hive Mind.

 

I'm thinking about either a Mustang PJ (mex) or a Sterling Ray shorty. I cannot decide between them.

 

Which one would you go for and why? 

 

If I wanted something different from what I'd had before, then the Sterling because I've never had an EB/Musicman.

 

On the other hand if I wanted something I was already familiar with and knew what I was getting, then the PJ Mustang.

[scrumpymike]

2 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Question for the Hive Mind.

 

I'm thinking about either a Mustang PJ (mex) or a Sterling Ray shorty. I cannot decide between them.

 

Which one would you go for and why? 

I'd say they're equally good at doing very different things. I bought a SBMM to try out that distinctive 'Ray vibe for the first time. I loved the bass but when the novelty wore off realised that vibe wasn't for me. Re the Mustang, I've never owned one because (like Baloney B) I need at least 20 easily-accessible frets.

[fretmeister]

Very good point on the upper fret access. I play a lot of stuff that uses the entire board.

 

[martthebass]

Had 2 of the shorties out at two gigs at a bikers rally at the weekend. They performed well, a bit concerned when I found the Mustang had fallen over into the scaff posts behind me mid-gig. Amazingly not a mark on it and no effect other than the D being out as the fall must have hit the tuner.

On a slightly connected note, can’t believe I saw a Mikey Way Mustang up for £900 on UK Reverb yesterday......mad.

[martthebass]

On 05/05/2022 at 17:01, BassApprentice said:

Question for all the old slappers out there.

 

I've got a Squier Musicmaster and Bronco, and tried a few other SS in shops etc and none have been very good for slapping, particularly the open E. Just feels a bit weak. I wouldn't say any of my SS basses are set up to their best, but what have others found. Is it the strings or set up or pickups in short scales that make them a bit less suited to slapping?

 

Not really a slapper me (no comment) but as Fretty says I don't think either of those would fit the brief as a slap machine.  Of the 3 shorties I have I wouldn't consider either of the 2 Mustangs to be great at the job but, with the right strings the G&L Fallout would have a reasonable chance as it has much hotter pups. I would have to put some higher tension strings on though to have the correct string response I feel.

[dmc79]

Following up on my short scale curiosity from a couple of months ago, I couldn't hold off any longer. Well, actually I've not been looking actively every day, but happened to do an eBay search on Sat and there was a Squier VM Jaguar SS in silver. It looks to be in excellent condition and has an upgraded Babicz black bridge. A quick search reveals the bridge alone sells for around 120, so I think 240 was a fair asking price. I am really excited about trying this out. There is a big fan club for these on Talkbass, and I read 100 pages of the current one since buying this!

 

Interesting findings going through that topic. It seems that the weight of these massively varies, as does the neck dive, with some players saying it didn't dive at all, and some saying it was nothing that lightweight tuners didn't sort out. Nobody seemed to get bad neck dive with them. Perhaps I should have asked the seller about the weight, but at that price I'm not losing any sleep over it. Other common thoughts are that the P pickup is generally decent, but the J (bridge) one is a bit weak, with some leaving it as stock, some just replacing the J one, and others replacing the whole lot. All manner of opinions on strings, I've only ever used rounds so will stick to those. Most said that going to a heavier gauge than stock (40-95)  improved the string tension and took any floppiness out of especially the E string. There's also something called a 'magnet mod' on there which is said to improve the J output.

 

Anyone a fan of the VM Jaguars? They don't seem to get much love in this topic. I'd be interested in gig bag (and maybe hard case) options for these that I can get easily in the UK. I've seen that PMT to a 'Tourtech' gig bag for 30 quid. I've ordered some black pickguard screws as this seems a popular and cheap mod, and a set of short scale D'Addario XL Nickel Wounds in Medium (50-105) to start off with. I will see how it goes, for pickup sets (if needed), the EMG Geezer PJ & DiMarzio DP126 blacks look popular, as do Hipshot Ultralite black tuners. Cool that it already has an upgraded bridge.

 

By all accounts it sounds like a really fun and playable bass, with nice mod options. It's killing a few birds with one stone too - I've always fancied trying a Jagaur, recently wanted to try a shorty, haven't played a thinner Jazz style neck for a few years, and hopefully it will be lighter than a P bass. I can't say I've ever particularly wanted to try a P/J combination, but I get the chance to do that now too. I wasn't sure about the silver / black colour at first, but I believe it''s better in person than on pics, and the industrial look will be a change, as I've never had a bass this colour before. I'm trying not to get too excited in case SS doesn't work for me, but I can't help it! The thought of a shorter, lighter bass does appeal to me. Fun times!

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by dmc79

[martthebass]

10 minutes ago, dmc79 said:

Following up on my short scale curiosity from a couple of months ago, I couldn't hold off any longer. Well, actually I've not been looking actively every day, but happened to do an eBay search on Sat and there was a Squier VM Jaguar SS in silver. It looks to be in excellent condition and has an upgraded Babicz black bridge. A quick search reveals the bridge alone sells for around 120, so I think 240 was a fair asking price. I am really excited about trying this out. There is a big fan club for these on Talkbass, and I read 100 pages of the current one since buying this!

 

Interesting findings going through that topic. It seems that the weight of these massively varies, as does the neck dive, with some players saying it didn't dive at all, and some saying it was nothing that lightweight tuners didn't sort out. Nobody seemed to get bad neck dive with them. Perhaps I should have asked the seller about the weight, but at that price I'm not losing any sleep over it. Other common thoughts are that the P pickup is generally decent, but the J (bridge) one is a bit weak, with some leaving it as stock, some just replacing the J one, and others replacing the whole lot. All manner of opinions on strings, I've only ever used rounds so will stick to those. Most said that going to a heavier gauge than stock (40-95)  improved the string tension and took any floppiness out of especially the E string. There's also something called a 'magnet mod' on there which is said to improve the J output.

 

Anyone a fan of the VM Jaguars? They don't seem to get much love in this topic. I'd be interested in gig bag (and maybe hard case) options for these that I can get easily in the UK. I've seen that PMT to a 'Tourtech' gig bag for 30 quid. I've ordered some black pickguard screws as this seems a popular and cheap mod, and a set of short scale D'Addario XL Nickel Wounds in Medium (50-105) to start off with. I will see how it goes, for pickup sets (if needed), the EMG Geezer PJ & DiMarzio DP126 blacks look popular, as do Hipshot Ultralite black tuners. Cool that it already has an upgraded bridge.

 

By all accounts it sounds like a really fun and playable bass, with nice mod options. It's killing a few birds with one stone too - I've always fancied trying a Jagaur, recently wanted to try a shorty, haven't played a thinner Jazz style neck for a few years, and hopefully it will be lighter than a P bass. I can't say I've ever particularly wanted to try a P/J combination, but I get the chance to do that now too. I wasn't sure about the silver / black colour at first, but I believe it''s better in person than on pics, and the industrial look will be a change, as I've never had a bass this colour before. I'm trying not to get too excited in case SS doesn't work for me, but I can't help it! The thought of a shorter, lighter bass does appeal to me. Fun times!

 

 

I had one briefly in the same colour scheme.  

 

First the positives:  The neck was a great J profile, very fast and easy to play, seemed to be the same profile as my MII Mustang - could have almost been the same neck except for the name on the headstock.  The pups were great, very punchy and powerful, didn't find either of them weak and preferred them to the humbucker on my Mikey Way Mustang.  Very lightweight, sub 8lbs - maybe closer to 7.  

 

The negatives:  The body was so lightweight that it had significant neck dive; I know shorties can suffer this (my JMJ has a mild case) but it was pretty bad on this one.  The wood (Agathis?)was on the soft side so I had to stabilise the strap pins with epoxy.  The tuners were low quality but did the job.

 

I let the bass go to part fund the JMJ eventually.  If you decide to go for one I'd try before buying as the weight/wood quality may vary a bit and the balance may be a factor for you. 

[ezbass]

On 05/05/2022 at 17:01, BassApprentice said:

Question for all the old slappers out there.

 

I've got a Squier Musicmaster and Bronco, and tried a few other SS in shops etc and none have been very good for slapping, particularly the open E. Just feels a bit weak. I wouldn't say any of my SS basses are set up to their best, but what have others found. Is it the strings or set up or pickups in short scales that make them a bit less suited to slapping?

The open E is not so much weak as missing that piano quality and overtones you get with a typical 34" scale. What you're getting is more fundamental in the place of those overtones. However, the pickup placement on the Musicmaster, Bronco and Mustang doesn't really lend itself to slap either, the position being a bit north of a P bass' pickup (in scale relative terms). The 'Ray SS is another story, however. Although you still get more fundamental, especially on the open E, there is more midrange snap and top end than on the Fender, single pickup offerings. Perhaps something with a J type pickup fitted might work better too, the Player series Mustang has one IIRC.