fretmeister Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 It's not a shorty thing. It's a set up thing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 29 minutes ago, fretmeister said: It's not a shorty thing. It's a set up thing. Agreed. Neither of my shorties buzz, I don’t have a high action on them and not much relief either. I think the guy who mentioned the bridge might need refitting was possibly being kind and not wanting to seem negative, @dmc79 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmc79 Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 (edited) 15 minutes ago, ezbass said: Agreed. Neither of my shorties buzz, I don’t have a high action on them and not much relief either. I think the guy who mentioned the bridge might need refitting was possibly being kind and not wanting to seem negative, @dmc79 Wouldn’t have bothered me as it’s not like I fitted it myself anyway. I may have to add in a bit more neck relief. I just did a quick search on short scale fret buzz and a few tips were: Use heavier gauge strings for a little more tension (I have 50-105 on anyway so should be fine) Not be too heavy handed (I wasn’t bludgeoning the strings anyway, they just wanted to buzz so easily) Pick nearer the bridge (will try, even though I won’t be using the J pickup much) Do you think it’s just a neck relief issue then and nothing to do with that bridge? I’ll have to measure the action of my P at the bridge which is perfect for me and see if I need to adjust the string height too Edited May 26, 2022 by dmc79 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 I use exactly the same strings on my shorties as I do on my longer scales. I also pluck where it's most comfortable (pretty much the same, relative to all my basses). Again, no rattles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmc79 Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 40 minutes ago, ezbass said: I use exactly the same strings on my shorties as I do on my longer scales. I also pluck where it's most comfortable (pretty much the same, relative to all my basses). Again, no rattles. I should add, I’m talking playing acoustically on lap here, I guess it won’t bother me as much when plugged in, but I can do the same on my P and no rattle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 It shouldn’t be the Babicz bridge, any bridge really, if the string height is set correctly. The Babicz bridge is pretty top stuff. I have one on a shorty and it really is excellent. I would be looking for something else like too much tension in the truss rod making the fretboard convex. There needs to be a little relief in the neck. If that is OK, is the nut cut too low? Are there any high frets? Is the rattle all over the neck on every string, or is it just in certain places, or strings? If it really is bugging you, I would be inclined to get a proper luthier/guitar tech set it up. In my experience it really is worth the cash when you can’t sort it yourself. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmc79 Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 On 26/05/2022 at 18:04, Obrienp said: It shouldn’t be the Babicz bridge, any bridge really, if the string height is set correctly. The Babicz bridge is pretty top stuff. I have one on a shorty and it really is excellent. I would be looking for something else like too much tension in the truss rod making the fretboard convex. There needs to be a little relief in the neck. If that is OK, is the nut cut too low? Are there any high frets? Is the rattle all over the neck on every string, or is it just in certain places, or strings? If it really is bugging you, I would be inclined to get a proper luthier/guitar tech set it up. In my experience it really is worth the cash when you can’t sort it yourself. Thanks. I will have look / play as regards to your questions. I played the Jaguar properly for the first time on Sunday. It was a little weird to begin with adjusting to the finger positions of a shorty, but soon I was really enjoying it. I think it was getting used to a jazz width nut & slimmer neck AND playing a shorty all at the same time after years of playing P basses that had me really having to concentrate! I can't say the fret buzz bothered me when plugged in, when I was using a pick (.73 Dunlop nylon) I was doing so with a light touch and I have to say it was a lot of fun to play. Along with the shorter fret reach, the best thing was the lighter weight - this thing weighs 7.2lbs / 3.2Kg! Also I have read that neck dive is a common Jaguar problem - I guess the hi-mass bridge helps, but it feels perfectly balanced. I certainly don't need lightweight tuners to help balance it. If I ever do change the tuners, it will be for greater tuning accuracy / cosmetic reasons, not balancing ones. It's too early to say if I'll ever go all in on shorties, but I really enjoy playing the Jaguar, it felt so effortless after the initial change. The other thing I had to get used to was the P/J setup, as I've never had one before. I'd read elsewhere that there is a volume dip issue with these when both pickup volumes are fully cranked, that it feels like power is being drained from the P one. I certainly noticed this, along with the J hum as it was turned up. Ended up with just a little J mixed in. Not crazy about having 2 volume knobs though, and had a scratchy tone pot, so have a KiOgon VBT (Vol-Blend-Tone ) pre-wired solderless loom with upgraded jack on the way. May look into replacing just the J pickup with a noiseless one, or going for a full P/J set sometime. At least with the loom, it will be easy to change them as I don't do soldering. Anyway, the short scale Squier VM Jaguar is a great bass for the money and a lot of fun to play. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 Just happened upon a few videos of a very modded JMJ. Me likey! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 Some lovely sounds on those clips! Thanks for that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 18 minutes ago, MoonBassAlpha said: Some lovely sounds on those clips! Thanks for that! Agreed. That Serek B90 at the bridge sounds great, the scale seems to lessen the honk and promote more burp. Suffice to say I’ve been checking out the cost of one - $175 plus shipping and tax; ouch! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 29 minutes ago, ezbass said: Agreed. That Serek B90 at the bridge sounds great, the scale seems to lessen the honk and promote more burp. Suffice to say I’ve been checking out the cost of one - $175 plus shipping and tax; ouch! Oof! Indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 (edited) As one or two of you may already know @Jabba_the_gut is currently building me a matching pair of basses (build diary here), a fretted and a fretless, which already means they don't match, but frets aside, they will otherwise be the same. Anyway, before I bog myself down in semantics, I was eager to acquire a Jabba bass essentially to see me through until my two were built. Luckily Jabba had one very similar (in shape at least) to the two he's building for me already finished, so I bought it from him back in September last year at the Midlands Bass Bash. Incredibly rudely I bowled into the Bash as soon as it opened, bought the bass, shook Jabba's hand and left! I barely had time to laugh at @Stub Mandrel's (actually excellent) rig. Like the impetuous idiot that I clearly am, I invariably acquire a bass, play it for ten minutes, rush on to Basschat and in a gushing eulogy tell anyone who cares to read that I've found the 'gas-killer bass' and that I am totally satisfied only to then sell it on again within a fortnight after I've had a word with myself. However, I've now been the owner of a @Jabba_the_gut bass for ten months and I can, in a far more sober, thoughtful and considered manner, tell you that I think the Jabba bass actually does fit the bill, or certainly my bill, to a tee. The other basses in the rack now have a layer of dust over them, that's the one or two I haven't yet sold. I have a lovely ACG Recurve SS 4 that I was lucky enough to buy from @Clarky (thanks Sir) and then stupidly sold but, thank Bog, was able to buy back. That's a definite keeper as it fills the electric solid-body roundwound bass corners that the Jabba bass doesn't, but then the Jabba bass is semi-hollow with flatwounds, it isn't supposed to twang and clank, it has too much class. Anyway, I'm wittering. I play in an acoustic duo and I've been through a gazillion basses trying to get just the right balance of sounds as we play quite a variety of songs, from kind of mellow jazz to much more angular abrasive stuff. The Jabba bass sits in the middle of that brief coping easily with the demands I make of it. If I were a technically minded man I'd tell you technical things about it but I'm not so I can't but it is an incredibly beautifully built bass and it sounds amazing. Whenever anyone sees it, be it musician or civilian, they always admire it, usually with the words "It's a work of art..." which it most definitely is. Blimey, I'm still at wittering, I best get off the train otherwise I'll end up in prattling and no one wants that. In summary. @Jabba_the_gut makes exceedingly good basses and my aim is to own several and play them exclusively. The tone is gorgeous, the build is exquisite... extraordinary. If you get the chance to own one then jump on it, you won't regret it. Edited July 4, 2022 by Frank Blank 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrinkleygit Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 Looks extremely familiar, but then what do I know !! 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 4 minutes ago, wrinkleygit said: Looks extremely familiar, but then what do I know !! As does the body of the bass on the left, used to be in my fireplace with a Buddha sitting on top of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrinkleygit Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 When I put the Telebass on a strap, it feels like he’s still there !!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 (edited) On 31/05/2022 at 16:43, dmc79 said: The other thing I had to get used to was the P/J setup, as I've never had one before. I'd read elsewhere that there is a volume dip issue with these when both pickup volumes are fully cranked, that it feels like power is being drained from the P one. I certainly noticed this, along with the J hum as it was turned up. Ended up with just a little J mixed in. Not crazy about having 2 volume knobs though, and had a scratchy tone pot, so have a KiOgon VBT (Vol-Blend-Tone ) pre-wired solderless loom with upgraded jack on the way. May look into replacing just the J pickup with a noiseless one, or going for a full P/J set sometime. At least with the loom, it will be easy to change them as I don't do soldering. Anyway, the short scale Squier VM Jaguar is a great bass for the money and a lot of fun to play. Yes, the volume drop thing with a P/J set up wired in parallel seems unavoidable. I have no idea of the physics behind it. Every P/J I have had (5) suffered from that whatever pickups I put in them. The only way that I am aware of to avoid that is to wire them in series, in which case you get a few DB volume boost and a sound a bit like a Music Man pickup (I guess it turns them into a big humbucker). I like it but I wouldn’t use it all the time, so I tend to put a push/pull on the volume to switch between parallel and series mode. I have done this in combination with a blend, instead of a second volume: pretty complicated to wire up and as you don’t solder, you would need to get somebody else to do it for you. Somebody is bound to come up with another solution: watch this space. I guess active pickups might not suffer from the volume drop? You can deal with the Jazz pickup hum by shielding the cavities with copper tape. Link the cavities with ground wires and make sure it all goes to ground via the earth terminal on the jack socket. Also make sure the copper tape makes contact with the metal control mounting plate (if it is not metal, put shielding tape on the inside surface). It is not as complicated as I made it sound. Edited June 4, 2022 by Obrienp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzyvee Posted June 6, 2022 Share Posted June 6, 2022 My bass has a 30.75" scale length and for about a year i had been trying to get used to nickel strings, however i have had to resign myself to not using them because ny finger tios don't seem to get on with them. I don't understand why but after playing my fingers feel like they did when i first started playing bass. Anyway at the weekend i changed my strings to some dunlop superbrights which i like the sound off and have a bit less tension and the right amount of resistance when bending strings. However, when bending i now find the strings roll on the frets causing my fingers to slip sometimes. Any tips?. It didn't happen with the thicker strings which had more tension. My fave strings are D'addario pro steels but i just wanted to try dunlops for a change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 On 06/06/2022 at 14:01, jazzyvee said: My bass has a 30.75" scale length and for about a year i had been trying to get used to nickel strings, however i have had to resign myself to not using them because ny finger tios don't seem to get on with them. I don't understand why but after playing my fingers feel like they did when i first started playing bass. Anyway at the weekend i changed my strings to some dunlop superbrights which i like the sound off and have a bit less tension and the right amount of resistance when bending strings. However, when bending i now find the strings roll on the frets causing my fingers to slip sometimes. Any tips?. It didn't happen with the thicker strings which had more tension. My fave strings are D'addario pro steels but i just wanted to try dunlops for a change. Sounds like you have a nickel allergy. It's actually quite common. Some people have it so badly that some coins cause a reaction. Finger slip is just practice I'm afraid! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabyBlueSound Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 I have been using the Talman shortie since last October, and I noticed the satin neck slowly became glossy and sticky. I usually play in gloves due to sweaty hands, and the gloves slide around anyway so it's not a big deal, but interesting that moderate use can cause this. Even towards the body, where I don't play as much as up around the head or the middle. The only satin parts left are the very end at the head, and the very end at the body. Ordered some scotch brite on ebay... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesfunk Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 I just took delivery of the new short scale headless from Bootlegger guitars it’s a fun little bass to play and sounds good! here’s a link to a review I posted at talk bass. https://www.talkbass.com/reviews/bootlegger-ace-short-scale-headless-bass.541/ 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDaBass Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 (edited) NBD Is it Short enough???***!!! So I fancied a small U-Bass and ordered a Harley Benton U-Bass. Sadly the piezo bridge was defective with low level output from the E string so I returned it. And satisfied my Gas for a shorty bass by purchasing a Hofner . 30ins scale, 24 fret neck, bass wood body, maple neck, hi-mass bridge, passive V&T and humbucker pickup. Sounds lovely, easy to play and sits just right on the sofa while playing along to CDs and videos. Do you think it's toooooo short😂 Edited June 11, 2022 by JohnDaBass error 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmckee Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 Anyone seen a sunburst G&L Fallout Fullerton Deluxe on sale anywhere? Been enjoying my Tribute Fallout a lot so thinking about upgrading. Can’t find one anywhere though…. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 Only had the Fallout on a couple of gigs so far; was pretty impressed with it’s sonic abilities, very clear and defined. Overall has a few have said, dimensionally it feels more of a full sized bass than my Mustangs. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmckee Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 1 hour ago, martthebass said: dimensionally it feels more of a full sized bass than my Mustangs. I think that’s one of the reasons I like it - that it doesn’t feel THAT different from a regular 34”. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adee Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 25 minutes ago, dmckee said: I think that’s one of the reasons I like it - that it doesn’t feel THAT different from a regular 34”. That's why Mart has my Fallout now, yes it felt much like a 34" scale as the bridge is set forward. sounded ace but much preferred my JMJ Mustang, EBMM Stingray and Sandberg Lionel Shorties 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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