The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[barrycreed]

2 hours ago, scrumpymike said:

I'd be tempted to stick with the Epiphone.

Might get another for roundwounds!

[Guest gazzatriumph]

On 11/08/2022 at 23:22, Obrienp said:

Thanks for the info on Maruszczyk ordering folks. Unfortunately, recent unexpected expense means it is not likely to happen for a bit but it is good to know how to go about it.

When you are in a better position I can recommend a Maruszczyk, especially a custom one, for the money and quality they are bang on, plus you have four months to save up to pay it off when it's ready.

Edited August 13, 2022 by gazzatriumph

[wrinkleygit]

Anybody on this thread with a Sqier Mustang, please could you measure the neck width at the 12th fret, only need the width, thickness won’t be an issue, thanks, Mike B.

[Woodinblack]

2 hours ago, wrinkleygit said:

Anybody on this thread with a Sqier Mustang, please could you measure the neck width at the 12th fret, only need the width, thickness won’t be an issue, thanks, Mike B.

 

53.5mm on a Squier CV Mustang.

[Guest gazzatriumph]

On 12/08/2022 at 11:14, scrumpymike said:

Having had a shed-load of Maru's and one Lionel (which I stupidly sold), I'd go for a Sandy every time.

Just wondering why you kept buying Maru's by the shed load and didn't seem that impressed. 

[Obrienp]

3 hours ago, gazzatriumph said:

When you are in a better position I can recommend a Maruszczyk, especially a custom one, for the money and quality they are bang on, plus you have four months to save up to pay it off when it's ready.

Thanks but this isn’t helping my GAS 😀. The strategy is to try a medium scale: I have offloaded all my 34” basses in favour of short scale because of arthritis in my left hand. I am now wondering if I could manage a 32” . To avoid making an expensive mistake, my strategy is to try out a cheaper medium scale like a secondhand Ibbie Mezzo and if it works OK, go for something like a Maruszczyk. Unfortunately, even a Mezzo is in doubt at the moment because of the previously mentioned financial hit. I am having to hide my credit card!

[Guest gazzatriumph]

8 minutes ago, Obrienp said:

Thanks but this isn’t helping my GAS 😀. The strategy is to try a medium scale: I have offloaded all my 34” basses in favour of short scale because of arthritis in my left hand. I am now wondering if I could manage a 32” . To avoid making an expensive mistake, my strategy is to try out a cheaper medium scale like a secondhand Ibbie Mezzo and if it works OK, go for something like a Maruszczyk. Unfortunately, even a Mezzo is in doubt at the moment because of the previously mentioned financial hit. I am having to hide my credit card!

I did the same I bought a 30 inch scale Fender MIM mustang to see how I got on with it before ordering the Muruszczyk. I've kept the mustang, as a spare,  I gigged with it, not a bad bass for the price once frets had been sorted and a proper set up.

[wrinkleygit]

20 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

53.5mm on a Squier CV Mustang.

Excellent, thanks for taking the time, Mike.

[Guest gazzatriumph]

27 minutes ago, Obrienp said:

Thanks but this isn’t helping my GAS 😀. The strategy is to try a medium scale: I have offloaded all my 34” basses in favour of short scale because of arthritis in my left hand. I am now wondering if I could manage a 32” . To avoid making an expensive mistake, my strategy is to try out a cheaper medium scale like a secondhand Ibbie Mezzo and if it works OK, go for something like a Maruszczyk. Unfortunately, even a Mezzo is in doubt at the moment because of the previously mentioned financial hit. I am having to hide my credit card!

I went for a 30 inch scale as when I was looking to change from 34 inch there were a few comments saying the 32 inch has none of the benefits of a 30 inch and none of the benefits of a 34 inch, not sure if it's true but I was happy to change to a 30 after trying the mustang. Can you try the different scales out before buying. Only thing to bear in mind with a custom build is you are unlikely to get your money back if you don't like it and decide to move it on. 

Edited August 13, 2022 by gazzatriumph

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, Obrienp said:

Thanks but this isn’t helping my GAS 😀. The strategy is to try a medium scale: I have offloaded all my 34” basses in favour of short scale because of arthritis in my left hand. I am now wondering if I could manage a 32” . To avoid making an expensive mistake, my strategy is to try out a cheaper medium scale like a secondhand Ibbie Mezzo and if it works OK, go for something like a Maruszczyk. Unfortunately, even a Mezzo is in doubt at the moment because of the previously mentioned financial hit. I am having to hide my credit card!

In the for sale section right now...

 

[benebass]

6 hours ago, ezbass said:

In the for sale section right now...

 

@Obrienp - I discovered medium scale as a really good compromise between sound & playability. Best way to describe it is like playing one fret up (short scale is more like two).

 

The custom route is expensive & when I went down that road I never found something I settled on, including a beautiful-looking Maruszczyk 32" Jake.

 

I'm not just saying this as I have a bass to sell, but the neck profile on this era of Yamaha basses are great - jazz width, but substantial depth at the bottom frets. Lovely!

[BabyBlueSound]

On 10/08/2022 at 08:18, Woodinblack said:

 

A jack output plate, or a jack-plate. imaginatively enough

This any good? From here https://www.guitarpartsresource.com/jackplates_aftfender.htm

 

 

Thanks man, I cried a little seeing this!

[Obrienp]

19 hours ago, gazzatriumph said:

I went for a 30 inch scale as when I was looking to change from 34 inch there were a few comments saying the 32 inch has none of the benefits of a 30 inch and none of the benefits of a 34 inch, not sure if it's true but I was happy to change to a 30 after trying the mustang. Can you try the different scales out before buying. Only thing to bear in mind with a custom build is you are unlikely to get your money back if you don't like it and decide to move it on. 

Sorry, my original post wasn’t very clear: I have a few 30” basses that I bought when I decided to sell my standard scale instruments. One of those shorties is an Acinonyx, which is nearly 31” . This got me wondering whether I can: a) manage a 32” with my arthritis; b) whether there is any advantage to the slightly longer scale.

 

Like you say, the best way is to try one.

[Obrienp]

12 hours ago, benebass said:

@Obrienp - I discovered medium scale as a really good compromise between sound & playability. Best way to describe it is like playing one fret up (short scale is more like two).

 

The custom route is expensive & when I went down that road I never found something I settled on, including a beautiful-looking Maruszczyk 32" Jake.

 

I'm not just saying this as I have a bass to sell, but the neck profile on this era of Yamaha basses are great - jazz width, but substantial depth at the bottom frets. Lovely!

It looks like a great bass with some excellent upgrades. I am not so sure about the depth of the neck, as shallow seems to work better with my arthritis. I will certainly keep it in mind for when I get some more cash together but I suspect you won’t have any trouble selling it.

[benebass]

14 minutes ago, Obrienp said:

It looks like a great bass with some excellent upgrades. I am not so sure about the depth of the neck, as shallow seems to work better with my arthritis. I will certainly keep it in mind for when I get some more cash together but I suspect you won’t have any trouble selling it.

Cheers! It's a very personal thing, but I found that a shorter scale with a Jazz width needs a bit more depth to feel right...

[BabyBlueSound]

On 10/08/2022 at 08:18, Woodinblack said:

 

A jack output plate, or a jack-plate. imaginatively enough

This any good? From here https://www.guitarpartsresource.com/jackplates_aftfender.htm

 

 

Aw man, finally someone tells me this is simply a fender custom strat jackplate, and then it turns out this part is only available in the US - meaning some hefty extra charges 😭. They only sell the boring standard strat jackplates over here apparently. I have checked so many shops, including ones dedicated to parts... no joy. But no avoiding this, the Talman has to become fully black & mint!

[Woodinblack]

10 minutes ago, whave said:

 

Aw man, finally someone tells me this is simply a fender custom strat jackplate, and then it turns out this part is only available in the US - meaning some hefty extra charges 😭. They only sell the boring standard strat jackplates over here apparently. I have checked so many shops, including ones dedicated to parts... no joy. But no avoiding this, the Talman has to become fully black & mint!

 

Yeh, I looked and only found it on two american sites. not even ebay

 

[Guest gazzatriumph]

59 minutes ago, whave said:

 

Aw man, finally someone tells me this is simply a fender custom strat jackplate, and then it turns out this part is only available in the US - meaning some hefty extra charges 😭. They only sell the boring standard strat jackplates over here apparently. I have checked so many shops, including ones dedicated to parts... no joy. But no avoiding this, the Talman has to become fully black & mint!

Could you not spray paint it black

[BabyBlueSound]

1 minute ago, gazzatriumph said:

Could you not spray paint it black

 

Actually I tried spraypainting the O-rings from the base of the machine heads before, as my Schallers' O-rings are slightly smaller than the stock Ibanez ones and were not tight enough. I tried two separate types of paint and it simply does not stick enough, even if using primers and all. The end result looks fine but it comes off even if I scratch with my nail, so have to be careful around them. I think the chrome-like surfaces need something extra, regular spraypaint won't do.

So I just ordered it from ebay US... £33 total, ouch.

[scrumpymike]

On 13/08/2022 at 14:20, gazzatriumph said:

Just wondering why you kept buying Maru's by the shed load and didn't seem that impressed. 

Good question! The first thing to say is that a few years back I decided to limit myself to 3 basses - two for gigging in my classic rock covers band and one more that I'd keep changing just to scratch the GAS itch. My first '3rd bass' was a Mensinger Cazpar that I bought new from the Public Peace online shop for what now seems like a real bargain price of £890. I just wanted something compact and lightweight for home/practice use and ended up really loving it so I sold it to try other Cazpar variants including a fretless and a headless bought off this FS forum. I was so impressed with the quality and value for money that I bought a used s-s Elwood off here with a view to gigging it. That was a nice bass too but the quality wasn't as good as the Cazpars. Anyway, I decided to bite the bullet and get a custom Elwood L made and that was where it all went wrong. When it finally arrived, there were quality issues with bubbles in the paint finish, a chip on the neck near the headstock, and badly fitted screws. You could see from the screw heads in the scratch-plate that they hadn't gone in straight and when I tried to fit Schaller strap locks screw holding the original button sheared off. When I finally managed to extract it from the body you could see it had gone in at a stupid angle and bent straight when it was tightened down on the button. Adrian made me an offer that I was satisfied with but that was me done with Maruszczycs.

 

The Sandy Llionel I bought off here was just perfect in every way and for me was a much better player than any of the Maru's.

Edited August 14, 2022 by scrumpymike

[Baloney Balderdash]

26 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

ended up really loving it so I sold it

 

So you basically kept buying, then selling, every time you got a great bass from them, until you by the power of statistics got one you wasn't satisfied with, and then decided to call that a day?

 

Uhm...

 

Curious strategy... 

 

Not sure I really get the reasoning behind it though.

 

But I guess it worked since you eventually did end up with a bass you think is better than all the others.

 

Unless you plan to continue the general pattern I pick up here that is.

 

How is it the saying go: If you really love someone you need to set them free.

 

Not sure this is exactly what it is really supposed to mean though.

 

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by Baloney Balderdash

[meterman]

I’m probably behind the curve on this one, but why are the basses named after Lionel Ritchie?

 

And if they are, why isn’t the retail price £15?

 

(Cockney rhyming slang - a Lionel is £15. Lionel Ritchie was in The Commodores, they had a hit with “Three Times A Lady”, a ‘Lady’ refers to Lady Godiva - a fiver, £5.00 - so a Lionel is 3x a ‘Lady’)

 

Yes, I may have been at the French equivalent of Special Brew, but still. I’ve wondered about this for a while now. I apologize in advance...

[Osiris]

4 minutes ago, meterman said:

I’m probably behind the curve on this one, but why are the basses named after Lionel Ritchie?

 

And if they are, why isn’t the retail price £15?

 

(Cockney rhyming slang - a Lionel is £15. Lionel Ritchie was in The Commodores, they had a hit with “Three Times A Lady”, a ‘Lady’ refers to Lady Godiva - a fiver, £5.00 - so a Lionel is 3x a ‘Lady’)

 

Yes, I may have been at the French equivalent of Special Brew, but still. I’ve wondered about this for a while now. I apologize in advance...

 

Mine's named after Lionel Blair. 

 

Hope this helps 👍

[meterman]

1 minute ago, Osiris said:

 

Mine's named after Lionel Blair. 

 

Hope this helps 👍

It does! I flipping love Lionel Blair. And his sister, Lionette. ❤️ Phwoar!

[scrumpymike]

1 hour ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

 

So you basically kept buying, then selling, every time you got a great bass from them, until you by the power of statistics got one you wasn't satisfied with, and then decided to call that a day?

 

Uhm...

 

Curious strategy... 

 

Not sure I really get the reasoning behind it though.

 

But I guess it worked since you eventually did end up with a bass you think is better than all the others.

 

Unless you plan to continue the general pattern I pick up here that is.

 

How is it the saying go: If you really love someone you need to set them free.

 

Not sure this is exactly what it is really supposed to mean though.

 

 

Ha-ha! That's kind of right. I'd say that I stopped buying because my defective £1500 custom Elwood raised doubts about Maruszczyc quality control - forgot to mention that the Luminlays I ordered and paid for hadn't been fitted.

 

But, hey, don't forget I was just answering gazzatriumph's question.