The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[ped]

Yep looks great 😎

[LeftyJ]

I picked up a (barely) used Harley Benton PB Shorty the other day, for sh*ts and giggles mainly. For the €50 I paid I didn't expect much, and in all fairness, it delivers. Supercheap tuners, poor fretwork (uneven frets with sharp ends), a "quick and dirty" black finish with a nice orange peel texture, and a truss rod nut made of chewing gum that is misaligned with the access hole, so no key will fit and the hole will be stripped soon. When I tuned it for the first time, the low E tuning post barely handled the string tension and there are some serious grooves in them from the string winds. 

 

But! The neck feels remarkably good and comfortable (despite being a bit bendy) and this thing is so much fun to play! And the best part is it sounds exactly how you'd expect from a miniature P Bass. 

 

I don't think it will last long (and I don't think I'll be keeping it for long) but for now I'm going to enjoy the hell out of it. 

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by LeftyJ

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, LeftyJ said:

I picked up a (barely) used Harley Benton PB Shorty the other day, for sh*ts and giggles mainly. For the €50 I paid I didn't expect much, and in all fairness, it delivers. Supercheap tuners, poor fretwork (uneven frets with sharp ends, a "quick and dirty" black finish with a nice orange peel texture, and a truss rod nut made of chewing gum that is misaligned with the access hole, so no key will fit and the hole will be stripped soon. When I tuned it for the first time, the low E tuning post barely handled the string tension and there are some serious grooves in them from the string winds. 

 

But! The neck feels remarkably good and comfortable (despite being a bit bendy) and this thing is so much fun to play! And the best part is it sounds exactly how you'd expect from a miniature P Bass. 

 

I don't think it will last long (and I don't think I'll be keeping it for long) but for now I'm going to enjoy the hell out of it. 

 

 

 

That Atelier is 😍

[LeftyJ]

On 20/02/2023 at 20:41, ezbass said:

That Atelier is 😍

Sure is! I love it so much, I barely touch my other (longscale) 4-strings anymore. It has a few quirks, but I can appreciate them: it has 16,5mm spacing at the bridge, so it's fairly narrow - but not dissimilar to my Warwick Streamer LX5 and the Stingray 5 I used to have, so it doesn't feel all that weird. And the 2-band EQ is boost only, whereas I would have appreciated a treble cut to shave off some of the inherent brightness in its tone. It's also slightly neckdivey. Otherwise just a lovely instrument with a very luxurious, high-end feel and quality to it. 

[ezbass]

Having become wrapped up the recent Epiphone Newport release and furore, I completely forgot about the last SS that caused quite the stir (I am a bear of very little brain). However, following a desire for some tort on black action, not least because of a recent interview with Bruce Foxton in Guitarist, where he’s sporting a P in this combo and our own @Frank Blank’s recent Nordstrand purchase, I remembered the last SS that caused a stir, the HB Mustang-alike. Anyway, at £205 delivered, it was a no brainer and I pulled the trigger this am, before I could talk my self out of it. Also ordered a blend pot to replace the volume so I can get some in between action. Should arrive Thursday/Friday and will hopefully not look too different from this…

 

 

[scrumpymike]

12 minutes ago, ezbass said:

... I remembered the last SS that caused a stir, the HB Mustang-alike. Anyway, at £205 delivered, it was a no brainer and I pulled the trigger this am, before I could talk my self out of it. Also ordered a blend pot to replace the volume so I can get some in between action. Should arrive Thursday/Friday and will hopefully not look too different from this…

 

Good choice! The nice thing about these is the they've got 19 easily-accessible accessible frets, which also makes the body look better proportioned than the Mustang IMHO. I got the Burgundy Mist with tort, which was the only option in the Deluxe range at the time. Thomann now seem to be offering the full range of colours and, much as I love mine, I would probably have gone for the black/tort too.

 

I'd love to hear how you get on with the new pot as it's on my to-do list. Are you fitting it yourself?

[mike 110]

 

[Osiris]

50 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Having become wrapped up the recent Epiphone Newport release and furore, I completely forgot about the last SS that caused quite the stir (I am a bear of very little brain). However, following a desire for some tort on black action, not least because of a recent interview with Bruce Foxton in Guitarist, where he’s sporting a P in this combo and our own @Frank Blank’s recent Nordstrand purchase, I remembered the last SS that caused a stir, the HB Mustang-alike. Anyway, at £205 delivered, it was a no brainer and I pulled the trigger this am, before I could talk my self out of it. Also ordered a blend pot to replace the volume so I can get some in between action. Should arrive Thursday/Friday and will hopefully not look too different from this…

 

 

 

I picked up a sea foam green one at the start of the year and am really pleased with it. There was a couple of minor issues with mine, it was a bit noisy and there were a couple of rough fret edges, but an hour so's work and it's spot on now - and I tend to be a bit kack-handed when it comes to doing jobs like that but it's perfect for my needs now. I'm just waiting for a custom made scratch plate to arrive before gigging it as I think tort looks hideous, but each to their own. It'll be gigging alongside a pair of other basses that each cost 7 or 8 times as much but in terms of feel I think it holds its own, and I won't be so precious about it on the more lively gigs either!

 

Several people have bemoaned the lack of pickup blend but I really like the sound of it, I dropped the bridge pickup a bit so the tone is more 60:40 neck:bridge and really like the sound, it's very clean and clear and has its own voice. I did intend to add a blend pot to mine too and although I might do just that at some point I don't feel any pressing need to do it ASAP. 

[ezbass]

46 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

 

 

I'd love to hear how you get on with the new pot as it's on my to-do list. Are you fitting it yourself?

Yeah, that kind of thing is in my wheel house having built a valve amp and various pedals. I don’t ride the volume control at all, so I doubt I’ll miss it. However, if I do, I’ll refit it and install a side mounted jack plate.

 

19 minutes ago, Osiris said:

 

I picked up a sea foam green one at the start of the year and am really pleased with it. There was a couple of minor issues with mine, it was a bit noisy and there were a couple of rough fret edges, but an hour so's work and it's spot on now - and I tend to be a bit kack-handed when it comes to doing jobs like that but it's perfect for my needs now. I'm just waiting for a custom made scratch plate to arrive before gigging it as I think tort looks hideous, but each to their own. It'll be gigging alongside a pair of other basses that each cost 7 or 8 times as much but in terms of feel I think it holds its own, and I won't be so precious about it on the more lively gigs either!

 

Several people have bemoaned the lack of pickup blend but I really like the sound of it, I dropped the bridge pickup a bit so the tone is more 60:40 neck:bridge and really like the sound, it's very clean and clear and has its own voice. I did intend to add a blend pot to mine too and although I might do just that at some point I don't feel any pressing need to do it ASAP. 

Yeah, tort on SFG wouldn’t be my thing, although I think you’re talking tort in general.

 

I bought a fret end and fret polishing kit for my SS ‘Ray, so I’m good to go there, if there are any issues.

 

I was thinking about just lowering the bridge pickup to give that mix, but I was there and ordering bits and bobs, so a pot was just easy to add. Also, ordered a Fender SS gigbag as they had them, so I’ll be sorted in that dept too.

[Paul S]

40 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Yeah, that kind of thing is in my wheel house having built a valve amp and various pedals. I don’t ride the volume control at all, so I doubt I’ll miss it. However, if I do, I’ll refit it and install a side mounted jack plate.

 

Yeah, tort on SFG wouldn’t be my thing, although I think you’re talking tort in general.

 

I bought a fret end and fret polishing kit for my SS ‘Ray, so I’m good to go there, if there are any issues.

 

I was thinking about just lowering the bridge pickup to give that mix, but I was there and ordering bits and bobs, so a pot was just easy to add. Also, ordered a Fender SS gigbag as they had them, so I’ll be sorted in that dept too.

 

I'll be interested to see how this pans out, too.  I was on the verge of chucking some serious money at a '78 Mustang before I knew the weight and still feel there is an itch that needs a scratch.

 

Too late now but the Thomann E-Guitar gigbag is a country mile better than the Fender.  It is longer than the average guitar gig bag and fits all my short scale basses, has several useful pockets, more padding.  And it's only £27.

[Osiris]

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

Yeah, tort on SFG wouldn’t be my thing, although I think you’re talking tort in general.

 

Tort in general makes my eyes bleed upsets my delicate sensibilities but I appreciate a lot of people like it. And yes, it looked particularly nasty of the SFG so I'm waiting for a (mostly) black custom design from Scratch-It, who so far have been nothing but fantastic in terms of customer service as well as significantly cheaper than the quotes I was getting for a bog standard 3 ply black from other companies. 

 

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

I bought a fret end and fret polishing kit for my SS ‘Ray, so I’m good to go there, if there are any issues.

 

I ended up using some fine grade sand paper and a sanding block. Took it slow and easy and after a couple of minutes the rough fret ends - of which there were only a couple and they were only very mildly rough, certainly not to the point that it was worth the faff of sending the bass back - were sorted to my satisfaction. No issues to the neck binding afterwards either. 

 

25 minutes ago, Paul S said:

 

I'll be interested to see how this pans out, too.  I was on the verge of chucking some serious money at a '78 Mustang before I knew the weight and still feel there is an itch that needs a scratch.

 

Too late now but the Thomann E-Guitar gigbag is a country mile better than the Fender.  It is longer than the average guitar gig bag and fits all my short scale basses, has several useful pockets, more padding.  And it's only £27.

 

I obviously can't speak for all of the Harley Benton Mustang-a-likes but mine isn't overly heavy, it's noticeably heavier than my Sandberg but not as weighty as my Mustang. Never weighed it so can't give you a figure but mine at least is about what I'd expect in terms of weight, and HB are notorious for some churning out a few heavy instruments, so I was pleasantly surprised.  

[Obrienp]

I’m repeating myself but I would go for two stacked vol/tone pots on the HB myself. Yes a little pricey but it will give a lot of flexibility. Of course, an alternative would be a stacked vol/tone and a blend pot.

[Woodinblack]

I would go for two stacked volumes I think and one tone. Failing that 2 volumes, I don't think I have ever knowingly used a tone knob

[Badscrew]

In the meantime, my Guild Starfire is 1 year old now. This bass has been perfect so far: great finish, fretwork, electronics, comfort and sound! 
can’t think of anything to upgrade, apart from probably its thin plastic volume and tone knobs

 

 

the photo is from 1 year ago just out of the box

Edited February 25, 2023 by Badscrew

[ezbass]

An update on my HB Mustang-alike post above. It's here and, despite not having the same nut width as advertised (it's 38mm, not 41.3mm), I'm very pleased. A little fettling and modding has taken place and now it's good to go. Got out the screwdriver, soldering iron, fret finishing kit and some copper tape (it's a bit buzzy, but so was my JMJ pre tape and this has a single coil to take into consideration) and battle commenced. Installing the balance pot was definitely the way to go for me, there are now 5 definite tones to be had with, as expected, a kind of 60/40 split, favouring the neck pickup, being my favourite. These Roswell pickups are really punchy and very articulate and not just for money, they are just good pickups, although the edges of the plastic covers are a bit sharp my liking, particularly the bridge p/up, but that's potentially an easy fix down the road (I think plain, solid tops would look ace). Ran some 800 & 1000 grit, followed by some micro mesh over the fret ends and it's much nicer, despite catching the paint work with the emery paper in the lower cutaway like the doofus I am . Some neck relief was required and seems to have settled down well, the set up is now about 2mm at the 12th, with plenty of room for more adjustment in the bridge (the tops of the saddle grub screws are quite sharp and need some love from a file). In conclusion, I'm very pleased and, for the money, I think these these are unbeatable. It stands up well side by side with my other 2 shorties and I have no qualms about gigging it, in fact, given the cost, it'll be the perfect bass for less salubrious venues, without having to sacrifice anything tonally.

 

[uncle psychosis]

What strings are you guys using? 

 

I'm a big fan of the Dunlop Super Bright rounds in my 34" bass but they dont seem to do shortscale sets. 

Edited March 4, 2023 by uncle psychosis

[Badscrew]

Fender 9050L or ML

[JohnDaBass]

The pickguard was made by Brian Pillans of https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/earlpilanz

An absolute perfect fit and adds a bit of vintage vibe reminiscent of my ’69 EB3 and SG basses.

The Hipshot Supertone bridge is great, I have previously fitted a 3-point gold one to my Epiphone Rumble Kat, so I knew what to expect BUT I did not expect the fixing bolts to have an Imperial thread. The 3-point bridge is shipped with both M8 Metric and SAE Imperial threaded fixing bolts but since Hipshot’s target market for the 2-point bridge is old Epiphone and Gibson basses they only include the SAE fixing bolts. Marcus at Bass Direct sorted the problem and it now appears that in future Hipshot will be shipping both types on the 2-point Supertone bridges. ( got an email from Oscar Yuan at Hipshot confirming it).

Happy days 😄

Edited March 4, 2023 by JohnDaBass
error

[ped]

4 minutes ago, JohnDaBass said:

The pickguard was made by Brian Pillans of https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/earlpilanz

An absolute perfect fit and adds a bit of vintage vibe reminiscent of my ’69 EB3 and SG basses.

The Hipshot Supertone bridge is great, I have previously fitted a 3-point gold one to my Epiphone Rumbly Kat, so I knew what to expect BUT I did not expect the fixing bolts to have an Imperial thread. The 3-point bridge is shipped with both M8 Metric and SAE Imperial threaded fixing bolts but since Hipshot’s target market for the 2-point bridge is old Epiphone and Gibson basses they only include the SAE fixing bolts. Marcus at Bass Direct sorted the problem and it now appears that in future Hipshot will be shipping both types on the 2-point Supertone bridges. ( got an email from Oscar Yuan at Hipshot confirming it).

Happy days 😄

Looks great. I think Thunderbird pickups work really well in short scale basses; they have a range that accentuates the thickness of the sound without sounding boxy or harsh. Although mines in the neck position I really like the sound of the birdge pickup on the Epi.

[Woodinblack]

On strings I wanted new strings for my AGB 205 as I think they may be the original, and it has to be a decade old. After measuring I realised that although it is short scale, it has so much gap behind the bridge that it uses long scale strings I had some old chromes, thought they would work but the are way smaller than the strings on the original. 
looked up the original sizes and they are 55 - 145, so couldn't find flats.

couldn't actually find a t string set either, so got a 4 string set and an individual

[ped]

My Squier Mustang has long scale Elixirs on it which fit fine. Granted it’s string-thru body but I’m pleased because they’re the only rounds I use. 

[Badscrew]

30 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

On strings I wanted new strings for my AGB 205 as I think they may be the original, and it has to be a decade old. After measuring I realised that although it is short scale, it has so much gap behind the bridge that it uses long scale strings I had some old chromes, thought they would work but the are way smaller than the strings on the original. 
looked up the original sizes and they are 55 - 145, so couldn't find flats.

couldn't actually find a t string set either, so got a 4 string set and an individual

You don't have to keep the same sizes, anything will work just fine

[Woodinblack]

21 minutes ago, ped said:

My Squier Mustang has long scale Elixirs on it which fit fine. Granted it’s string-thru body but I’m pleased because they’re the only rounds I use. 

 

My Squier Mustang has Fender Flats on it, which are the only flats I use* (that I kept) and also the only time I used fender strings!

 

I wanted flats for the AGB, as it tends to be the one I play acoustically these days as it is the loudest acoustic.

 

6 minutes ago, Badscrew said:

You don't have to keep the same sizes, anything will work just fine

 

The chromes were too anaemic, they didn't sound good at all, which is why i thought I would go for the original gauge. It probably isn't a bass I would be gigging much (I took it to a gig, it was so boomy) so not so important.

 

* by that I mean, the only bass I use that has flats on!

[ped]

8 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

My Squier Mustang has Fender Flats on it, which are the only flats I use* (that I kept) and also the only time I used fender strings!

 

I wanted flats for the AGB, as it tends to be the one I play acoustically these days as it is the loudest acoustic.

 

 

The chromes were too anaemic, they didn't sound good at all, which is why i thought I would go for the original gauge. It probably isn't a bass I would be gigging much (I took it to a gig, it was so boomy) so not so important.

 

* by that I mean, the only bass I use that has flats on!

I’ve only ever had fender flats on a mex jazz years and years ago before I knew what flats were - I just couldn’t understand them at all! I’ve heard good things about them since. 

[Badscrew]

20 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

My Squier Mustang has Fender Flats on it, which are the only flats I use* (that I kept) and also the only time I used fender strings!

 

I wanted flats for the AGB, as it tends to be the one I play acoustically these days as it is the loudest acoustic.

 

 

The chromes were too anaemic, they didn't sound good at all, which is why i thought I would go for the original gauge. It probably isn't a bass I would be gigging much (I took it to a gig, it was so boomy) so not so important.

 

* by that I mean, the only bass I use that has flats on!

 

Yeah, I use Fender Flats on everything when I need flats. They can be cut to shorter scale just fine too - people say it will destroy the flatwound strings but I've done this since 30+ years, never had any problem. I have one of the basses strung with a shortened 9050 ML set since 2005 and these strings will live longer than I will.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Badscrew