The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[TeatroLirico]

Anyone played a Chowny SWB-1 Scott Whitley Signature Fretless?

I was looking around for a short scale fretless and this one popped up. Pretty decent price too.

 

https://chownybass.com/product/swb-1-scott-whitley-signature-fretless/

 

 

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 13/04/2023 at 00:27, Baloney Balderdash said:

I am pondering getting one of these :

 

A just 25.5" (that is standard Fender guitar scale) scale length bass from Glarry, with the model number GW101, with a narrower neck to fit the small size, that is a just 36mm (Edit!!!: I stated 34mm nut, it is actually 36mm, still more narrow than the standard narrow 38mm nut) nut width, and narrower at the bridge too than regular basses.

 

At the ridiculous low price of just 98.23 Euro or 98.99£.

 

And they get great reviews too.

 

Comes in transparent red or yellow finish as well:

 

I think they look astonishing!

 

If I go through with this and get one it would then be for tuning it in C standard tuning, that it 4 half steps bellow regular guitar E standard tuning.

 

So planning on kind of using it like a baritone tenor guitar.

 

https://www.glarry.co.uk/glarry-gw101-36in-kid-s-electric-bass-guitar-p282.html

 

They are sold out at the moment, but it says a new batch should be ready by June.

 

 

Sounds genuinely great too, judging from this demo (the 36" is referring to the entire length of the bass, obviously not the scale length):

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[dmckee]

3 hours ago, TeatroLirico said:

Anyone played a Chowny SWB-1 Scott Whitley Signature Fretless?

I was looking around for a short scale fretless and this one popped up. Pretty decent price too.

 

https://chownybass.com/product/swb-1-scott-whitley-signature-fretless/

 

 

I also fancy a short scale fretless but you certainly don’t come across many. I’ve never tried one of these. I wonder how balanced they are, given how short that top horn is? 

[Osiris]

3 hours ago, TeatroLirico said:

Anyone played a Chowny SWB-1 Scott Whitley Signature Fretless?

I was looking around for a short scale fretless and this one popped up. Pretty decent price too.

 

https://chownybass.com/product/swb-1-scott-whitley-signature-fretless/

 

 

 

Not the fretless version but I did briefly own a fretted one. A very well made bass and the passive pickups were fantastic, very punchy and clear. However, the reason I very quickly moved it on was because of the way it hung on a strap, it puts the first fret in more or less the same place as a 34" scale bass which for me was a deal breaker as a wrist injury means that I can't play a 'normal' scale bass for more than a few minutes without cramping up. So despite it being a 30" scale, it plays and feels like a 34" scale bass when on a strap. 

 

7 minutes ago, dmckee said:

I also fancy a short scale fretless but you certainly don’t come across many. I’ve never tried one of these. I wonder how balanced they are, given how short that top horn is? 

 

I don't remember any balance issues with it but because of the issue above I didn't play it for more than a few minutes. Shame as it seemed to be an otherwise cracking bass.  

[TeatroLirico]

Also opinions sought on two Ibanez’s that have caught my interest a fair bit, just because they’re a bit odd:

EHB1000S (short scale headless)

EHB1005SMS (short multiscale headless)

 

I’ve been in the mood for something… modern

 

 

[Obrienp]

32 minutes ago, TeatroLirico said:

Also opinions sought on two Ibanez’s that have caught my interest a fair bit, just because they’re a bit odd:

EHB1000S (short scale headless)

EHB1005SMS (short multiscale headless)

 

I’ve been in the mood for something… modern

 

 

I started a thread on the EHB1000s here: 

Like a few others, I changed the pickups for Aguilars in the end. Otherwise great bass IMO. Light, ergonomic, comfortable and you get a lot of kit with it. Plus you can use standard length strings giving more choice and keeping the price down. 
 

I am sure there is a thread on the EHB1005 as well.

[TeatroLirico]

17 minutes ago, Obrienp said:

I started a thread on the EHB1000s here: 

Like a few others, I changed the pickups for Aguilars in the end. Otherwise great bass IMO. Light, ergonomic, comfortable and you get a lot of kit with it. Plus you can use standard length strings giving more choice and keeping the price down. 
 

I am sure there is a thread on the EHB1005 as well.

cheers - I did read through some of the posts in your thread previously. Seems to be less said about the multiscale - maybe a bit too unusual

 

I’ve never played a multiscale and only really play short scales. But if I’m going to play 5-string, only 32” or multiscale makes sense to me.

[fretmeister]

 

[scrumpymike]

On 15/04/2023 at 07:41, TeatroLirico said:

Anyone played a Chowny SWB-1 Scott Whitley Signature Fretless?

I was looking around for a short scale fretless and this one popped up. Pretty decent price too.

 

https://chownybass.com/product/swb-1-scott-whitley-signature-fretless/

 

 

 

Had one of the earlier pre-Chowny SWB-1 fretless basses and liked it except for neck dive. Balance may have improved now I believe Chowny bodies are slightly heavier.

[ped]

I accidentally pulled the wire out of my pickup on my Squier Mustang yesterday when I tried to adjust the pickup again and thought I’d do it without taking the strings right off (super lazy I know). The treble side has a really short wire so it was quite taught, so when I tried to push the pickup up a bit it came off. D’oh. Anyway I have a plan for that bass so watch this space. 
 

But that gave me an idea - why don’t I try the Elixir strings from the Squier on the ‘66? 
 

I did and it’s great. Quite a different vibe once the strings had settled in. The panning between pickups is now even more pronounced as I’m dealing with a wider frequency range I suppose, but we go from taught woody bark to snappy nasal funk with a twist. Reckon I’ll keep them on for a while. With my foam mute in at the bridge I can get some pretty muscular thud from it still. 

[fretmeister]

I'm trying to make my shortie my main bass for everything - so I've got some foam too.

I love the thump from La Bella DTF but they are pretty useless for brighter stuff.

 

So I've got Hi-Beams on it with some foam that I can easily remove.

 

First rehearsal with the Lionel is on Saturday. Looking forward to it.

[ped]

7 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

I'm trying to make my shortie my main bass for everything - so I've got some foam too.

I love the thump from La Bella DTF but they are pretty useless for brighter stuff.

 

So I've got Hi-Beams on it with some foam that I can easily remove.

 

First rehearsal with the Lionel is on Saturday. Looking forward to it.

 I quite like the sound of a foam mute with bright strings. You get the initial attack and a nice full sound behind it. The Mustang bridge also fits a mute really nicely, I know it was designed to have a specific mute attached but this works just as well (and quicker to adjust!)

[fretmeister]

 

I had previously made some homemade versions of the Nordy mute, but I cannot find them anywhere! Probably where all my other safe-place stuff is!

[ped]

6 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

 

I had previously made some homemade versions of the Nordy mute, but I cannot find them anywhere! Probably where all my other safe-place stuff is!

I think I remember, was it using a lollypop stick?

[basstone]

On 15/04/2023 at 21:57, fretmeister said:

 

Nice, What is that piece?

[fretmeister]

10 minutes ago, basstone said:

Nice, What is that piece?

 

 

Zoot Suit Riot. It's a big band arrangement of a vocal tune by the Cherry Poppin' Daddies.

 

This is the original

 

 

 

[fretmeister]

12 minutes ago, ped said:

I think I remember, was it using a lollypop stick?

 

 

Yes - plastic ones. I got about 100 of them for a few quid. The foam was self-adhesive draft excluder. It worked very well. I must have some of the sticks somewhere. I know I didn't use 100 of them!

[basstone]

53 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

 

 

Zoot Suit Riot. It's a big band arrangement of a vocal tune by the Cherry Poppin' Daddies.

 

This is the original

 

 

 

Nice. I've found a Paul Murtha big band instrumental arrangement amongst my charts library. I'll most definitely be printing this chart for my big band to try! Similar to Me Zoot Suit (Flying Nutrinos version) which I've done in the past 🙂

[fretmeister]

@basstone

 

The version I played is the Murtha one

 

 

 

I used this as the backing for my video. It misses out the repeats, presumably to get the youtube vid smaller.

 

I've got a scan of the bass part somewhere if you want a copy.

 

[basstone]

6 hours ago, fretmeister said:

@basstone

 

The version I played is the Murtha one

 

 

 

I used this as the backing for my video. It misses out the repeats, presumably to get the youtube vid smaller.

 

I've got a scan of the bass part somewhere if you want a copy.

 

That looks like a different arrangement to the one I have. Do you have the complete set of parts?

[fretmeister]

I might be able to borrow them from the band to scan them.

 

I’ll ask on Saturday.

[Paul S]

8 hours ago, basstone said:

 Do you have the complete set of parts?

 

Rather a personal question for a public forum, if you don't mind my saying.

 

[BabyBlueSound]

20 hours ago, ped said:

 I quite like the sound of a foam mute with bright strings. You get the initial attack and a nice full sound behind it. The Mustang bridge also fits a mute really nicely, I know it was designed to have a specific mute attached but this works just as well (and quicker to adjust!)

 

I have a Nordymute and while I do enjoy it's seriously dampened sound as well (especially on cobalt flats), it's just not the same as the simple, oldskool foam mute. Like you said, it's so full, and I find the sustain is just so perfect...

[fretmeister]

4 minutes ago, whave said:

 

I have a Nordymute and while I do enjoy it's seriously dampened sound as well (especially on cobalt flats), it's just not the same as the simple, oldskool foam mute. Like you said, it's so full, and I find the sustain is just so perfect...

 

 

On my home made Nordymutes I cut the foam to be pointy. So pushing it on more means a greater surface area, and pulling it off a bit means a smaller surface area doing the muting.

 

It works quite well and is easily adjustable on the fly.

[BabyBlueSound]

12 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

 

 

On my home made Nordymutes I cut the foam to be pointy. So pushing it on more means a greater surface area, and pulling it off a bit means a smaller surface area doing the muting.

 

It works quite well and is easily adjustable on the fly.

 

Great idea, I'll just sand the top area a bit!