A Few Questions to all Short-Scale Bassists.

[jazzyvee]

Stephen Jay has an interesting solution.

 

Edited March 21, 2024 by jazzyvee
spelling correction

[Lozz196]

New set of Hipshot Ultralites installed on one of my JMJs this morning, does make a difference, this is my lightest one so the neck dive, whilst not massive was more noticeable than on the others, much more balanced now. They’re a doddle to install too, straight fit, I’d  def recommend them for the JMJ.

[thebrig]

5 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

New set of Hipshot Ultralites installed on one of my JMJs this morning, does make a difference, this is my lightest one so the neck dive, whilst not massive was more noticeable than on the others, much more balanced now. They’re a doddle to install too, straight fit, I’d  def recommend them for the JMJ.

That's what I was hoping.👍

[thebrig]

3 hours ago, jazzyvee said:

Steohen Jay has an interesting solution.

 

What a great idea.

[Paul S]

4 hours ago, thebrig said:

What a great idea.

 Isn't it.  I've never seen that before but what a wonderful piece of lateral thinking.

[ezbass]

I tried that once with a very neck diving P, it worked but I didn’t like the feel.

[Edenburgh]

Last night I played for about 2.5 hours.   

Played mostly on the short scale Mustang -  then (because I just fancied a change) played the last 30 mins using the regular scale Deakey P bass.  Sooooo, to answer your specific questions...

Q1 - Picked up the Mustang, played without thinking I was playing anything different or unusual.   When I swapped to the P bass it felt MASSIVE!  Body, neck everything felt HUGE for a couple of songs before the muscle memory came back.  So my challenge wasn't about going from long scale to short scale - it was about how odd the return journey to long scale felt!

Q2 - never noticed any neck dive on the Mustang -  but (like others say) I'm using a Mono grippy strap which probably helps.

 

Gratuitous photo of my brood attached with zero justification or relevance to your questions...

[Simon C]

Q1. I don’t have any trouble switching scale lengths.  I guess I may spend a little while looking at the neck whilst I’m playing when I switch - but I’m not sure.

 

Q2. My short-scale is headless, so I don’t get any neck dive on it.

Edited March 17, 2024 by Simon C

[bassbiscuits]

I move between a short-scale MiJ Fender Mustang bass, and long scale Yamahas and a P bass.

 

Adjusting between them? Never found it to be an issue. I play guitar as well so used to playing different scale things without any difficulty.

 

Neck dive. Again, never found it to be an issue either. No better or worse than the long scales I play (if anything a shorter neck should give less neck dive if anything?).
 

Unless you’ve only been playing one bass your entire life I wouldn’t imagine there’s any insurmountable issues in moving from long to short.  

[crazycloud]

5 hours ago, bassbiscuits said:

(if anything a shorter neck should give less neck dive if anything?)

Depends on the rest of the bass how the balance will fall.

[Baloney Balderdash]

I have no issues with swapping between my 34" 4 string bass, my 4 string 28.6" scale bass and my 5 string 28.6" scale bass with a 16.5mm string spacing.

 

Neither do I have problems with immediately adapting to the scale length of my 30" scale Bass VI or for that matter my 24.75" scale guitar, though it does take a while adapting to the really narrow string spacing of those two instruments every time I pick them up to play. 

 

Also I don't think neck dive is a general short scale bass specific issue.

 

Edited March 18, 2024 by Baloney Balderdash

[Schnozzalee]

Recent research showed that if you play short scale basses, you're more likely to endure some testicle shrinkage and adopt the name 'Nancy'.

 

I can't recall the source.

Edited March 18, 2024 by Schnozzalee

[Aidan63]

I'm sure Jack Bruce gave as good as he got dealing with his d1ck of a drummer when the latter was drunk or hungover (ie most of the time)

[shoulderpet]

6 hours ago, Aidan63 said:

I'm sure Jack Bruce gave as good as he got dealing with his d1ck of a drummer when the latter was drunk or hungover (ie most of the time)

Ginger Baker is someone who always struck me as being a thoroughly unpleasant person.

[Baloney Balderdash]

7 hours ago, Schnozzalee said:

Recent research showed that if you play short scale basses, you're more likely to endure some testicle shrinkage and adopt the name 'Nancy'.

 

I can't recall the source.

Hey!

 

Nancy is my maiden name, and nothing's wrong with my absolute premium bull sized testicles!

 

Edited March 18, 2024 by Baloney Balderdash

[police squad]

I checked my JMJ yesterday, for neck dive and there was zero

I used my Hofner violin bass at the weekend and that does sit a bit weird on its strap. Tilts forward but it's so light it really doesn't matter

I cant wait to use it again

[BigRedX]

2 minutes ago, police squad said:

I used my Hofner violin bass at the weekend and that does sit a bit weird on its strap. Tilts forward but it's so light it really doesn't matter

 

 

Forward tilt is a "feature" of guitars and basses that have one of the strap buttons behind the heel of the neck. 

[Schnozzalee]

On 18/03/2024 at 11:32, Aidan63 said:

I'm sure Jack Bruce gave as good as he got dealing with his d1ck of a drummer when the latter was drunk or hungover (ie most of the time)

...After he got the long scale thumb. 

 

During the short scale era, he got his ass kicked and called Jack 'The Spruce' on account of all the spring cleaning he did - It's in his autobiography.

Edited March 19, 2024 by Schnozzalee

[Musicman666]

On 15/03/2024 at 08:15, thebrig said:

I have a couple of questions I would like to ask you guys and gals who play, or have played, short-scale basses.

I play mainly P basses but I've tried a couple of short-scales in the past and given up after a few weeks because they just don't feel right, they also sound very different, and I also struggle with the neck-dive.

So my questions are:

 

1. How long does it take to adjust to going from long-scale to short-scale?

2. How do you manage the inevitable neck-dive that you usually get with most short-scale basses, would changing the tuners to lightweight tuners make any noticeable difference?

 why not tune a bass down to standard d and throw a capo on the second fret ..instant shortscale .

[paul_5]

55 minutes ago, Musicman666 said:

 why not tune a bass down to standard d and throw a capo on the second fret ..instant shortscale .

well, that means we don't need to buy another bass - where's the fun in that?

[Baloney Balderdash]

10 hours ago, Musicman666 said:

 why not tune a bass down to standard d and throw a capo on the second fret ..instant shortscale .

But with a wider nut width, and fretboard in general, with 2 less frets, a bigger bulky body and a huge hangover at the headstock.

 

Edited March 21, 2024 by Baloney Balderdash

[crazycloud]

10 hours ago, Musicman666 said:

 why not tune a bass down to standard d and throw a capo on the second fret ..instant shortscale .

Or get a 5 and play in 5th position.

[thebrig]

Just an update on my situation now.

 

I do own a Gibson SG Standard short-scale bass which I am struggling with in terms of tone, and it does suffer some neck-dive.

 

This week I've just purchased a Sire U5 short-scale which is by far the best short-scale bass I have ever played, it balances perfectly, I can get a P bass tone which is what I was seeking, and it also has a J pickup near the bridge, so it's a PJ short-scale bass that ticks all the boxes for me.

 

It has an Alder body with string-thru option, Maple neck with rolled edges and frets, it's lightweight, no neck-dive whatsoever, and the added bonus for me is, I actually like the way it looks.🙂

 

 

 

Edited March 21, 2024 by thebrig
To add photo

[police squad]

that sounds really good

[Musicman666]

4 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

But with a wider nut width, and fretboard in general, with 2 less frets, a bigger bulky body and a huge hangover at the headstock.

 

depends what your playing ..say for instance my status headless lends itself very nicely and any jazz bass works great in terms of neck width ...nearly all my basses are d standard these days and capo them from time to time and they play great. I cut my teeth on a musicmaster so i know the pros and cons of shortscale ..so doing this for me is the best of both worlds. Also capo gives your bass a zero fret ...makes the action and playability really spot on. Long scale is balanced and not bulky ..it just has two more frets on the neck. 

Edited March 21, 2024 by Musicman666