Short scale bass recommendations?

ichadwick

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Looking to get a short scale bass. Any suggestions? I tried a Fender (Squier?) in the local music store - not impressed with the sound. Would prefer dual pickups.
 
Hi Ian,

Last week Long and McQuade had the Kala U Bass in stock at the Bloor St location in Toronto.

I don't play bass so can't tell you much about it, but if you are in the city next week you could try it out.
 
Most of these are 30.5" scale. I'm really looking for a 25" scale. I already have my eyes on an Epiphone Viola bass, which is 30" - but want something shorter (like the Beaver Creek travel bass but maybe not acoustic). The Epiphone is a Hofner-style bass. Local store has one for $220. not bad...

I had a Kala U-bass but sold it. Good sound, but could never get accustomed to the strings. I found they rolled under my fingers, requiring more precision than I was capable of doing without a lot of focus.
 
30" or thereabouts is the standard length of a short scale bass. That doesn't mean there aren't other sizes out there, but whatever you find will be kind of an odd bird. One thing to keep in mind: as you reduce the scale, you either need to use strings with greater mass (i.e. fatter, heavier) or to tune them with less tension in order to maintain standard E-A-D-G tuning. Or be prepared to tune them higher than what is usually considered bass range.

You don't say what your price range is, but if you have money to burn, I'd recommend the Gibson SG bass. It's a 30", but it has a very nice sound. I'd have bought one myself, but I prefer a longer neck. (I know...what am I doing here, right? :)) For less money, I think Epiphone makes a version of the SG. I can't vouch for that one though because I've never played it.

-Pete
 
You may want to search for a Samick corsair mini p-bass (Samick Corsair MCR1), it has a 26 inch scale. (description here:http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f126/fs-samick-corsair-very-short-scale-$100-356406/)
(Amazon links here: http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=40394&Category=Basses)
I believe this is the link to the right bass, you may want to call them and double check.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/bass-young-girl-234574/index2.html
scroll down to see someone's 2-yr-old holding one for scale reference. ;)

Also, the ibanez mikro bass has a 28.5 inch scale.
 
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Samick MCR1

I have a Samick MCR1 mini bass. (I got mine used on eBay.)

samick-wr.jpg


I do like it - it's easy to play, and I enjoy it.

The only problem I have had is the STRINGS! I can't seem to find anywhere that does such short scale strings, and Samick's customer services dept are completely useless.

Might be worth considering, though. Good luck :)
 
Well... something like that kindof exists. Back in the late 90's i believe Fender came out with the P-Bass Junior. its roughly the size of a strat. as far as i have checked, its nearly impossible to find one.
P1010046.jpg

ripped this photo off of a talkbass forum. as i said, they exist. Like the sabertooth tiger, you just dont see them around.
 
I'm not sure that what you are looking for exists.

- Steve
Yeah, they do. Also called a piccolo bass. Stanley Clark used one. Back in the 60s-70s several companies made them including Harmony, Kent, Danelectro & Supro. I had a Supro. The original Mustang bass was 25" scale. Tanglewood made one. So did Vantage (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lpv1zFFR40), Samick still makes one, I believe. Beaver Creek's travel bass is even shorter. Maybe 21". This one looks like a Fender but it seems to be an SX (Essex): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljwKdwuCniQ&feature=fvwrel. There may be others, but in my small town, there are few sources for anything but the big name brands.
 
Well... something like that kindof exists. Back in the late 90's i believe Fender came out with the P-Bass Junior. its roughly the size of a strat. as far as i have checked, its nearly impossible to find one.
P1010046.jpg

ripped this photo off of a talkbass forum. as i said, they exist. Like the sabertooth tiger, you just dont see them around.

Think you'll find it has a 30" scale. At least the new ones do. I'm looking for 25" - same scale length as a guitar.
 
Yeah, they do. Also called a piccolo bass. Stanley Clark used one. Back in the 60s-70s several companies made them including Harmony, Kent, Danelectro & Supro. I had a Supro. The original Mustang bass was 25" scale. Tanglewood made one. So did Vantage (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lpv1zFFR40), Samick still makes one, I believe. Beaver Creek's travel bass is even shorter. Maybe 21". This one looks like a Fender but it seems to be an SX (Essex): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljwKdwuCniQ&feature=fvwrel. There may be others, but in my small town, there are few sources for anything but the big name brands.

A piccolo bass is tuned higher than a normal bass and doesn't refer to the size of the bass. Stanely Clarke's piccolo basses were tuned an octave higher than a normal bass and had a 30" scale. He also used a "tenor" bass tuned a fourth higher. The short scale basses made by Harmony, Kent and Danelectro all had 30" scales, as did the Fender Mustang. The Supro Airline Pocket bass did have an extra short 25" scale and that was quite unusual.

I'm not trying to be contrary, it's just that I work in a music store and I know from 25+ years of playing and collecting electric basses that the majority of the short scale basses out there have a 30" or 30.5" scale. There are a few exeptions, like the Vantage and Beaver Creek basses you mention, but neither of these have two pickups. The Ibanez Mikro has a 28.60" scale and two pickups in a "PJ" configuration. Craig Robertson's daughter Zoe played one of these (in purple sparkle no less!) last year at the Tampa Bay Ukulele Getaway and it sounded great. They are pretty common and I've seen them in several music stores. It might fit the bill if you don't mind the scale length.

- Steve
 
A piccolo bass is tuned higher than a normal bass...
Yes, but if you Google it, you can find instructions on how to restring it to low E tuning. Like restringing a baritone to C tuning, I suppose.... it's the scale I want, although an octave higher might be amusing...

I know Harmony had a 25" scale because I was playing one at Twelfth Fret in Toronto last month. It was just priced a little more than I wanted to pay. I got the other names from forums like talkbass or websites that specifically mentioned a 25" scale for those makes. I can't vouchsafe the accuracy of those claims, but I owned a 25" Supro (I'm pretty sure it was a different model) for many years. Have a picture of it somewhere I will post.
 
Whenever I hear about the piccolo bass, I think of a comment that once appeared in the letters column of Bass Player magazine...something along the lines of, "A bass that's tuned an octave higher than a normal bass? We have those around here. We call them GUITARS."

:)

-Pete
 
Yeah, basically a tenor guitar that uses the last four instead of the first four strings. Only real difference (I can see) is the strings seem thicker than guitar. I could restring a baritone ukulele and get that effect, I suppose....
 
The Fender P Bass Junior was 29.5" scale, sometimes they pop up for sale on ebay. I'd recommend going with a 30" scale, the string tension is enough to still create a good tone. If you want to spend less, Rondo Music sells SX basses that are a real value and that new Squier Jaguar someone mentioned looks pretty good. If you want a great short scale and have the budget, a used Gibson SG, Fender Mustang or Musicmaster can't be beat. If you get a Musicmaster I'd recommend changing out the stock pick up with a DiMarzio Fast Track. The stock pick ups were just a 6 pole strat pick ups, so the strings do not line up and the volume can vary for each string. The dual blade design on the Fast Track eliminates alignment issues and are hum free. Good luck in your search!
 
Just missed a guy on eBay selling micro-bass projects he builds, with 25" scale. Damn. Went for under $100.

I did get the Epiphone Viola, but still want a shorter scale. Might restring a baritone into a piccolo bass this weekend.
 
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Two questions:

Does anyone make a reasonably-priced six-string short scale bass?

Are roundwound or flatwound strings better for the Viola bass (semi-acoustic Hofner style)?
 
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