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Old 03-30-2013, 03:20 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Default In praise of short-scale basses...

As a regular poster on the old AG Forum for the last eleven years I came to notice that many fellow forumites were, like myself, closet bass players. Having owned a variety of instruments over the last 35+ years - Fender, Gibson, Guild, Pedulla, Hofner, Ibanez, and a mint cherry-red ‘67 Epiphone Rivoli that would’ve brought tears to the late Allen Woody’s eyes ($150 with original case at Manny’s in 1979!) - and possessing no less than seven 4- and 5-stringers in my present stable I have, as of late, found myself increasingly gravitating to my (or my wife’s) short-scale basses. As one who cut his musical teeth during their heyday in the early/mid-60’s - the first electric bass I ever played was a ‘61 Danelectro Longhorn owned by the music school where I took lessons as a kid - I have long felt that, until recently, short-scale instruments have not received their just due; in spite of their use by such luminaries as Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce, Stanley Clarke, and the aforementioned Mr. Woody, they are generally regarded as “inferior” to the ubiquitous 34” scale, Fender-inspired instruments that still dominate the market. I would like to present - in the words of the late Rod Serling, “for your approval” - some arguments in favor of short-scale instruments as a genuine, viable alternative...

[1] When one looks at much of the historic background behind the development of the guitar-style electric bass (as opposed to earlier efforts clearly directed exclusively at upright bass players), it appears to have been intended from the beginning as an instrument on which guitarists of the day could also double in a band setting; from a strictly pragmatic viewpoint, even if a band’s income could not justify the retention of a full-time guitarist, it could ill afford to do without a bass player. Furthermore, if one were to use the vintage/collector market as a guide first-issue Fender Precision and Gibson EB-1 basses appear with similar frequency (the latter - in spite of its pretensions to “legitimate” status with its violin-shaped body and elongated endpin attachment - was unquestionably designed for multi-instrumentalists)...

[2] Speaking as one who was there “back in the day,” there were at least as many short-scale (Gibson/Epiphone, Guild, Hofner) as long-scale (Fender, Ampeg, Gibson T-Bird) basses in the hands of working pro/semi-pro musicians here in the NYC area - face it, nobody who wanted to get (and keep) a job would show up at a gig with an “inferior” instrument. Another long-forgotten fact is that the Dano Longhorn was not only a studio staple but the drive behind the early Who records - and the gut-bucket tones heard on the first wave of British Invasion hits (and their similarly-styled American counterparts), early psychedelia, and many mid-60’s R&B recordings were often the product of a variety of short-scale instruments, the most prominent (other than Hofner) being Gibson/Epiphone’s EB-series and its variants. In an acoustic setting, a Gibson/Epiphone or Hofner provides a rock-solid foundation without getting in the way of your guitar’s lower register - and for all you Lightfoot fans, an EB-2D with heavy flatwounds, played through an Ampeg B-15 with both pickups wide open and the pull-up muffler on, got me closer to the John Stockfish “Rosanna” tone than anything else I’ve played before or since...

[3] From the standpoint of a teacher for the last 4+ decades, I consider it cruel and unusual punishment to put an 11-pound, 34” scale P-Bass/J-Bass equipped with roundwound strings in the hands of a 9-year-old beginner. While it is often argued that this is in fact the “standard” instrument nowadays, good practice in the classical-string world still dictates fractional-size instruments for younger students (best exemplified by the well-known and highly successful Suzuki system), as it has for centuries; just as none of us would give a young beginner a dreadnaught or jumbo, I have yet to have anyone offer me a satisfactory reason why student electric bassists should be treated any differently...

[4] Too many would-be players who complain about “inferior” tone forget that these instruments were designed for playing bass - not “octave guitar” - and provide more-than-adequate response when used within their original design parameters (i.e., the classic ‘60s setup of medium/heavy strings - preferably flatwound - and low action). While it is possible with the right setup, they aren’t intended as pop-and-thump R&B/funk machines (FWIW, I achieved surprisingly good results with half-rounds on my Rivoli, somewhere between a rockabilly slap bass and a J-Bass on the neck pickup when I kicked out the bass/baritone pushbutton) - simply put, leave those .040 - .090 taperwounds in the drawer in favor of an .050/.055 - .110 set if you expect any real tone. In addition, those fist-sized Gibson/Guild humbuckers have a load of bottom end; since I got my SG Reissue a few years back I haven’t really needed a 5-string - as I said, it’s all about playing bass...

[5] As regards the net effect of the short scale, I see it as simply a different (and most emphatically not inferior) voice, any more than a 24-3/4” Gibson J-45 is tonally inferior to a similarly-constructed (spruce/mahogany) 25-1/2” Martin D-18. A scan of the General Acoustic Guitar forum will quickly reveal that both have their staunch supporters; indeed, many players own both short- and long-scale guitars for different purposes, with one or the other being their main instrument. In addition, the idiosyncrasies of tonal spectrum, string tension, neck feel, sustain, immediacy of response, etc. are often considered “classic” or “retro” in the guitar (and especially the electric guitar/amp) world - why the difference in perspective when it comes to bass?...

[6] For the more adventurous, advances in both string and pickup technology since the early-60’s can truly allow one to have the best of both worlds - modern tone and lightning speed - in a short-scale bass. Fender’s $150 Bronco has of late become the hot platform for just this type of modification: swap in a side-by-side twin-rail or single-rail stack humbucker designed for a Stratocaster (a drop-in fit in most cases) - with or without a series/parallel switch - install a four-saddle bridge, and you’ve got an easy-playing studio tone machine for about $250. I’ve also seen at least two late-model Mustang basses converted to “mini-P” configuration by swapping out the “twin cocktail-frank” stock pickup in favor of a standard P-style (one of these was fitted with a J-Bass “ashtray” covering the oversize bridge/tailpiece combo - not only looked like a factory job, but real classy to boot). When you add in the different varieties of strings available on today’s market - flatwound, roundwound, half-round, taperwound, pressurewound, nylon wrap (both flat and round), cryogenic, in a broad selection of gauges - the tonal possibilities are endless; why cope with the weight/reaches of a larger instrument?...

Fron the point of view of both a converted guitarist and a teacher of younger students, I’m personally glad to see the resurgence of short-scale basses, in a variety of styles and price ranges, as a factor in the market; since I’m sure that there is a diversity of viewpoints on the subject, I’d be interested in hearing those on both sides of the coin weigh in with their opinions and experiences in this area...
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Old 03-31-2013, 05:44 AM
J Patrick J Patrick is offline
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...loved your report on short scale basses.....the funkiest bass lines i ever played were on a short scale SD Curlee back in the eighties....an ugly brown maple through neck job that was a blast to play....kinda wish i still had it...it was just like this one

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Old 03-31-2013, 06:28 AM
Rudy4 Rudy4 is offline
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Great post! It's all relative, and I have similar issues with upright bass, with a few more contentious bones thrown in to boot. I sold my upright and built a 34" scale travel upright that I can play comfortably while seated:

http://www.bluestemstrings.com/pageBassCUBE.html
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Old 04-05-2013, 02:18 PM
AlabamaJed AlabamaJed is offline
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Gotta agree here. I bought an Epiphone Viola bass (just like a Hofner body) just to try something different in bass. I have it strung with med-light flatwounds. My Jazz Bass hasn't been out of its case in 4 months. I thought at first the Epiphone would be kind of junky, as I bought it on CL for $200. Boy was I wrong. Way better build quality than my MIM Fender. I like the fact that it's much lighter, and I'm not so fatigued if I sit in on bass for a whole night (frequently do backing band for an "open mic" type situation). I run it thru a Gallien-Kruger hear and 1X15 cabinet, and I just love it. Seems my fingers really take more to the 30"ish scale than the 34". I don't have very big hands, but can do some runs I can't quite pull off on my Fender.
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Old 04-06-2013, 06:06 AM
wood nacho wood nacho is offline
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Great read.

I was thinking this thread was going to be about the UBass. A bass with a 20" scale.

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