Should I buy a short scale?

BeardyAndy · September 2020

I'm a guitarist and I'm thinking about transitioning to bass, it wont be my first base but for now it'll be my only one. A short scale sounds like a good idea but every review is "great for kids/ladies/smaller guys" but i'm 6'2" and 13 stone so not petite!

I think i'm being put off by a cheap old P bass copy I had that would nose dive as soon as look at it.

Jason · September 2020

No idea if this helps, but I'm 6'2" too, on Friday I was in a recording studio and I had taken my P Bass, I'm not really a bass player but I didn't have one to hand :-) , anyway it was dead, no idea why, fortunately the studio had a Squier offset shortscale bass I could borrow, it was bloody lovely, the P Bass always feels too big after playing guitar, so I wouldn't worry about it, it sounded great too

slacker · September 2020

I went the other way from bass to guitar. I still have an EUB which is about 40 inch scale length. I also have an ashbory which is probably about 12 inch or something stupid.

So on to the actual point if you are going to learn bass as a bassist and not someone who dabbles for recording etc get the bass that feels right regardless of scale length, string width and number.

BeardyAndy · September 2020

Jason said:

No idea if this helps, but I'm 6'2" too, on Friday I was in a recording studio and I had taken my P Bass, I'm not really a bass player but I didn't have one to hand :-) , anyway it was dead, no idea why, fortunately the studio had a Squier offset shortscale bass I could borrow, it was bloody lovely, the P Bass always feels too big after playing guitar, so I wouldn't worry about it, it sounded great too

Thanks. It's between the Squire Mustang (probably what you were using) and the Gretsch G2220, I should make the time to go and play a few but my local store has a sorry selection!

pintspiller · September 2020

I would recommend getting a regular scaled bass with a J neck over a short scale. The difference in space between frets is so small it doesn't make much difference IMHO

wrinkleygit · September 2020

I’ve been through a fair amount of basses in my time and finally settled on shorter scales, currently have a 31.5 fretless and a 30” fretted. As a guitar player I always felt a 34” scale put the nut just a bit too far away for comfort. Presently contemplating moving my ‘73 Gibson EB 0 on, so if you have a LP for trade, get in touch.

fretmeister · September 2020

I've had 34, 35, 37 etc

But I've been blown away by Ibanez new 32 (medium) scale basses.
Modestly priced, sound amazing, and very easy to play. I have two 5 strings and the low B is excellent on both

I suspect I'm a convert to 32 scale now.

McSwaggerty · September 2020

I needed a bass for home recording. Previously i had the use of my Sons Precision or Lakland when he was around or not using it / on the road etc.
Tried a few, but kept coming back to Short Scale Mustang and Gretsch Junior Club.
Eventually bought the Gretsch.
It feels great to play,
I'm a long armed 6 footer as well.... !!

McSwaggerty · September 2020

Sorry. The above should read Gretsch Junior Jet - Not Junior Club.

paulnb57 · September 2020

Im 6 foot 2 and enjoy my Squier Bronco.....it just looks like a slightly larger than normal guitar....great fun and sounds fine...

crunchman · September 2020

pintspiller said:

I would recommend getting a regular scaled bass with a J neck over a short scale. The difference in space between frets is so small it doesn't make much difference IMHO

I'd disagree. It does make a difference. I sold a Jazz and bought an 80's E Series Squier P Bass with a 32" scale. The shorter scale definitely makes a difference.

I have very short fingers so the stretches on a 34" scale may be less of an issue for other people.

I find it a lot easier to get a P style to sit in a mix well than a Jazz as well.

32" (sometimes called medium scale) is a good compromise. It's noticeably easier to play than a 34" scale, but seems to have some of the punch to the sound that a short scale loses. Fender/Squier are missing a trick by not having anything like that in their catalogue at the moment. The Ibanez Mezzo basses are inexpensive and good if you like that active thing, but I prefer a passive P sound.

BeardyAndy · September 2020

McSwaggerty said:

Sorry. The above should read Gretsch Junior Jet - Not Junior Club.

That's good to hear. I've got my eye on one that's on eBay but if I miss it or it goes too high I'll probably just buy one new, against my Fender loving mates best advice!

Blueingreen · September 2020

If you regard yourself as a guitarist who occasionally plays bass for a bit of recording etc I think a short scale is fine. If you're thinking of making the transition to bass being your number one instrument I'd get a standard scale. I think if you don't there's an extremely high probability you'll end up doing it later so you might as well do it in a oner. Even if a lot of it is psychological, it will be hard to avoid the mind-set that what you're playing isn't a "proper" bass with the short scale, and you'll always be wondering if you'd sound better (and be taken a bit more seriously) with a "real" bass. (Also some drummers are very finicky about this - again it may be more prejudice than substance but some drummers react badly to a non-Fender, never mind a short scale).

I switched to bass as my primary instrument for several years before switching back. I still have standard scale basses (and a 35" Lakland) but I'm occasionally tempted by a short scale for recording because I so rarely pick up a bass these days and they feel huge. But I'd definitely want full scale if I went back to bass more seriously.

ICBM · September 2020

33.25"

The best of all bass scale lengths if you're coming from guitar.

When you work it out, you'll know why

.

Funkfingers · September 2020

I see what you did there. :-p

The £2.5K knockabout bass guitar!

fretmeister · September 2020

ICBM said:

33.25"

The best of all bass scale lengths if you're coming from guitar.

When you work it out, you'll know why .

Didn’t need to work it out.

I can spot over priced firewood made by a litigious eijit a mile away!

Balrog68 · October 2020

You play whichever bass you feel most comfortable with and ignore anyone that tells you what they think you should play. I'm 6 ft tall and have a long scale Jazz and a short scale Jaguar...i prefer the Jag and you can play anything on it, contrary to what everyone told me.

Bowks · October 2020

fretmeister said:

I've had 34, 35, 37 etc

But I've been blown away by Ibanez new 32 (medium) scale basses.
Modestly priced, sound amazing, and very easy to play. I have two 5 strings and the low B is excellent on both

I suspect I'm a convert to 32 scale now.

You'll be after one of those original Urge basses then!

fretmeister · October 2020

Bowks said:

fretmeister said:

I've had 34, 35, 37 etc

But I've been blown away by Ibanez new 32 (medium) scale basses.
Modestly priced, sound amazing, and very easy to play. I have two 5 strings and the low B is excellent on both

I suspect I'm a convert to 32 scale now.

You'll be after one of those original Urge basses then!

I've got an Urge 2. It's nice!

I don't play it anymore though as it's too heavy for my injuries.

Bowks · October 2020

I have a lovely light Cort Elrick & cash ;-)

Rigid_Digits · October 2020

Balrog68 said:

You play whichever bass you feel most comfortable with and ignore anyone that tells you what they think you should play. I'm 6 ft tall and have a long scale Jazz and a short scale Jaguar...i prefer the Jag and you can play anything on it, contrary to what everyone told me.

Spot on.

BeardyAndy · October 2020

Picked this up....

Really impressed, it automatically felt familiar and easy to play as opposed to a full scale bass.

Cost me less than most of my pedals too!

Funkfingers · October 2020

If it feels right in your hands, it is right. I vaguely recall trying an olive green example in a music shop. A high mass bridge would have been on my upgrades shopping list. I cannot recall what I thought about the pickups.

Balrog68 · October 2020

Very nice!

UnclePsychosis · January 2021

@BeardyAndy you still enjoying the Gretsch? How are the pickups?

BeardyAndy · January 2021

UnclePsychosis said:

@BeardyAndy you still enjoying the Gretsch? How are the pickups?

Yes, very much. I don't have a lot to go on but there's certainly nothing wrong with them.

The neck feels great too, that was my biggest worry because it was the neck that has stopped me buying budget Gretsch guitars in the past. I need to get in there and fit some CTS pots as the stock ones are as you'd expect but thats all i plan on doing with it. Loving the short scale.

Funkfingers · January 2021

ICBM said:

The best of all bass scale lengths if you're coming from guitar.

Herein lies the fundamental problem.

Obviously, in simple mechanical terms, the electric bass guitar is just an over-sized regular electric guitar, minus two strings.

In music terms, in a band context, the bass fulfils a different function to guitar and requires a different mind set.

In most music genres, if you consider the bass guitar to be a low frequency continuation of the guitar chords, you are probably not serving the music very well. Firstly, there are better choices of note that could be made. Secondly, it is usually better to relate the bass guitar part to the drums.

HCDavies · January 2021

When I bought a bass nearly 2 years ago I made a conscious decision not to buy a short scale. I wanted it to feel like a different instrument.

And for me it's paid off very well. After 30 minutes on the bass a normal 6 string feels like a toy and it's much easier to stretch for that extra 9th in Message in a Bottle for example.

I actually now wish I'd bought a Bass much earlier.

One other purchase I'd recommend a Metronome.

Tone71 · January 2021

BeardyAndy said:

Picked this up....

Really impressed, it automatically felt familiar and easy to play as opposed to a full scale bass.

Cost me less than most of my pedals too!

Good buy, I have one of those and find it really comfy to play, sounds good too.

ICBM · January 2021

The thing that puzzles me a bit about a lot of short-scale basses - including that Gretsch - is that the bridge is so far forward on the body. It looks like there would be room to make it a full 34" scale without the whole thing being any longer at all.

Lodious · January 2021

One thing I did notice in the years leading up to lockdown is that a lot of the live bands I saw were using short scale basses. In a live situation, they had really good tones and certainly didn't sound lacking compared to full scale length basses. If anything, the players using shorter scale basses had the best tones. I'd say there were also more bass player playing short scale basses then regular by about 3:1.

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Should I buy a short scale?

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