Short Scale Bass

[rahbee]

Alright, im looking to start a band with two of my friends. I really want control of what is going on in the band, so im teaching my friend to play bass. the only problem is that she is tiny (maybe 5'3" maybe 115).
the crummy rogue bass i have is too big for her. im looking for a cheap (trying to get -$200) short scale bass. i know the bronco bass is a definite contender, but before i get her to buy a bass i was wondering if there were any other good ones out there? i like the musicmaster bass, but they are pretty much outta the price range.
it doesnt have to be a super great player (always a plus) and im not worrying about having to mod pickups and uprgrade tuners or bridges, thats not a big deal. the short scale neck is the most important thing.

[Dennis_UK]

Frankly, the Bronco would seem to be the way to go, and the only mod I'd go for would be the tuners. Otherwise, a cracking little bass, once it is set up.

[tim3finger]

Originally Posted by rahbee

Alright, im looking to start a band with two of my friends. I really want control of what is going on in the band, so im teaching my friend to play bass. the only problem is that she is tiny (maybe 5'3" maybe 115).
the crummy rogue bass i have is too big for her. im looking for a cheap (trying to get -$200) short scale bass. i know the bronco bass is a definite contender, but before i get her to buy a bass i was wondering if there were any other good ones out there? i like the musicmaster bass, but they are pretty much outta the price range.
it doesnt have to be a super great player (always a plus) and im not worrying about having to mod pickups and uprgrade tuners or bridges, thats not a big deal. the short scale neck is the most important thing.

The Bronco bass and The Dean EVO XM are good choices. Rogue also makes a beatle bass copy that gets good reviews. That's about it for off the rack short scale basses out there under two hundred bucks. There are several more choices if you go up into the 200-500 range( Epihone, Ibanez, Jay Turser,etc.).
I have a Dean, and I like it. The neck ( slim and flat ) is the best part about it. It has 24 frets , so you have a full 2 octaves to mess with.

I had a Bronco bass, and stock, they are okay. What I did with mine was turn in into something else. ( See the telebass thread ). They play well and are light.
Good luck with your search for a bass and with your band.

Tim

[rhomco]

I damn near kept it for myself! I was blown away by the playability and tone of this cheap-A short scale bass. Not to mention it looks really expensive too
Rob

[Tim Armstrong]

I've gigged with the Rogue Hofner copy and it's a good bass with a 31" scale length. I'd note that they just changed from MIK to MIC, so they're from a different factory now...

This SX J-Bass from Rondo looks like a good one, too, and they get good reviews...

Cheers, Tim

[readymade]

Somebody was selling one of the Squier Musicmaster basses over on talkbass.com (I think the price was $190). That might be perfect for her.

[littlericky]

This looks like to good a deal to pass up,$99 shipped :
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ass?sku=514263

[Ben Harmless]

I like the bronco for short-scale action, I'd just comment though that bass is too big for almost everyone when they start. I've got some pretty decent sized hands, and when I come back to my bass after being away for awhile, it feels huge, like I can't get around on it.

New players always have to do a little stretching.

That being said, my smallest bass playing friend spends most of her time with a short-scale. She plays upright too though...

[jwsamuel]

I have an SX short-scale P-bass from Rondo and it is really nice. Seems worth much more than the $99 I paid for it. That's what I'd recommend.

The no longer have the P-Bass listed, but the Jazz looks good.

http://www.rondomusic.net/SJB7534ltd.html

Jim

[maestrovert]

iirc, DeArmond's Ashbury, Airline's Pocket bass and others made short (18") scale basses....

[rahbee]

So i put a bid on a squire vista series musicmaster bass. its not in a great state right now, but if i can get this for less than $45 (the bid is at $31) then she will also get a bronco bass and let me turn the musicmaster into a project.




so thank you guys for all your help, if i do get the musicmaster then i will do my first build thread. ill have to strip it and paint it and all that fun stuff, and probably replace the electronics and all that fun stuff. so thanks again.

[giginthesky]

the music master is a great bass. i've had mine for about 25 years and still use it from time to time. the squier vista's seem to be very nice guitars too. a girl i know bought a shortscale bass from gretch (i think) a while ago. that bass is awesome! the sx that tim armstrong suggested looks really cool too.

[Maggot]

The Gibson 30 inch SG bass (with its various copies) is another contender. It's not quite as playable as some of the Fenders (it's usually) but has a small neck and a bigger, bassier sound than the short-scale Fenders. The smaller Fenders have a tendency to get a Fender Jr. sound while the Gibson short-scale sound is it's own dense, murky thing as popularized by Jack Bruce and various Reggae bass players.

By the way, I've been impressed with the quality of the Daisy Rock instruments, if you want to go that route.

[rahbee]

i really like the musicmaster, but i cant find one in the price range that im looking for.

we went to 8th street music in philly the other day and had the chance to sit down with a mustang bass (certainly out of our price) but the neck was perfect. we both LOVED the neck. i looked at the fender specs and the bronco bass is a little bit fatter (7.25” compared to 9.5”). so we may get the bronco and look for a mustang neck somewhere down the road.

she is sort of picky when it comes to the looks. she (unfortunately) doesnt like the sg or the beatle bass. i told her she really doesnt have a lot of options if she wants the short scale neck... girls.

[Maggot]

By the way, I should state the obvious and let you know that the fact that your new bass player is 5'3 and does not know how to play bass yet will in no way give you more control over your new band.

Within a year she will be freaking out all over the bass (maybe even an out-of-tune fretless) and everybody will be saying she's a better musician than you, and your vision of ladylike behavior in the bass department will be dashed. So you better be ready to go with the flow.

Case in point:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...?bandID=165834

[rahbee]

hahaha good point maggot. id love for her to get really good at bass, like kim deal good, but i doubt she is really going to be that down to jamming all the time and stuff. at that point ill offer to buy the bass of her for the price she paid for it.

but we are really good friends and stuff and this is just an idea that ive had kicking around. still need to put some pieces together, like a drum set we can use often, so its still in its infancy.

[readymade]

Have you considered one of the Danelectro reissues? You should be able to snag one for $300, give or take. I have a longhorn, and really like it--really light, awesome looking, and surprisingly versatile.

[Victobass]

Epiphone Allen Woody Signature Bass. Nice and light, sounds great.

allenwoody6 (Small).jpg

[beep.click]

Originally Posted by littlericky

This looks like to good a deal to pass up,$99 shipped :
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ass?sku=514263

I just got one -- it's GREAT! That neck is to die for...

[serialsteve]

Originally Posted by rhomco

I damn near kept it for myself! I was blown away by the playability and tone of this cheap-A short scale bass. Not to mention it looks really expensive too
Rob

The double-cut four strings are surprisingly nice and well made-cheap too.
I play a lucite Dan Armstrong for my short scale bass stuff, but that'll be WAYYY out of the price range. Looks-wise though, it can't be beat!