ShortScale.org

I couldn't help myself, I went out and bought a Mustang bass today:



(sorry for the crappy pic)

I was actually planning on buying the "fiesta red" one. But when I was at the store, I was thoroughly disappointed by the so-called fiesta paint job. It looked like a washed out orange, nothing like any real fiesta red I have ever seen. And the pickguard was that hideous cheap perloid that I can't stand. So I bought the white one instead. I've already bought a black pickguard for it on ebay, so that I can have the Dee Dee Ramone look.

Surprisingly, it doesn't come with a case, odd considering it's a different size than standard basses. So I bought a cheap gig bag for it, since the cardboard box looked too flimsy to survive the bus ride home. It also doesn't come with an allen wrench for the bridge, but I've got plenty of those so that's no big deal. I had a 10% discount coupon too, although the sales tax is 13%, so I still paid more than the sticker price.

It sounds a lot like my P bass (and that's a good thing), I love the neck, easiest bass neck I've ever had the pleasure of using. I was surprised that it says "made in Japan" instead of "crafted". When did Fender change back?

The stock strings are utter shit and will have to be replaced soon. Anybody know if regular 34" scale strings will fit, or will I have to cut them?

you will have to saw 34"s down i think. or else just have a mega wind on your posts, im not sure.

WELCOME TO THE OLY WHITE MBASS CLUB!!!!!!!!!!


SHOULD LOOK AWESOME WITH BLACK PG AND BLACK PUPS

i got mine for 300 used from a GC in upstate NY 5 hours away.

robroe wrote:you will have to saw 34"s down i think. or else just have a mega wind on your posts, im not sure.

WELCOME TO THE OLY WHITE MBASS CLUB!!!!!!!!!!


SHOULD LOOK AWESOME WITH BLACK PG AND BLACK PUPS

i got mine for 300 used from a GC in upstate NY 5 hours away.

300 bucks... that's cheeeep! Mine was $666 canadian dollars (the price of the devil!) but with the 10% discount it was $600 plus tax, which brought it back up to $676.

Welcome to the club! I also paid 300 for one of mine on the last day of a guitar show with no tax :]
I have one of them set up with flat wound strings I had to cut down and the others have Fender brand shortscale bass strings that are a tiny bit too small. The fiber winding at the tuners extend past the nut by about 1/8 of an inch.
Can't wait to see it with the new pickguard.

rodvonbon wrote:Welcome to the club! I also paid 300 for one of mine on the last day of a guitar show with no tax :]
I have one of them set up with flat wound strings I had to cut down and the others have Fender brand shortscale bass strings that are a tiny bit too small. The fiber winding at the tuners extend past the nut by about 1/8 of an inch.
Can't wait to see it with the new pickguard.

How do the strings hold up when you shorten them? Since bass strings are so thick, I'm worried the outer layer will unwrap after I cut the ends.

Kind of weird the Fender short scale strings are too short... you'd think they'd make them long enough for their own model of short scale bass. I'm guessing that with the through-body mounting, the strings need to be a bit longer than top-mounted short scale strings?

i have bass VI strings on mine. they snipped fine

robroe wrote:i have bass VI strings on mine. they snipped fine

I thought the VI was 30" scale?

i had to snip some of them because i used the middle 4 strings out of the set to string it.

robroe wrote:i had to snip some of them because i used the middle 4 strings out of the set to string it.

What are the strings tuned to?

Welcome to the club! Robroe's president. I'm VP. RBV is immigration officer. I loved the fiesta red one, it would look awesome with an anodized gold pickguard like a baby Kim Deal bass

Oh shit mint green looks soooo good with Fiesta Red! Oly white though, does have a classy look

I = envious. Congrats on the 'stang!

roachello wrote:Welcome to the club! Robroe's president. I'm VP. RBV is immigration officer. I loved the fiesta red one, it would look awesome with an anodized gold pickguard like a baby Kim Deal bass

Oh shit mint green looks soooo good with Fiesta Red! Oly white though, does have a classy look

Maybe the Fiesta one I saw was defective, because it really looked anemic. Fiesta is one of my favourite Fender colours, but the Mustang bass I saw was gross looking. Yet, in all the pictures I've seen online, the Fiesta stangbass one looks like the normal colour.

astro wrote:

robroe wrote:i had to snip some of them because i used the middle 4 strings out of the set to string it.

What are the strings tuned to?

it can go anywhere from standard E tuning all the way up to G, gives it a weird middle ground baratone kinda vibe in a bass package

robroe wrote:

astro wrote:

robroe wrote:i had to snip some of them because i used the middle 4 strings out of the set to string it.

What are the strings tuned to?

it can go anywhere from standard E tuning all the way up to G, gives it a weird middle ground baratone kinda vibe in a bass package

In the same octave as a standard bass, or an octave higher like a real bass VI?

This actually sounds like a pretty cool idea... any demos with this setup? If I can find bass VI strings (or will any baritone strings do?) for sale locally I'm going to give this a try.

sweet, I didn't know we all got to be in a club



Zaphod - I will get a duster one day, I promise.

MaMo wrote:sweet, I didn't know we all got to be in a club

Cool... reissue or vintage?

pretty much all vintage - I had to get a new pickgaurd. It's more beat up looking than the picture shows. I still need to install a new nut and then might age the gaurd a bit to make it match the body. I'll probably make a thread when its all done.

Damn. I love mustang basses.

More Cowbell wrote:Damn. I love mustang basses.

Agreed. I also agree with rob that it needs a black pg.

theshadowofseattle wrote:

More Cowbell wrote:Damn. I love mustang basses.

Agreed. I also agree with rob that it needs a black pg.

A black pickguard is in the mail, ordered from Jeanie Pickguards. I'll post pics once it arrives.