Short scale and headless?

[tho x. bui]

Is there a commercially made (as in production, not one off custom) 30"
scale length headless bass? You know, like a Steinberger.

Thanks

Tho

[Ian Hayward]

I guess in two days the answer appears to be "no" or "don't know". Why do
you want this particular combination of features? AFAIK the reasons for
choosing a short scale are 1) less finger stretching for those with small
hands, and 2) less "reach" to the head end of the neck. If your reason is
the latter, you may be comfortable with a regular scale Steinberger or the
Hohner copy, as the shape of it IMO makes the fret position for each note
feel closer to your body than a conventional bass. Perhaps you have tried
this already?

Ian

"tho x. bui" <blahx3@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:Y6Z_h.69$%P1.39@newsfe07.phx...
> Is there a commercially made (as in production, not one off custom) 30"
> scale length headless bass? You know, like a Steinberger.
>
> Thanks
>
> Tho
>

[Mike Fleming]

In article <Y6Z_h.69$%P1.39@newsfe07.phx>, "tho x. bui"
<blahx3@earthlink.net> writes:

> Is there a commercially made (as in production, not one off custom) 30"
> scale length headless bass? You know, like a Steinberger.

Hacksaw and standard length Steinberger? And a die to recut the thread
on the truss rod, of course...

--
Mike Fleming

[Benj]

Mike Fleming wrote:
> Hacksaw and standard length Steinberger? And a die to recut the thread
> on the truss rod, of course...

Won't work unless it's fretless! Have to have frets set for short
scale. Not to mention the fact that normal scale double ball strings
are hard enough to find, let alone 30" scale double ball strings.
Those alone probably have to be custom!

Benj

[David Bourke]

Couldn't you get a Steinberger or Hohner, fit slightly heavier
strings than you normally would, tune to DGCF, put a capo
on the second position, and get used to the dot placements?

Scale would be just a tad over 30".

db

[Kloka-mo']

Were the Kramer Duke bassi 30"?

--
-rob Bartlett, TN
O>
/(\)
^^
"David Bourke" <david_bourke62@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1178587832.016206.148920@y5g2000hsa.googlegro ups.com...
> Couldn't you get a Steinberger or Hohner, fit slightly heavier
> strings than you normally would, tune to DGCF, put a capo
> on the second position, and get used to the dot placements?
>
> Scale would be just a tad over 30".
>
> db
>

[Derek Tearne]

Benj <bjacoby@iwaynet.net> wrote:

> Mike Fleming wrote:
> > Hacksaw and standard length Steinberger? And a die to recut the thread
> > on the truss rod, of course...
>
> Won't work unless it's fretless! Have to have frets set for short
> scale.

Actually it would work. Just think about it for a minute or two. And
Tho is a more than capable 'hacksaw' wielder.

> Not to mention the fact that normal scale double ball strings
> are hard enough to find, let alone 30" scale double ball strings.
> Those alone probably have to be custom!

Well, yes, that's more of a show stopper.

However there are headless basses that work with single ball end strings
- a 'hacksaw' to one of those might be the go.

One of these is the astonishing Westone 'The Rail' Bass
http://www.westone.info/railbass.html which, it turns out, is a medium
scale bass.

I half wish I'd bought one of these on the two occasion I've had to buy
one. Unfortunately the first time I had no cash and the second wasn't a
terribly good instrument.

I've had no luck googling for short scale headless basses, which could
mean either no one has ever made one, or more likely that my google fu
is not strong.

There's a hint on a couple of 'status quo' (and tribute band status
clone) related websites that Status basses may have made a 30.5" scale
bass for 'Rhino' Edwards but the pages are ambiguous. I don't think it
was ever a stock option though.

--- Derek

--
Derek Tearne - derek@url.co.nz
Many Hands - Trans Cultural Music from Aotearoa/New Zealand
http://www.manyhands.co.nz/

[Derek Tearne]

Kloka-mo' <RobZon5XXX@XXXyahoo.com> wrote:

> Were the Kramer Duke bassi 30"?

It looks like they were!

--- Derek



--
Derek Tearne - derek@url.co.nz
Many Hands - Trans Cultural Music from Aotearoa/New Zealand
http://www.manyhands.co.nz/

[blahx3@earthlink.net]

On May 7, 6:58 pm, d...@url.co.nz (Derek Tearne) wrote:
> Benj <bjac...@iwaynet.net> wrote:
> > Mike Fleming wrote:
> > > Hacksaw and standard length Steinberger? And a die to recut the thread
> > > on the truss rod, of course...
> > Won't work unless it's fretless! Have to have frets set for short
> > scale.
> Actually it would work. Just think about it for a minute or two. And
> Tho is a more than capable 'hacksaw' wielder.
> > Not to mention the fact that normal scale double ball strings
> > are hard enough to find, let alone 30" scale double ball strings.
> > Those alone probably have to be custom!
> Well, yes, that's more of a show stopper.
> However there are headless basses that work with single ball end strings
> - a 'hacksaw' to one of those might be the go.
> One of these is the astonishing Westone 'The Rail' Bass
> http://www.westone.info/railbass.htmlwhich, it turns out, is a medium
> scale bass.
> I half wish I'd bought one of these on the two occasion I've had to buy
> one. Unfortunately the first time I had no cash and the second wasn't a
> terribly good instrument.

heh heh. In deed, as Derek indicated, I own several hacksaws.

Actually, I'm thinking of building one up from scratch.

Unlike some of the folks here who suffer from Guitar Acquisition
Syndrome, I suffer a very severe case of Guitar Building Syndrome.

I'd hate to build something that can be bought off the shelf, and
since my small hands demand a 30" scale length...headless and 30" it
is. This is going to be a real project, probably done before August.

By the way, regarding strings: there are headless mechanism that one
can use so that one does not need the double ball strings. I bought
this set from ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200105916409

the non-ball end is wrapped inside the bridge roller, a pretty cool
design. Hope it works well, since I already bought it :-)

Has anyone played the Westone? It looks like an interesting design.
Is the tonal flexibility offset the complexity?

Thanks all for the feedback

Tho

[js]

Sure it would. Hack off the first two frets, but leave the second fret wire
as a "zero fret". That's how most companies do 'em

Trussrod is a simple hacksaw and threader.

You can get all sorts of custom strings from juststrings. However, the
longscale work pretty well. They do have a slightly "tubby" sound on
occasion, but they sound fine. On my new short scale Kramer, I can't tell
the difference.

--
Check out my band, West Eats Meat http://www.myspace.com/westeatsmeat

My Homepage, Back By Popular Demand: http://www.jmsjazz.com

"I don't mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, so that's how it
comes out."

- Bill Hicks









"Benj" <bjacoby@iwaynet.net> wrote in message
news:1178586018.063082.285930@n59g2000hsh.googlegr oups.com...
>
> Mike Fleming wrote:
> > Hacksaw and standard length Steinberger? And a die to recut the thread
> > on the truss rod, of course...
>
> Won't work unless it's fretless! Have to have frets set for short
> scale. Not to mention the fact that normal scale double ball strings
> are hard enough to find, let alone 30" scale double ball strings.
> Those alone probably have to be custom!
>
> Benj
>

[Benj]

Derek Tearne wrote:
> Benj <bjacoby@iwaynet.net> wrote:

> > Won't work unless it's fretless! Have to have frets set for short
> > scale.
>
> Actually it would work. Just think about it for a minute or two. And
> Tho is a more than capable 'hacksaw' wielder.

Ooops! Nevermind! :-)

Benj

[Kloka-mo']

Decent article on the Kramer Duke here:

http://www.vintageguitar.com/brands/details.asp?ID=210

--
-rob Bartlett, TN
O>
/(\)
^^
"tho x. bui" <blahx3@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:Y6Z_h.69$%P1.39@newsfe07.phx...
> Is there a commercially made (as in production, not one off custom) 30"
> scale length headless bass? You know, like a Steinberger.
>
> Thanks
>
> Tho
>

[Mike Fleming]

In article <1178596990.753445.238680@n59g2000hsh.googlegroups. com>,
blahx3@earthlink.net writes:

> Has anyone played the Westone? It looks like an interesting design.
> Is the tonal flexibility offset the complexity?

I used to own the Quantum, which was the more conventional cricket bat
headless that Westone did. Not a bad instrument - with hindsight I
would have kept it to avoid sticking the machine heads down the
singer's ear at the two venues with microscopic stages that we play.

--
Mike Fleming

[Mike Fleming]

In article <6smdnYuLwarKyt3bnZ2dnUVZ_qemnZ2d@comcast.com>, "Kloka-mo'"
<RobZon5XXX@XXXyahoo.com> writes:

> Decent article on the Kramer Duke here:
>
> http://www.vintageguitar.com/brands/details.asp?ID=210

And one for sale here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180113147056

A singer with a previous band had a Kramer - one of the aluminium neck
ones, which I was eager to try and then even more eager to hand
back...

--
Mike Fleming

[Kloka-mo']

There's a 32" medium scale:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Traveler-Escape-MKII-Spruce-Top-Bass-Guitar?sku=513816

--
-rob Bartlett, TN
O>
/(\)
^^
"tho x. bui" <blahx3@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:Y6Z_h.69$%P1.39@newsfe07.phx...
> Is there a commercially made (as in production, not one off custom) 30"
> scale length headless bass? You know, like a Steinberger.
>
> Thanks
>
> Tho
>