Quote:
Originally Posted by Seafroggys
Ah yes Rondos, heard great things about them. (and that link is pretty much the look of my bass exactly, minus the length)
Well bass isn't my main instrument, so I'm not keen on putting in too much dough. My MIM Jazz used was like $350, that was about the most I was going for back then. I saw a 68 Gibson EB-3 for $800 a few months ago and I was tempted to buy that, would have been a waste but oh soo awesome 
Tonally? I like midrangey stuff...so yeah, similar to the jazz bass. |
I agree with Ben's statement that technique can easily overcome the scale and will save you the dough. The neck width on a typical Fender 4-string bass is the same as the nut width on a 6-string strat. The scale length and neck thickness are generally the big differences.
Being a guitarist, you're probably used to using one-finger-per-fret, which is not as common for the lower frets on a bass. In the first few positions, for ergonomics alone, I typically find myself using fingers 1,2,4 for frets 1,2,3 (much like upright players) unless the line requires some interesting ring finger stretch.
If you want a short scale, I'd recommend the new Squier SS Jags. I find them to balance better than a 34" jazz. They have scale lengths of 30" (most others are 32"), and a P/J pickup configuration for a nice sexy combination of high and low mids. It's also under $200 and there's a good chance you can play one locally. That even leaves you enough for a pickup upgrade if you wanted to go that route.