Small bass for small woman

[Jack]

The singer in my band is this tiny woman, and she wants to take up bass, but she is very tiny and doesn't want to spend much on her first bass. She is about as big as a P-Bass herself, so she needs something small.

I was thinking: SG Bass or I know another woman who has a small Cort bass that was like $130 used.

Any other ideas?

[eugewong]

Hard to take it seriously (although I'm sure some do!) but there's the Ashbory bass.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a4/Ashbory-DeArmond.jpg

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0350100396

[scottlr]

Fender Mustang bass.

[57special]

Musicmaster or G&L SB-1. Both reasonable, have short scale, and sound outstanding.

[Bassomatic]

ian maidman played one of those on david sylvian tour; it sounded fantastic, to me,
and much more interesting than "standard" basses in that particular musical context.
dt / spltrcl

Sure did when I caught youse guys in NYC.

[cmatthes]

Dan Armstrong Plexi?

Cool short scales and they don't look big on ANYBODY!

There's always the Steinberger (and various licensed copies) route...

[Bassomatic]

Played one of these in a store recently. Damn near bought the thing:

http://www.music123.com/Epiphone-EB3-Bass-Bass-Guitar-i29416.music

[Plan9FOS]

I used one of these to back up my wife, and so she could play it too at times ... kept great tune, felt great, do not let the Danelectro looks fool you, this is a great bass. I like the red color, which is not shown ...

http://www.jerryjonesguitars.com/NLHbass4.htm

[Thor]

Take a look at Steinberger - light, great feeling, and some good tones to be had.

Cheers,

Edward

[Bassomatic]

Take a look at Steinberger - light, great feeling, and some good tones to be had.

Cheers,

Edward

True, but these are long scale.

[Pearly Gator]

My youngest son just got a violin bass copy for his birthday and he's on the small side. It is small and light weight. I had to dig through a few to find a nice one. But it plays and sounds real good. There are a bunch of these with different names. I think they are all made in the same Asian factory because the hardware is so similar.

http://www.samash.com/catalog/showitem.asp?ItemPos=2&TempID=3&DepartmentID=2&STRID=203336&CategorySubID=180&CategoryID=180&BrandID=1308&CategorySubPriceRangeID=0&pagesize=10&SortMethod=3&Method=3&PriceRangeID=0&SearchPhrase=&Contains=&Search_Type=Department&GroupCode=&categorysubsearch=true

[Kiwi]

Danelectro Longhorn.

Flyweight, short scale, inexpensive...

and good enough for Garry Tallent of the E Street Band to play all night on tour.


http://perso.orange.fr/city.lights/spiritinthenight/estreetband/garrytallent/gary15.jpg

[lbw]

Another vote for a Fender Mustang bass.

[Tone_Terrific]

Hamer Slammer. Short scale, surprisingly toneful.

[James Knox]

My "little" wife Elizabeth plays bass in the band I lead on Friday nights. She has 2 different short scale Bass's; a Hofner Beatle Bass and a Fender Batz Marue Bass. The Batz is part of the "Hello Kitty" line of guitars - it is based on a Musicmaster Bass. I did a little set-up work on it and it plays and sounds really good. She like it alot and they are not very expensive.

Peace,

James

[KRosser]

ian maidman played one of those on david sylvian tour; it sounded fantastic, to me,
and much more interesting than "standard" basses in that particular musical context.
dt / spltrcl

Yeah - I'm seriously considering getting one of those Ashbory basses for home recording/demo-ing purposes

[eugewong]

I've actually never played the Ashbory, just seen pictures.

I've been told it's got a slightly 'upright' kind of tone? The silicon strings are a mystery to me though...

[loudboy]

Another vote for the Dan-O.

Something that small and light should NOT sound that big and fat...

Loudboy

[Bassomatic]

Another vote for the Dan-O.

Something that small and light should NOT sound that big and fat...

Loudboy

Ditto the Hofners. The expense is another matter.

[Zim]

There is a new Hofner Violin bass, I think the ledgend seriers. It is like $350 new. I also like thw Mustang. Check out the Short Scale Squires too, real nice. And check out Daisy Rock Basses, They are made for women, and really nice. I played a pink one that blew my mind. If it wasn't so "girly" I'd own one. That and the fact that it is short scale. (I'm 6'6")

[mainsale]

+1 for the Hofner's. They are light in weight, short scale, thin neck, easy to play, sound real good and look good too! This is my old Hofner, serial number #937 from '64. It's naturally reliced and sounds better than ever! It cost me a whopping $129, cash money!

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/Mainsale/Guitars203.jpg

[Gavin]

Shoot me an email. My daughter has a 70's Fender Musicmaster bass shes trying to sell....cheap! She actually bought a Warwick this evening so she wants to move it quick.

Gavin

[case4bass]

Mustang or an alembic essence if you can afford.

[walterw]

I've actually never played the Ashbory, just seen pictures.

I've been told it's got a slightly 'upright' kind of tone? The silicon strings are a mystery to me though...
it's kind of freaky, actually. the thing has a huge low end, sort of like an electric upright. the silicone strings are so flexible that they put out a big fundamental note, even though they're so short.

big plus on the mustang bass.

[SGNick]

FOr the price, the Hofner Icon series is where it's at.

I really like mine.

It weighs 4lbs.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c146/Tennis_Nick/Guitars/My%20Guitars/IMG_0039.jpg

[The Guy]

i had an ibanez bass that was pretty small, especially the neck. ergodyne i think? this was about 12 years ago, but i think they still make a similar type.

[JohnSS]

SX has a line of short scale P-bass and Jazz Bass models. +1 on EB-3, Mustang and Hofner. Ibanez makes a short scale Mikro GSR200 as well.

[bek]

Squier used to make the Vista line, which they discontinued because they were a bit too good for the money they were charging. I have a Vista MusicMaster bass, and it's real good for what you're thinking. It is extremely light, has a narrow neck and is short-scale. Stays/plays in tune and sounds good. Should be very reasonable if you can find one. Gavin's daughter's US MusicMaster sounds like the ticket, too.

[markw1980]

+1 for Danelectro basses. I've had the Longhorn and Short Horn basses, and both are fantastic.

[BigDoug1053]

I've actually never played the Ashbory, just seen pictures.

I've been told it's got a slightly 'upright' kind of tone? The silicon strings are a mystery to me though...

I had one for a while in the 90s. It was a surprisingly FAT sounding bass and did get a great fretless growl. The very short scale took some adjustment and you need to use talcum powder to lube the strings. I don't know how difficult it is to get the strings nowadays - but the idea behind the Ashbory is pretty nifty. If you could find one in a Pawn Shop or Craig's List for super cheap - you might wanna grab it.

Otherwise, anyone with small hands would benefit from a short scale bass. Lots to choose from.

[markjazzbassist]

fender mustang or musicmaster. great little basses.

[devnulljp]

I thought this was a For Trade thread?
How about a Steinberger type bass? They're pretty small.
Otherwise, Musicmaster/Mustang FTW.
Or there's the Squier Bronco bass -- which is tiny and pretty cheap too (not a great bass though, but it fits the two main requirements).
The 9 yr old next door has one of these.

http://www.squierguitars.com/products/prod_images/basses/0310902558_md.jpg

[schaubild]

http://www.marleaux-bass.com/marleaux-bass_consat_sopran.html

;)

[Birddog]

Another vote for a Fender Mustang bass.

+1. Played one just for fun in GC last weekend, and almost walked out with it....great sound, light weight. Not a bad little bass.

[rongtr]

i had an ibanez bass that was pretty small, especially the neck. ergodyne i think? this was about 12 years ago, but i think they still make a similar type.
They still make great lightweight basses with a thin and narrower neck- I bought one for my daughter.

[hudpucker]

Another vote for a Fender Mustang bass.

[modulusrules]

the cort curbow bass has a tiny body and is a pretty cool bass.

[BluesyCat]

I'm female, yup, vertically challenged... barely 5'2" with very small hands.
My first bass was a Jay Turser - cost $150. After that I realized that a small lightweight beginner bass was okay for starters but once I found out that I loved the bass guitar.....I went for the big guns. No more training basses for me...

Bought a Modulus Quantum 5 and Quantum 4, Warwick Corvette Pro 5, Warwick Rockbass 5, Lakland USA JO4 with Fralins, and later sold them all because then I found that my tone was not in those basses. I needed classic, vintage tone. Although, I really, really miss the Quantum 4!

I went to Fender American P-bass 62 reissue - still have it. Keeper.
Then I bought a Fender Jazz 75 reissue - had to have those fabulous blocks and Yes, I still have it! Yet another Keeper.
I then bought a Fender Custom Shop Jazz 5 - sold it because...
I custom ordered a Sadowsky J/J 4-string.... Worlds better than the Custom shop. OMG - KEEPER!

Now, I am without a 5-string and I know that I want another Sadowsky (a P/J config) but I need to save for it. I know it will be worth every moment in time to wait.

It's good to start out small/inexpensive, but I know that she'll get bored of the little bass quick. I did. So my recommendation would be to not start out too small / don't skimp on the tone. Holy crud, I'm rambling. Sorry.
You know what...that Rockbass by Warwick was killer and it's reasonably priced and not that big /heavy. I probly shoulda kept that one.

[panoramic]

bronco bass

[Zimi]

Squier Bronco Bass for $150.

[Bassomatic]

Played in Ibby Mikro bass yesterday - it was damned nice, and a steal at $169. The one I played was sparkle violet - too cool.

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/8/5/3/527853.jpg

[c-dub]

Carvin.

[lv]

epiphone allen woody - short scale, semi hollow, great neck, great tone.

[FFTT]

The only thing you want to watch out for on lighter bodied basses is a tendency to be
neck heavy, so you want to find a bass that is well balanced.

Weight aside, the neck has to be comfortable for her finger reach, so jazz bass
fret spacing may be preferable to P-bass spacing.

You also want to make sure the action on the neck is as effortless as possible.

I haven't tried a Dano, but have been intrigued ever since I saw Tom Petty playing
one for the Traveling Wilburys recordings.

[FFTT]

Unless you play quite a bit in the high registers, I'd convert one of your basses to a Low 4 strung BEAD.

Way easier for short fingers while still getting all the low end that
you would expect from a 5 string.



I'm female, yup, vertically challenged... barely 5'2" with very small hands.
My first bass was a Jay Turser - cost $150. After that I realized that a small lightweight beginner bass was okay for starters but once I found out that I loved the bass guitar.....I went for the big guns. No more training basses for me...

Bought a Modulus Quantum 5 and Quantum 4, Warwick Corvette Pro 5, Warwick Rockbass 5, Lakland USA JO4 with Fralins, and later sold them all because then I found that my tone was not in those basses. I needed classic, vintage tone. Although, I really, really miss the Quantum 4!

I went to Fender American P-bass 62 reissue - still have it. Keeper.
Then I bought a Fender Jazz 75 reissue - had to have those fabulous blocks and Yes, I still have it! Yet another Keeper.
I then bought a Fender Custom Shop Jazz 5 - sold it because...
I custom ordered a Sadowsky J/J 4-string.... Worlds better than the Custom shop. OMG - KEEPER!

Now, I am without a 5-string and I know that I want another Sadowsky (a P/J config) but I need to save for it. I know it will be worth every moment in time to wait.

It's good to start out small/inexpensive, but I know that she'll get bored of the little bass quick. I did. So my recommendation would be to not start out too small / don't skimp on the tone. Holy crud, I'm rambling. Sorry.
You know what...that Rockbass by Warwick was killer and it's reasonably priced and not that big /heavy. I probly shoulda kept that one.

[Kyle vs. Guitar]

I'd think a good old-fashioned Fender P or Jazz Bass would work alright. All those tiny girls who play bass in Japanese indie rock bands handle them just fine. The Fender Mustang might not be a bad choice either. And the Gibson EBs are short scale and look super cool as well.

[BluesyCat]

I'd think a good old-fashioned Fender P or Jazz Bass would work alright. All those tiny girls who play bass in Japanese indie rock bands handle them just fine. The Fender Mustang might not be a bad choice either. And the Gibson EBs are short scale and look super cool as well.

Yeah, they're ideal except for the weight of some of them.
I have one at my work in my office. Keep it there to practice during lunch.