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Dear All,
I am in the market for a short scale bass guitar. I am a guitar player and I am usually pleased with the results of programming bass but for slides and adding some realism I would like to try using a real bass alongside my virtual instruments. Is there perhaps another member who is a guitar player and owns a bass that makes it fairly easy to 'fake' it without stretching both fingers and the budget too much ? For 'band stuff' I usually use a precision bass VI (MODO or NI) and I know a lot has been said about short scale vs. 'normal' scale and the differences in sound but maybe there is a secret weapon out there I am not aware of - if that makes sense.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Cheers,
Matt

I'd like to get one too. I played a 5-string Gretch a few years ago a friend had; played just like a standard 6 string electric neck. Haven't been able to find one though.

Short scales are nice, but as a guitar player I find string spacing more important on a bass if its about playing comfort..

if you want a round bass tone go short scale sure.

But if you want a real authentic bass sound, get a P-bass or J with round wounds and an extra set of flat wounds and there is nothing you can't do. Sure you will have to stretch......

Try a Gibson EB0 if you want a short scale bass

Epiphone's EB0 is cheap and cheerful. The Jack Cassady and Allen Woody signature models are tasty, too. Agree with Andy regarding flatwounds; there's some iconic sounds you can't make without 'em. For doing slides/glissando without losing too much top end, groundwounds are ideal. I had a country bassist tip me off to those and they are FAR easier on the fingers, as long as you don't need to slap the funky stuff out.