Hey Gang: Got the itch for something new. Currently playing a G&L Tribute Fallout short scale and have been for 5 years. I love the short scale but this tank weighs in at 9.7 pounds.
I know Reverend makes a Wattplower shorty that’s right around 6.5 pounds and it plays pretty good, but sadly the only color it comes in a some sort of puke yellow?
I’m just wondering what’s the latest in the world of 4 string short scale, light weight basses? Anyone have anything around that 5-6 pound range that comes in a reasonable color? Thanks!
You could check out the violin basses. They’re technically short scale, although the nut is the same distance from the tail as a standard scale. They have the shorter fret spacing, it’s just the trapeze bridge comes so far into the body that causes that offset. Super light at about 4.5 -5 lbs as they’re hollow. If you don’t like the shape, they also have the very popular Hofner Club style bass. More like a Les Paul, but same sound/weight. Check out @Wombat-metal ’s new bass which is a Lakland Skyline Hollowbody-30 version. A bit heavier around 7lbs.
I’m currently GASsing for a solid body Kala UBass, so of course I’m gonna suggest checking those out. They have some good colors and they have blemished ones at a good discount which lowers the risk!
It should come in a rootbeer sparkle also. Mine weighs about 7 and change lbs (although I have the older mk I Wattplower). The yellow in person is more of a mustard yellow.
Probably not in the 30" scale range and at 6 pound, it would be too light to feel the “quality”. You can probably get the Squier Bronco bass ranging from 6.5-8 pound but you’d find the balance is a bit off. Light body and standard weight neck. My custom short scale multi scale neckthrough is super light at 6 pound and well balance, it does come with 6 months minimum wait time.
Check out Offbeat Guitars, they have a lot of choices in lightweight short scale, though their prices have gone up since I got mine
You see this a lot in hollow bodies. The tops and bottoms are too thin screw a conventional (for want of a better term) bridge in, so they use another bridge design which places the saddles further up the body
I actually think they weighed the package with the bass in it and called it 7 pounds - it was written on the outside. I think it is a tad lighter, and 7 pounds is pretty light anyway
Tim from Reverend emailed me and said the Wattplower basses all vary in weight and that’s why they don’t list a generic weight on the website. He said most are between 6.5 to 7.5 pounds.
If I was in the market for a shorty I could be quite tempted with one of these. I think this one is a special but it comes in a number of charming colours and if it’s good enough for Mike Kerr it may be good enough for we mere mortals
Great little basses, especially for the price. The only thing to be aware of is that there isn’t (or wasn’t in the older version that I had) a belly or forearm cutout on them.
