# Affordable long scale bass?



## sakeido (Mar 2, 2008)

I'm getting sick of trying to get a good bass sound out my ... guitar. So I'm looking to get a bass finally, something as cheap as possible while still being serviceable enough I can lend it to my bassist from time to time and he won't complain too much. I need something that sounds nice and clear and could possibly go down to F#, so I was thinking longer than 34" scale
What are my options for a budget priced bass that can sound decent tuned to F#?


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## Chellee Guitars (Mar 2, 2008)

Look for a Peavey Cirrus. I'm pretty sure they're a 35" scale. They're not too expensive either. You're going to be hard pressed to find anything longer.


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## Lee (Mar 2, 2008)

The Peavey Grind is also 35". It's a little cheaper than a Cirrus.


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## eon_shift (Mar 2, 2008)

Just get a brice you can get one thats 35" and most people that have them seem to like them plus their dirt cheap.


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## OzzyC (Mar 2, 2008)

Brice HXB-406 6-String Nat Bubinga at HomeOld


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## Beta (Mar 2, 2008)

Define "budget."

Ibanez BTBs are 35" scale, if you don't mind going that route.


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## Jason (Mar 2, 2008)

Hit up rondo  It will cost you the least and is will keep up with $500+ basses.


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## MF_Kitten (Mar 3, 2008)

i gotta get me some rondo custom shop action some day... yum...

anyways, peavey grind, ibanez BTB, and i think schecter stiletto, and the hellraiser series as well (basses of course), are all 35" scale...


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## Dwellingers (Mar 7, 2008)

Peavy Grind Sucks balls - its heavy and got a crappy Sound. Go with a Schecter C-5 Cherry or black in my opinion. Its also 35" and should work fine. It has an fine thin neck ala the BTB. Donnu bout the prize in the states, but its fairly cheap i Denmark.


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## ghoti (Mar 11, 2008)

I like my Peavey Grind. It's heavier than some and the electronics are a little bland, but the acoustic sound is good, the feel is nice, and it gets the job done.


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## Matt Crooks (Mar 11, 2008)

The schecter stilleto is a great bargain.


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## Desecrated (Mar 11, 2008)

CORT CURBOW 5 MIC - Svensk International Cyberstore


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## ibznorange (Mar 12, 2008)

those curbows are ridiculously good basses for the price


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## Ishan (Mar 12, 2008)

Curbows aren't long scale


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## Desecrated (Mar 12, 2008)

Ishan said:


> Curbows aren't long scale



aren't they 34" ??? or are they just 32" ?


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## Ishan (Mar 12, 2008)

long scale is 35" scale and more for me, 34" is standard Fender scale. But it depends on the manufacturer


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## ZeroSignal (Mar 12, 2008)

Ibanez BTB's are very very very good. 

The 35" neck has tonnes of tension and it sounds amazing. I got a BTB405QM TK for &#8364;555.

Beautiful neck.


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## Decipher (Mar 13, 2008)

ZeroSignal said:


> Ibanez BTB's are very very very good.
> 
> The 35" neck has tonnes of tension and it sounds amazing. I got a BTB405QM TK for 555.
> 
> Beautiful neck.


 My bass player has the BTB1306E and it's an outstanding bass! Great tone and he picked his up for a little over a grand. I'm sure even the non-prestige BTB's are decent price wise.

The only thing I would worry about is amplification and speakers. Having the F# on the bass is one thing, but amplifying it is a whole other and very expensive ordeal. If you're planning on going DI or POD'n it, shouldn't be an issue (depending on house PA and such). But if you want an amp to play it live/jam......


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## OwlsHaveEyes (Mar 27, 2008)

Rogue LX406 Pro....They sound nice and they are $200...I have used 4- and 5- strings before and they are amazing. They have active/passive switching, 6 bolt neck, and offset inlays...Highly recommended....just look on Musician's Friend


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Mar 27, 2008)

i always wondered about those rogue's, cheap as hell, but for a cheap recording bass, it looked like it might be the ticket


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## bostjan (Mar 27, 2008)

Dean Edge 5.


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## OwlsHaveEyes (Mar 27, 2008)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> i always wondered about those rogue's, cheap as hell, but for a cheap recording bass, it looked like it might be the ticket


 
They are wonderful basses. All of the Pro series are in the same price range $179-$219 for 4, 5, 6, and 8 string models


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## Kronpox (Mar 28, 2008)

Trabens rule:






Welcome to Traben Bass Company // Bigger Bridge = Bigger Tone

My Chaos 5 cost me less than 500 bucks, is 35" and is an amazing bass. They look a little funky but if you like that (I do) then I recommend these over the BTBs and the Brices.


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## vansinn (Sep 15, 2008)

Primarily a guitar player, I have enough expenses as is  so I can't buy expensively.
I'd rather buy a 6-string bass build well and mod pups et al.. than a more expensive one. I will prefer not having to replace expensive tuners. Not interested in shorter than 35" scale.
It'll be used for both prog./symphonic (bordering to black) metal and prog.jazz-fusion -whatever that is 

Brice HXB-406: Looks on pics to have a somewhat slim upper part of neck and widen up a bit at bridge, which I think will suit me as a guitar player. Is this correct? The price nicely allows for pup replacement; I might install a Le Fay at the bridge.

Rogue LX406 Pro: How thick is the Bubinga veneer, enough to 'do' something to the tone? I'm not against basswood (main 6 guitar is basswood, love it), just unsure how it stacks up for a bass.. Again, I might install a Le Fay at the bridge.

For both: What's the low B, punch and sustain like?
Anyone know where to get them in the EU? Thomann doesn't seem to carry them. From the US.. well, those crap EU import restrictions and VAT additions (~30% in DK) 8-(

I also consider Peavey Grind NTB-6. It's laminated neck-through may offer more sustain, and pup(s) (mostly bridge I guess) can be replaced.


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## gaunten (Sep 15, 2008)

Desecrated said:


> CORT CURBOW 5 MIC - Svensk International Cyberstore



what the... why have more frets on the low string? 
yeah well, It looks cool as hell.

Anyways, check out Woodo Guitars
it's a swedish retailer though, but the basses are manufactured in korea I think, so maybe you can find them near you, they seem pretty fucking nice, and all are 35" neckthroughs with what seems as good pups and so.


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## MF_Kitten (Sep 15, 2008)

i really want a woodo bass 

i want a 7 string one, but i don´t need anything more than 6. i´ll probably settle for 5 and end up with 4


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## vansinn (Sep 15, 2008)

MF_Kitten said:


> i really want a woodo bass
> 
> i want a 7 string one, but i don´t need anything more than 6. i´ll probably settle for 5 and end up with 4



Well, then check the Woodoo basses; they have a seemingly pretty interesting 7 string 35" neck through with Armstrong pups and wilkingson hardware. For what's announced, I find the price quite ok. Just don't know how well they're build, and only a 1 year warrenty (actually dunno if that's common..).
Oh, and their semi-tranparent black 6'er is just too cute..


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## OwlsHaveEyes (Sep 15, 2008)

the bubinga veneer on the rogue is about an 1/8"...it has a pretty bright sound


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## Tiger (Sep 15, 2008)

I wouldnt stress too much over that extra inch, yo.


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## sakeido (Sep 15, 2008)

Tiger said:


> I wouldnt stress too much over that extra inch, yo.



I'm not anymore  I picked up a crap Ibanez 5 stringer with 34" scale and its not so bad at all.


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## Harry (Sep 15, 2008)

sakeido said:


> I'm not anymore  I picked up a crap Ibanez 5 stringer with 34" scale and its not so bad at all.



Wait, is it crap, or not so bad at all?
This post is too ambiguous


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## sakeido (Sep 16, 2008)

HughesJB4 said:


> Wait, is it crap, or not so bad at all?
> This post is too ambiguous



ahaha you are right. The bass itself is a piece of shit. Its an Ibanez G10! A $100 bass tops. But, the sound is fine with the right strings on it. I'm still planning on getting a nicer bass at some point, but this one works well enough.


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## Ze Kink (Oct 7, 2008)

MF_Kitten said:


> i really want a woodo bass
> 
> i want a 7 string one, but i don&#180;t need anything more than 6. i&#180;ll probably settle for 5 and end up with 4



I wouldn't buy a Woodoo. At a Finnish forum called Muusikoiden.net, people have been ordering guitars and basses from Wolf guitars, which is a Korean manufacturer that builds instruments for other companies. Guess who'se basses and guitars they build too? If you guessed Woodoo, you were right. Woodoo adds a nice &#8364;200-300 to their price tag though (IIRC), the only difference between them and the Wolves are a different logo and pickups. And you can order the Wolves with whatever logo, pickups etc. too so...

I've played with a BTB406 for 1,5 years or so, but I'm selling it now to get something else. It's just too ugly, I have the horrible blue color one  besides, I only use the high C in one song, so I'll probably get a 5-string. Perhaps a BTB555 or a nice Warwick or something. I still recommend the BTB's, they're very good for the price.


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## MF_Kitten (Oct 7, 2008)

Ze Kink said:


> I wouldn't buy a Woodoo. At a Finnish forum called Muusikoiden.net, people have been ordering guitars and basses from Wolf guitars, which is a Korean manufacturer that builds instruments for other companies. Guess who'se basses and guitars they build too? If you guessed Woodoo, you were right. Woodoo adds a nice &#8364;200-300 to their price tag though (IIRC), the only difference between them and the Wolves are a different logo and pickups. And you can order the Wolves with whatever logo, pickups etc. too so...
> 
> I've played with a BTB406 for 1,5 years or so, but I'm selling it now to get something else. It's just too ugly, I have the horrible blue color one  besides, I only use the high C in one song, so I'll probably get a 5-string. Perhaps a BTB555 or a nice Warwick or something. I still recommend the BTB's, they're very good for the price.



dang! i'll have to check out the wolf guitars thing!

edit: link plz?


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## Ze Kink (Oct 7, 2008)

MF_Kitten said:


> dang! i'll have to check out the wolf guitars thing!
> 
> edit: link plz?



EC21 - KHL Corporation - electric guitars,guitar

The forum I'm at arranged group orders there to get prices down. E.g. this bass was 208 in the last order: http://wolf3.en.ec21.com/co/w/wolf3/upimg/01_004.jpg


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## MF_Kitten (Oct 12, 2008)

some of these are reeeeeally ugly, but hell, if it plays good and sounds the same, fuck the looks!


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## All_¥our_Bass (Oct 12, 2008)

Decipher said:


> My bass player has the BTB1306E and it's an outstanding bass! Great tone and he picked his up for a little over a grand. I'm sure even the non-prestige BTB's are decent price wise.
> 
> The only thing I would worry about is amplification and speakers. Having the F# on the bass is one thing, but amplifying it is a whole other and very expensive ordeal. If you're planning on going DI or POD'n it, shouldn't be an issue (depending on house PA and such). But if you want an amp to play it live/jam......


 
Record it direst than re-record it via reamping. You get the F# to sound good and you get the 'amp' sound as well.


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## vansinn (Oct 13, 2008)

MF_Kitten said:


> some of these are reeeeeally ugly, but hell, if it plays good and sounds the same, fuck the looks!



I have to agree on the looks, while also thinking if they're to be used say, in a home studio, who cares about looks if they deliver what's needed.

Being so cheap, they can be bought with mods in mind - some models have seemingly well build multi-layered neck-through's. The headstocks are the ugliest part and bodies could be a Bit refined in shape and rounded off.
It would be interesting with hands-on experiences WRT qulity of the hardware.. If tuners, bridges and pups needs replacement, it may not be worth it.


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## MF_Kitten (Oct 13, 2008)

vansinn said:


> I have to agree on the looks, while also thinking if they're to be used say, in a home studio, who cares about looks if they deliver what's needed.
> 
> Being so cheap, they can be bought with mods in mind - some models have seemingly well build multi-layered neck-through's. The headstocks are the ugliest part and bodies could be a Bit refined in shape and rounded off.
> It would be interesting with hands-on experiences WRT qulity of the hardware.. If tuners, bridges and pups needs replacement, it may not be worth it.



that´s what i was jsut thinking. if you add muuuch nicer designs, nicer wood compositions, nicer looking hardware, better electronics and better pickups... maybe woodo basses are suddenly worth the extra cash? they´re more than worth it for the money here in norway, anyways


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## possumkiller (Oct 20, 2008)

so yeah im in the same perdickament here, im gonna need a longer scale bass for tuning down to F# to match the 8 string guitar. do they come in longer than 35" scale? i am an idiot when it comes to basses so keep that in mind lol i just need one for recording.


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## vansinn (Oct 20, 2008)

Dunno. Maybe it's possible to have a luthier install a longer scale fretboard and move the bridge further back. On some basses it seems it may be possible to even let the fretboard extend further towards the head.
AFAIK, long scale basses do not come cheap; the low prices of those discussed here may warrent such mods.

I'm trying to put such work into finishing my 5 string fretless build. It was shopped as a (hardly) half ways finished 34" project; with a bit'o'l&#252;ck it should turn into a 34"-35" compund scale. Remains to be seen..


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