# 37 scale bass guitar topic



## Nemonic (Jul 26, 2013)

Hi guys. Luthier send me pictures of my upcoming 8 string build yesterday. I got nearly everything paid, so now I am looking for another thing this guy could build for me.
The guitar is 30" scale, because it is kind of ideal tension/gauge combination for me. Now I want to do that with a bass guitar.
I am not a fan of fanned frets. The guitar is straight, so I want to have something pretty much similar to it. 
As many others, I like what can Adam Nolly Getgood do with his unique instruments, his sound and his style of playing. He is the one who inspired me to think about getting 37" on the low side, probably even on the high side.

I would like to hear your opinion on tuning to F standard, maybe even drop Eb. I assume it would be much easier than with the current 35" bass. 
What do you think about tension of high strings? I would like to get a six string bass to match my eight string guitar. This way it would be F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb, maybe with the drop.
I would use Circle K strings for that.


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## Winspear (Jul 26, 2013)

I tune to F on bass. It's great. I am doing it on 35 with a CK 190 (39.9lbs tension). It's a fretless. On a fretted playing metal you certainly want to get 45lbs because of fretbuzz.
I'm having a fretless made at 37" which will use a CK 182 for 41lbs tension.
I'm having a fretted made at 39.5" (!) however, inspired by Knuckle Quake basses, which will also use the CK 182 to achieve a desired 46.7lbs tension. 

A 37" in F using a CK 190 would get about 44lbs tension and that would certainly suffice for heavy playing on a fretted 
I wouldn't try Eb 37" on a fretted with anything less than .210. 

The high strings will be fine as it's a 6 with a low. Even a 7 would be fine. It's when you get to the standard 7 string bass high (B E A D G C _*F*_) that tension gets tricky and you need to reduce the tension and use a plain string. You will easily be able to run 45lbs on every string in your tuning at 37". A Circle K balanced 37" 190 set would be a good start.


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## Hollowway (Jul 27, 2013)

Have you tried fanned frets? I only ask because I was initially scared about 1) long scale lengths and 2) fanned frets. Once I tried them both I was totally fine. So if you've been able to adapt to such long scale lengths with no problem I'd bet you could adapt to a (modest) fan without even noticing.


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## SD83 (Jul 27, 2013)

EtherealEntity said:


> I tune to F on bass. It's great. I am doing it on 35 with a CK 190 (39.9lbs tension). It's a fretless. On a fretted playing metal you certainly want to get 45lbs because of fretbuzz.
> I'm having a fretless made at 37" which will use a CK 182 for 41lbs tension.
> I'm having a fretted made at 39.5" (!) however, inspired by Knuckle Quake basses, which will also use the CK 182 to achieve a desired 46.7lbs tension.
> 
> ...



39.5''? And I was about to say that as a tall person with rather big hands, I consider 36'' to be already slightly uncomfortable. 
As for the string tension, I totally agree. Tension should not really be an issue, even with more "regular" strings. Unless you add another 2 high strings


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## RV350ALSCYTHE (Jul 27, 2013)

I'm tuned to F# at 37" straight scale 6 string
The low B rings like the dingwall, but I find the F# comparable in sound to a B at 34" scale, it just doesn't produce a tone consistent with the rest of the strings. Currently using ck .166 but ill soon try a larger gauge to increase tension and improve the sound of the F#.

I like the tone from the higher strings on a 37" scale, but I prefer the ergonomics of the fanned frets of the dingwall for playability.

Once I pay off my Crusher ff8 I plan to order a custom ff6 bass using the same fan as the dingwall 5 string, B string at 37" and extending to around 38" for the F# (6th string).


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## TemjinStrife (Jul 27, 2013)

I generally find that longer scales on the higher strings rob the bass of a lot of the low end punch you need to fill that frequency space in the mix.

It's actually encouraging me to go for 32" scales, since in the band I'm in I'm not pedaling on the low B all that much and I spend a lot more time in the middle of a 4-string bass's range.


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## Nemonic (Jul 29, 2013)

Guys, thank you. In general, when I see that EtheralEntity responds, problem is solved.
Something very important would have to happen in my life to start liking fanned frets. I understand that there are people who prefer comfort over the way it looks, I just prefer traditional instruments.
If I am going to get a custom bass guitar, it would be straight, with a scale longer than 35" but shorter than 38".


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## Kroaton (Jul 29, 2013)

I own a 35" straight scale, and have played a fanned fret 37-34".

The fanned fret put my 35" scale instrument to shame, in terms of playability.


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