5 string Tele bass

[McCreed]

This might be a dumb question, but would a shorter scale make much difference in neck dive?

I don't know I've seen a short-scale 5-string, but I don't get out much...

[fender3x]

I don't think I have ever seen a short scale 5 string bass either. At some point the lower string tension would make it impractical, I am guessing, bur I am not sure at what length that would be.

It would help with neck dive at least somewhat. Less weight at the end of a long lever with your shoulder as the fulcrum. I have wondered if that might be why so many historical hollow and semi-hollow basses were short scale.

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[Simon Barden]

Short scale would require thicker strings to maintain standard tension.

0.130” seems to be the standard low B string diameter, and all the feedback I've seen on 5-string basses indicates that you don't want anything thinner/with less tension than that, so on a short scale you’d need something thicker than.

If you could find and buy a short scale bass, it would be a custom product from a small manufacturer. The strings would have to be be custom wound strings and that would make them expensive. As it would be such a niche product, I can’t see any string manufacturer making them as standard. The price of the custom bass strings alone would then exceed the cost of the bass kit, and I can't see a basic kit from someone like Pit Bull being sold without strings or the ability to go and buy a suitable set of strings from a local music store at a reasonable cost.

It would make an interesting scratch build product, but you'd probably need to check first with a custom string maker that they'd even consider making suitable strings. If they can't fabricate the strings from their stock wire gauges and need to get in one or more 500m reels of a custom gauge wire, then they may not want to do it at all.

[raz1972]

I have a G&L ASAT bass, a four string with a Tele body. People always tell me how cool it looks when I've played it out. But I had to add a custom made after market strap extender to make it comfortable to play.

Attachment 42378

Without that little device it had vicious neck-dive. That was in spite of having aluminum tuner posts. Even without the neck dive, the way the bass hangs, you have to have your hand about 3-4" further out from your body than you would with a P or J bass.

It seems to me that these problems would be compounded in a 5 string whether in-line or 4x1 on the headstock. You might end up with a really gorgeous, unique bass that you don't take out much because it's uncomfortable to play.

Good point.. that will need a reconsideration.. thanks for that..