Thanks for the detailed answer, Ken, and your thoughts as well, Bob. The EBG 5 string basses I currently use are 35" scale. I played the fretless one last Friday evening for 3+ hours without a break (yeah, I was getting paid!) and without any noticeable fatigue.
In this case the bass (actually the fretted one also) is very well set up and of competent manufacture, so it certainly is easier to play than my old 4-string Fender that is 34", but not much about those instruments is comparable. In any case I have played those kind of long sets with that particular band frequently and expect to frequently in the future. The sets are mostly covering Phil Lesh lines so it's a pretty fair workout for me. It's not a problem for me at 35" to play and the basses sound good (when I bought, I never noticed or considered the length).
If I were to purchase a Ken Smith 5 string fretless would I have the option of going to the 35" scale so I wouldn't have transition issues? If the answer is "stick with the 34", that would not necessarily make or break the purchase. My DB is 43" BTW. I do get tired after playing 3 sets
with breaks on that one.
