String Scale

[David Powell]

Originally Posted by Bob Faulkner

Going from 34" to 35" and back is almost unnoticeable. You could probably barely tell the difference. We're talking a difference in semitone spacing in the millimeter range. I've played a few 35" scale basses at music shops and never noticed a difference on anything but the longest stretches. For general playing within a 3-4 semitone range on the neck there's almost no tangible difference. I can only feel it on long stretches.

I wouldn't turn my nose to owning a 35" bass anymore than I would a 34" as long as the quality is there and it plays well. It just happens I prefer 34" as I see little value in 35" and my favorite bass is a Ken Smith, which is 34".. Works for me!

You are right Bob, I didn't know there was a difference until I read it in the specs. By then, I was on 35" for several months, after playing the Fender for 31 years. If I didn't notice it going up I probably wouldn't notice going back to 34 either.