(Basses with modified) scale length

[Johannes Felscher]

Hi everybody,

there are some things regarding string length I was recently wondering about, and I just wanted to ask for everyone's opinion and / or experience:

There are many basses out there with a reduced scale length, achieved either by moving up the bridge by 0.5-1" or by using a fake nut (or both). I have never had such a conversion done to any of my basses so I was wondering, what your experiences are in terms of how the response / tone of the instrument changes - if at all. I know this is a very general question and each bass is different after all, but maybe there's some sort of bottom line here.
I personally have relatively big hands and feel comfortable playing basses with 42-43" string length, so instead of shortening I was actually wondering sometimes, if the response of an instrument could improve (especially on the E string) by re-converting it.

Any input is welcome, just though I throw it out there.

Best,
Johannes