Piccolo Bass Guitar 

Agreed Brent, I get that point a lot, and I agree with you there's a definite tonal difference between regular electric guitar and piccolo bass guitar. As well as the playing difference.

Understandable point of view, bu limited in my view. Listen to the depth of expression you get with a viola piece. A violin can't acheive this. You just have to get to know each instrument and love it for what it can acheive. I do agree that if you want a guitar sound you might as well get a guitar. Piccolo bass has so much more to offer.

" so, you might as well learn to play a guitar. " What if I don't want to? Will they force me to? If not, they can shut up, and let us enjoy piccolo basses!

string spacing on bass is also huge in comparison to guitar, total different feel

Sorry to bump a 6 year old comment, but check out the "piccolo bass jam in dorian minor" on youtube - that thing sounds like a proper bass just played a bit up the fretboard. Amp settings surely help

Thanks Shane!

Thank you!

You recon I could get about the same sound with a vintage modified jaguar special short scale? Thinking about getting one and have piccolo strings slapped on it, that or a Squier Bronco.

Hi, I've got no experience with either of these short scale basses. But, I'm thinking the Jaguar SS bass would be the better option as it has 4 adjustable saddles on the bridge (for a better intonation set-up). Please do let me know how you get on if you decide to go for it...as the Mustang is hard to find these days and it would be good for people to have another option. Scott Whitley has a reasonably priced short scale bass on the market that looks pretty nice (just throwing that out there as another possible option).

Many thanks. Best of luck with your piccolo bass journey!

Thanks for the kind words Jess :) I'm glad you're playing again. I just checked out Joey DeMaio playing his piccolo bass...woah, he can sure sure play. Great to see his approach with a tremolo arm...great stuff!

Great! I hope you enjoy your piccolo bass journey!

Thanks!

Many thanks Jose!

Thanks Nick.

Hi Keith. No problem, I use set EXL280 which are gauge 20 - 52. Hope this helps.

+ANDYROBINSONFOLK Hi Andy, a pleasure, thanks for your kind words and taking the time to ask a question. I'm sure you could string up a Bass VI an octave higher. Not sure what the gauges for the top 2 strings would be though. In effect you'd end up with the string pitches being the same as a regular guitar, but with the long 30" scale length that the Bass VI has. Interesting! Please do make a video if you go ahead with the project, I'd like to see/hear that. All the best.

You're welcome.

Thanks loafers609! Sure, the D'addario piccolo set works fine on a 34" scale bass. I used to have them on a Fender Jazz bass a while back. The tension is quite high though, making it hard to do strings bends and such. Which is why I went with the 30" mustang in the end.

Slightly different tuning of the strings (6 string bass is usually tuned in 4ths, Baritone as a guitar a 4th lower)...but darn close!

Piccolo strings will work fine on a 34 inch scale length bass. However, the tension will be higher making it harder to bend strings. This is why I went for a 30 inch scale length bass.

yes indeed :)

Thanks! Ah, Kenny was incredible wasn't he. An amazing gift to music.

Indeed he was. I listen to his music almost every day. His compositions have an instantly recognisable sound that always brings me so much joy. I'm from America, and he didn't achieve much fame here, unfortunately just like most of the jazz greats based in Britain.

I agree completely. His melodic and harmonic sense have an incredible beauty to them. The sound of his flugel too. Just amazing.

DrummerFlex q

Hi Daniel, thank you. I just bent the neck a little...there's a little bit of flex there.

You should see the stuff Billy Sheehan does

It's called "neck bending" and many players do it, on both electric and acoustic. Adds some vibrato.

Hi taikoking1. I wouldn't say it's a 4 stringed guitar with 4 strings so much, as the scale length is longer and the neck wider than a guitar. This is debated quite a lot on the thread on piccolo bass guitar you can find at gearslutz.com. I like the idea of using it with a GR-55 though. I'm sure you're right that it would track well.

www.gearslutz.com/board/so-many-guitars-so-little-time/764668-piccolo-bass-guitars.html

Many thanks! The tension is about right with long-scale strings on a short-scale bass (30") I think. So yes, I would recommend that.

@@Paulosrecordsofficial Thanks man I think ima get some, I really like that sound! Have a great weekend my friend!

Thanks Brian. I was trying to play 'In a Sentimental Mood' which is very similar to 'What are you doing...'. I havn't tried using a flanger, only a chorus so far. Good idea though. I'll keep an eye out for a pedal.

@@Paulosrecordsofficial I am modifying a six string bass to be part piccolo strung. I shall be interested in what you are doing with your bass. Flangers are the opposite of chorus electronically and have gone out of fashion I think. I like their softer effect.

+seven daggers thank you!

+seven daggers are you going to give it a go?

Thanks Mr. Noodles. I had to adjust the bridge for action and intonation and adjust the truss rod a little.

@@Paulosrecordsofficial ok thanks to this video i will save up to buy piccolo strings thanks for this video!

Hi, I'd say it can compliment a guitar player or be there without one. It covers the same frequencies as the pitches of the lower four strings of a guitar but sounds different and is approached differently. i'd suggest checking out the player 'Foley' in the Miles Davis group.

Hi darksoul7, I'm using E:052, A:042, D:032, G:20. So I'd guess a C would be around 014 or 012 to match the D'addario set?

paulosrecords Ok, that sounds pretty good. Thanks!

Hi, I used a Carl Martin Quattro pedal. It has 4 effects. Compressor, Overdrive, Chorus & Delay.

Thanks!!

Hi Liquid Feel. It's a 32" scale I believe. Should work just fine.

I do have a very particular set of skills...

+Dean Rijke Hi, I didn't have to adjust the nut on my Mustang bass. But maybe I was lucky. I have heard that the best way to go about it is have a luthier cut a custom nut for the bass. I had piccolo strings on a Jazz bass, in the past, and didn't need to adjust the nut then either (double lucky?). I guess the best way to proceed would be to try without adjusting the nut first and see how it goes?

Yes, as I remember, the action needed lowering a bit. Basically it needed a set-up which I'd usually ask a luthier to do, but it just happened that I managed it myself this time.

Hi jhil, good question. Not that I know about no.

Hey Gary, I've been lucky enough to play a Jerry Jones baritone guitar which was tuned b to b...absolutely loved it. So many guitars, not enough time to play 'em all! I'll have a go at different tunings as you suggest. I'm trying out some different strings at the moment (Ken Smith, Burners) and definitely like them. Slightly less tension than the D'addarios.

Hi, I don't think that guitar strings will be long enough to fit on a bass guitar.

paulosrecords thank you for the clarification

Robert Swereda Hi Robert. No not really, a Bass VI is generally tuned an octave lower than a regular guitar. A piccolo bass is generally tuned like the four lower pitched strings on a regular guitar (E, A, D, G).

paulosrecords Yep, I figured it out. The Bass VI is a lot lower. Since I play my Bass VI thru a guitar amp, it'd be safe to do the same with a Piccolo Bass

Robert Swereda Cool. Yes, quite alright to play a piccolo bass through a guitar amp. I use a small guitar amp (fender champ).

Hi Richard, the strings are the D'Addario EXL280 set. Gauges are 020P, 032, 042, 052. Yes it's a Squier Mustang bass. Hope this helps.

Hi Jae, I would suggest you get a regular bass guitar as your first bass guitar. Something like a Fender Precision or Jazz bass. Piccolo bass is more of a specialist instrument.

Alright, thanks. Last question though. What about a regular bass with a 5th high C string? I'm really curious about solo bass and would like to do some singing while playing it, that's why I'm interested in higher octaves, just fyi

Jae Kim Sure a 5 string bass with a high C as the highest is certainly possible...or a 4 string with a top C and no low E for that matter :) It would get you into a higher range...more of a tenor range.

You can also get a 6 strings EADGCF. that way you can go pretty high without losing the ability to play "normal" bass. With a loop pedal, you can play bass lines, chords and solo on top of it. it's a nice set-up for solo stuff IMO.

'In A Sentimental Mood', 'Consolation'...and various improvisations.

Bronco I mean

planetcaravan93 Bronco looks perfect as a piccolo bass guitar (30" scale)...please do let me know how you get on.

just messing around with some ii v i's...

@@Paulosrecordsofficial ok thanks man!

+Michael Brown Thanks Michael. Amazing that you saw Stanley in RTF...'Light As A Feather' is one of my favourite albums, for sure. Thanks for the link and best of luck with the new album that has Piccolo bass on it!

+Chalkaspis Hi, string gauges are; E:052, A:042, D:032, G:20

paulosrecords Thank you for replying back so quick! Yes, gauge! I have 50 40 30 20 (EADG), and I installed them on my 24 fret bass. And they just sound so dry!.... Then I took them out and installed them on my 19 fret bass. And the sound is different! Better, I might add. What's the deal here? I tune EADG for both basses.

+Chalkaspis My pleasure. Very hard to say why you have sound differences between bass guitars, without seeing them. Could be a difference in scale length, pickups, electronics, well anything really! Can only recommend you explore and experiment until you are happy. Good luck with your quest :)

+ paulosrecords Well, the one with the dry sound is long scale. Maybe that's the problem... Thanks!

Thanks!

You mean the pitch bend at 2:40? it's not a problem truly. I don't use very much force. Necks can take a little stress in my experience. Never damaged one yet ;-)