current 2019/20 budget short scales?

For guitars of the straight waisted variety (or reverse offset).
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hexes
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current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by hexes » Mon Mar 23, 2020 12:12 pm

edit: bought a bullet mustang. it is awesome.

for 24" scale what CHEAP modern options are there other than the duo sonics and mustangs? really looking for a hobby guitar that might only see use during quarantine times here in california.

any kits? any of the cheaper guitar makers doing short scales? no frills, just need one pickup and a straight neck. no vibrato needed.

been out of the game for a while. my parter is learning surf music, and my 25.5" scale guitars are too hard for her to play.

looked at guitar fetish, reverb and ebay for bodies and necks, even tried researching at shortscale.org.
Last edited by hexes on Tue Mar 31, 2020 12:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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jvin248
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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by jvin248 » Mon Mar 23, 2020 2:59 pm

.

Squier Bullet Mustang

Paw through Thomann's Harley Benton models, a lot of bang for the buck.

Glarry on Amazon (not sure what they have for short scale, but $65 Strats and $75 Basses is promising)

Firefly on Amazon (they make a minimum order batch that appear on Amazon and in a day or two is sold out. Hollow Body 335 clones for $150; offsets?)

Used guitar fixed up.

.

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hexes
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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by hexes » Mon Mar 23, 2020 3:46 pm

thanks for the reply. will check out. i was kinda hoping for some weird kitschy stuff ala jay turser decades ago.

that harley benton mustang with vibrato is totally the kind i was hoping to find.
Last edited by hexes on Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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hexes
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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by hexes » Mon Mar 23, 2020 3:59 pm

jvin248 wrote:
Mon Mar 23, 2020 2:59 pm

Squier Bullet Mustang
did not realize these were going this cheap. i feel like an ass for starting this thread.

that said, would love to see anyone else chime in.

i'm hoping the shell pink squier jaguar rumor is true.

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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by BearBoy » Tue Mar 24, 2020 3:18 am

hexes wrote:
Mon Mar 23, 2020 3:59 pm
i'm hoping the shell pink squier jaguar rumor is true.
https://www.andertons.co.uk/squier-fsr- ... shell-pink

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hexes
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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by hexes » Tue Mar 24, 2020 11:14 am

is this going to be a UK only special run? i'll definitely buy it if it is affordable to get in the US and the world isn't about to end.
BearBoy wrote:
Tue Mar 24, 2020 3:18 am
hexes wrote:
Mon Mar 23, 2020 3:59 pm
i'm hoping the shell pink squier jaguar rumor is true.
https://www.andertons.co.uk/squier-fsr- ... shell-pink

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Embenny
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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by Embenny » Tue Mar 24, 2020 2:56 pm

Didn't Jay Turser and some other brand at Thomann have short scale bilindastangs for similar prices to the Bullet Mustang?
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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by dinosaurkale-> » Tue Mar 24, 2020 5:58 pm

Turser MG ^

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hexes
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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by hexes » Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:29 pm

mbene085 wrote:
Tue Mar 24, 2020 2:56 pm
Didn't Jay Turser and some other brand at Thomann have short scale bilindastangs for similar prices to the Bullet Mustang?

totally checked out thomann after Jvin posted

thanks for the suggestion. looks awesome! i was a little concerned getting that vibrato for my partner, but I have set up a half dozen fender offsets at this point so no big deal.

thanks again!

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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by hexes » Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:39 pm

dinosaurkale-> wrote:
Tue Mar 24, 2020 5:58 pm
Turser MG ^
i'll scout the used market. there's a red one on reverb right now, but that sonic blue sure is special.

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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by Ftoronado » Wed Mar 25, 2020 1:51 pm


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hexes
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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by hexes » Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:14 pm

ended up with a squier bullet mustang. as much as I love those turser/thomann models, the bullet mustang is less intimidating to its new player due to the hard tail. since it's not my guitar, no biggie. i'll make it play as good as possible.

i traded a boost pedal for it. everyone wins.

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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by Embenny » Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:59 pm

That's gotta be a good feeling to get a whole new guitar in trade for a used boost pedal. I love my Bullet, it did need a little work on the nut and fret side of things but the majority of the guitar was surprisingly high quality. The finish on the body was flawless, the pickups sounded better than many guitars costing several times its price, the pots and electronics were good quality and tidily wired, the cavity had shielding paint, the stock bridge had no issues...if you swapped the neck for a VM Mustang's you could have convinced me it was worth 3x the price, easily. Even so, it wasn't hard to get the neck to a state I was much happier with.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by hexes » Fri Mar 27, 2020 10:11 am

mbene085 wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:59 pm
That's gotta be a good feeling to get a whole new guitar in trade for a used boost pedal. I love my Bullet, it did need a little work on the nut and fret side of things but the majority of the guitar was surprisingly high quality. The finish on the body was flawless, the pickups sounded better than many guitars costing several times its price, the pots and electronics were good quality and tidily wired, the cavity had shielding paint, the stock bridge had no issues...if you swapped the neck for a VM Mustang's you could have convinced me it was worth 3x the price, easily. Even so, it wasn't hard to get the neck to a state I was much happier with.
all good to know, thanks. i have a tusq nut slotted for 10s in my parts bin, as well as tools for sanding the neck if needed.

i can't get what I want from humbuckers, but they'll help her figure out what sounds she wants from the instrument; also for now she's just playing into garageband.

a lot of the shortscale people say the stock bridge is pure garbage, so i'm glad to hear your positive results. i can fix any issues the guitar may have. stoked to own it for what amounts to $140. not as cheap as they were going last year, but this is from an actual shop, not used.

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Re: current 2019/20 budget short scales?

Post by Embenny » Fri Mar 27, 2020 10:20 am

To be honest, I've heard people trash the bridge online but I've had literally zero issues with mine. I'm not someone who cares if saddles are made of zinc or stamped steel or aluminum or brass, I care if they intonate correctly, if they don't start wiggling loose and messing with my action or intonation, if they don't have sharp parts jabbing me while palm muting, etc.

Mine at least have been fully dependable. I did throw a replacement bridge into my cart when I ordered a bunch of GFS parts around the time I bought it, because I assumed I'd "have" to upgrade it, but to be honest I never got around to installing it because it's literally been fine and I'm not one to fix what isn't broken.

I also am not a PAF kind of guy so I did swap the pickups, but not for lack of quality. I got some G&L Z-coils on clearance from their web site, 3 USA-made MFD Z-coils for $99. They're a bit of a PITA to retrofit to most guitars because they don't fit in any standard rout other than a JM, but they dropped right in to that swimming pool rout, I just needed a pickguard (which I got from Pickguardian).
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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