Guidance sought

Happy Face

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I am wondering if I should ponder following our spiritual guide Hieronymus and think about putting one of the Alembic sets into a Guild.

Specifically a JS-II long scale or maybe one of those new M-85s or even a solid M-85 (which I recall our Monkey God favors).

Any opinions most welcome.

I've already decided to sell my Steinberger and Fender Performer bass (one of you should snap it up) to get down to four basses. But ...
 

fronobulax

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Hmmm.

A long scale JS is going to be hard to find.

I thought mgod preferred the hollow M85 and it was Ms. Crow who had the solid and apparently didn't notice the difference :)

If long scale is the driver I agree you should check out the Pilot. They are cheaper and no one really gets upset about non-reversible mods to a Pilot. I really like the neck but I also recall it is much different from a P bass, in case that is a factor.

"set" suggests two PUs so I think there is a lot of work if you start with a Newark Street M-85 I.

Maybe it's time to see whether I can deal with the emotions of putting my JS II on the market ;-)
 

Happy Face

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Thanks folks. I find the Pilot neck to be too chunky, at least the one I actually held in my little hands.

Now & then long scale JS-IIs appear. In fact, one is for sale out in California.

We need Mgod to adjudicate on the M-85. He may prefer the sound of the hollow/semi-hollow M-85 but I recall he surprised me when he said he preferred the form of the solid body model.

POKING THE OLD GROUCH!!!


Meanwhile - did I put this link up before? Turning a lemon into lemonade. At quite a cost, but it plays so well ....
http://kennebecinstrument.com/bringing-life-back-to-a-rickenbacker-tuxedo-bass/
 
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fronobulax

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Thanks folks. I find the Pilot neck to be too chunky, at least the one I actually held in my little hands.

Chunky? Interesting. I spent decades avoiding 34" scale basses because because playing my college roomate's circa 1972 Precision gave my left hand pain and cramps. When I tried a Pilot and didn't have pain I realized it was not the scale but the neck profile and I would use "slim" not "chunky".

If you have a lead on a long scale JS then I think that is your answer ;-)
 

Happy Face

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Frono -

My sample size was one. So who knows?
 

adorshki

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When I tried a Pilot and didn't have pain I realized it was not the scale but the neck profile and I would use "slim" not "chunky".
As I said in another thread, "Chunky is in the hand of the holder".
Also don't forget all necks in Westerly were finished by hand although I wouldn't expect a huge variation in a given production run of a model, but possibly a more noticeable difference between different runs.
And finally, over the last ten years I've noticed that my D40's neck, which is definitely thicker than the other 2 and which used to feel like it had a stiffer action due to that, has become "friendlier" to my fretting hand.
I can only guess that my own aging is the variable there.
 

krysh

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The neck on my '84 pilot is one of the skinniest necks i ever played and very close to the '65 sf 1 i once had. The routing of the bridge pickup on these pickguard pilots also will perfectly fit for a soapbar size pickup. I know because now i have nordstrand pickups and electronic in it. If i was to alembifize a pilot, id go for one of this early ones.
 

mellowgerman

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Happy, I would maybe call about this one and have them measure the scale: https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Guild/Vintage-1976-Jsb2-Electric-Bass-Guitar.gc

I can't tell by the microscopic photos, but it looks like it might be long scale? I know that if it was a harp bridge it would be right to the back edge of the bass... but figuring in the extra length in comparison to the Muller bridge it's sporting, it might be back far enough? Also, can't tell if the pickups are farther apart on this one than the short scale spec

Also, how do you feel about these? https://www.musicgoround.com/p/898856/used-guild-sb-201-bass-guitar-black
 
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mavuser

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Now & then long scale JS-IIs appear. In fact, one is for sale out in California.

Make sure it is actually the long scale. Most sellers who advertise a JS-2 LS are actually incorrect and have the standard JS (short scale) bass. in thier minds it may be the "rare long scale" since it is 'longer' than say a Fender mustang or violin bass which are more standard for "short scale."

I have only actually seen 4 or 5 examples (photos) of the real one. the back of the bridge is all the way back as far as it can go, lined up with the bottom edge of the lower bout/strap button end of the bass. the front of the bridge and saddles is lined up with the *tone knobs (NOT the volume knobs). Also the long scale has bigger frets on the same size fretboard, therefore there are less frets overall, and therefore there are less dot/inlay fret markers on the long scale, than the short scale JS.

Hagmeat owns one!
 

mellowgerman

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that is the standard short scale JS bass, Mello. Also asking someone at GC about a Guild LS JS bass vs a Guild SS JS bass...is most likely an excercise in futility!

Haha true, though a select few of their highest rank of techs might be competent enough to run a tape measure from the bridge saddles to the nut
 

mavuser

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you make a good point, but if was to bother calling id simply ask for better photos!
 

Happy Face

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Thanks everyone.

I need to at least list the Fender & the Steinie first.

Then we'll see if temptation overwhelms me.

I love the feel in hand of my JS-II So maybe that's a safe choice.
 

Happy Face

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Make sure it is actually the long scale. Most sellers who advertise a JS-2 LS are actually incorrect and have the standard JS (short scale) bass. in thier minds it may be the "rare long scale" since it is 'longer' than say a Fender mustang or violin bass which are more standard for "short scale."

I have only actually seen 4 or 5 examples (photos) of the real one. the back of the bridge is all the way back as far as it can go, lined up with the bottom edge of the lower bout/strap button end of the bass. the front of the bridge and saddles is lined up with the *tone knobs (NOT the volume knobs). Also the long scale has bigger frets on the same size fretboard, therefore there are less frets overall, and therefore there are less dot/inlay fret markers on the long scale, than the short scale JS.

Hagmeat owns one!

Awesome info. THANKS!!
 

mavuser

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no problem. the long scale JS has 20 frets. the short scale JS has 21 frets, and that 21st fret has a dot inlay (that's 4 dots beyond the 12th fret on the short scale, vs 3 dots beyond the 12th fret for the long scale)
 

fronobulax

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There are several "how to tell" threads about long vs. short scale JS basses, but I think mavuser has summarized them well. Counting the frets is the most reliable because camera angle does not lead to differences of opinion about how close things are. I posted pictures of Hagmeat's bass for him so if you can' find them and need them for reference...
 
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