String Spacing/Tailpiece Questions

[Triassic_Ash]

I apologize ahead of time for making so many posts. But my instinct is to make threads on specific build questions rather than have one build thread that's going all over the place. I really appreciate all of the feed back by the way. This is great and so helpful.

Anyways on the two topics:

Regarding string spacing: I like super tight string spacing, but as I've only played mass produced instruments I've only been able to play 16.5mm string spacing (I play 5 string basses). My question is on Jimmy Johnson's string spacing and neck profile? I'm sure his would be a bit tight for me, but I'd like to know as a reference and then tweak the spacing from there. I also am interested in his neck not only is it very narrow, but it appears to have no or at least very little taper from nut to bridge. Any one have any specifics on this observation?

Additionally I love his tailpiece with the posts. My question is does anyone have one on their bass? And if so are there any pros/cons to having posts vs notches to anchor the strings.

I'm a huge Jimmy Johnson fan as I'm sure many of you here are as well. And I know Jimmy occasionally reads/posts on the forums, so if you see this "Hi there!"

[keith_h]

Alembic has three standard neck tapers. The Classic taper is straighter and tends to be wider at the nut. This is what I have on my short scale basses. The Comfort taper which starts out narrower at the nut  and wider at the end than the Classic. I have this on my Orion basses and it is closer to my Fender Jazz Bass as far as dimensions and feel go. The last is the Slender taper which limited to 4 string basses. Of course Alembic will also do custom string spacing and neck profiles. They will also reproduce your favorite neck provided you supply the instrument to them for measurement.

Here is a link to the standard neck dimensions: http://www.alembic.com/support/reference.html#necks

[adriaan]

When we discussed the specs for my custom 6, Mica had a little code script she'd run that would take the spacing options at the bridge and the nut, and calculate the fingerboard dimensions. Standard spacing for Alembic at the bridge is side-to-side, meaning the lower strings are a little further apart than the higher strings, and center-to-center at the nut, but the script will do center-to-center at the bridge too. We settled on a pretty narrow nut, and side-to-side at the bridge that averages out at roughly 17 mm - this being my first 6 string, it's about the same spacings at the bridge as on my Spoiler 4 that has a classic taper and is therefore wider at the nut than my Epic 4, and the nut spacings on the 6 are even a bit narrower than those on the Epic.

While waiting for my custom to get finished, I had a chat with JJ who happened to play close to my home with the Steve Gadd Band. He's quite the Alembic afficionado, and even knew the build from the Factory to Customer thread.

[mica]

Jimmy has the classic taper on his 5-strings - 2.0 x 2.5 (nut x 24th fret) so there is very little taper.

[edwardofhuncote]

My Custom fretless 5-string also was ordered with the Classic taper.


Here's a full-length front and back to help visualize that.

[adriaan]

And for comparison's sake here's a full length back of mine with the non-classic taper.

[StephenR]

Jimmy has the classic taper on his 5-strings - 2.0 x 2.5 (nut x 24th fret) so there is very little taper.

My 1978 Series five-string has about the same taper as Jimmy's but is even narrower 1.875" x 2.25". I find this makes it hard to play finger style but even with a pick it takes getting used to the tight string spacing.

The newer Series five-string I own has what seems to be a "Comfort Taper" neck  2.25" x 3.00".

[StephenR]

Here is a shot of my '78 Series bass for comparison, I don't have any photos showing the full back.

[bigredbass]

My fives had the Classic Taper, which feels almost straight or parallel up the neck.  I'd say it feels more narrow than wide.  For me they were perfect, I'm not much for them widening out a lot as you go uphill.

If you've ever played a 1st gen Yamaha BB5000, it's not that tight, and would be more narrow than Yamaha's later 'diving board' fingerboard widths.

I've never worried about fingerboard spacing, only how thick or the contour of the back of the neck, how thick it feels.  If it's a bass I like, and the neck isn't a baseball bat, I'm good, I never worried about spacing.  How boring would it be if they were all alike.

[JimmyJ]

Hey Ashton,

Thanks for the kind words...  We're all happy to weigh in on your questions and excited to follow your custom build!  Congrats in advance. 

As you've gathered, Alembic can do literally anything you can think up so use your imagination.  And listen to Susan and Mica's opinions on everything because obviously they have more experience than all of us put together. 

Regarding your specific questions about my basses ... I think the reason my string spacing is so tight is because my first 5-string Series-I - from way way back in 1976 - might have been built on a 4-string neck.  So that's what I got used to and since I never really got my thumb playing together it's still my preferred spacing.  It's definitely not for everybody but anything else I pick up and try to play feels really big. 

I don't have a bass in front of me right now to measure the string spacing or neck dimensions but it seems Mica remembered.  Anyway, there's no right or wrong on any of these choices.  Find a bass that feels good in your hands and start with that.

Now about my odd tailpieces...  That all started because I knew before I got that first Series-I that I liked to changes strings often.  So I wanted the simplest quick-change setup I could have.  I also knew that I'd be using GHS Boomers (even way back then!) so I knew the exact size of the ball end of the string.  Below is a pic of the original, and oddest one.  I think Rick Turner came up with this idea, a brass plate with bits of welding rod sticking out of it.  It even had a 2nd longer position for the low-B string.  And THAT was because this original bass had 3 tuners on the low-side and two on the high.  But the large winding of the B-string did not want to make the tight bend around the Schaller tuner so if the distance between the silk and the taper at the peghead end of the string was too long I had an optional extension at the other end.

For that reason I would recommend a 2-low and 3-high tuning peg layout.  The G-string has no problem bending around the tuner.

When Alembic built a replacement for that original '76 bass in 1987 they made a straight version of the tailpiece as pictured below.  That works but you can see it has a bit of a lean to it as it strains to hold the tension.  So the final and best iteration IMO was the arc shape used on my 89 basses.

Keep the questions coming - but get that build started! 

Jimmy J

[Triassic_Ash]

Hey Ashton,

Thanks for the kind words...  We're all happy to weigh in on your questions and excited to follow your custom build!  Congrats in advance. 

As you've gathered, Alembic can do literally anything you can think up so use your imagination.  And listen to Susan and Mica's opinions on everything because obviously they have more experience than all of us put together. 

Regarding your specific questions about my basses ... I think the reason my string spacing is so tight is because my first 5-string Series-I - from way way back in 1976 - might have been built on a 4-string neck.  So that's what I got used to and since I never really got my thumb playing together it's still my preferred spacing.  It's definitely not for everybody but anything else I pick up and try to play feels really big. 

I don't have a bass in front of me right now to measure the string spacing or neck dimensions but it seems Mica remembered.  Anyway, there's no right or wrong on any of these choices.  Find a bass that feels good in your hands and start with that.

Now about my odd tailpieces...  That all started because I knew before I got that first Series-I that I liked to changes strings often.  So I wanted the simplest quick-change setup I could have.  I also knew that I'd be using GHS Boomers (even way back then!) so I knew the exact size of the ball end of the string.  Below is a pic of the original, and oddest one.  I think Rick Turner came up with this idea, a brass plate with bits of welding rod sticking out of it.  It even had a 2nd longer position for the low-B string.  And THAT was because this original bass had 3 tuners on the low-side and two on the high.  But the large winding of the B-string did not want to make the tight bend around the Schaller tuner so if the distance between the silk and the taper at the peghead end of the string was too long I had an optional extension at the other end.

For that reason I would recommend a 2-low and 3-high tuning peg layout.  The G-string has no problem bending around the tuner.

When Alembic built a replacement for that original '76 bass in 1987 they made a straight version of the tailpiece as pictured below.  That works but you can see it has a bit of a lean to it as it strains to hold the tension.  So the final and best iteration IMO was the arc shape used on my 89 basses.

Keep the questions coming - but get that build started! 

Jimmy J

Hello Jimmy! Thank you so much for responding and for your insight. I was expecting to hear about the engineering behind the first low B five string ever built but it was such an interesting read and I really appreciate you sharing your experience and the trouble shooting involved with creating it! I think I want the post string holders more now, although, I never thought about the ball ends from different manufacturers being different sizes 

I'll definitely take you up on asking more questions, but until I can think of one I would like to thank you for your kindness and the wonderful music. P.S. I've been working on transcribing your live performance of Allan Holdsworth's Panic Station 

Best,

Ash

[JimmyJ]

Oh Lord, transcribing a ive version?  Maybe I can help describe the notes that I MEANT to play as opposed to what actually came out?    
Let's stay on topic now...  If you have direct questions for me there's a thread under Showcase >> Artists.

Cheers,
Jimmy J