Well, I went and did it again folks... but I swear, this is
it until retirement!
Actually, I'd been putting aside a little bundle for a while now, working toward a vintage Series I, but this Custom Distillate won my affections. I just bought it from the original owner, who had it built back in 1985, but played it very little... said it was just too beautiful to take on gigs. The remarkable condition came at a bit more of a premium than current market prices, but it is essentially a new-old-stock bass.
So, here are the particulars... it's a medium-scale fretless Distillate, but has a custom body shape that melds features from both the Standard Point, and the later model Distillate with the extended upper horn. The top laminate is figured bubinga, over a mahogany core, and of course has the standard maple/purpleheart neck layup. Most importantly, it has all the same critical dimensions of my '81 Distillate, so the transition from these two should be as seamless as switching between the two fretted and fretless 5-strings.
I'll take some more pictures after it arrives, and I've had time to swap out strings and do some basic setup. Meantime, these shots are courtesy of the original owner.
Without further ado, here's Distillate 85 D 3696 USA
