Bolt on Neck

[JimmyJ]

Here's an example of one that shows the graphite exposed all the way to the battery compartment.  This is my 1980 fretless bass which has served me very well for many years.  I didn't know there were only about 50 Alembics made with graphite necks so now I realize how lucky I was to be there right at that moment in time and come away one of these rare birds.

I don't mean to hijack the thread but I will take the opportunity to describe this combination of materials as "compressing" the sound.  If anybody ever tried a Travis Bean metal-necked axe you'll know what I mean.  It sustains for days but you can't play soft or loud dynamics.  It's as if the bass is already running through a compressor/ limiter. 

But for me I found this "compressed" sound to work really well for fretless.  Plenty of sustain and a bit of growl.

I so loved this bass that in 1982 I ordered a fretted version which I played only for a short time in that configuration - ironically it appears on two long-lived videos from that era.  But in the end I didn't like the compressed thing for playing live so I had that bass converted to a fretless to act as a backup to my main one.  And I switched back to traditional wood-necked fretted basses to regain control of the dynamics which I felt were missing.

OK, sorry for the detour.  Carry on.

Jimmy J

[pauldo]

😎

[lbpesq]

Now that's one sweet looking instrument, Jimmy!    I LOVE my Modulus graphite neck.  I haven't really thought of it as compression, but the guitar is very balanced and even toned.   I've never noticed any issues with dynamics, but then again it's a guitar, not one of those things with cables instead of strings!

hehehehe

Bill, tgo

[StephenR]

Unlike Jimmy's 80 fretless the Koa Series I with graphite neck in the catalog is one of the ones where the graphite is only visible about halfway down the back. I was unable to tell from the picture if it goes through the entire body, the top is not book matched to center and there is different wood showing in the neck area of the front of the body that isn't Koa. Interesting to find out that there was more than one approach to attaching the graphite necks, though, the differences may be largely cosmetic.

I noticed a long time ago that the basic tone of my neck-through Quantum bass sounds compressed, it seems to give a certain focus to the notes but you have to like that baked-in sound and the feel of graphite under your fretting hand to bond with a graphite-necked instrument. There are a lot of things I like about my Quantum bass but my preference has swung back to wood for necks.

[StephenR]

Since I am too lazy to scan the picture of the back of the Koa Series bass in the catalog where the graphite neck doesn't look like it runs the length of the back of the body I tried to find a picture of it online. No luck but I did find some other interesting examples. So far I have yet to find another one where the neck looks attached like the bass pictured in the catalog.

Here is what must be a really rare Series II,  Exploiter body style with graphite neck...
https://reverb.com/item/33903656-alembic-series-ii-exploiter

John McVie's old graphite Series bass. I know this one has been discussed here previously. This is one unique bass!
https://reverb.com/item/6414168-alembic-series-graphite-john-mcvie-actual-bass

Modulus Graphite Basstar neck-through, I thought these were all made with bolt -on necks, this looks much more desirable.
https://reverb.com/item/3375089-modulus-graphite-bassstar-bass-1983

[dela217]

On my graphite necked Series II, the neck goes through the body and goes to the tailpiece.    But on the body it is covered with wood laminates.

A weird thing about the graphite neck basses is that the headstocks are hollow.  Well at least mine is.

[rv_bass]

A hollow headstock would help reduce neck dive I would imagine 

[StephenR]

Still too lazy to set up my old scanner so I took a quick  and admittedly lousy photo of the Koa bass from the early 80s catalog. I have always really liked the top on this one.

[dela217]

Yeah, I've always lusted after that one.

[dela217]

This one is mine.   Serial number 81-1814.

[dela217]

And the back.

[edwardofhuncote]

Interesting, how those two extra wood layers that frame the graphite neckthrough are placed. I wonder if the purpose is to make gluing up the body wings easier? I had always wondered how you got wood to stick to a graphite neck. I'm guessing they screwed those thin strips to the neck beam, then glued the wings on.

[edwardofhuncote]

Since we veered into the subject... here's McVie's '76 graphite-necked Series bass, one of the two prototypes mentioned in the History. (Stanley Clarke got the other one) Notice how the neck beam appears hollowed and wood-filled?