Short scale essence

[afrobeat_fool]

I have been thinking about this for a while. I am selling a few basses to start the process, but here is what I want to do. Short scale Essence with Knobby headstock. Maple neck with 2 purpleheart lams and one ebony. Burl walnut top and back, with alder or birch body. I am trying to balance the weight of the bass by keeping the body made of lighter wood, while getting the resonance of the ebony and p-heart. I really like the anniversary electronics Mica used in my Hyak( I know I need to post pic's)so, I want to use those. And I want to use blue or red LED's.
 
I am open to thoughts, folks, so let 's hear them.
 
Nick

[flpete1uw]

Hey Nick,
Long time no hear? There is a sweet Essence on The Alembic Instagram https://instagram.com/alembicguitars/ owned by Will Gun that could give you some ideas.
Best of Luck!
Pete

[lidon2001]

I would suggest having them keep the bridge in the location of a 34 neck, as I did with my 32 amboyna custom.  Normally they move the bridge forward to compensate for the difference in length.  I can still reach the upper most frets with ease, and I would believe a short scale would have similar easy access.
 
Plastic or wood backplates.  Brass is too heavy, though I would keep a brass truss rod cover vs. a plastic one.
 
Edit to add:  Get Will Gunn's smooth string anchor at the bridge; it should be the standard for the model, IMHO.  I want to get one for my bass; mine has sharp corners that I don't like.
 
T
 
(Message edited by lidon2001 on April 07, 2015)

[mica]

Wood plates weigh the same as plastic, and if you are getting a Burl Walnut back, there won't be much of it left if we don't use the wood plates.   Please no Alder! It is a high killer on our basses, unless you want it to sound like a P bass and most un-Alembic. Only Cherry kills it more (I know this firsthand). A light Mahogany will keep it pretty light weight.   I have been thinking about making the capsule tailpiece standard on the Essence. I really like how it looks on Will's bass:  

  Cramming 20th Anniversary electronics in that bass is going to be the trixy part. If you can live with mono only, and maybe put the pickup selector on the upper horn (or eliminating it) things might only be a little crowded. Also, I might consider eliminating an LED switch and just have them fire up when you plug the bass in. There's really not much real estate on those little guys.   You can also do blue AND red LEDs:

 You know, if you just can't decide.

[afrobeat_fool]

LOL! Mica you are just the BEST! Decisions, decisions....  
 
The continuous back plates are a must. No plastic for me.
 
T - I love your Amboyna burl. I very much would like to have that wood option, or Camphor burl...but it is mighty expensive.
 
Mica I too thought about mahogany, but thought it would be getting into the heavy side of things, are there some maple options that would be light and still very present in the mix?
 
How about a bird tailpiece?
 
Master volume? I wish now I had one installed in the Hyak. I can live with the mono part.
 
Is it worth putting in  5 prong?
 
Hi, Pete! It has been a while. How is that early SI treating you?

[briant]

I don't know how light it is vs. other woods but my custom Essence has an all maple body/top with continuous plates.  It cuts through the mix like a razor blade. Hotcha.  Overall it weights less than 10 pounds and is dreamy to play all night long.