bonzodog Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Not sure if anyone else has come across this but is it feasible to have different neck sizes to differ on what should be the same bass. I bought a second hand jhs vintage V4 precision bass and liked it because the neck felt thinner than precisions I had tried in the past. I am also on a budget so this suited me. I was also happy with build quality and pickups for the price. As I have always been a fan of black/black and maple, I decided to then buy the JHS Tony Butler V4 sig model of the same bass when I had a bit more cash. I didnt bother to try one out as it is hard to find any shops that stock JHS basses and plus I assumed it was the same as my standard V4 in dimensions. When it arrived the neck was noticeably wider and thicker from fingerboard to back which I was surprised at, although I assumed it may have been due to the fact the Sig is maple and the standard was rosewood. I have been playing it now for a few months and am happy with it, but still find my other V4 nicer to play because of the thinner neck. Anyway, yesterday I called into a music shop whilst passing through Shrewsbury and saw a tony butler sig model hanging up. I was very surprised to see the neck was nice and thin like my standard V4, not wider like my own Tony Butler. We are not talking a huge amount but the thin one is 41mm nut width and 14mm front to back and my Tony Butler Sig is 44mm nut width and 19mm front to back. But it feels very noticeable when playing. I have emailed JHS, but have not had much success when I emailed them before about other things so not expecting any help. I just wondered if anyone else had come across this. Think it may be time to try and stop waving the flag for JHS Vintage and move across to Squiers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 I bought a Tony Butler pickguard from my local jhs dealer to go on my oldblack Vintage V4.. It didn't fit. At all. Screw holes, neck pocket, nothing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubsonicSimpleton Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Sounds like the early Butler sigs might have had a different spec to the regular V4s, and maybe as a cost cutting exercise the current ones are being machined to the same pattern as the V4s. Manufacturers change the specs on their products quite readily if they can save on the unit production cost, and most of the time they don't publicise it unless they can use it for marketing a new version of a current product - they never make a song and dance about changes that might be viewed as downgrades(or blatant profiteering) to a previously well reputed product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 (edited) Sounds like the OP's TB sig. neck is the same as the one on my standard V4... 61mm heel too, so not quite as easy to find replacements. Edited April 24, 2015 by barkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzodog Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 Yes I suppose it must be down to them cutting costs with thinner necks, but its actually the thinner neck I prefer. The annoying thing is I only bought my TB Sig a few months ago so assume the shop maybe had some old stock. Taught me a lesson to try the actual bass I am buying before I buy it though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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