"I think the 33 1/4" scale is great and well balanced tonally."I think the empty E string note on a Ric is a
teeny-weeny bit behind the authority of the same note on an empty E string on a, say, Precision or TBird. But that is just one note (I hear no difference on fretted notes on the E-string), so it's not really material unless all your songs are in E and your bandmates want to hear the low E all the time.
You could also say that the low E on a Ric is more in balance with the rest of the notes on the bass whereas on true long scales it tends to be on the overpowering side. But when I play an empty E-string I want it to sound overpowering.
If you play a 5-string Ric though, the difference to a true long scale shows quite a bit. You can't cheat physics, the B string is a flabby affair.
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"For me scale is more about tone in the higher positions than a matter of left hand fingers spread."Amen, Ilan.