Neck looks pretty sweet:

   closeup of the front veneer:

   and also the back veneer:

   I'll take another photo on my way out tonight, 'cause I saw the body (without the bookmatch to center back yet) in the clamps! The body Mahogany looks slightly lighter in color than the neck, but it isn't a jarring difference. It's zooming along now.

Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!
 
 
This is wonderful!  Even cooler than I had imagined!
 
But there isn't supposed to be a BTC back. Pleeeease make sure that's on the W.O. before it's too late!

Forgive me Charles, but I just have to ask.  If we have to wait, I certainly understand.  What is this Dragonfly Mica speaks of?
 
Thanks!  May it be all you want it to be.
 
Tom

Oh, no problem at all.  Susan has designed a gorgeous dragonfly inlay that's going on the back of the headstock, which is the reason it's spalted maple, so as to provide more contrast.
Throughout the design process all our emails have had Dragonfly as the subject line, so I guess it's kind of become the name for the bass.
 
The bass itself is a 5 string Balance K with SII electronics.
 
(Message edited by crgaston on April 20, 2006)

Body in clamps:

   Full front view:

   Back of body:

   Back laminate:

  The woods look really sweet. I'm really liking the neck combination.

I've got your work order noted with the change to move the pickup selector to the lower horn on the standard round brass plate. The plate will also have the blackened finish to match the rest of the hardware.

Cool!  What an interesting combination of front and back!  Very nice bass!

Mica, Susan, and Val, thanks for all you work in making sure this is going to be the best bass it can be.  Although it's been said soooo many times before, Alembic really are the Queens and Kings of customer satisfaction.
 
Thanks again,
 
Charles

Although it's not really evident with the (continuous wood) backplates removed (see build record thread), there is also a freaky insectoid face in the back wood.

Wow!

mmmm...Waspinator likes...Waspinator forever!
 
(sorry folks -- been watching Transformers: Beast Wars with my kid lately....)
 
--T

That neck is amazing. I can't wait to see it finished.

That figuring on the back is so cool, I hope you're going with alll wood back plates. It would be a shame to lose that figuring.

Oh, heck yeah, Adam.  Look in the discussion part for the whole piece of wood.

So Chip sketched in a "little point" on the back laminate. Here's what he came up with:  

 

 The inside line is about where the roundover will start.   The outside line is the cut line.   To keep that whole area that looks like a point in the grain, the point will have to get a little longer than the suggested "Valentino point" you were basing the idea on.  

  Let me know if you want to:  1. have a longer point and capture that whole shape   2. use the smaller point shown here  3. make it yet smaller