Some people get bent out of shape over the most harmless things. Alembic already has its own moderators, and since they seemingly had no problems with any of your graphical offerings, it would seem to me to be in bad taste for guests of their forum to complain about it.  I never took these creations as anything more than an expression of your excitement and anticipation.  Just my humble opinion.

My New Desktop Background Art...  

Designed by Hal
Built by Alembic
Painted by Van Gogh
 
  I like that Hal,  what ever you did makes it look like  brush strokes from the hand and technique of Vincent Van Gogh.
(  at least to my eyes )

Hey Wolf,
 
Photographer by the Legendary Mica.
 
What's interesting to note: This is the first photograph taken of the Toma_Hawk, fully assembled.
 
Enlarging the photo to poster size, would be a very grainy picture to frame therefore, I converted the original caption to a water color art format -- which actually looks like an authentic hand painting. I love the gray background patterns behind the bass -- it adds texture and contrasts the bass very nicely. Frankly, the gray mat, looks Alien like.
 
I already have the 30 X 25 glass frame, which the picture will be very fitting for my music room.
 
I also love the guitar photos, on the burgundy couch at Alembic HQ.  
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-
 
 
(Message edited by the_jester on January 19, 2010)

Hal , that will be great.
  Art, Photography , Music & Verse go so well together.
It's a double whammy when your music is performed on a work of Art !

Wolf,
 
Once I take possession, I would be able to render full 3-D graphical images of this bass, and integrate (hopefully interesting) sound and motion along with my original recordings.  
 
Creativity is endless.  
 
I am presently working a custom low-maintenance website to house my body of work. So, after I take delivery, I will not be posting anything other than links to things I'd done, or working toward completing. It's something I can see doing for the next 40 years  
 
Oh yeah, Alembic will always have my support, and gratitude.
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-
 
(Message edited by the_jester on January 19, 2010)

 

Been sifting through some pictures, and I found this one of the electronics before they were mounted on the bass:

Hi Mica, do you have any shots of the entire bass with the sum of all it's parts?  
 
A nice picture it would be, if you could have someone stand next to the bass (or yourself) for a memory photo shot.
 
Peace and Love, (Meaning...)
 
When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.  
 
-Jimi Hendrix
 
Hal-
 
 
(Message edited by the_jester on January 20, 2010)

Hello Hal,  
 
Congrats on this coming together. Brilliant and IMHO it really came out exactly as you described it.  
 
I'm happy to take the blame on the Mona_Lisa_Hawk and I?m glad that you liked it.  For anyone else who was offended by it please feel free to send me your bill for the tissues used to wipe away your tears.
 
On a serious note, I'm also eagerly awaiting sound samples and a full post-playing review. The bass has a really solid - going to last forever - kind of look about it.  
 
Much to be said of people who have a clear vision and set about achieving it.  
 
Kudos to you mate - well done.

Hal:
A thought for you: after the conclusion of one of my custom orders I asked Mica to have Ron, Susan herself and others who worked on the bass to sign the inside of the control cover with a Sharpie.  That way, the beauty of the instrument wasn't defaced but I had a personal reminder and connection to the people at Alembic who are, of course, the source of the love and commitment to excellence that is the source of all of their goodness.  Just sayin'

Hi Garth,  
 
Thank you for taking your share of the heat .  
 
Although honestly, I'd wished I had been the first to combine both works of art as you did -- but you beat me to it my friend...  
 
What's also interesting, both names (Mona_Lisa and Toma_Hawk) uses (2) words and ( letters for each object. There's a connection even here... (Who would had guessed this?) Wow, it looks like the spirits are in agreement too.  
 
Frankly, this bass is built with the same mind-set of a Formula 1 Indy car, with least resistance to friction. (In this case, the friction, is my forearm and wrist movements).
 
The sound of the Toma_Hawk will be what I expect any Alembic bass to project however, with slight variations (as to every Alembic differ in tone). So, since I presently own an Alembic in my lab, my analysis could helpfully make for a fun and easy bed-time read.  
 
I'll create a thread called: Post Toma_Hawk review.
 
Steve, your story was a wonderful read (Thank you for sharing...). All Alembics are the best basses in the world, and while some people just own them, and others (including myself) like to answer with answers to: why -- Alembics are the best in the world....
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-
 
(Message edited by the_jester on January 21, 2010)

I'll echo the call for sound samples, particularly something that highlights the ability to change playing form from slap to plucking that you designed it for.  Best wishes.

Garth, in the beginning, before the bass was created, both Mica and myself discussed the thickness of this theoretical Toma_Hawk bass. She was making a point pointing towards thinner basses and older basses (like my shorty) are thicker than the newer basses. Technology had vastly improved, and boy, the things they can do now... However, I wanted a thick bass. I didn't want the vastly improved thin bass. I wanted a bass as thick as my 76 shorty body -- which is about 1.73 inches in thickness. I just love the solid feel.  
 
Also, there was someone who said the short horns on a shorties are no good for establishing balance, and shorties necks are prone to be neck heavy.  
 
I owned a classic S1, and yes there are differences, but none of the differences had nothing to do with neck balance; large horns, or small horn. It's a complete myth because shorties are very well balanced and necks are shorter to counter the weight distribution, and in some cases the bodies weigh just as much or the same as omega like S1's.  
 
Technically speaking, short horns are built with a greater emphasis on being built balanced than long horn basses. This makes sense, when short horn strap pin's are not placed on the top horn, but placed on the back of the neck (somewhere around the 21st fret area...).  
 
However, with long horn basses, the emphasis on balance is less of an issue, because the pin's are attached to the ends of the longer horn. Surly from this perspective, you could support a longer scale neck, because it would be like taking a short horn bass, and moving the pin from the 21st fret to the 17th or 16th.  
 
So, having a long horn bass, and attaching the pin to the longer horn beats attaching it within the same area of the neck, and longer horn basses were built to somewhat eliminate the question of balance all-together.  
 
But for me, I love smaller horns because the balance question, can't be ignored and Alembic engineers had already solved this question a long time ago. So, with Shorties, all issues are mindful, and considered.
 
Peace and love,
 
Hal-
 
 
 
 
 
(Message edited by the_jester on January 22, 2010)

Finally, the completed project is revealed!
 
Congratulations are in order!
 
 
Very organic looking, I like it. Can't wait to hear how you like it. I'm curious about how the balance turned out.  
 
Please don't forget to post sound clips somewhere.