Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Dreaming... for now => Topic started by: mike1762 on April 04, 2010, 09:36:04 AM
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I MIGHT have some unexpected funds coming my way; therefore, I'm considering having my Uber Bass built. At heart I'm a cheapskate, so I don't know if I would actually pull the trigger. But here's my idea:
32, Right handed, 4 string Balance K Heart Omega
Neck: Classic taper. Crown peghead w/bevels. Center Ebony lam off-set from 2 Purple Heart lams with Maple veneers. The rest of the neck would be Spalted Maple.
Body: Spalted Maple body off-set from a Coco Bolo top and a Vermilion back with Purple Heart veneers. Tummy/Elbow contour.
Electronics: Series PUPs with a Superfilter for each PUP then a Pan and Volume.
Bells/Whistles: MOP ovals. Inlaid logo w/shell. Inlay of my wife's tatto at the 12th fret. Brass plates, covers, and hardware.
My goal is a punchy sounding bass that is aestheticly pleasing from all angles (thus the Spalted Maple body). I don't know... what do you think?
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I love it! Sounds fabulous, go for it.
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It sounds like an intriguing design plan both as a player in the geometry and from the electronics package in mind. I will be watching for your up dates and will be looking forward to learning more about this Bass as its creation unfolds and is realised .
Sonic Regards !
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I wonder if there is any of that quilted Coco Bolo left from Flax's Scarlet??? I'm not sure if I would want bookmatch to center or not. I like the looks of neck lams showing on the top, but I wonder what Spalted maple would look like adjacent to Coco Bolo. Are there any examples anywhere around here?
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Spalted maple is very soft and needs special treatment. I don't think it will work as a body wood. If I am missing what you are proposing please let me know.
Keith
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I didn't know that... so Spalted Maple and Un-Spalted Maple have different characteristics (other than looks)?
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Here is a link that may be of help;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalting#Commonly_Spalted_Woods (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalting#Commonly_Spalted_Woods)
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So much for my Spalted Maple neck idea!!! In that case I would use regular old Maple (maybe Flame Maple) in the neck. If Spalted Maple is a bad idea for the body, Macassar Ebony might give me the look I was going for or maybe use Flame Maple here as well... or some kind of Burl. With the chambering and neck-through construction, I can't imagine that the body is contributing much to the tone; therefore, I would want to do something visually interesting with the body/sandwich.
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This black and white ebony (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=7807) looks alot like spalted maple.
There is an example of a finished bass in the thread.
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Thanks... I remembered that piece of wood, but couldn't find it. That would definitely achieve the look I was going after.
How insane would it be to have a neck built out of Black Ebony, Purple Heart, and this Black & White Ebony?
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Mica:
1) What tonal characteristics does the Black & White Ebony have? You had mentioned in the above thread that the density seemed less than black ebony.
2) Do you have a long enough piece to make a neck? (Basically the neck recipe from Will's latest bass except PH instead of Vermillion and this B&W Ebony in place of the Maple).
3) My understanding is that the neck recipe is responsible for most of the tonal characteristics of a neck-through bass. Would that much ebony even be a good idea?
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Mike,
Don't forget the weight factor of the woods as you plan this out. A couple of pounds might not sound like much until it is sitting on your shoulder for 3 or 4 hours.
Keith
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I exchanged Emails w/Will about this idea... that much Ebony would translate to WAYYYYY more low end than I would want. I guess I'm back to a more traditional neck recipe of: Maple, PH, Maple veneer, Ebony, Maple veneer, PH, Maple. Too bad about the Spalted Maple thing... that would have been a cool looking neck.
I hear you Keith, but I think my days of 4hr gigs are behind me!!!
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Who said anything about gigs? ;-) There are those marathon I must play it sessions when you first get the bass not to mention jams or recording sessions.
I wish you well on your path to a new bass.
Keith
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Mike,
I see you mentioned Will in the post above. I'm assuming that's Will Gunn... I can't recommend him highly enough. He made the process of planning and ordering my custom very easy. Fantastic guy to work with.
Toby
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Sorry, the B&W Ebony I have is not long enough for a neck laminate. My supplier may have some narrow+long boards available, so I will find out.
The bass we made with the B&W Ebony top has a typical Ebony tone, which is to say that it's bright in all the right parts and deep in all the right places. It's slightly brighter sounding to my ear than Coco Bolo or other Rosewoods.
Yes, the neck is the main boss of the sound on a neck through Alembic instrument. That much Ebony is a lot of Ebony. We've made many instrument with primary Ebony necks, and for some the sound is too boomy, for others, they can't get enough of the bass, so it's hard to say where your taste will fall in the spectrum.
We could paint regular Flame Maple to have a spalty appearance. There's some very artistic folks here. Just a thought.
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Ahhhhh... an unfortunate reversal of fortune. I just found out that a disastrous real-estate ponzi scheme (of which I was an unwitting participant) is unwinding: that's code for I get to write a check with lots of zeros. I'm going to keep thinking about my Uber-Bass and will reconsider it a little later down the road.
(Message edited by mike1762 on April 28, 2010)