Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Factory to Customer => Topic started by: mica on June 14, 2002, 06:36:08 PM
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Here's the sum of all parts. The inlays are even in the fingerboard!
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/755.jpg)
Kris and Ron expect to finish the LED tester by Wednesday of next week, I'll blue label it to you so you can call me on Friday and let me know if the color will be SPLENDID!
(Took out the BIG peghead shot - it's not even the peghead anymore)
(Message edited by mica on April 16, 2004)
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Did we catch/get the larger fingerboard inlays we spoke about?
I can't currently find my original order form. Can you send / E me this info as I don't remember what features I ordered...perhaps there are some things yet to play with since I can't recall my dream. What would a pearl monted Alembic logo cost? Can there be a intensity switch for the side LED's ? I was impressed with the sample brightness. Those small and large ones had the same brightness luminosity.
Got any other construction ideas to throw into the mix?
I mailed today the other gel samples. You should have them on Wednesday. Even though they are different colors of blue they still create for me the right color.
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Here's the fingerboard of your bass next to a regular 34 inch scale Rogue for comparison:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/1579.jpg)
When I hold them right next to each other, your fingerboard looks much longer, but the draft angle on the other bass makes it look only slightly longer. What I'm trying to say is I yours is a 36 scale, even though it doesn't quite look like it in the photo.
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Here's some of the buckeye burl:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/1623.jpg)
number 825
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/1624.jpg)
number 826
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/1625.jpg)
number 827
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/1626.jpg)
number 828 and a shot of how the bark fills go:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/1627.jpg)
Sometimes we leave some of it in there and just fill with the finish. If the bark leaves a void, we'll inlay a piece from another area of the board. Here's what the slabs look like before slicing:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/1628.jpg)
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Here's the last known spec sheet:
Rogue 36 scale 6-string
11-piece Maple and Purpleheart neck
Spalted Maple top
recessed straplocks
bookmatch top to center
clear satin finish
Black MOP ovals
Blackened brass hardware
Series II pickups and electronics
side LEDs in special green/blue
front Laser LEDs in special green/blue
momentary LED switch (low profile push button)
LED mode switch (off-side-both)
continuous wood truss rod cover
Backplates to match top wood
covered continuous pickup tops
knob peghead shape
Hipshot ultralight tuners in black
high profile thin frets
bird tailpiece
hardshell case
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It's not exactly what we were looking for, but here is the 36 fingerboard compared to a 32 scale:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/1630.jpg)
It might be enough to tell if you want the ovals scaled up. Anyone else have thoughts about the inlay size on this bass?
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Now we'll swap out for fancy natural abalone, concentrating on the greens and blues, and a little purple won't hurt either. Enlarge the ovals proportionally to the scale of the bass. Use 828 for the top laminate. Mandolin frets too. Dimmer for the front LEDs to be internally mounted. Here's some exterior shots of the road case:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/1683.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/1684.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/1685.jpg)
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Just a quick confirmation, we're adding a Buckeye back laminate and continuous wood backplates to this job. I better rename this thread!
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Thanks for the case photos and the adjustments. The photos look great.
Perhaps a good back laminate would be #825 above. I got your Buckeye sample today and dumped some alcohol on it.....awesome!!!! Incredible depth in the grain! The sample has an interesting smell that reminds me of my grandfather's house when I was a child. We talked at one time of a low D (?) tuner on the B string (guess it is really a low A in this situation....hey, where you joking when you thought I should put one on every string?) and D'Addrio half round strings with a .40 c string (I like 'em thick so they don't sound like a guitar). The stock strings are long enough to fit on my Orchid Bass. I should check again to make sure I didn't originally order them as extra long which I believe they make.
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I spoke with Dave at Hipshot Productions today. He's sending me over some mechanical drawings by fax soon. Then we'll know if there are any modifications needed to the peghead design.
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I've got the drawings in hand, David. Kris is going to work with me on Monday regarding the peghead design. I think we'll have to stagger the tuners to keep the peghead from getting bigger, but it should work.
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I can see thats gonna be (another) masterpiece!
whats the deal with mandolin frets though??
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I read an interview with Leland Sklar where he explains the reason for using mandolin frets. I guess because the frets are so small you still get alot of the sound of the wood, similar to a fretless. He said that most of the songs that sound like he's playing a fretless were actually recorded on a bass modified with mandolin frets.
Matt
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Kris cut a paper tempalte so you could see what will show on the lion on the back:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/3386.jpg)
The eyes will be inlaid with the blue grey part from the outside edge. I think it looks just great.
Kris will be laminating the back on Monday, so call or email me and let me know if there's any changes before then.
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Friends,
this is gonna be a wonderfull bass! I like to be here and watch the thing growing. Really impressive!
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Here's your case:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/5281.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/5282.jpg)
I love the colors. We'll have to do some slightly different wiring for the blue superbright LEDs, they take more power than the red or green ones. It won't really make any difference in how you use them.
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That funny bridge we were discussing:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/5284.jpg)
Mike is working on the shape for the individual tailpieces. I don't think he'll have a proposal for you until the middle of next week. We're all leaning toward the oval shape.
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Wow... I mean, WOW... This bass is going to be totally stunning! Just can't wait to see it! Congrats David!!!
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hm ...I'm a little bit puzzled here.
Is this a kind of fan-shaped fret bass kinda voodoo-ding-thing-wall-whatsoever.
You at Alembic should go in strip-tease business!!!
What's this gonna be?
Bass-history in the make ...again!?!?!?!?!?!?
The results of a year working and thinking (first post in this thread dates from about a year ago).
We can't wait!!!!
Paul the bad one
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Thank you, Mica dear! I dig it all!!! It is somewhat Buzzar!! My concern with the posts as tail pieces is that the string length must be taken into consideration. After all we are already at 36 string length. The high strings on my bass would have to be very-very long given the picture as an example. If the string is too long after the bridge, it could by accident set up a resonant frequency that would create wolf tones (harmonic phase cancellation) or dead spots on certain pitches. The picture above tells me that this phenomenon could easily occur on the higher three strings. Please share that with Mike. Will there be any loss of sustain with out the weighted bridge or will the individual bridges make up for that? Since Mike's bass is already set up that way, what is his (and yours) take on the sustain issue and over-all sound? What advantages with this offer? Will I be able to get a good steep angle from the individual bridges to the string end? What if we were to use the individual oval bridges and a heavy tailpiece (ie:Bird)? What about individual staggered small birds holding one or two strings each? Birds with individual height adjustments? Hmmm...
What happened to the oval inlay samples? When you get to it, could you include some black Tahitian pearl ?
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Hello David,
here's the picture I took last week while testing my new camera.
Tony was in the middle of carving your bass, I was looking for something to take pictures of and your bass looked like a good subject...
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/8421.jpg)
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WOW ...oh my god!!!
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That is one heck of a serious-looking bass guitar!!
Bill
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Mica, can road cases be ordered seperately? I see them on the price list but no ordering info. Are they only available as an option to an instrument?
Sam
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That is a very fine piece of art........
I'll bet that Tony has a lot of friends in 'bass land'.....
; )
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*jaw drop*
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Betcha want to see the backplates too:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/8562.jpg)
Didn't get in before your bass was prepped for the spray run today, so I'll catch it on Monday. It's looking mighty sweeeet.
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Mother McKree! Yea.....Hmmm....I dig the popsicles. There is something very beautiful about the muted tones of the wood without spray. Will a satin finish enhance this? Needless to say...this is all visually deadly!
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What you're seeing there is the prepped surface between coats where we sand it down. That's similar to how we do a satin finish, only when it's the final sanding, we take it down to 3000 grit paper. Can you find the bass on the fatigue mat?
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/8713.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/8714.jpg)
We're expecting your narrow high profile fretwire to arrive on Monday, so it will get preset early next week and get the hardware out to the platers. Hope you like it!
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What an amazing bass!
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Thank you, Mica & Valentino for the posts! Foaming at the mouth, I am truely elated & left without words. Even without the necessary apparatus, I believe my adrenal glands are in over-drive.
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Oh-oh-oh ...I like this model too!!!
Those choises.
The best thing you can do is just leave this club and forget about this basses ...too much choices. Henry Ford created the ultimate luxury. Quote: We can deliver the Ford T in any color ...as long that it's black!!!' LOL
No ...joking ...GREAT bass ...stunning wood.
Brother David ...watch out for that foam aroudn your mouth ...see what happened to that fine Brother Paul the good one ...he start jumping in excitement and is now hanging with his head between two parblazers on the light rig of the Roseclub Boston.
Oh ...huh ...was the foam from the beer?
Aaaaaah
Paul the bad one
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palembic,
I totally sympathize with you. Every time I decide I have all the basses I need, something shows up in this forum that makes me think, maybe I could get that body style, with this wood, and these electronics..... This is one of those basses. Rob's Series II is another. Kevin's custom is another. Do I really need to finish the list or do you get the point?
Peace,
James
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Hey Alembic Brothers Paul & James,
Wait until you guys see my next and last!! I think it will be just as killer!
Alembic Brother David
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Oh ....huh ...wait a sec ...
does that mean that tehre is ANOTHER one coming???
Ooooooooh-mmyyyyyy-goooood
I quit
Paul the bad one
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Wow! I just looks better and more unbelievable looking with each new look!!!
Bill
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Mica &/or Valentino: Do you think we could see a shot of the back?
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Omigosh. This must be what it feels like looking through the keyhole of the Playboy mansion. I'm with Paul, I quit too! That is just stunning....great headstock choice too! I always thought the knobby headstock would look cool on a Rogue, and I wasn't wrong. If I ever win the lottery, Alembic are going to be SO busy! (yeah, big if!)
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Stockings - stockings - stockings fooor RENT!
Rent your own nylon stockings!
One adress!
Paul the bad one!
We have special offers of deep black ones.
For the uttermost unrecognizable you!
More money haul-ups in every bank!
Stockings - stockings - beau - eau - eautiful nylon stockings!
Not for the misses but for you ...
easy way to a new Alembic!
Nylon stockings
(where is that phone number ...a shrink ...oh ...huh)
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Now, lettuce prey! Last time I wore stockings was ta rob da bank.
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Oh yea...Mica &/or Valentino: Do you think you might have a moment to post a picture of the back?
Thank you!
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Hello David,
I understand your impatience, but Mica and I are out today and tomorrow, for different reasons. We'll try to get a picture of the back posted later this week.
Valentino
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Here's some updated pics you were after:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/8792.jpg)
Backplates are in the spray booth, so you'll have to assemble the lion visage with your imagination.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/8793.jpg)
Pretty like front!
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/8794.jpg)
The whole enchilada, fretted and ready to get the hardware setup for plating.
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Back of The Lion ...truly a good name!
Paul the bad one
PS every evening -to my wife's surprise- I pull a nylon stocking over my head and start practicing for the mirror in our bedroom my Boston accent to mumble Hands-up.
MIrror in the bedroom, a man with nylon stockings ...oh-oh thos could be explained the wron way again
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Just one word: breathtaking.
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The wood on this bass is just sooo damm interesting and gorgeous! David, you realize that everyone that sees the bass will want to touch it. It's that rare kind of wood that you could stare at for hours, especially that knobby peghead! Yet another example of the excellent craftsmanship at Alembic.
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I want to hear the tone of this bass because of the mandoline frets (Skylar did this mondilne thing on a new Yamaha bb3000 and also reshaped his neck more slim).
Very nice looking bass :-)
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Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. Wow.
John
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David, here's your new custom tailpiece:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/9543.jpg)
The red is the marking fluid. This must be the first six string bass mustache tailpiece. Took James several hours to hand file it. This will look especially nice on your bass, with your personality, don't you think?
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You certainly have me pegged, Mica! It looks like it will be low enough to the body to create the string angle we were talking about. What kind of knobs do you think will look good with all of this? Should I call Roger?(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/9547.jpg)
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I think you want to keep the knobs fairly simple - there will be alot of them, and there's so much going on this bass that they might get lost in the maelstrom. Ebony or Purpleheart if you're going for the wooden ones. Just a simple indicator dot maybe.
Pickups in a basket, how wonderful:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/9790.jpg)
The final shaping and sanding isn't done yet, but these will be in the spray run tomorrow. Should all mesh up by the time we get the nickel plating back (has been s-l-o-w lately).
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Mike stayed late and got the pickups ready for tomorrow's spray run:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/9852.jpg)
Notice they're mounted on a deluxe purpleheart board
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After a few coats of finish, the Buckeye really sparks up:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/10048.jpg)
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WOW.....Absolutely Wonderful! Do we have any pix of the LEDS &/or attached hardware? Is there an ETA of this baby?
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Wow....what a awesome piece of work. I can't wait to see the finished product. You must be proud.
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Wow,I'd be grinning too.That thing will sound thunderous much like it is doing outside my house right now.YOW.Is that a purpleheart core?If so,coupled with the ebony lams in the neck,it will ring for days.ME WANT.
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that really is cool the wood is so figured it looks almost like abalone or mother of pearl this is just going to look amazing#
andrew
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Waz Happen'n??? Any new shots of this baby....of the LED's....of the Hardware....of the back plates in position?
Am I push'n it? ~David
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Sorry, David. There's not much to report until the plating comes back (I didn't get a shot of the hardware pre-plating, it would have delayed the trip to the plater). Until the electronics are in, the LEDs aren't much to see. Backplates are attached to the finishing boards in such away that prevents casual removal (and also prevents them jumping off the finishing boards), so I can't even show you that.
I'm battin' 1000 today, huh? I'll let you know as soon as the hardware is back.
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Ho-Hum.....how 'bout a post tonight?
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Sorry David, I was Alembic-free this past weekend, but today I've sorted through some shots:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/10886.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/10887.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/10888.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/10889.jpg)
Sorry the colors aren't all quite right, but I think you'll get the idea here. There's a couple of calibrations in line before yours, so at this point we're looking at early July for you to receive the Lion.
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WOW!
Simply jaw-dropping.........
Oliver (Spyderman)
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Whew, that's quite a weapon! Wall to wall Buckeye...very nice indeed. Dave, if you haven't already, give Roger a call; the Buckeye knobs that he did for me are simple, but absolutely gorgeous, and blend perfectly with the wood.
http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/10095.html?1084207097 (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=2983)
Best of luck, can't wait to see the completed project.
Chris.
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Oh man,I agree with Oliver.You must be jumping up and down and ready to chew the leg off a table.I would be.I wish I could hear it being played.Congratulations.
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Wow! A six-string with a De-tuner key as well. That low F# gonna sound earth-shaking with the ebony lams. Hope your cab can handle it.
What scale length is it?
Also, I just love the matching pup/truss covers. Let's more of that beautiful wood show through. I say go for the buckeye knobs as well.
Again, great bass. Congrats.
Kevin
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Your bass is off my dad's bench. James started going over the setup and final details this afternoon. I figure we'll coordinate with you next week about shipping. Realistically, it probably won't be in a shipping box before Wednesday. What's your schedule like?