I got to see my Europa today! Words can't describe how AMAZING it looks even at this stage, & pictures don't begin to do it justice, but here's a few anyways! Mica had them finish carving the neck & body & put a sealer coat on it so I could see the figuring in the wood & even with just one coat of sealer that wasn't sanded or glossy, the 3D quilting was incredible! I can't wait to see this with the final high gloss finish! Thank you Mica, Susan, & all the workers who took time out of their day to talk to me & show me their magic!! This is going to be a REALLY special bass!!  

 The neck is PERFECT! Thin & slim just like I wanted it!  

 The backside may even be prettier than the front! I LOVE the neck laminates!  

 Continuous wood back plates look amazing!  

 I LOVE the Knobby headstock!  

 Mica & I came up with a control layout that I like & will fit in the cavity.  I shot some video too but haven't had a chance to edit it. I'll post it if it turned out any good.

Wow Rusty that looks a seriously good bass. The back quilting especially looks like rippled silk and the neck looks very slim compared to a regular alembic 5 stringer.
What is the weight like at this stage without all the brass hardware etc?
 
Looks like it will be a stunner.
 
Jazzyvee

Killer quilt, Rusty!

Really, really beautiful.  Loving the maple top and this is one of my favorite neck recipes.  The neck lams and that accent veneer in the body really, really look nice.  
 
Curious to see how that vermillion looks once it gets hit with that blueburst.

Rusty , That looks great !

Incredible, wow! Thanks so much for the pics.

Jazzyvee, I was surprised how light the bass is right now. It weighs maybe 5 pounds? My wife even held it with no effort.

Toby, the back of my neck won't have the blueburst, I want to keep it natural all the way through the body. So they are going to tape it off when they spray the body halves.

A truly fabulous instrument! I already figured you'd want the back of the neck's playing surface to be natural satin w/o the blueburst, but to to keep the neck natural all the way through the body is a great idea. At least once during every gig you should flash the back of the instrument to the crowd just to hear the Huzzah that ensues....

Thanks Sam! I do want the satin finish on the back of the neck, but it will be high gloss where it goes through the body. Here's a Photoshop mock up of what it will look like.
 

Dude - you might want to consider changing your forum name to 10a quilt top...'cuz that top (and back) is at least twice as amazing as any 5a quilted maple that I've ever seen.
 
Also - did you go for the comfort taper on your 5-string neck?

Haha! Thanks David! My neck dimensions are custom, I gave Susan the measurements I wanted & they built it to my specs which are 34 scale, 1.77 at the nut, 2.5 at the 24th fret, & .9 thick (front to back) at the 7th fret. It feels very similar to the neck on my Rickenbacker 4001 as far as thickness. I like a thin neck!

Rusty, it has been said before; but the backside picture in your post  # 1151 is certainly worthy of a WOW!
 
In fact I would say wowee wow wow.
 
Really nice!

Are you placing the 5-pin and 1/4 connectors in the edge? Two of mine have that placement and it is pretty swell, leaving a clean front of beautiful wood.
Jon

Thanks Pauldo! This is with just one coat of sealer, imagine how amazing it's going to look with the high gloss clear coat on it!