Shim's bass is the same body shape as Raging Bass. That is to say, it's a pistol grip upper horn, on the original Balance Point body shape. Shim's has a regular Omega, Michael's a Heart. This body is our largest, even bigger than the Standard Point family of body shapes.  
 
The Balance K is a good bit smaller than the Standard Point family, and I'm not sure if we've done a pistol grip variation on it yet. The price for the pistol grip is $300, and if we haven't done one yet, it might take a 2-3 weeks longer to start the body while we hash out the final shape.  
 
Let me know if you want to explore the possiblity or skip it.

Hi Mica,
 
Thanks for getting back. I really like the of looks of that Balance Point shape. I've really admired it on those basses. I am not sure that the pistol grip would look as good on the smaller Balance K. I really think I have to decide if I would like to indure the extra weight of the Balance Point so that I can have the pistol grip vs. the lighter weight and keep the Balance K. Do you know the approximate difference in weight between the two? Or, what is your opinion about incorporating the pistol grip into this Balance K body? I'm sure that you could do a good job of scaling it down to fit it in. But do you want to try it on this bass?
 
If so please let me know. Otherwise I really should be asking if I may switch over to the Balance Point and have the pistol grip? Do I have your permission? In other words is the wood that you have for my bass large enough to make this change?
 
So here are the questions:
 
1. Do you think you can incorporate the pistol grip on the Balance K?
 
2. If not, is the weight difference that much that I should stay with the Balance K without the pistol grip.
 
3. If the weight isn't more than say 3 pounds, I do like the looks of the Balance Point and would go with the raging bass style with the pistol grip if the wood is large enough.
 
Staying with the Heart Omega of course!
 
Thank you, Paul
 
(Message edited by mele_aloha on March 13, 2007)
 
(Message edited by mele_aloha on March 13, 2007)
 
(Message edited by mele_aloha on March 13, 2007)

We're certainly going to develop a pistol grip for the Balance K, it's just a matter of when. If you need it for this bass, we'll work it out sooner than otherwise.  
 
Weight is a hard thing to determine since the individual woods vary so much. Suffice it to say that the Balance K is typically a pound less than the Standard Point family. The Balance Point family is quite a bit larger, and I think we've only made 10 or less in that shape, and many of them have had custom variations, so it's not enough of a sample to really tell.
 
With the body woods and neck woods you've chosen, the bass will not be light weight. My inclination is to start working on a pistol grip for the Balance K and see if you like it. If you do, it will get you the lowest weight in the general shape that you like.

That sounds great to me! I can see where the weight isn't that much of a deciding factor based on what you are saying but if you are willing to start working on the pistol grip now for balance k, then let the celebration begin! I'd love to be the first to model one.
 
I'm excited Mica, Thank you so much, Aloha, Paul
 
P.S.
Woe---- I'm watching a whale knock some men out of a little fishing boat in Japan! One of them drown. It's on the news just now.

I hope you have time for this and I'm not fowling up your scheduling.  
 
Aloha, me

Here's the specifications for:
 
 Mele Aloha
 
Series II 5-string
Left handed
Balance K body shape with heart omega
Tummy and Elbow contours
 
Body lamination pattern:
 
Quilted Coco Bolo top
Maple pinstripe
Koa accent laminate
Flame Maple core
Koa accent laminate
Maple pinstripe
Coco Bolo back
 
 
Neck lamination pattern:
 
Flame Maple (2/3)
Vermilion pinstripe
Flame Maple (1/3)
 
Ebony laminate
Vermilion laminate
Maple pinstripe
Ebony laminate
Maple pinstripe
Vermilion laminate
Ebony laminate
 
Flame Maple laminate (1/3)
Vermilion pinstripe
Flame Maple laminate (2/3)
 
 
Crown peghead 3+2
Bevelled front and back
Fretted Ebony fingerboard
Abalone oval inlays
Palm Trees inlay at 5th fret*
Initials PM at 12th fret*
Front Laser LEDs in blue
Side LEDs in blue
External dimmer that controls both sets of LEDs
Comfort taper neck (like Excel)
 
Gold plated hardware (tuners, nut, bridge, bridgeblock, bird
tailpiece and truss rod cover)
Continuous wood backplates
Black collet knobs
Recessed silver logo with shell
Add abalone rays to logo*
 
Polyester gloss finish with satin neck feel
Series II electronics with stereo/mono switch
 
I must admit, this is quite a change from my original order. Thanks to Susan and Mica, and Valentino, and all of your comments in this forum I might add- here is going to be my dream-come-true!.
 
Remember friends, especially since I am in Hawaii on the Big Island I am almost going into this bass like a virgin in that I have never played any other Alembics except my Excel which I ordered through a music store on Oahu and recieved via UPS.  
 
Therefore I have no expectations of sounds. It's almost like a blind person picking out a girlfriend. No offense to blind folks, really.
 
This is just the most fun that I've had in my whole life and I have literally waited for this for about 30 years, ever since I was a fan of Phil Lesh, Stanley Clarke, and all the rest. I graduated in 1971 and learned about Alembic shortly after they came about.  
 
My next door neighbor John Rossum was in the original Jefferson Airplane and his brother formed the Imu  Synthesizer Corporation, so I was pretty connected with folks  in the industry. This was down in Cupertino, (Monta Vista).
 
So thanks for all of your help. Sorry if I offended anybody previously but for my 20K plus investment I would like to have one personal thread additions/changes with the admins uninterrupted so that I don't have to bother them on there personal e-mails. I'm sure you understand.
 
Aloha, mahalo to all, Paul da Plumma

Hi Paul,
 
Here's my quick mock up for the 5th fret inlay:

The fronds are in abalone and the trunks in bronze mother of pearl. That's a blue LED at the center.  
 
I'll be working on the 12th fret initials tomorrow or Wednesday. We can't proceed with getting the fingerboard on the bass until the inlays are decided, since there are front Laser LEDs to place. I'm trying to work the designs around the normal positions (centered both ways) so that the spacing will look even from the audience.

Mica,
 
This is very nice! I like the colors. And the bronze and the grain is chilling!!
This is going to be an awesome effect as the moon rising between the trees. I am sure you may have thought of this but, is this blue dot what the actual led surfaces like or can it be inset and covered with a larger diameter thin layer of pearl to mimic a moon effect somehow? And if so could the pearl be cut to be nestled in the tree as the moon rising in there. Please say yes!-, although I did discuss this with Val at an earlier time if we could do this behind the logo in the headstock. But the only reason for not doing that effect there was that we would be weakening the neck at a crucial point in order to hone out the wood for the wire.
 
I could understand though not knowing how the led is inlaid here so don't worry about me.  
 
I know there would be an extra charge and a delay but it would be well worth it to me to accomplish this if possible.
 
Credit Card standing by!!!!hahaha
 
Excellent job Mica, really.
 
Thank you, Paul

Hey Mica,
 
Just so I can see for myself, where are the front led's on, say Raging Bass, Thunder and Lightning. Are they behind the inlays cuz I can't see them in the actual pictures.
 
Thanks Mica, Paul

On Raging Bass the LEDs are through the shell, you can see the elements. On Thunder and Lightning, the LEDs are also through the shell, and you can see the 24th fret ones flank the inlay.  
 
At high brightness, mother of pearl shell makes a poor diffuser. You will still see a bright point. On something like Cheshire, there's a bank of LEDs running at low brightness to make an even illumination.  
 
Since the oval inlays are abalone, making a mother of pearl diffuser for only one LED would look odd when illuminated.  
 
Having the 5th fret and the 24th fret LEDs embedded in the Ebony directly, they will look discrete. In the center of the remaining abalone ovals, they are not obvious with all the figure in the shell.

Hi Mica,  
 
So are you saying that all of the front LEDS are drilled through all of the shells or they are on the backside shining through. I see the two on either side of the MD. Are they all like that, I can't really see them.  
 
I understand you are saying the pearl shell makes a poor diffuser. But are all of them still behind there evenly or are they drilled through like MD?
 
Sorry, I don't quite understand.
 
Thanks

The LEDs are drilled through the shell. I think if you look at the photo I linked to of Thunder and Lightnig above, you should be able to barely see the LED - of course, they are not illuminated in that photo. Look just to the left of the A string, and you should see part of the LED in the center of each oval.

Oh! OK, I gotta. They are still going to put the abalone oval in there like I have ordered and they will just cut it to fit in between the palms to make it fit? Is that what we are talking about?
 
Sounds really nice to me. Go for it!
 
Thanks

What is amazing is that even on my computer screen I can see the different colors in the bronze changing as I move my head up and down. They actually came out in the photo. That is wierd. Cool!

No, on the 5th fret and the 24th fret, the LEDs will be embedded directly into the Ebony. In all the other positions, the LEDs will be drilled through the ovals.