The string spacing was calculated with .15 offset on either side of the fingerboard as measured from the outside edge of the string to the outside edge of the fingerboard.  
 
On your 8-string, we probably allowed slightly more room on the highest string since it would have a tendancy to slip off the edge is positioned as closely as we usually do. Redoing my calculations with this new offset on the treble side and the measurement of your bridge spacing makes them come even closer to your measured fingerboard size, so I'm very happy with the quality of th new information.
 
So, I hereby confirm your new neck dimensions of 2.0 x 2.67 with bridge spacing of .43 between the strings.

Fabulous!  Awesome!  Deal!
 
So... the hold is lifted, then?

Hi Mica!  I called a little earlier and spoke to Bill briefly.
 
It sounded like the string issue is completely resolved, but I'm sometimes a little dense/thick, so I wanted to confirm what looked like a confirmation.
 
The other thing is just to confirm that the reach concern -that I posted on the Omega/Reach thread- isn't a concern.
 
I read (and re-read) your post on it, and understand the horn is a bit longer, but it wasn't clear whether than meant the reach was more, same, or less than that of a 34 inch Europa.
 
Since the string spacing seems confirmed, this is the only other thing.  (That would require a plan/decision before further production).
 
And I'm curious about the width of the inner core of 9 laminates.
 
Thanks for you patience and graciousness.  I do not want to be a pain, and I know you're a busy woman.  It's just that I'll be thinking/wondering about it the whole long weekend, and I figured I'd give it a quick shot to see if I could find out about/resolve the reach issue.
 
Once we get this one issue resolved, ol' Mark'll just kick back patiently and let'cha do your thing!
 
Hey, if you're too busy to respond today, please don't hurry!  I just had to give it a quick respectful try!
 
I'm thrilled that construction had begun, and much sooner than I'd hoped for!  I had January 15th circled as the day I was gonna call or post respectfully asking if anyone knew how close it was getting in the pipeline!  So when I saw Mark's Custom 6-String here in FTC, I just flipped!
 
Hope you & your family and staff -and heck, their families too- all have a nice new years.
 
You've already got mine off to a swingin' start!!!

King,...
 
Dude, that is gonna be one MONSTER bass!!!
 
The 'Ho...

Thanks, Mike!
 
I'm looking forward to joining you in the Coco Bolo Club!
 
I can't wait to see what they come up with for Colo Bolo for me -you can see what I've asked for here in FTC- but the neck is off to an awesome start!  The Vermillion and Purpleheart they selected really have the significant and almost shocking quality of contrast I envisioned and asked for, and the beauty -and function- of the combination seems to speak for itself!
 
This will be a monster bass!!!  On one level, it will merely be just another of many beautiful Alembic basses; I'm just getting Alembics' house recipe of Mahagony sandwiched within Coco Bolo, with the simple, proven, and versatile Europa electronics.  'Course I am spiffing it up more than a little by BTCering the Coco Bolo front and back, and upgrading to continuous wood backplates... so none of that beauty is lost.
 
And that will indeed produce a monster bass, by all accounts... and I just can't wait!  But the real kicker, the thing that makes this bass already really special is this awesome neck!  It just looks SO good... I know the sound will match, and boy, do I look forward to hearing it!
 
I'll look forward to seeing YOUR neckxt project here in FTC in the hopefully near future!

I've asked for any clubmembers who know the answer to this question to share their knowledge with me, but thus far I've not got an answer; however, Bsee pointed out that we could extend the horn, if needed.
 
Personally, I'm hoping that the truth/reality is that the 1st fret access of the 34 inch Balance K is equal or less than that of the 34 inch Europa -because then it would logically have to be less than my 35 inch Europa.
 
If the reach is equal or less than a same-scale Europa, then everything is simple, and we can just proceed smoothly with the plan and just make a standard Balance K with dual BTC.
 
But if it turns out that reality/truth is that the 34 inch Balance K Omega requires MORE reach, then, in that case, I'd like to discuss options for extending the horn to reduce the reach.
 
I was thinking that, if necessary, you could bury the fingerboard, moved it in (towards the bridge) like you did for Tom's ET bass... but I'd have hated to sacrifice the Omega.  I'm hopeful now that the worst case scenario now would simply require a longer horn, which hopefully wouldn't be too difficult/costly.
 
I keep hoping to see a couple members respond and say, actually Mark, my 34 inch Balance K seems to require equal or less reach than that of my 34 inch Europa!  It would make things so easy if the standard setup just works!
 
So I'm crossing my fingers and toes that I'll hear those who know tell me that reality IS how I want it to be!
 
But if not, then I'll wanna talk horns!
 
Thanks Mica!
 
(Message edited by the 8 string king on January 02, 2007)

We'd spoke a little on this before, and based on feedback and comments from Joey, Tom, and the Bobs, I'm interested in having the FatBoy pickup for the Bridge, and (it's) the AXY (isn't it?) pickup for the neck.  This is assuming they're the same size and cost and can be switched.  I'd want the wires to be long enough that I could swap the pickups and experiment with their sound.
 
So I'd like to know if switching the bridge pickup to a FatBoy is extra, and also how much a second AXY and a second Fatboy would be, 'cause, if I go for it, I'll probably follow the advice and swap them, and then, once I know what each sounds like on each pickup, I might well order another pickup.  Joey seems to be gung ho on both, but it seems like there is agreement that they sound better on the bridge pickup.
 
Of course, I'm assuming this wouldn't in any way take away from the Coco Bolo sound that this bass is all about.  I can't imagine it would, but it's best not to assume... maybe the FatBoys emphasize Coco Bolo's weak frequencies and fail to capture it's strong frequencies... (or maybe, hopefully, that was just nonsense-talk!)

Wazzup, Mark!
Yep. No such thing as a typical Alembic, she'll be special just like all of them! The neck looks great, should produce a wonderful tone besides the great look.  
Do me a favor,OK? Leave some really cool swirly CocoBolo for the Heart Omega MK5 DLX Balance K Purpleheart/Ebony that should be showing up middle/late Jan. on FTC (SHHHHHHHH! Don't tell anyone!)
 
Thanx!! Can't wait to see the progress on your Beast!   The 'Ho......
 
(Message edited by 5stringho on December 31, 2006)

Hi Mica, and happy new year!
 
I started a thread over the weekend asking for any clubmembers who have both a 34 inch scale Europa and a 34 inch scale Balace K to answer the question of reach... but, unfortunately, I haven't got a definitive answer yet.  The ONLY thing I've heard so far is that you said they were very similar, and I think bsee/Bob said they're about the same.
 
I imagine that there must surely be someone -if not a couple someones- at the shop there who can answer this... what, with all the basses y'all make.  So I imagine I'll (hopefully) get an answer soon.
 
Ideally, the truth/answer is that the Balance K requires equal or less reach than a Europa of the same (34 inch) scale... in which case y'all can just plow ahead, since then it would by definition have to require less reach than my 35 inch scale Europa.  Then we can just stick with the plan, which I'd prefer, and I know that it's also preferable for Alembic to stick with specs rather than changing them.
 
But again, if there IS a reach issue, then I need your help/expertise/guidance to work out a solution.  A longer horn seems like the 1st option to consider -assuming there IS an issue (which then requires a solution).  It also hit me that I/we could reconsider the scale length, maybe change it back to the original 33 inch scale I'd first considered.  But again, at this point, I'd prefer to stick with the specified length of 34 -UNLESS we need to consider options to deal with the reach issue -assuming there is one.  I was initially very interested in this scale length, but conversations with Valention convinced me to switch the spec to 34 inch scale.  This was because I'd have to choose between using/finding medium scale strings... OR using long scale strings at (slightly) REDUCED TENSION (which seems really iffy/sketchy/dangerous to me), and I know Alembic only carries/stocks Alembic long scale sets (by the way, I wonder why that is... I'd figure since y'll have Alembic strings, you'd carry and sell long, medium, and short-scale sets).  So I just choose to scrap the 33 and go with the 34, to keep things simple.  As long as the reach required to get to the 1st fret is at least an inch less than on my 35 inch Europa, it will be satisfactory.  But is it is the question.
 
Anyway, at your convenience, please establish and convey to me whether the 34 inch Balance K requires MORE reach than a 34 inch Europa.  So long as is doesn't, then all is good, and can proceed according to plan.  On the other hand, if there is a reach issue, then I'd like to hear your thoughts/recommendations/options for extending the horn length, adjusting the scale, and/or any other ways of addressing the problem, if there is a problem (which hopefully there isn't!)
 
I'm certain that you're both busy, and as on top of this as your time and many responsibilites allow, so I'm going to abstain from calling you this week unless you indicate that there IS a problem/issue/concern regarding the reach. (In which case, it would be much better for me to communicate verbally.) (In lieu of that) I'll just rely on this FTC medium for communication.  I'm hoping you'll have the time to at least get me an answer on whether or not there is actually even an issue/concern in the first place -this week.  I'll cross my fingers and toes!
 
Thanks again for everything!
 
Mark
 
P.S. I'm still very interested in the neck width of the inner core, and reminder, I'm interested in the chambered/hollow... whatever you call it... construction.  I'm pretty sure I've already said it, but, just to make sure it's on-record, I do want that feature!  A large part of why I ended up going with the Mark King Deluxe package -with Coco Bolo on front and back- was based on your raves about Andy's Custom Europa, with the Coco Bolo front and back, sandwiching a hollow mahogany body!

The awesome appearance of Bradley's custom 6 string Coco Bolo Balance K in FTC prompts me to ask how much it would cost.  I know the front&rear bevel is $250 retail; but how much extra is the cost for the mini-Omega cutout in the headstock?  Depending on cost, I simply might just HAVE to get this/these features!

Dang you and your fancy pants neck 8SK. Now I'm thinking about whether I should add some mahogany into mine. Looks like it's time for another friendly call to Susan.

Hi Mark,  I'm pretty sure that you won't be able to get a definitive answer from anyone, including me. This is beacuse there are many variables, not the least of which is how you hold your bass.   As I've stated, I think that both the Balance K and Europa have very similar reaches. On Friday, I asked Valentino to model an Orion 5 (same body shape as Europa as far as straplocks are concerned) and a Balance K 5. Here's the photos with his reach to the first fret:  

 

  Now, these photos are not exactly taken from the same angle, but you can probably tell the reach is similar. Valentino noted that comparing these two particular basses, the first fret reach was a little closer on the Balance K to him.  I hope this visualization is helpful to you in making your decision.

I measured the laminates on your neck, Mark. Measuring across the nine laminates is 1.318 inches.

I'll have Valentino email you about that tomorrow. He's got Tuesdays off, and only Susan and Valentino quote prices.

The nice thing about the AXY/FatBoy decision is that it's completely reversable. I'll ask Valentino to get you the pricing details tomorrow when he returns.  
 
You'll have to listen to the pickups yourself to see what you prefer. Everyone has their own opinion, including me, but in the end, you're the one playing and listenting, so no matter what any of us say, it has to be the right sound for you. Once you get to listening, you'll know which you prefer.