How much is that in US dollars?
I love the look of the maple fretboard (don't see many of those on Alembics)... I'm also a fan of book matched fronts and this bass is freaking amazing to my eyes, I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To me, this bass is on par with a bass I had them make for me and it's simply lovely.
The accent stripe of maple on the top is a very nice touch (and isn't free, similar to book matching to center and the maple fret board - these are all uncharges and certainly added to the build price). It looks like it could be gold plated brass, which is also an uncharge. LED's and continuous back plates are all custom options - they run specials which could have paid for some of these but certainly not everything I've mentioned.
The only downside is it's not a Series I, I don't think this is a show stopper mind you - but if you want a series instrument that's the only thing that matters I guess.
I don't mind the Orion look, but Europa's are my preference (I have two) - it's a higher end bass in general in comparison to the Orion (the neck build is much nicer).
I have a series II and a P/J with Europa electronics and they both have their pros and cons, my P/J is what I use for wireless on stage, the battery lasts a long time and it sounds amazing (as you've heard). The Series bass obviously sounds better, sustain for days, no hum, stereo, filter knobs versus switches - but the battery goes pretty quick in comparison (so I prefer to plug this in, also the only way I get the LED's is by plugging it in, while my P/J has batteries for the LED's).
I can't speak to knowing how the wood choices are going to effect the sound, I can say that I've had a lot of maple fret board basses and I can't really say I can tell a difference other than the look. I think the back of the neck may make more difference on this since it runs down the bass to the bridge the Europa mix of purple heart and maple is very nice.
They have some ideas of how woods change the tone on the Alembic website that could be worth reading.
If I didn't already have two Europa's I'd be breaking out the wallet if the price was right
Good luck!
