AJD, talk to Will Gunn; he has figured out the Series electronics in a small body. You will NOT believe the ingenious way he did it.
I like the idea of birch, what a neat wood, and not that obscure or hard to come by. Cool to see an Alembic in a not-Martian-wood ! I'm tickled for you Lalo, but it will take a while to get used to the way it looks. On the other hand, I love the look that the body, fingerboard, etc., is all the same 'tone', color-wise, I have a soft spot for that 'butcher block' look. Many Congrats.
J o e y