I just fulfilled a childhood dream & toured the Mothership last week! It was everything I had hoped for & more! I began my trip to the factory by meeting Sonicus & his lovely wife for supper the night before the tour. After supper he invited us to his home & let me play his beautiful Alembics. Thanks again Wolf! I hope to see you again someday! We got to the factory & Mary took us to the woodshop & introduced us to Bob who did a great job as our tour guide. He explained the process of transforming a tree into a masterpiece. I mean this quite literally, he showed us a stack of wood that was a tree that had been recently cut down in someone's yard which will someday be an incredible instrument in the hands of some lucky person! I was very impressed with how much hand carving & sanding & filling that is involved in creating these instruments. They are so perfectly made that you would assume it is all done on a precision machine, & the main cuts are, but the intricate shaping & tight areas are all done by hand. I was especially impressed with the inlay process! I thought they must have some kind of computer controlled laser cutting machine to cut out the tiny intricate pieces, but they are all cut by hand & the corresponding slots in the wood are routed by hand for a perfect fit! Everyone at the factory was super nice & generous with their time. After the tour, Mica & Susan talked to us for over an hour sharing stories of their beginnings & operation. Ron stopped by & posed for a picture with me, what an honor! Thanks Ron, Susan, Mica, & Bob for your time & for being so accessible to your customers! As for the subject of this thread, I brought a picture of my SC Signature Deluxe & got the people who had a hand in building it to sign the picture! Thanks to all who signed it for me! If you ever get a chance to tour the factory, I highly recommend it! You will gain a whole new appreciation for the amazing instrument they create there & also understand why they take some time to complete. These are incredibly skilled craftsmen & women working to create the best basses & guitars on the planet & they don't take shortcuts! Here are some pictures from the factory...
Sonicus & I
This was recently a tree in someone's yard!
Templates for cutting out inlays
precision hand tools for installing inlays
Bob with a Dragonwing
Repair on a headstock that was broken completely off.
Fret wire
Awesome 12 string bass!
Poster signed by Stanley.
Yes Virginia, there really are file cabinets with files for all the instruments that have been created at the factory over the years! The info is not in a computer database for quick searches, so everytime someone requests info on their bass or guitar, they have to physically search through thousands of files to locate the info. It takes time, so be patient when you make a build or history request!
Ron & I
Signature(s) of the Creator(s)
