Hey Bill, thanks for the offer. I'd love to visit and do a little playin' witcha, if all the variables could flow together!
Tom, thanks for the word. I've thought about emailing you and getting together for a coffee and/or beer and or jam... but you're on the other side of town, I do most of my commuting by bike, and it seems... I dunno... unclassy to ask you to come see me since I can't haul my bass and amp on my bike! On the other hand, if it's just a couple of blocks, then I feel comfortable with it!
I'll be in touch!
Yeah, chances are VERY GOOD I'll go up to pick up the bass & get 8 Strings of Power serviced. The biggest factor is whether it's necessary to get the problem on the 8 String fixed. Now I'd be delighted if it wasn't/isn't necessary. At this point, there's no way to tell. Mica's gonna try and arrange for Ron to look at my notes on the subject, and at the schematics of my bass, to see if a remote solution can be effectively troubleshooted... it might be as simple as sending me a replacement pan pot. Or it might not be. I just don't know at this point, and I may (or may not) know in a week or two.
If it IS necessary to have Alembic repair it, I will most definetely take it to them. The 8-String is just too unique and irreplacable to entrust to the goons at UPS or FedEx -even if/though it's insured. In this case, carpooling and/or visiting would become attractive objectives to pursue.