Hi Jordan,
That's why I was saying to you that it wasn't luck but choice...
i.e; you have a Gibson that cost around $2K you said, well I never had an instrument in my life that cost that much you see.
In fact, for much less than $2K, I bought three (3X) Aria SBs (and NOT all at once, far from it), that's right...Then, I looked for second Alembic parts and upgraded two Arias, and it didn't happen overnight though, I had to sell other stuff to raise money, then save/borrow money, then wait, hunt, and wait... and I still owe money, it took a while, patience, decisions and choice...
So, you have many options available to you; especially you are lucky to be in the US, because Alembics are much more affordable there.
Then you always have the option to sell or trade in your Gibson...
And also, your Gibson will probably be much more valuable then any of my Arialembics in the second hand market... Meaning that my upgraded Aria, are STILL Aria, and they are not valuable, even with the Alembic parts, because they are Not Alembics, they are Aria. But you know what? To me it doesn't matter, because I did it for the sound, NOT for the VALUE. I would say that Alembics, are a much superior instruments, for Slap, Solo and high definition, definitely. While I still prefer my SB700 for other things... Personally I am not stubborn, but open minded and versatile, when it comes down to X vs Y...