Author Topic: LIve Fire Exercise (Read 7931 times)

tbrannon · « **Reply #45 on:** May 27, 2015, 08:40:04 AM »

I think that would be a cool retro look to have the brass battery cover. When I was planning my Elan, I got a quote for getting a hammered brass pickguard built (something similar to what Keavin has on #12). I ended up scrapping the plan in the long run- I got the ebony stringer instead of the brass pickguard.

Anyhow- I think it'd be a cool idea and depending on how retro or decorative you want to make it, I'm sure Alembic could come up with some cool treatment for the brass (hammered, textured/cast, etc)

FC Bass · « **Reply #46 on:** May 27, 2015, 08:52:48 AM »

EMW + front mounted jack would be no problem, here's my Orion's cavity:

(layout has been changed slightly since this pic and the yellow wires are re-attached)

mica · « **Reply #47 on:** May 27, 2015, 04:22:21 PM »

Note that front-mounted jacks take up WAY less real estate that side-mounted ones.

edwardofhuncote · « **Reply #48 on:** June 11, 2015, 10:06:05 AM »

Just got my revised quote last night... save a couple small details that may change, this is pretty much how it will go:

Medium-scale (32) 5-string.

Classic taper neck w/3 purpleheart laminates, possibly slimmed a bit a the nut.

Fretless w/sidelines & bronze dots.

East-Meets-West electronics w/3-position Q-switch, AXY pickup in neck position, and Fatboy at bridge. (location TBD) Jack on front rather than side.

Anniversary Model Omega Body. More of a U Omega-cut. Mahogany core, with Birdseye Maple top & back laminates. No accents or pinstripes.

Polished brass Bird tailpiece, no bridge block.

Brass truss-rod cover & backplate. *Truss rod cover may be surface mounted.

3+2 Elan headstock pattern, slimmed for weight and aligned for straight-pull. Also w/Rosewood or Cocobolo veneers.

Bronze logo (& script?) surface mounted.

Battery access on top, between pickups, w/brass cover, surface mounted.

Custom inlay at 25th fret position (TBD later)

Having met the preset goal of banking 75% of the cost before placing the order, the Dream is now within reach. Barring tragedy, I hope to roll with it in the next couple weeks.

As this thread draws to a close, I just want to thank all you guys (and girls!) again for the helpful advice and guidance. Thanks also for putting up with my rambling (often goofy, stream-of-conscious-thought-style) posts... you folks are the best!

mtjam · « **Reply #49 on:** June 11, 2015, 01:42:26 PM »

Sounds like a winner! You guys really fuel my craving for a custom build!

rustyg61 · « **Reply #50 on:** June 11, 2015, 07:46:48 PM »

Gregory, I'm sure you have already thought of this, but with the battery access under the strings, if the battery dies at a gig having to remove the strings to change the battery will take much longer.

edwardofhuncote · « **Reply #51 on:** June 12, 2015, 03:48:36 AM »

I did think of that Rusty, so I did a little experiment on my Persuader to see how practical (or impractical) it would be to change out a weak battery on the fly. (keeping in mind, my bass would only have one 9v battery) If the cavity for the battery tray is positioned so that the battery is installed laying on it's flatest side rather than vertically, it should work very well. To better visualize, here's a picture of my experiment - note how the battery would almost slide under the B-string without even loosening it.

All told, it might actually be faster to change out a battery this way than by removing the backplate, simply because there's only two screws involved here. The motivation of course, wasn't really based on just making it easier to change batteries... it's a hat-tip to the earliest models. (take a look at Wolf's #73-32 in the showcase... that's what I was aiming for) Ironically, back then batteries used to be mainly for backup power, and only lasted a short time. But you Series guys knew that already. =) I put it in the quote first of all, just to see if it was possible, (from a builder's standpoint) and secondly, to see if it would be a prohibitively expensive option. Certainly I could do without it just fine... wouldn't be a deal-breaker.

rustyg61 · « **Reply #52 on:** June 12, 2015, 08:59:21 PM »

Hopefully it will never die at a gig so you won't have to change it on the fly. I'm sure you are like the rest of us & change your batteries on a schedule, so you can just change the battery when you change strings one time. I played my Europa on the batteries today for the 1st time since I picked it up from Guitar Rez. I was pressed for time & didn't have my DS-5 set up, so I just used the 1/4 jack. Probably a good idea for me to use it from time to time to keep the corrosion down.

David Houck · « **Reply #53 on:** June 16, 2015, 05:36:14 PM »

Sounds great Greg! It will be a unique instrument; and I've seen some really nice Birdseye come out of the shop recently.

edwardofhuncote · « **Reply #54 on:** June 17, 2015, 01:32:15 PM »

I hear Mica has quite an eye for the birdseye. =)

Seriously, I'm just going to let the Elves surprise me on the wood selections. It may be the only random thing about this bass. (from my perspective that is)

I'm hoping to deposit the last check in the music account tomorrow or Friday... then it's time to make the call

flpete1uw · « **Reply #55 on:** June 17, 2015, 03:52:23 PM »

Curious Greg, why no sustain (bridge) block?
The East West electronics do look intriguing.
Pete

edwardofhuncote · « **Reply #56 on:** June 18, 2015, 06:36:09 AM »

Ummm... I don't have the firsthand experience to know for sure, but in thinking about it, it just seemed like adding a bridge block to the 3-purpleheart neck lams, and neck thru construction on a fretless bass might be overkill. If you have thoughts otherwise, I'd be all ears. =)

On E-M-W, (with added 3-position Q-switch) for what I'm going to be doing, it's the most logical thing I can think of... reasonably easy to dial in what I need. Someone posted on another thread East-Meets-West is very much like Distillate controls, but with rotary Bass & Treble boost/cut. Being very much a rudimentary player, I do very little soloing, zero slapping, and I'm not much of a twiddler, just set my amp pretty much flat, a touch louder than I need to be, and do the rest with with my controls or by adjusting right-hand attack, in short, I'm just keeping time and trying to play something interesting while disappearing into the rhythm section of whatever is being played.

jacko · « **Reply #57 on:** June 18, 2015, 06:42:47 AM »

my fretless rogue has 3 P/h neck lams and a bridge block and it sounds superb. Sustains forever but also gives each note a definite presence. 'Mwah' is also great so long as I don't raise the bridge too far.

Graeme

flpete1uw · « **Reply #58 on:** June 18, 2015, 07:07:01 AM »

Greg,
The sustain block is a curiosity to me as well. On one hand if you ever seen or held one you will be instantly impressed. Basically you have a precisely fitted chunk of solid brass that fits perfectly in the bass under a brilliant solid brass bridge! All that weight has to be doing something. It has to be isolating the string vibrations in some form of physics. Others with more knowledge will chime in on this I hope.
Funny of the 3 Alembics (Series 1 short scale, Distillate and Persuader) I've owned, the Persuader I felt had the longest sustain, without a block. Go figure? The Distillate and the Persuader were the closest in build makeup of woods, scale the Distillate having the block.
Anyway I was asking because you specifically leaving it out?
As a Distillate owner I can say they are beautiful sounding Basses and I cant say enough how I appreciate the ease of use and the incredible variations of tone that can be had.
Looking forward in the evolution of your build journey!
Pete

edwardofhuncote · « **Reply #59 on:** June 18, 2015, 07:56:09 AM »

Really, the best info I had to go on was my Persuader five-string with 3 purpleheart laminates... that was a key feature I was trying to replicate in this build in hopes of a similar result. I'm comfortable with the amount of sustain, sans bridge block, which is significantly more than other basses I have with bolt-in or set necks.

That said, a couple more ounces of brass located at that end of the bass may be advantageous from a balance perspective. On the other hand, it's only a couple ounces... might be better served by lightening the other end.