My new Alembic concept coming soon...

[hendixclarke]

Oh, the price of the bass you asked?
 
How many licks does it takes to get the center of a tootsie pop? The world will never know...

[hendixclarke]

Man.. Greg, that was beautifully said... I know some day, you WILL build you bass. This is the spirit to have. Being in my mid 40's, I am at a point musically  -- to do it, or leave the whole thing alone and don't waste anyone's time.  
 
I put The O-Mi-T-1 before everything I do, and as long as I use the tools, knowledge, skills, and techniques in one stroking motion this bass will be a prize I been looking to reward myself to cap my 43 years of guitar and bass playing.
 
This is a very special and personal endeavor. I love my Shorty, but the Toma_Hawk will be a reflection of me when my day is done here.

[adriaan]

Perhaps the issue with control placement could be solved in a similar fashion as on Marc's simple bass, a.k.a. Monty.

[gregduboc]

Hal, it makes me happy seeing someone realizing a dream. I'm cheering here for everything to come out perfectly as you want.
You've reached a point of evolution, I believe, and the Toma_Hawk will symbolize it. You are heading the right way!
Greg

[hendixclarke]

Adriaan,  
 
First let me say, the Monty Bass is an awesome bass. I love everything about this bass. Black Basses are formal as heck, and there's this high-tech Bat-Man like mystique to this bass that I love. The Monty is one of my favorite Alembic customs, and the looks are very striking and it screams PLAY ME!    
 
I am glad you brought the Monty in this custom concept forum for more reasons than the ones I raised, because it is fitting, and I must admit, I was thinking about a black custom, but the Monty was already built, and with the bat-like wings to boot at the tail, fabulous.  
 
As for the control knobs, I would had done the same for the Toma_Hawk bass, but s/he's more primitive than the Monty. The knobs position on the Monty, says High-Tech, and straight lines. It's perfectly done.
 
On the Toma_Hawk, the knobs are arranged in that old-school way I wish to preserve. My mind is programmed with 4 controls, if I couldn't have 2 stacked pots. When you think about it, 2 is more primitive than 4.
 
So, if I can't have the two, then give me the classic 4 knobs, arranged in the classic parallelogram shape.

[adriaan]

Hal,
 
Those silhouettes you posted are really striking. Seems like the waistline coming in from the head of the tomahawk (or the tail end of the body) is less rounded than in the initial mockups you did, and I think it looks a lot better this way. Those knobs will surely find their way as it will please the elves ...

[adriaan]

And not to discourage you in any way, but odd shaped bassed tend to make you look a bit dorky (or in this particular case, dorkier) -
 

[hendixclarke]

I never was into lighting volt, jagged edge basses. They looks great if I was watching somebody else dressed up to match the whole look and the attitude of the music matched (I would almost demand it...).
 
On the other hand, I don't want a safe and boring bass that looks like a plain round sucker either.
It's just a matter of taste.
 
I still have much work to do with the Toma_Hawk. Looking at old Native American Drawings from the past, the Toma_Hawk was a short budded rock leather tied to a stick, lased with beautiful Hawk feathers.
 
Man, that's beautiful to me... It will be a challenge, to embody in this bass, for something that is so simple.

[eligilam]

Is that a Linc Luthier in that pic?

[adriaan]

No, it's an early 1980s bass by Geoff Gale (from Wales, UK). This is from the Korgis video for Everybody's got to learn sometime - which has had its fair share of covers, perhaps most notably by Beck.
 
As someone on Talkbass.com found out, James Warren of the Korgis sold the bass on to one of the guys of Tears for Fears.

[hendixclarke]

Virtual model with Toma_Hawk...
 

[hendixclarke]

The perspective here, is the ratio in terms of size of the bass, in approximation of a individual who is 6 feet or in height, (in proportion) or taller.
 
I believe the bass is well proportion to my size as well. I am 6.1

[gregduboc]

Hal, did you decide on which woods the Toma_Hawk will be made of? Do you have an idea of the overall weight yet, just out of curiosity?
Greg
 
(Message edited by gregduboc on February 28, 2009)

[mike1762]

I'm with Adriaan, I think the silhouettes probably give you a better idea of what the final product will look like.  It will be really important to keep the neck laminates centered through the body.  Have you considered a no show top?

[hendixclarke]

You are right.  
 
I edited the Silhouette to take more of the edge off... It should match the Virtual shape as close a possible...  
 
Looks good, even as a 2D Silhouette...  
 
Thanks guys.