Trying to work out the details for my new Alembic

[lothartu]

Here's what I've come up with so far.
 
4 string right-handed  
Medium scale - 32
Purpleheart neck laminates  
Fretted Ebony fingerboard  
Classic fingerboard taper (done the exact same as a Series I neck)  
Mother of pearl ovals  
Brass side dots  
K Crown peghead  
Bird's-eye maple bookmatched top  
either a Mahogany, Ash or Cherry body (I'm not sure what to pick)
Bird's-eye maple back  
Balance K Omega body
Purpleheart body accent laminate with a Maple pinstripe (BEM/PH/Mpinstripe/body/Mpinstripe/PH/BEM)
Polyester clear gloss finish on body
Satin finish on neck
Bronze logo and script  
Bridge block  
Bird tailpiece  
Brass truss rod cover  
Brass backplates
Polished brass hardware  
Gold Alembic Gotoh machine heads  
Gold strap pins
Signature electronics with side mounted jack
 
with the last little touch being one of those cool handmade boxes with the wood on the top cover coming from the left over BEM top laminate of the bass.
 
here's a quick mock up I did just to see what BEM looks like on a Balance K body with Signature electronics (forgive the fact that it's a 5 string and has the ebony lams and top mounted output jack, I'm going to photoshop a better mock up in the next couple of days)
 

 
Concerns:
Weight - I have a bad back and my 11-12 lb Series I was killing me
 
Size - I'm a little guy 5'8 and my 34 Series I was really putting me out of position when standing.
 
What does everyone think?  Thoughts, concerns, observations?
 

[bsee]

How about a hollow body?  I think that might save you some weight.  It will also let you select from the body woods without concern for their weight.  The prevailing wisdom is that the impact of body woods on tone is pretty minimal on neck-thrus, so I think you are free to choose mostly on appearance.  You have alternatives like walnut and vermillion, though I think that a darker piece of mahogany would look nice too.  I haven't seen cherry in this role to know what it will actually look like.  
 
Personally, I love abalone ovals too.  The pic you put up has them, and they are very interesting compared to the relatively plain appearance of MOP.  
 
Finally, check out this page for a picture of a quilted version of exactly what you described, though still with abalone and in 34:  
 
http://www.bassnw.com/New%20Exotic%20%20Basses/alembic_mark_king_deluxe_balance_K_omega_4_st.htm  
 
And this thread in FTC about construction of a similar instrument:
 
http://alembic.com/club/messages/631/10347.html?1095116079
 
(Message edited by bsee on September 26, 2004)

[bassman10096]

It looks like the bass Bob pointed you at is still in BassNW's store.  If they'd weigh it for you, all you'd have to do is deduct an estimate for the extra 2 of neck their bass has.  
 
For another point of reference:  My 32, coco bolo (front and back), mahogany core, K-style, heart omega 4 string is hollowed out and weighs 9.5 lb (according to the extremely accurate bathroom scale method!).  Coco bolo may not be the heaviest wood Alembic builds with, but it's close.  The other significant matter in the weight is likely to be the electronics themselves.  Mine has S2 guts.  I  don't know where I got this impression, but I believe the difference in weight between the components for S2 electronics and the signature components is not insignificant.  I do know that when Susan handed me a box containing all my electronic parts (preinstallation), it weighed 2-3 lb.  Somebody at Alembic can help you with that info and also help estimate the overall weight of the woods, etc.
 
Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Bill

[lothartu]

Ok here's a better idea of what I'm thinking about except mine wouldn't have the comfort body sculpting.  
 
 
 
Bob,  I was looking at the pics of abalone ovals too and I've seen a few good close up pics in the showroom.  They really are more interesting looking than mop so I might just get them instead.  
 
Bob and Bill, That's a good idea to go for the hollowed out / chambered body.  I like the idea of going for a darker body wood too.  Does the darkness of mahogany vary all that much or is it pretty much allways the same shade?  If it does vary then I guess I could request that Alembic pick me out the darkest piece they had at the time.  
 
 
(Message edited by LotharTu on September 26, 2004)

[lothartu]

edit: goofed the pic
 
(Message edited by LotharTu on September 26, 2004)

[lothartu]

Arrgh!  All these choices are making me crazy.
 
I've been running the numbers about a million different ways and I think I might just try and hold out for Any 2 custom options 50% off.  So far it hasn't come up this year and the holiday season is just around the corner.  Here's what I'm thinking.
 
Pretty much like I've already got it but switch ebony for the purpleheart and go with abalone inlays.  The Any 2 custom options 50% off. would actually bring the price on the ebony down enough to make it possible for me.  20% custom option credit I think would do it too.
 
Ever since this months custom was posted I've been thinking about the ebony body accent lams.
 
I've gotten ahead of myself on this thread.  I guess I should really just explain what I was originally going for.
 
Here's the picture that inspired me and got this whole thing started.
 

 
What I started thinking about was how this picture almost looked like a black and white themed bass.  I loved the contrast and I fell in love with the idea of a black and white balance k.  I picked birds eye maple because it was the closest to a figured white wood that I could come up with.  There were some 3A quilted maple tops that looked kinda whiteish but the yellow/gold shows.  I don't want a painted bass *gasp* but I'ld like to do a front/back almost bleached wood that was figured.  Any ideas?
 
So what I've got so far (assuming that I can hold out for one of the specials) is this...
- 4 string Balance K Omgea
- abalone oval inlays
- ebony neck lams
- some kind of almost bleached figured wood front and back
- ebony body accent lams
- maple pinstripe body accent
- a hollowed out/chambered body of some kind of darkish wood to set off the accents. (whiteish top/ebony/Mpinstripe/BODY/Mpinstripe/ebony/whiteish back)
 
Any idea on what I could use for top/back wood?  Is the birds eye maple light enough in color for what I'm shooting for?
 
what do you think?

[bassman10096]

The hollowed out body is good approach to saving on weight.  The only folks I've heard who did not want the body hollowed have been specifically going for the ultimate in sustain, with added weight being no problem. Rami's ebony customs are an example.
 
I love my abalone ovals.  I had MOP on my Spoiler and the abalone has so much more character in its patterns and fantastic colors.
 
I don't know how much mahogany varies in color.  Depending on light, it does seem to look anywhere between a dark honey gold - to a dark caramel.  
 
I like the birdseye maple idea for your top.  Different character than the quilts or flames.  I'll look forward to seeing it.  
Bill

[bsee]

The Fodera Yin Yang bass uses holly as a top wood, though they still use birdseye for the board.  I'm not sure if holly is readily available, more white than birdseye, or what it sounds like.  It certainly seems pretty white, though.  Just another option.  Maybe the wood could literally be bleached before construction?  

[rraymond]

Wow! Since the naked version of Pinot helped get this whole thing started, how about I weigh in on the weight issue?  
 
Good grief, I'm unlurking again!
 
I have an '80 Series 1 that is a four string, has a maple top and back, has a chambered body, has two purpleheart runners in the neck and is a 32 scaled instrument. The Balance K I just bought has Signature electronics, is a 5 string, has a maple top and back, has a chambered body, has three purpleheart runners and is a 34 scaled instrument. In very unscientific, but sort of accurate testing, they have been found to weigh the SAME, ten pounds on the old bathroom scale. Draw whatever conclusions you'd like, I had a point when I started this, but it seems to have escaped me!  =:-o  Yikes!
 
I like your ideas, I've owned several natural finish maple topped instruments, it's a beautiful wood in all its incarnations!
 
Cheers, and back to lurking!
 
Reid

[mica]

I love Bird's-eye Maple. It's difficult to get truly white pieces that are very wide. Most have some sort of mineral stain, which I like, but it isn't for everyone. 4 pieces you can get all day long, but most bodies need at least 7 inch width. I guess I'm saying to allow time for wood searching, because what you're after isn't terrible common.  
 
Mahogany can have a huge difference in color. Generally speaking, the lighter the color, the lighter the weight, but there are exceptions.  
 
Holly is the whitest commercially available wood. No experience with bleaching wood, I'd prefer to stick with the natural colors. There are some very white looking Maples, particularly in the Flame figure.  
 
If you're still trying for the black & white theme, maybe MOP inlays, black MOP inlays, black MOP outlined in silver might look cool. Maybe an Ash core would help keep the weight down and keep closer to the B&W than the Mahogany.  
 
Another thought is to do something really wild with the core: match the abalone inlays with either a Purpleheart or a Vermilion body, though these won't help with the weight.  

[adriaan]

Sycamore can look pretty pale too, look at this Rogue: http://www.alembic.de/images/bass/instrumente/b0041.jpg

[mica]

Oh yeah - Sycamore can be /b{very} white, and still retain a good amount of flamey figure. Good call, adriaan.

[lothartu]

Ok, that Sycamore is much more like what I've got in my head.  
 
I was originally thinking about doing a flame maple but I hadn't seen a picture of flame maple that was light enough.  
 
That Sycamore is really perfect I think.  I want a wood that is figured but pale (that's a better description for what I'm thinking than white).  So I want a very pale figured wood for the top and back and I did like the idea of a flame maple but I didn't want the figuring to be quite so pronounced.  The flame Sycamore is much more subtle; much more in line with what I'm trying to go for.  
 
Anyone know the density and availablility of Sycamore?  (it's not going to be denser than ebony and have a $2000 up charge is it?)  
 
Opinions on the weight of a 4 string neck with ebony laminates, Sycamore front/back, chambered Ash body core (like Mica suggested to keep the color contrasts and the weight down), and ebony pinstripe body accents.  
 
Ebony can be done as a pinstripe body accent yes? (I'm trying to stay away from a true ebony body accent slab-o-ebony like this months custom has so that I can try and keep the weight down)  
 
Jim
 
(Message edited by LotharTu on September 27, 2004)

[David Houck]

Jim; I found this which describes Sycamore as having medium density.
http://www.eurowoodindia.com/sycamore.htm
 
And I found this which shows Sycamore in comparison to some other woods, and to have much less density than Ebony, and less than Maple.
http://www.simetric.co.uk/si_wood.htm

[lothartu]

Thanks Dave.  Wow, even less dense than Maple.  
 
Maybe the chambered Ash body and the Sycamore top/back might offset the added weight from the ebony neck laminates and ebony body accent pinstripes.  
 
 
(Message edited by LotharTu on September 27, 2004)