Author Topic: Excel ideas (Read 542 times)

jaurigemma · « **on:** April 15, 2003, 08:46:38 AM »

I currently own a Epic 4 Zebrawood and an Excel 5 Zebrawood, and was thinking of possibly getting a hyrid of the two. My Excel is not standard, it has Epic series electronics. My idea would be an Excel body shape, but with Mahogany instead of Ash as the body. Next would be a nice interesting piece of Zebrawood for the top and purpleheart for the accent. Five piece maple neck with pau ferro accent stripes, with stainless steel dots, no inlays. I figured the standard peghead, unless someone has a suggestion. I want to go with Epic electronics, but instead of MXYs use two FATBOYS. Go with a satin finish, I don't like the shiny stuff. Satin on the back of the neck too! Finally, the bridge, string block, adjustable nut and alembic logo in stainless steel as well. Stainless steel hardware as well. Whattaya think?

Has anyone used stainless steel like this? How does it compare to brass?

Mica, what would this baby cost?

dannobasso · « **Reply #1 on:** April 15, 2003, 08:09:08 PM »

I just ordered a special Excel with mahogony body, ebony fretboard, dual fatboys and Spoiler elctronics with an almost black finish and custom designed inlay. Mica is the best! They will always make the dream come true. BTW I have been playing my basses in rotation (8in all) with my new set up (F1X, OSC PLX, Acme B2, Epifani 310) They all never disappoint. About the stainless, I worked in a machine shop for a time. It takes a bit more machine oil and bits to work it. The red hot chips smart as they stick to yer flesh! Perhaps a matt sand or glass bead blast would take off the shine factor?

dnburgess · « **Reply #2 on:** April 15, 2003, 08:18:42 PM »

Danno - what's the idea behind combining the Epifani and Acme speaker cabs?

elzie · « **Reply #3 on:** April 16, 2003, 09:26:06 AM »

Danno, not all stainless is that difficult to work with, usually the 3xx series is; 316, 304....

Stainless can be acquired in many different polish grades. It sounds like jaurigemma would be looking for a 14 guage 430 stainless with a #3 finish. It looks very lusterous

(Message edited by elzie on April 16, 2003)

bob · « **Reply #4 on:** April 16, 2003, 12:02:57 PM »

For the dot inlays on the neck, my guess is the response will be that it's not viable (a phrase I've heard Mica use more than once in our discussions...).

You need something soft enough to be easily sanded flush with the ebony, which is why brass and aluminum have been popular (my understanding is that Alembic switched to alumnimum a while back because they were more visible). Even if you could get them right initially - at extra cost/effort - it might become irritating as the wood shrinks a bit over time.

I don't happen to like shiny stuff myself (I gather you're looking for a brushed stainless effect, right?), but my guess is you really are dreaming about using stainless for the rest of the hardware, and I'll be a little surprised if you actually get an estimate on that.

If I was willing to spend the $900+, I probably would have gone with the blackened plating over brass for bridge, nut, and tailpiece, but opted for plain unfinished brass (maybe a later upgrade...).

jaurigemma · « **Reply #5 on:** April 16, 2003, 03:58:32 PM »

A brushed stainless look is what I am after, not shiny, please no! Just really the bridge, tail piece, nut, and side markers would be stainless. The rest could be chrome or silver. I destroy brass with my sweat, and my basses look horrible within days of cleaning them. Stainless stands up better.

How does the two fatboys together sound? I wish Mica would have read this to give me some ideas of costs, but I am not ready yet to do this.

I like the sound of my excel, and was thinking of switching back to the Ash body. Dunno. Maybe two basses?

dannobasso · « **Reply #6 on:** April 16, 2003, 08:16:10 PM »

About the cabs, I already had the 310, mui dinero, just got the B2. Also have trace 210, SWR Big Ben 18 w/Bagend, 83 Dean Markley 15 and 410 slant. The compact size and high power capacity wroks well. The 310 has more bottom and sounds real good. (Both running full range parallel in , 2 outputs.)

I didn't know about different grades in SS stock. We only used bar stock for military fasteners. We would have steel gears hardened and softened per spec. Nice thing to know though. A lot of work was done with brass and copper for rigid coaxial transmission lines for broadcast and waveguides for fighter jets.

I have an Excel with 2 Fatboys. V,P, T, Q. High output, more midrangey than my Spoilers. It really cuts through in a 2 guitar situation. I've always been a 2 pup person so thats the way I order my basses. I just did some tracks using a 83 Spoiler soild Koa/Maple neck thru (BEAD) and my Excel 5 Ash/Maple set neck (BEADG) both sounded great direct and miked. I prefer the character of the Spoiler electronics, but I've yet to find out what the engineer chose for the final mix. Protools to Nieve tube consol to 2 to Dat to CD.

jaurigemma · « **Reply #7 on:** April 17, 2003, 01:07:45 AM »

So, you are saying your prefer the sound of the Spoiler recorded, but the Excel live? Sounds good to me. I am looking for that midrange growl, so I think I am going to have Mica put some numbers together. I probably will not go with Stainless, but this is the dreaming section.

I don't have much experience with the Q switch stuff, just pan, pass, treble and volume. I find myself lately leaving everything flat, and just selecting more bridge for more midrange sound, and more neck for more deep end bass stuff.

I run through a F-1X preamp, Ampeg or Crest 900watt power amp, and an SWR TRIAD I cabinet. Love the cabinet, but want to add either another one or a 2x10 for being on stage.

I always record the bass miked and direct and mix the two. I find the miked sound gives you a bit more of that live feel and sound.

I wonder if Mica will do a Maple/PauFerro set neck for me? I think it would be similar to having ebondy, since both woods are extremely dense, but looking for the look of the pau ferro.

Both my Alembics have Zebrawood tops, but maybe I should examine something different. I know Coco Bolo seems to be the rage right now, but all of the basses I have played, I don't quite feel had the punch and growl of my Epic or Excel w/ Zebrawood.

Maybe Mica can find me a cool piece of burled or birdseye zebrawood, if it exists.

dannobasso · « **Reply #8 on:** April 17, 2003, 06:10:13 PM »

I just prefer the Spoiler's sound. I've been using them in various configs since 83.They all record well but I gave the folks 4 tracks to choose from. The Excel is new to me and I got it for my latest band. I believe that Excels come with PauFerro boards and maple necks as standard. I generally prefer darker woods for tops. I have a coco bolo fretless 7 but I don't really notice any significant difference from the wood for tone.It's a bit of an upcharge for the CB. I like the koa and walnut pieces I have. If it can be done, Mica will put it together for you. This company is unlike any other I've dealt with. Just passed my 20th anniversary with Alembic. I find that these instruments are an addiction. Either that or they are like potato chips, you can't stop at just one!
Best of luck with your next addition to the family.
For a quality low priced 210 I would suggest you try the Acme to go with what you have. It's very light for its size and is impressive in output.

jaurigemma · « **Reply #9 on:** April 18, 2003, 07:20:34 AM »

Danno, yor right about Alembic, they definitely will build it if you can dream it.

On the Pau Ferro and Maple neck, I wanted to get a neck that had alternate pieces of the woods, and maybe use Walnut or Purpleheart for the accent stripes. So the five piece neck would be (Maple - Purpleheart - Pau Ferro - Purpleheart - Maple - Purpleheart - Pau Ferro - Purpleheart - Maple. It would still also have a pau ferro fretboard.

I like a deep, rich tone, but not one that is missing high end too. The zebrawood/mahogany and zebrawood/ash bassess that I already have are great for me. Maybe something with a bit more growl, but I think the Pau Ferro/Maple neck would help with that too.

I have never heard of Acme cabinets, but I will check mine out.

As far as Alembic, this will be my 8 year anniversary with them, although I took a long break (2 years) of not playing. It's nice to see such a family run business in this world of corporations.

Mica is working on some quote info for me on this Idea. I am hooked, someone lock up the debit card!

rami · « **Reply #10 on:** April 18, 2003, 12:45:19 PM »

You Know guys,

One of the points that attracted me to the Excel is it's simplicity - one pickup with vol, bass, and treble. A simple combination that puts out a HUGE sound. The Excel has that down and dirty growl that sort of sounds like a Music Man Stingray on steroids. I like the Ash body and Pau Ferro fingerboard. I do notice a difference in sound between various top woods. The Walnut tops have a punchier sharper sound whereas the Maple tops seem to sound a bit softer.

All that, is just to say that with the exception of the top, I'd leave it as is and just appreciate it for what it is....a growly beast.

Good luck,

Rami

mica · « **Reply #11 on:** April 18, 2003, 04:07:35 PM »

Hi Jeff, I answered our email quotes, but since they were a little different from the one on the start of this thread, we'll work this one up too.

3100 Excel 5-string
400 Pau Ferro neck laminates*
300 to add a second pickup and the pan control
the Mahogany body, satin finish, Zebrawood top, Purpleheart accent laminate are no charge options.

I just started examining the harware request with Mike. At first glance, it looks like the stainless steel materials are about 4 times the price of brass (in such small quantities). It will take some more days to figure out the labor and get you a firm price.

We also thought of using the standard brass, but preparing a sanded finish for the plater to work with. Nickel plating is not as harshly shiny as chrome, even with a polished surface.

Here's what the underside of most chrome plated backplates winds up looking like:

I bet it would be really nice if we were making the brushed surface on purpose.

jaurigemma · « **Reply #12 on:** April 20, 2003, 09:23:57 AM »

Mica, don't worry about the stainless. After talking to many people, it sounds that it's going to be too expensive for what it's worth. I am going to send you an email to follow on somethings for this.

Rami, I agree with you about simplicity, but I am just a two pickup guy. There's a lot of us out there. Maybe we're just afraid of being alone (one pickup)!

Order to ship times are about 8-12 months now? Still debating the top wood choice.

dannobasso · « **Reply #13 on:** April 20, 2003, 11:23:13 AM »

Just a word to the wise, make time a non issue. We are all like expectant parents when we order a new baby. On my new order I just want to be told when it is ready to be shipped. Updates are always welcome but a wrench can be thrown into the works at any time. By the way, I'm sure all of us were sending our positive thoughts and energy to Santa Rosa during the big flu outbreak. SARS BEGONE FROM NORTHERN CALI! Think of it as a lesson in Zen and become still in your hearts and bend as a reed in the wind. Think how much more can be accomplished if we stopped inquiring so much! I know, I know, inquiring minds want to know.

jaurigemma · « **Reply #14 on:** April 26, 2003, 11:16:17 AM »

Danno - I ordered both a 4x10 and 2x10 cabinet from Acme! I hope they sound as good as the reviews that I have read. Some people said that Andy is hard to deal with on warranty issues, but HOPEFULLY I won't have any of those.

Mica - I got the quote from Beaver@Bass Central for the bass, and we are working out what the downpayment will need to be. I don't like paying all that $$$ upfront! Still debating tops. I have seen some walnut burls and flames on the wood bank that I like, and after looking through the archives, the buckeye burls are great too! I also like some of the redwood in the wood bank, but there's no mention of price anywhere for the redwood. What type of tonal qualities does the redwood have? I like the lace and flame piece on the wood bank.

Also, can you do a sustain block on the setneck basses? My current Excel and Epic already have monster sustain without them, but this is supposed to be my experimental bass!

Beaver said availability for delivery would by June/July? That quick?

Sorry to keep pestering Mica, but as usually, you have shown that you will spend as much time with any customer, whether it's an Excel or a Series II. Unbelievable and thank you. I will never buy another brand of bass again.