Custom Epic

[Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)]

I'm not sure if this is possible but this is my idea for my custom Epic.   Any info, suggestions, or opinions  from you vets would be much appreciated.  
 
- 34 scale Epic 2(but with Series I electronics,
          the body will probably have to be  
         enlarged from what I know)
-5 piece neck with 2 ebony laminates
-four piece laminated body consisting of:
          1/4 coco bolo top(I hope this counts for  
          the January special)
          1/8 Bocate accent
          1/8 ebony accent
          Mahogany or Ash back
-Polished brass or maybe gold hardware and  
          sustain block
-No inlays on fingerboard except at 12th fret-
          custom inlay
-continuous wood back plates and trussrod  
          cover
-regular Epic finish coat
-strap locks  
 
well I think that is it. Any critiques are much appreciated and if anyone has an approximate price tag I would sure like to hear it.  Thanks.

[Valentino Villevieille (valvil)]

Lots of options here...
 
As spec'd  out by you ,  I think that bass would have a list price of around 10,000$, if you include the gold hardware.  Not counting the cost  for a lager Epic body or the inlay at the twelve fret ( I think Mica's the one who can really tell you how much) I come up with 9290$ in the Alembic custom quote generator ; I used a rogue model as a starting point, as I've found out that it's a good one to start from ( unless you want front & back coco bolo, then a Mark King Deluxe is a good starting point in my  opinion); as Mica pointed out in another post, the 1/8 inch laminate of ebony would add 450$, so that brings it to 9740$. If you order by the end of January as you know the coco bolo top is free, so that's not included in the price.  The inlay at the 12th fret would likely be 200-300$ at least I think, but I'm sure it would depend on the complexity of it.
That's quite a bass.  I wouldn't say there's much room for critique, as we all have our tastes to satisfy; I would , however point out a couple of things:  A) the continuous backplate option, seems a bit of a waste if you 're not going to have a back laminate and B)  Coco bolo looks great under a glossy finish. I have coco bolo basses both in glossy polyester and  polyurethane satin finish, and I do like them both for different reasons...I like how the glossy finish makes coco bolo shine and brings out all the little detail in wood that you'd be hard pressed to see if it were just satin. Plus it looks great on stage if that matters to you; and I  like how I can feel the wood grain under my fingers in my satin  finish bass, and the understated elegant look of it.
 
Well, here's my take on it, I think you're on the right path
 
Good luck and have fun, I'm sure whichever way you go, you'll love it
 
Valentino

[Valentino Villevieille (valvil)]

I almost forgot...
 
that's gonna be a pretty heavy bass...oversized shape, coco bolo top, ebony neck lams, ebony accent, but you probably knew that , right?
 
Valentino

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

HI MIchael,  
 
I can imagine the guitar.  
I agree with brother Valentino about the backplates. A suggestion could be to choose another type of wood for the backplates. If the coco-bolo comes for free ;-) why not try to make the back-plates in coco-bolo. It gives a stylish design echo with the front capping?  
Or keeping the backplayes in brass but with some nice engraving. See on that purpose Ingmar Putz's SII dragonslayer somewhere in the showcase.  
Another idea that you have to consider is the use of something to identify your new axe. I remember brother Rami saying something like that: If you go for a custom work, it's always word to put your name/initials on it in a very stylish inlay-way. For instance: your family-name sounds japanese to me. Isn't there a japanese sign that symbols your name?  
But (yes my old but again) that's maybe precisely what you wanted to do on the 12th fret.  
Take care!  
 
Paul
 
PS 1: the site place with the georgeous dragonslayer is http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/1459.html?1037581699
 
PS 2: Valentino it seems you can handle those quotes very well. Would you mind taking a peep at my dream? It's in this department under the humble bass. I'm afraid it's a lot of customizing so the standard quoting doesn't work. At least: I couldn't do it.
 
 
(Message edited by palembic on January 21, 2003)

[mica]

-34 scale Epic 2(but with Series I electronics, the body will probably have to be enlarged from what I know)  
 
It will have to be extensively modified to hold the Series I electronics.  
 
-5 piece neck with 2 ebony laminates  
This is certainly possible, though we haven't made one on a set neck yet, so its contribution to the fundamental sustain isn't quite known in this application. My mom added an Ebony neck laminate to her Tribute guitar, but she hasn't finished it yet.
 
-four piece laminated body consisting of:  
1/4 coco bolo top(I hope this counts for  
the January special)  
1/8 Bocate accent  
1/8 ebony accent  
Mahogany or Ash back  
 
Order in January and the January Special applies. The arrangement of the colors of the wood will be very attractive. I vote for Mahogany body. This is a part where it's really all about personal taste. For my taste, I'd probably omit the Bocate laminate, or maybe replace with a Maple veneer. But since this won't be my bass, you'll have to figure out what look suits your style best.
 
-Polished brass or maybe gold hardware and  
sustain block  
Polished brass is included, the gold plated is $840 extra on an Epic.  
 
-No inlays on fingerboard except at 12th fret-  
custom inlay  
Valentino's right - it depends on the design. 2 initials in a silver oval runs $400 so you can get some idea how your design's complexity compares.
 
-continuous wood back plates and trussrod  
cover  
Continuous wood backplates aren't possible to make without a back laminate. Paul's idea of a matching wood backplate can be very attractive. It's $300 for a wooden backplate.
 
The continuous wood truss rod cover on a set neck is a bit more difficult to make - it isn't flat on the underside. Instead of $150, it's $300.
 
-regular Epic finish coat
We're actually discontinuing the Epic finish soon and it doesn't look very good on Coco Bolo.
 
-strap locks  
That'll be fine.
 
I think it's also important to learn what you want the bass to sound like. Can you describe the setting you'll be using it in or an idea of the type of tone and versatility you expect? We should address if any of the cosmetics will negatively impact the tone you're after.

[Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)]

Thanks guys for responding.  A few questions after reading your replies.  Do the MXY pickups try to emulate the single coil pickups but with advantages of the hum-cancelling or are the single coils in a whole different ball park.  I have 4 basses right now and I am sort of trying to build an arsenal of tonally different basses.  My current bass list is: Fender Jazz w/EMG PUs, Fender P-Bass, Epic 4, and Pedulla Pentabuzz fretless.  So I am looking for something that will add to my tonal buffet.  I guess what I am wondering is if I can get a different variety of tone out the MXY PUs by adding different electronics options such as filters or Q switches, etc.  If I can then I wouldn't mind keeping the MXY's because I would think it would be easier to build and a little less out of the pocket.  
 
Question on the finish.  How does the polyester satin compare to the Epic natural finish and would it cost extra.  I really like the more natural look than the high gloss.
 
I am trying to contact my dealer(Guitar Showcase) to set up an appointment to come visit Alembic and hash out all the details, maybe next week sometime.  Thanks again.

[mica]

The Series I and II are just totally different, they have their own unique sound.  
 
When you're at Guitar Showcase, you can try a bunch of basses with the same pickups (AXY and MXY) and different electronics and learn how the electronics options sound. The staff at Showcase is very well versed in Alembics, and can probably offer you some additional advice.  
 
The Epic finish is a thin polyurethane that looks similar to an oil finish. The satin polyester finish fills the wood completely and is rubbed out by  hand to a wonderful satin lustre. It looks best on light colored woods - not so great on Coco Bolo or other dark woods as fingerprints show up. It does look cool when it's very clean.
 
To upgrade to polyester finish on an Epic is $350, whether it's satin, gloss, or a combination rubout gloss with a satin neck. We are going to discontinue the polyurethane finish soon as an option. The Excel, Epic, Orion and Rogue models will add the polyester as a standard feature, and the prices will be adjusted accordingly.

[Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)]

Are AXY and MXY PUs different tonally or just in shape?

[mica]

A regular AXY and an MXY are identical inside. The AXY mold can accomodate wider aperture magnets like the FatBoy pickups. I don't think any of the basses at Guitar Showcase right now have the FatBoy pickups.
 
Originally we made the Series I/II pickups and the mold is about as small as you can make it. The humcancelling pickups have always had a magnet about half the width as the Series I/IIs. We just used the same mold until our models got smaller, and the big pickups looked, well, big. The MXY is the smallest possible size for the magnet and coil and looks so much better on the Essence.

[Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)]

I have questions about the sustain block.  Which laminate does it anchor to?  Do you think whatever it anchors to has the most influence on the tone or is it all the laminates together that influence tone the most?  
 
Oh yeah, Terry at Guitar Showcase set up a visit for me next Monday and I am going to Guitar Showcase today to try the basses out that he has there.  I can't wait to visit you guys and see where all the magic happens.

[mica]

We heard from Terry and got the appointment set up so we're expecting you next Monday. The sustain block is anchored to the core/back wood. I don't think the sustain block cares what it's anchored to, it's so much more massive that any of the woods its affect isn't influenced by the body woods.  
 
See you soon!

[Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)]

Hello again.  I was wondering if you could shed some light on Alembics philosophy on pickup placement.  I was wondering because I play fingerstyle for the most part and on my Epic I found that I like the tone and feel of striking the string right in front of the bridge pickup.  However, it is hard for me to play the E string at that position without the pickup as an anchor.  So I was wondering if moving the bridge pickup just a little towards the neck would seriously altar the tone?  I would not want to lose any of that Alembic tone.  Thanks again.  
 
P.S.  Just wondering if you have any tight, straight-grained, low-contrast coco bolo for the top.

[mica]

The main philosphy is to place the pickups as far apart as your technique will allow. This gets you the most variation in tone between the pickups.  
 
If you like the sound of the pickups where they are, you might want us to build a small thumbest ramp for your anchor unless you find the pickup is in your way at all.
 
I suppose the affect on the tone wil depend on exactly how much a little toward the neck actually is.  
 
We have just about every flavor of Coco Bolo available. I'll work with Chip to pull some straight grained low-contrast pieces for your visit. You're looking for a darker overall color?

[Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)]

Yes, Darker overall look to the coco bolo.  Thanks.

[Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)]

Oh, just to mention, the custom inlay I was thinking of at the 12th fret is a simple Infinity symbol.  You know, the sort of squashed figure eight laying on its side.  Not sure how much that would be?