Steve's "Alembird" Project

[mica]

Here's a photo o fyour Thunderbird:  

  Here's a quick look at modifying the body for better upper fret acces (in addition to the heel carving):  

  And to make sense of it all, here they are together for comparison:  

  I think it's important to keep the lower horn sort of "chunky" looking. My mom was totally into the idea of the Alembic logo on the body where the Thunderbird is (without pickguard of course) and she'd do the painting of "Alembic" on the peghead liked we discussed.

[mica]

Here's a quickie version of the lower horn starting at the 17th fret, but ending where the original one does.  
 

 
Remember I said it was done quickly - it's not entirely smooth or anything, but it should be enough fo ryou to tell yes or no on the concept.

[mica]

With three pickups, you can't have the 24 fret fingerboard:
 

 
With three pickups, we won't modify the shape of the lower horn from the original.  
 
If you keep just two pickups, we can do 24 frets and also do the required mods to the shape to keep some upper fret access available to you.

[diptixon]

All,  
any update on this project?? have been following and would love to see the results...
Danny

[s_wood]

I'll leave it up to Mica to explain exactly where in the construction process we are.
 
The idea behind this project was to violate the laws of nature by marrying my 2 favorite basses -- Alembics and old T-Birds.  I love the T-Bird's body shape, so I didn't want to modify it too much. I also wanted to capture the essence of the T-Bird's tone, which is largely a function of it's all-mahagony neck and body, and the unique placement of the 2 pickups -- so we copied those things, too.  Then, we added the versatility of Alembic electronics and the overall quality and vibe that they build into everything.
 
After many conversations with Mica, we've chosen to go with 2 pickups and 22 frets. There was no way to keep the original T-Bird shape (or something close to it), add 3 pickups and expand the number of frets past 20. I chose 22 frets over the 3rd pickup.  After Mica played around with my T-Bird long enough, she decided and I agreed that the all-mahagony body and neck should produce a very warm and bassy tone.  The T-Bird's brightness is a  
function of its pickups, and the combination of Fat Boy pickups and 2 filters should allow me to dial in all the bass I could every want, thus making the third pickup unnecessary.
 
So, it's a T-Bird body (w/a 1/8 thick 5A quilt top for the pimp factor), 2 Fat Boy pickups with 2 filters, 2 3 position Q switches, a volume and a pan control.
 
I'll keep the club posted.

[s_wood]

I'll leave it up to Mica to explain exactly where in the construction process we are.
 
The idea behind this project was to violate the laws of nature by marrying my 2 favorite basses -- Alembics and old T-Birds.  I love the T-Bird's body shape, so I didn't want to modify it too much. I also wanted to capture the essence of the T-Bird's tone, which is largely a function of its all-mahagony neck and body, and the unique placement of the 2 pickups -- so we copied those things, too.  Then, we added the versatility of Alembic electronics and the overall quality and vibe that they build into everything.
 
After many conversations with Mica, we've chosen to go with 2 pickups and 22 frets. There was no way to keep the original T-Bird shape (or something close to it), add 3 pickups and expand the number of frets past 20. I chose 22 frets over the 3rd pickup.  After Mica played around with my T-Bird long enough, she decided and I agreed that the all-mahagony body and neck should produce a very warm and bassy tone.  The T-Bird's brightness is a  
function of its pickups, and the combination of Fat Boy pickups and 2 filters should allow me to dial in all the bass I could every want, thus making the third pickup unnecessary.
 
So, it's a T-Bird body (w/a 1/8 thick 5A quilt top for the pimp factor), 2 Fat Boy pickups with 2 filters, 2 3 position Q switches, a volume and a pan control.
 
I'll keep the club posted.

[ganque]

how is this thing going... i was interested

[s_wood]

The basses are still in the build stage... I'll leave it up to Mica or Val to provide a more comprehensive update.  I promise I'll keep everyone posted as things progress!

[lindoom]

how is this thing going...i was interested also

[basstard]

Yeah, it's been a long time since the last update... Is the project still alive?

[s_wood]

Yes, the project is still alive!  Ill leave it to Mica or Susan to explain exactly where we are, but as for myself I sure hope to get the thing finished in a few months.

[jeff]

Steve,
 
This sounds like a really cool project and I hope we get to see more pictures soon.  My favorite Gibson bass was the EB-O because of its warm and deep bass tone, and it looks cool.  Your Thunderbird should have that tone in spades plus a whole lot more.  Good luck!
 
Jeff

[lindoom]

WASSUP WIT DAT THUNDERBIRD THERE!!!!!

[mica]

Back on the radar:

 
Mike and Susan have been in full force. With the smaller reverse Elan peghead, it should balance a little better. I think this planning phase is just about wrapped up, once yu guys nail down the 20/24 fret thing, the chips will start flying!

[s_wood]

Great news!
 
How many frets are depicted in the drawing above?
Do you think that more than 20 or 22 frets would be inaccessible, given the body shape?