Keith's Starfire Project Bass

[moonliner]

A little update courtesy of Mica.  The hole has been cut in the front of the bass, the control cover has been roughly fitted, the pickup ring has been made, and the ebony fingerboard is on.  I'm really excited to see all this progress!  

 

 

[edwin]

So is the control cover contoured to match the original curvature of the top? Carved? Or somehow pressed into the shape? It's quite lovely! The pickup area looks great, too.
 
Great to see all this progress!

[moonliner]

Thanks Edwin.  
A plaster mold was made from the top of my bass and then the cover was vacu formed to that shape. Hopefully it will all match up nicely.

[mica]

Thanks for posting those, Keith! I was running all around getting my stuff together for the Gathering last Friday.

[wisconsindead]

Wow. That is so cool. Is the control area the burl maple?
 
Why did you decide on plastic for the pickup holder?
 
And will the dummy coil be visible? I personally like the look of a middle pickup
 
Either way, this is a very fun watch

[wisconsindead]

Oops, mistake. So both the pick up and control areas are wood...?

[edwin]

They look like bird's eye and burl, respectively.

[moonliner]

Edwin has it right.  
For the time being it will just have the two pickups. I might go series later on.

[funkyjazzjunky]

Love the burl for the pick-guard. What is the other type of wood used for the top?
 
VMG

[mica]

Gold mother of pearl inlays going in tomorrow, then the frets.

[edwin]

I'm wondering how the pickups will be suspended. Will they be screwed to the bottom of the routing with springs or will there be some kind of mounting on the surface to which they will be attached?
 
VMG, if you mean the rest of the bass (outside the pickup area), it's mahogany. Old Starfires were either mahogany or maple ply. The latter was used mostly for the sunburst models.

[zomnius]

what a pi?ce of art. great to see trapezoid pick-ups.

[moonliner]

Edwin, I don't actually know how the pickups are going to be mounted.  
 
Here's the latest pic.The LED's look amber in this pic, but they are red.  Feels like it's getting closer!
 

[moonliner]

Here are some more pics Mica sent. Needless to say, I'm thrilled as can be!  Here's the fingerboard with golden mother of pearl inlays  

  Here are the inlaid logo shell bits. This pic has the first bit of oil finish applied.  

  This pic has the logo resting on the headstock for a photo op only. Pre oil finish.

[moonliner]

I've wanted an inlaid logo with shell on ebony ever since I first laid eyes on one, so this is a long held dream coming to fruition.
When I first discovered Alembic back in 1978, there were many things that caught my attention and fascinated me in a very deep way. One of the things that really struck me was how amazing it was that the company didn't need to have their name on the instrument. Everything you needed to know was right there in that beautifully designed logo.  It's really quite exquisite.