Marc's "Simple" Bass

[marcm]

hi mica
 
the burl maples are beautiful!  i especially like 1322 'scattered burls'.  when kris has had a chance to revise the body outline, could i please see it superimposed on 1322?
 
if we go with 1322, i'm leaning toward an ebony laminate under the top, as we discussed; and ebony peghead veneers, front and back
 
we may be getting close to building the 'simple' bass!
 
 
best regards
 
 
marc

[palembic]

It's getting lesser and lesser simple IMHO
 
Paul the bad one

[marcm]

hi paul
 
the original idea was to use the birdseye-maple board that you can see at the top of the 'for harrison' thread.  unfortunately, when the board was sliced for the bookmatch-to-center, it was funky inside.  at that point i asked mica to find me a board of gabon ebony, so the bass would be just two woods: mahogany for the neck and the body, with ebony neck lams, an ebony top, and ebony peghead veneers.  unfortunately there are no gabon-ebony boards to be had.  i don't want to use  macassar abony for my top, though it is a very beautiful wood
 
mica and i looked at woods from several vendors, and then we decided to go back to where we started and look at a few alembic maples.  when i saw 1322 with an acetone wipe, i came pretty close to falling in love with it
 
it'll still be a simple-looking bass:  no back laminate, only one accent laminate, black peghead, 20th-anniversary electronics, and blackened hardware.  simple and understated, but it'll be an alembic!
 
 
marc

[palembic]

I say amen to that!
BTW: the 1322 is nice indeed. Especially in a bookmatch to center set-up. You still for the enlarged EVH baby-bass design?
 
Paul the bad one

[marcm]

thanks!
 
yes, i am.  mica anticipated that the design might not scale up so easily:  the shape is beautiful for tania's tiny bass (22-inch scale!), but when kris scaled it up to the size of a 34-inch-scale small standard, it was too massive.  so now he's working on the waist and hips to get better proportions
 
also, if you look at the outline superimposed on the macassar ebony, the bottom is not the classic EvH shape:  it's a bit baroque.  i won't approve the design until i see an EvH 'baby's-bottom'!
 
 
marc

[Jan R]

Marc, is it the original EVH bottom and body you are after? Like in these medium-scaled bodies? I guess that Edwin?s baby bass is the small version of them.  Cheers Jan

 

 

 

 

[marcm]

hi jan
 
the shape i'm looking for is very close to the original EvH shape.  the main differences are that i'd like the upper horn to be straight, slightly extended for balance but with no hook; and i'd like the bottom cutout slightly less pronounced, just as the original 1970s point design was gentler and less 'pointy' than the current point.  also, i'd like the body to be very slightly longer in proportion to the width across the hips
 
your basses are beautiful!  what is the lighter top wood?  i don't recognize it, but i like it
 
 
marc

[marcm]

p.s. to jan
 
i've also requested a half elbow contour, as on your lighter bass, and a half tummy contour.  the contours are the legacy of playing a p-bass for thirty-plus years, but seeing the half-elbow on your EvH, i am reassured that it is a very good choice aesthetically as well
 
 
marc

[Jan R]

Yes Marc, you might need the extra weight on the upper horn if you go with a 34 instead of the 32 like I have. This original template of those two is perfect for the balance on a 32.
 
The 4 string has 2 cocobolo laminates and a maple core. The 5 string has 2 figured walnut laminates and a maple core.  
 
Good luck with your project, I am curious to see the results of a EVH signature inspired bass.
 
Cheers
Jan

[marcm]

jan
 
one problem is that tania's baby bass was made from a temporary template, which was later lost or destroyed, as were any notes on how the original EvH design was adapted for the baby bass.  kris has the unenviable task of trying to satisfy a customer with very specific wishes that are difficult to realize in practice, but that's what elevates alembic above all other bass luthiers
 
if the top horn has to grow a little bit  for balance, that's fine, as long as there's no hook to the horn; mica says that kris isn't too concerned
 
 
regards
 
 
marc

[marcm]

hi mica
 
it was a pleasure to talk with you yesterday, as always.  i'm very excited that we're finally ready to move forward with the 'simple' bass
 
just to review, i've chosen the maple burl 1322 'scattered burls' for my top.  i leave the decision on the thickness of the ebony accent laminate to you and kris.  please give me ebony peghead veneers front and back.  i exchanged messages with roger at thg; he will wait to hear from you about some bits of 1322 to use for the knobs.  we'll settle the details of the body shape (including the all-important 'baby's bottom'!) when you and kris have a chance to generate a new cartoon outline, maybe next week.  all else is as agreed in the work order
 
one final thought for the moment:  since the main neck laminates and the body are mahogany, please ask kris to match the color and grain of the body wood as closely as possible to those of the neck.  the closer he can get, the happier i'll be!
 
thank you thank you thank you!
 
 
best regards
 
 
marc

[marcm]

hi again mica
 
i was just checking out ken's beautiful new rogue, and i had a thought
 
i think the 'simple' bass should have a squidge more thickness in the ebony laminate, under the maple, than ken has in his rogue.  you mentioned 3/32 as what you thought would be best.  i'd be interested to know if ken's is a 3/32 lam, or a 1/16
 
mainly i think that, for the simple bass, the ebony should splay out a bit wider on the half-elbow contour
 
please let me know what you think
 
 
best regards
 
 
marc

[mica]

Here's the next revision overlaid on the top laminate selection:
 

 
The sketch is still a fairly rough plan. Kris and Tony understand about your requests for the sharper looking points that are cut out of the original shape. Kris drew the shape without the cuts then added them, similar to how they will be carved out on your actual bass. I think we've pretty much nailed the look you were after. Of course, we'll post pictures of the bass before we send it to spray so you can have a final approval and tweaking time.  
 
Ken's Rogue uses the standard 1/8 accent laminate of Purpleheart with a thin veneer of Maple between that and the Mahogany body. I'm still thinking the original 3/32 idea will work best. Much thicker, and they'll show more of the streaky color in the ebony and look less black, and I know this was an original concern of yours. I also like the idea the accent lam being thinner than the thinnest neck laminates by a good bit, sort of like punctuation.  
 
Let me know what you think.

[mattheus]

This is looking amazingly cool. I always was very fond of that look on the EVH-signature basses! I can't wait to see the next step in the production...... I think there's a very unique bass coming.......
 
Mattheus

[marcm]

hi mica
 
so my ebony laminate would be thinner than the accent on ken's bass?  that's the opposite of what i was thinking, but i get your points about streakiness, and about the thickness of the accent lam relative to the neck laminates.  let's go with the 3/32 accent as you suggested
 
i am much more concerned about the bottom:  compared to jan's basses, above, or to tania's baby bass, the baby's-bottom carving in the new plan still looks smaller, shallower, and less rounded.
 
to see what i mean, compare the new plan with the straight-on views of jan's basses.  visualize the continuation of the bottom curves of jan's basses, as if they had not had baby's-bottoms carved into them.  the mini-points on jan's basses do not reach that reference curve, while the mini-point in the plan for my bass does reach the reference curve of the bottom
 
this is just another way of saying that jan's (and tania's) baby's-bottoms are more deeply carved than the proposed plan for my bass.  i'd like the cutout on my bass to look more like the cutouts on their basses
 
can we please talk on the phone today, before kris cuts the body?  i feel really strongly about this, and i don't feel that the plan reflects the bottom-shape i'd like.  i'll be sure to be home from 1 to 5 this afternoon, i.e., from 10 to 2 your time
 
thanks mica
 
 
best regards
 
 
marc