Valentino's Custom Bass

[valvil]

I gotta remember to check the image size in inches too ... sorry folks.
 
Valentino

[jeff]

Yo Val, that is one mighty fine looking bass.  Love the custom carving, the contrast in the wood and the omega peghead.  I am also intrigued by your choice of neck woods -maple, purpleheart and ebony.  Why this combination?  Why did you chose the Vermillion core?
 
Jeff

[hollis]

Valentino,
 
Your new bass is breathtaking!  The design flows beautifully....The omega head stock is a natural addition.
 
Fantastic!

[rraymond]

In a word, WOW!

[valvil]

Thanks guys, I am quite happy the way things are turning out.
 
Jeff, I chose vermillion for the core purely on looks; with ebony in  the neck and the bookmatch to center coco bolo top I doubt the core will make that much difference, particularly since it's hollow. In regards to the neck, I wanted some of that deep low end you get with ebony but not all of it , and I've been aiming to keep the weight as low as possible. So far, it's been working..after carving but before routing for the pickups (the back cavities have been routed) it weighs only7.5 pounds. The hardware and the electronics will add another 3 pounds or so; hopefully it will stay under 11 pounds, which is pretty good for a series II bass with all that coco bolo, purpleheart and ebony.  The neck is superslim, ony 1.5 at the nut.
Here's a shot Tony took of me holding it after he carved it.
 

[valvil]

I removed the earlier picture because it was way too wide; here it is again in a more manageable size.

[valvil]

Closeup of the crown omega peghead. Its dimensions are slighlty different from the usual crown; I asked Mike to make the top part just a shade wider and the  bottom part a shade narrower to make the omega stand out more. Now available as a custom option of course

[mica]

Hey Val - after you went home for the day, I got a nice pic of the backplates while Mike was drilling the mounting holes:
 

[811952]

Good grief.  That is the single coolest/baddest/goodest/???  bass I have EVER seen.  Holy smokes.  I don't know how you remember to eat.  I would love to hear it..
John

[jeff]

Valentino,
 
Thanks for the info on your choice of neck and body woods.  I always wonder if someone has stumbled upon the holy grail of bass wood combinations, if there is such a thing.  You look very much like the proud father holding his new baby.  Your bass is beautiful and, you're not too bad looking yourself (wink, wink!).  Take care.
 
Jeff  

[bassman10096]

Valentino:  Great looking bass.  I love the omega peghead - wish I'd thought of it!  When you are taking pictures again, can you try to capture a look at the laminates running through the peghead omega?  That must look COOL!
 
Bill
 
P.S. Sorry we missed you last week when we visited.  My son wants to visit some colleges in the Bay area during the summer.  He says he'd like to visit Alembic again (I think he just wants another crack at the cocobolo Tribute he played.).  I think I can justify adding an extra day to our trip...

[jlpicard]

Val,Will that cocobolo darken up quit a bit when the finish is applied?  It would be a shame to loose the beautiful contrast between the light and dark areas.With what I have been observing on the club site, it seems that with cocobolo, it's sometimes hard to tell what it will do when the finish is applyed. Some pieces darken up a great deal and others just go more reddish-orange( which I prefer ,personally).If you applied an oil finish (ala Brown Bass ) would the coco stay closer to the color of the raw wood? Mike

[valvil]

Hello Bill,  
i am sorry i could not make it to work when you came over. I certainly hope you guys will visit again so we can meet. I forgot to take the picture of the tip of the headstock, I'll do it tomorrow, it does look very cool from that angle.
 
Mike, I have a fretless coco bolo Alembic that was finished in oil, and while it does look nice, it's nowhere near as nice as the other 3 coco bolo Alembics I have with a glossy finish. Over time, with an oil finish, coco bolo will darken considerably; with a glossy finish (and depending on how much exposure to UV rays it gets) it will darken too, but at much slower pace. The glossy finish definitely brings out the contrast. My bass is going into spray round #1 either tomorrow or Monday; I am looking forward to seeing how it looks with the first coat on.
 
Jeff, if you run into some nice ladies that also think that I am not too bad looking, let me know.
 
Valentino

[mica]

Valentino - I know you missed us today, but you probably missed your bass even more so here's somethign to keep you company:
 

 
I'm not sure if Tony left the next prepping for you to do or not.

[bob]

Oh man, those are stunning. I don't remember if Rami's were 'continuous' or not, but this is going to be really special.
 
Like I said on the phone the other day, Val, the look on your face in the photo above says it all - I think you should be 'featured' in  the next Alembic catalog.
 
But looking at it again, after seeing some other recent photos here, I just have to ask: Are those Purpleheart pants???
 
-Bob