Ke(vi)n's Custom Orion

[mica]

Susan and Steve have missed eachother a few times, but they're going for this afternoon to review. I didn't see any discrepancies from the workorder and the list you emailed me.   You gold plating will go off to the platers tomorrow. James did the preset on Monday and Chris is buffing out the parts and mounting them to the shipping board.  

 With holes marked for drilling.  

 Back with more finish.  Now it's time to get the lat few coats and await the return of the hardware.

[kmh364]

Hey Mica,
 
Cool! I'm getting close now. I hope Steve and your Mom hooked up via phone teleconference. I just wanna make doubly sure everything is accounted for.  
 
I look forward to further progress pix as things unfold.
 
BTW, what's up with the red/purple dye in the control (electronics) cavity? Is that a marking agent to facilitate drilling for control shafts and/or board/component layout or for further cavity wood removal, or is that a primer for the Ag conductive paint? Inquiring minds wanna know!
 
Cheers,
 
Kevin

[valvil]

Hello Kevin,
 
I'd say the red/purple is the thick purpleheart accent laminate; the battery cavities don't go as deep, so there you still see the ash core at the bottom.
 
Valentino

[kmh364]

 
 
(Message edited by kmh364 on May 21, 2004)

[kmh364]

Hi Val,
 
Du'oh! What was I thinking? I wasn't even in the same galaxy with how close I was to the reasoning behind the mysterious purple. You are obviously correct. With the reflection off of the side of the control cavity, it appeared to be dye. It didn't occur to me that it was actually the accent lam. I cked the earlier pic of the back, and you can clearly see (now that I actually looked, LOL!) that the color does not extend to the sides. The color alone should have clued me in. My bad. Thanks for the clarification.
 
Cheers,
 
Kevin

[kmh364]

Hey Val,
 
What's up with that Telecaster-style guitar I see hiding behind my bass in one of the above progress pix? Is it top secret or can you share some details? I'm actually very interested the idea of having a custom 6-string guitar made by Alembic.    
 
Kevin

[kmh364]

Mica,
 
Any more news that's fit to print? Just wondering if there was any progress since you ck'ed in last week.
 
Kevin

[mica]

No real news, just getting the last coats of finish and waiting for the gold hardware to return. It's hard to tell from a picuture if there's sealer coats only or all the paint is applied - it doesn't wind up looking very different though it gets worked on every day.  
 
As for the Tele in the background, the one in the background is a personal project of James. We've only made one guitar like that, it's the Ruby Red Finish on the Wood Samples page.

[kmh364]

Thanks, Mica.
 
Is the road case in your possession yet, or is it still on order? I'm thinking that besides the gold plating, that would be the last outstanding item (excepting final assembly, set-up, and testing).
 
I doubt that Roger will have my custom knobs ready in time to install them before the bass ships from Alembic, what with his recent move (Bkbass spoke to him earlier). Unless something changes, I guess it'll just have to ship with the standard black tophats.  
 
Thanks for the guitar info...I'm already scheming about my next Alembic...this time, it'll probably be a 6-string guitar. I'm torn between a Jerry hippie-sandwich job with all the trimmings, or a high-end Tele or Strat-style Custom with highly-figured woods and possibly neck-through construction.
 
Cheers,
 
Kevin
 
P.S., I hope you had a nice B'day. I'm a carrot cake fan as well, LOL!

[kmh364]

Mica,
 
Superbass Steve called and said that he spoke to your Mom on Friday. He said that he reconfirmed the final specs. and that it all looks good. He also said that he thinks that you guys have my road case in, and are just awaiting the return of the hardware from the plater's in order to finish the thing up. Do you have an ETA for shipping the thing out at this point? Inquiring minds wanna know!
 
As always, if you have any pix of the thing before shipping that you can post, it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Cheers,
 
Kevin

[kmh364]

Hi Mica,
 
Any news?
 
Kevin

[mica]

Until the gold plating returns, I can't quote a shipping ETA. The last several jobs had at least one piece that had to be sent back to the plater. We are awaiting your case, and expect it within a week, so it won't hold up shipping even if your gold plating is up to our standards the first time around.  
 
Your bass has been rubbed out, waiting for final buffing until the hardware is ready to load. The existing pictures are more informative than any I could take for you now. I always photograph before we ship, so there will be plenty of eye candy when it's all finished.

[kmh364]

Hi Mica,
 
Thanks for the update. I'm psyched and anxious to see pictures of the thing completed.
 
Cheers,
 
Kevin

[mica]

Not that it's very exciting, but here's the bass with the rubout:
 

It's a wetsanded surface (usually 2500 grit). All the wet slop is slushed around on there. It looks like a very satin finish now, but it's just waiting for the buffing wheel. I also misunderstood about the drilling. The template was drilled, but your bass will be drilled after buffing.  
 
I'm sure you're more anxious to actually start playing, but I will post final pictures so while it's en route you'll know what you're looking forward to.

[kmh364]

Thanks Mica,
 
Do you ever stop working? LOL! Thanks for the pic...nice Tribute as well. I see the pilot drill marks so it's no big deal..no wine before it's time. Yeah, I'm dying to play the thing. I think Superbass Steve and Bkbass are dying to try it more than even myself, LOL! Those guys are real bassists: I'm just a guitarist that plays bass. Even my guitar teacher (who's also my repair guy and an expert luthier) who's not an Alembic convert is dying to try the thing. My new Eden amp stack has been patiently awaiting it's first signal massage from this beauty.
 
Regards,
 
Kevin