Hakeem's Custom Bass "Tomahawk"

[the_jester]

Hi Garth,  
 
Thank you for taking your share of the heat .  
 
Although honestly, I'd wished I had been the first to combine both works of art as you did -- but you beat me to it my friend...  
 
What's also interesting, both names (Mona_Lisa and Toma_Hawk) uses (2) words and ( letters for each object. There's a connection even here... (Who would had guessed this?) Wow, it looks like the spirits are in agreement too.  
 
Frankly, this bass is built with the same mind-set of a Formula 1 Indy car, with least resistance to friction. (In this case, the friction, is my forearm and wrist movements).
 
The sound of the Toma_Hawk will be what I expect any Alembic bass to project however, with slight variations (as to every Alembic differ in tone). So, since I presently own an Alembic in my lab, my analysis could helpfully make for a fun and easy bed-time read.  
 
I'll create a thread called: Post Toma_Hawk review.
 
Steve, your story was a wonderful read (Thank you for sharing...). All Alembics are the best basses in the world, and while some people just own them, and others (including myself) like to answer with answers to: why -- Alembics are the best in the world....
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-
 
(Message edited by the_jester on January 21, 2010)

[hydrargyrum]

I'll echo the call for sound samples, particularly something that highlights the ability to change playing form from slap to plucking that you designed it for.  Best wishes.

[the_jester]

Garth, in the beginning, before the bass was created, both Mica and myself discussed the thickness of this theoretical Toma_Hawk bass. She was making a point pointing towards thinner basses and older basses (like my shorty) are thicker than the newer basses. Technology had vastly improved, and boy, the things they can do now... However, I wanted a thick bass. I didn't want the vastly improved thin bass. I wanted a bass as thick as my 76 shorty body -- which is about 1.73 inches in thickness. I just love the solid feel.  
 
Also, there was someone who said the short horns on a shorties are no good for establishing balance, and shorties necks are prone to be neck heavy.  
 
I owned a classic S1, and yes there are differences, but none of the differences had nothing to do with neck balance; large horns, or small horn. It's a complete myth because shorties are very well balanced and necks are shorter to counter the weight distribution, and in some cases the bodies weigh just as much or the same as omega like S1's.  
 
Technically speaking, short horns are built with a greater emphasis on being built balanced than long horn basses. This makes sense, when short horn strap pin's are not placed on the top horn, but placed on the back of the neck (somewhere around the 21st fret area...).  
 
However, with long horn basses, the emphasis on balance is less of an issue, because the pin's are attached to the ends of the longer horn. Surly from this perspective, you could support a longer scale neck, because it would be like taking a short horn bass, and moving the pin from the 21st fret to the 17th or 16th.  
 
So, having a long horn bass, and attaching the pin to the longer horn beats attaching it within the same area of the neck, and longer horn basses were built to somewhat eliminate the question of balance all-together.  
 
But for me, I love smaller horns because the balance question, can't be ignored and Alembic engineers had already solved this question a long time ago. So, with Shorties, all issues are mindful, and considered.
 
Peace and love,
 
Hal-
 
 
 
 
 
(Message edited by the_jester on January 22, 2010)

[altgrendel]

Finally, the completed project is revealed!
 
Congratulations are in order!
 
 
Very organic looking, I like it. Can't wait to hear how you like it. I'm curious about how the balance turned out.  
 
Please don't forget to post sound clips somewhere.

[the_jester]

Ok, time for me to reveal the secret of this bass...
 
Remember when I said this bass is more than meets the eyes... well here's the answer...
 
Look at the controls...
 
Mica picture is perfect to explain this important point.  
 
Notice the controls in an arrow shape...
 
The shape will point up at approximately 90 degrees upon moving the neck slightly upward, thus adding uniformity for my hand to make adjustments, and the an arrow shape pointing upward, is esthetically pleasing.
 
Now you understand the whole secret to the controls.  
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-

[the_jester]

Just a true enlargement of Mica's picture... which I am hypnotized on...  
 
I want to believe, this is my last post... on this FTC, but you know how that goes...
 

 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-

[the_jester]

 

[willgunn]

I'm quite confident that there's SOME sort of 12-Step Program out there that could lend you some relief-giving assistance in conquering this most persistent affliction that has you in it's merciless grip. Meanwhile, be strong & turn it all over to a Higher Power. You have all our prayers & best wishes.

[the_jester]

There's a million ways one can say I LOVE YOU ALEMBIC.
 
I have one question...
Will, who do you compare your brilliance?  
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-
 
(Message edited by the_jester on January 22, 2010)

[mike1762]

1. We admit that we are powerless over Photo Shop and that our lives have become unmanageable.
   2. We believe that RestoreIT can restore us to sanity.
   3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of Bill Gates (and/or Steve Jobs) as we understood Him.
   4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our hard drive.
   5. We admitted to Bill Gates (and/or Steve Jobs), to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our System BIOS.
   6. We're entirely ready to have Norton Anti Virus remove all defects of character.
   7. We humbly ask Uninstall to remove our shortcomings.
   8. We made a list of all persons to whom we have c.c.ed or forwarded chain Emails and became willing to make amends to them all.
   9. We make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would require use of Email.
  10. We continue to take personal inventory and when we are wrong promptly delete it.
  11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with Bill Gates (and/or Steve Jobs) as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the RAM to carry that out.
  12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles with all electronic devices.
 
Amen

[the_jester]

Such ironies, for any musician to slam the appreciation of visual arts when the majority of musicians (both enthusiast and professionals) associates their music to some form of visual art or concept -- when written plain text, is not enough.
 
Look all the million of music album covers in the world, and its keeps getting stronger...  
 
Albums from both the past, and present are loaded with concept, and abstract art. Look in music stores, and on the Internet, and there's absolutely no end in sight, regardless of the number of iterations.  
 
So, with my obsession with art, (as you described it in so many heckling ways... ) I actually take it all, as as a complement; and yet I respect what you attempted to imply, but your attempts were dis-respectful.  
 
But you know what, you should try to chill out and don't let things small things easily rattle your chains. Man, you let pictures (which has completely nothing to do with you) cause so much unnecessary tension and stress. This stress is bad for you, and it hardens the arteries which is not good, and adding more gray hair, and wrinkled skin is good for what?  
 
I waited over 20 un-promised, and uncertain years for 2 things to happen (for this insult to happen):  
1. The concept idea/art and shape, (which is not a promised discovery...)  and  
2. The feasibility for Alembic to accept the project (which some projects they do in fact, refuse).  
 
So with both successes, your heckled statements,  magnitude of force, equals to a fly's fart.  
 
So, if you don't like the bass, that's cool and I wish you well, as the Sun shines on your face while you reclining kicked back enjoying your most brilliant moments of excellent, but your comments here show more of your troubles, than of attempts to explain and understand mine.  
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-
 
 
 
(Message edited by the_jester on January 23, 2010)

[mike1762]

Just messing with you Hal... I didn't have one of those emoticons to put at the end of my post.

[the_jester]

It's no big deal Mike, its cool.  
 
Also for those who would like sound tracks of the Toma_Hawk bass, please (raise you hand) send me your email addresses, and I will send my work directly to you on occasions  as a prehear (my new word) not preview... yes, prehear  
 
For those who were already bold enough to dare ask (  ) no need to type twice, because I have you down already.  
 
No doubt, it will be FUNK with hopes to put a smile on your face and of rejoicing mental rhythms.  
 
Also, in contrasting the sound comparisons of both series basses of the 76 S1 Shorty, and the Toma_Hawk 2010 S1, for fun I am not going to tell anyone which bass is which... Since I know you guys know The Alembic sound better than group in the world, (not including the makers)this makes the listening process hopefully fun over watching grass grow.
 
Eventually, people will know the differences, and at some point, I will confirm the sounds to the actual basses.
 
Just something worth doing, this Spring, and to be frank, I can't wait to pop my first set of strings on the Toma_Hawk... That's when a bass is played so long and hard, it eventually releases it's full pleasure of FUNK.  
 
...and I plan to bust plenty of strings over the years, with my freaky hands...  
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-
 
 
(Message edited by the_jester on January 24, 2010)

[the_jester]

Briant,
 
Your comments were well taken...
 
The current knobs on the Toma_Hawk, are the older or Old School control knobs -- similarly used on my 1976 shorty, and the control space on my 76 S1, is not that much of a difference in spacing.  
 
These style of knobs (classic), were are used on some of the original Series basses. The classic knobs are larger, and if I felt they were cumbersome, and not permitting my fingers enough space, I could always get thinner knobs. However, I doubt it very seriously, this would be a problem for me now, or in the future...
 
One last tid-bit...
 
When I tweak my bass controls, I mainly touch the upper rims of the controls. However, when I play my electric guitar, my full pinky finger raps and grips around controls sometimes while simultaneously picking. Jimi Hendrix videos helped me learn this technique .
 
However, I never come close to hubbering around the bass controls as much as I do, with guitars.  
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-
 
 
(Message edited by the_jester on January 27, 2010)

[the_jester]

Notice the knob spacing are almost, if not the same on both basses...
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-
 
 
 
(Message edited by the_jester on January 30, 2010)