Mark's Custom 6-string Bass

[the_8_string_king]

Sounds great, Mica... I figured there was a good chance it was just the picture!  Thanks again, I appreciate the careful measuring, and I'm sure I'll be pleased with it!
 
Hey, on a separate note, I was google-ing perfect pitch (which I don't have, although I've worked on it, and am usually within a half step -or a whole step on a bad day- and I found something interesting.  Research indicates that children raised in Asian cultures -where INTONATION is a BIG part of the meaning of words- seem to have a DRAMATICALLY greater likelyhood of having perfect pitch.  Also, there is a lot of evidence that children who are exposed to scales, and have the notes READ to them as they're played See, Dee, Eee, Eff, Gee, Aay, Bee, See, etc seem to natually develope perfect pitch.  The prevailing viewpoint seems to be that there is a limited cognitive window of opportunity/development...
 
Just a thought; your youngster come from a musical family... maybe a little training at the right age will help his potential/future musical aptitude.
 
If you have any interest on the subject, just google perfect pitch, and read up on that Wincapedia online dictionary, there's plenty of info there!
 
Take care, thanks again for everything, it just looks so phenomenal!!!

[adriaan]

Perfect pitch is nice, but it can be a bother ... and it certainly cannot replace musical talent! In my experience ...
 
Singing in an a capella choir, you notice that everyone else goes flat (inevitably!) or sometimes the conductor gives an Ab instead of an A - either way you have to transpose on the spot. This means you're basically singing ? vue, which is always a good musical workout. And you don't have to learn note intervals - you just hit the individual notes. On the flipside of that, I find it difficult to study scales and harmonic progressions. Plus my wife doesn't like my singing (and we usually agree when listening to other people singing).
 
As a pianist, you may encounter a piano that is tuned far too low and your fingers get completely lost. This is a nightmare situation that I actually ran into once ... luckily they had a second piano, which was tuned just a fraction higher. My own piano is tuned at A=430, which to me is clearly not an Ab. I suppose there is a absolute frequency where things get off my scale - I ran into borderline pianos once or twice where I knew it shouldn't go much further down.
 
Then again, I can tune by ear, with open strings only. And when I compare two basses that I've tuned independently, they are in tune with eachother (only found that out a couple of months ago, would you believe it). On a guitar, the G and B strings always take some extra time to get right.

[the_8_string_king]

The title of the thread sez it all.  Regarding our conversation earlier, I'd like to how much more it would cost to upgrade to the road case.
 
My only interest would be in the protection of the instrument -so I'm asking for the cheapest/most simple road case... nothing fancy with regards to whatever options there might be... just the cost of upgrading to something more durable.  The durability is my ONLY interest.  (What ARE the options, anyway?  Extra compartments?  Just curious...)
 
Thanks Mica.  Respond here and/or email, whatever works.  But, maybe save a copy of the email (if you email) in case it doesn't go thru.  Thanks again.

[Bradley Young]

Mark,
 
For less than you could get an Alembic hard case, you could get a Halliburton.
 
Drug dealer chic!

[the_8_string_king]

Thanks for the tip, Brad... but I would only get a case from Alembic -so that I know it'll fit the instrument.

[Bradley Young]

Mark,
 
It is confirmed that the balance K 6-string won't fit.  The overall length of the case (50) does not leave enough padding fore and aft (Mica measured my bass at 48).  For UPS to pay a claim, they'll want 2, minimum, all the way around.
 
Bradley

[the_8_string_king]

Since Bass Central sez the bass is almost ready, and I'll be paying the balance soon, and you're probably building a case soon, I'd like to again request a price quote for the price difference between the standard case, and the road case.
 
I'd like to know approximately how much more it would cost -and weigh- vs. the standard case.
 
Thanks, Mark

[the_8_string_king]

Another thing as well: unfortunately, it's looking more likely like I won't be able to come up to pick it up -and to have the electronics fixed on my 8-String.  Maybe I will, but it's looking less likely at the moment, for various reasons pertaining to time, money, and schedule.
 
So there is a better than 50/50 chance I'll end up having you ship it to me.  (This was included in Beavers price quote already.)
 
This prompts me to ask a couple of VERY IMPORTANT questions I want to be ABSOLUTELY CLEAR on.  What kind of coverage does Alembic have on the shipping?  Specifically, if (imaginary beings forbid) a worse case scenario happened, and it was destroyed or damaged during shipping, would it be covered by Alembic/Alembics' insurance?  I want to cover my butt and be prepared for this contingency.  I DO NOT have the money to get a replacement (for this bass, which IS a replacement).  At this point, it is not yet covered (I don't think) by my Heritage policy.  At least, it's not officially on the policy.  They have some kind of coverage for, I think, 30 days... giving me time to put a new instrument on the policy... but I'm not clear on whether it would be covered if damaged or destroyed or lost in shipping.  Now I'm gonna ask them... but I want to be ABSOLUTELY CLEAR on Alembics policy.  My hope is that it would be covered -in such an event- by YOUR insurance (in which case I'd get a replacement WITHOUT Alembic being screwed.  But it's certainly best not to assume... in general, and especially in a case like this.
 
I'd also like to know about alternative shipping options and pricing -especially the recent awesome Dragonfly bass Charles had shipped in the hard core shipping crate.  How much extra does that cost?  And what should I do when I get it... insist they stick around and wait for me to open it to make sure it's okay?  If I open it after they're gone and it's damaged/destroyed/missing, then what... am I screwed?
 
Please forgive my paranoia, but my lifes experience has taught me that it serves me to ask/anticipate and be prepared for such things.
 
(Message edited by the 8 string king on August 29, 2007)

[pierreyves]

Hey Mark, you never go to work ?? You have internet at your job ??
;o)
Bass Central send instrument really safely. The only thing you would have to paranoiate (?), is an airplane crash.
Don't worry.... and be HAPPY!

[mica]

The price for a road case depends on the features ordered. Our normal set is with a locking hasp, wheels and an extra handle. These ATA approved cases start at about $350 extra, and aren't discounted through dealers (else they'd be even more!) I don't know the weight, since there are many options. For shipping purposes, it will likely be dimensional weight.  
 
The shipping crate is $185 (the discussion about it is over here). Unless the packaging is damaged, either a carton or a crate, the carrier will not pay a claim. Shipping in a crate will have additional shipping, not covered in Beaver's original quote.  
 
Our insurance does not cover shipping to you. The insurance is through the carrier, or through your own policy. You should contact Heritage and price a policy.

[the_8_string_king]

Thanks for the prompt response Mica.
 
I called Matt Hershman at Heritage today, and arranged (and received confirmation via email) to have Elana added to my policy as of 9/7/7 -a few days before Bass Central estimated you'd have it done.  The policy will completely cover any issues up to (gasp) complete loss/destruction.
 
I still want to think about it, and I'll probably call to discuss it with you.  At this point, it's simply not clear whether we'll come up to pick it up, or have it shipped.  My guess at this point is that there's currently a 75% likelyhood I'll have it shipped, and deal with the Europas electronics another time.
 
But I'll have to consult with my significant other when she gets back from Burning Man in a few days.
 
Question... do you have road cases -for the Balance K- ready to go... or would requesting one entail an addition delay/wait/build time for the case?
 
IF I were to get one, I would want the cheapest/most basic road case.
 
I have another question.  I don't know if it's something you can answer... but here goes.  If you can, please tell me, based on your experience, how much would you say the standard case protects an instrument on a 1-10 scale?  And how much does the road case protect an instrument on a 1-10 scale.  I simply don't have ANY idea; it would help my decision making process if I had some sense of the relative degree of protection afforded by each option.  And of course, the weight difference, as well.
 
Thanks again, Mica.  My plan is to make a final decision in a few days; Erica will be home in a few days, and my credit card will go into the next month, so I can put the balance on next months bill -which will be helpful- if I wait a few days.  I intend to contact Bass Central tomorrow.

[jacko]

Mark. Both my Rogue and my sig made it over the pond in the standard packaging. Delivered by UPS with no issues whatsoever.
 
Graeme

[the_8_string_king]

Thanks for the feedback, Graeme, I appreciate it.  It REALLY does make me feel a lot better knowing it got all the way over to Scotland without any problem... seeing on howz I'm only the next state over!!!  
 
Oh, and I spoke to Jason today about cases; I'm pleased you have both road cases and standard cases for the Balance K in stock.  That'll make things easy for my decision-making process.  For some reason, I was thinking like I had to involve Beaver and Bass Central in that decision, but today it dawned on me that they're not involved in shipping, and my only obligation towards THEM is to pay the remainder of my bill, and then pay any additional fee for upgrading the case and/or additional shipping costs to Alembic...  so I'm going to pay the remainder to them next week -when the bill will go on to the NEXT months credit card statement- and then I'll talk to Erica and decide whether we're going to come get it or have it shipped -in which case I'll promptly come to a decision regarding whether I get a standard or road case and/or a crate.
 
Oh, Pierre, sorry, I forgot about your question.  No, I don't do internet at work; all my postings are from home.

[the_8_string_king]

We'd spoke a little on this before, and based on feedback and comments from Joey, Tom, and the Bobs, I'm interested in having the FatBoy pickup for the Bridge, and (it's) the AXY (isn't it?) pickup for the neck.  This is assuming they're the same size and cost and can be switched.  I'd want the wires to be long enough that I could swap the pickups and experiment with their sound.
 
So I'd like to know if switching the bridge pickup to a FatBoy is extra, and also how much a second AXY and a second Fatboy would be, 'cause, if I go for it, I'll probably follow the advice and swap them, and then, once I know what each sounds like on each pickup, I might well order another pickup.  Joey seems to be gung ho on both, but it seems like there is agreement that they sound better on the bridge pickup.
 
Of course, I'm assuming this wouldn't in any way take away from the Coco Bolo sound that this bass is all about.  I can't imagine it would, but it's best not to assume... maybe the FatBoys emphasize Coco Bolo's weak frequencies and fail to capture it's strong frequencies... (or maybe, hopefully, that was just nonsense-talk!)

[mica]

The nice thing about the AXY/FatBoy decision is that it's completely reversable. I'll ask Valentino to get you the pricing details tomorrow when he returns.  
 
You'll have to listen to the pickups yourself to see what you prefer. Everyone has their own opinion, including me, but in the end, you're the one playing and listenting, so no matter what any of us say, it has to be the right sound for you. Once you get to listening, you'll know which you prefer.