Author Topic: My New Spyder 4 arrived (Read 1567 times)

ox_junior · « **Reply #30 on:** January 16, 2006, 08:25:54 PM »

Alan,

No I haven't seen a pic of your Ultimate Spyder under construction. I wish!!! I presume you will pronounce to the world when it hits the Factory to Customer thread. You'll just have to deal with your already fabulous bass collection until then. Boo hoo.

John - you said you were surprised when you got the cone headstock - did you custom-order it that way? I understood that the 50 Spyders were all supposed to come with the V headstock. Did Susan and Mica change it up at some point? I remember speaking to Mica when my bass was undergoing its reconstructive surgery about this topic - she said that according to her mom, it was John Entwistle's wish that the reissues have the V headstock (I assume this means they had approached him with the concept before he passed away). Alembic wanted to honor John's request. I guess a number of folks have asked for the cone headstock, probably either for their own cosmetic preference or after hearing about my disaster.

Either way, it's a great bass.

PS - I have instinctively learned how to turn my body at a 90 degree angle away from the singer everytime his microphone goes airborne. So far, so good. And I never bring the Spyder when I know we're going to be on a small stage. I recommend this practice for all Spyder owners, whether your singer revolves his microphone or not. Can't be too careful!

Mike

(Message edited by ox_junior on January 16, 2006)

(Message edited by ox_junior on January 16, 2006)

jlawson · « **Reply #31 on:** January 17, 2006, 09:53:01 AM »

Mike,

My Bass was ordered from Beaver at Bass Central. I believe the bass which was 4 to 6 weeks out at the time I ordered it, must have been custom ordered with a cone headstock by Beaver.

Beaver never told me about the headstock so I was very surprised and happy when I saw it for the first time.

I am a little bit curious as to whether mine and yours are the only Limited edition Spyder 4's that have cone headstocks.

John Jeffrey Lawson (I go by Jeff, my dad is John!) but I answer to either!

senmen · « **Reply #32 on:** January 17, 2006, 02:24:37 PM »

Guys,
no you are not the only one LE Spyder owners with the pointed headstock. There is another one, maybe the first, in existance.
go to www.buzzardbass.com, then go for the Buzzard bass stand,
there below at the page you will find a couple of pics, also with a pointed headstock Spyder

Oliver (spyderman)

senmen · « **Reply #33 on:** January 17, 2006, 02:32:39 PM »

Guys,
here is the pic as said above.
This is the first pointed Spyder I had ever seen.
Note the chrome hardware.

Oliver (spyderman)

jlawson · « **Reply #34 on:** January 17, 2006, 04:16:41 PM »

Oliver,

Wow, so there are at least 3.

Also, several of the remaining LE Spyders may also be built this way.

Jeff

ox_junior · « **Reply #35 on:** January 17, 2006, 07:01:14 PM »

Hm. So there's a third one out there.

Mica did say that Alembic was considering making a few with the cone headstock. Possibly after my incident and customer requests. She said they did talk about it from the beginning, but Susan mentioned that it was John's wish for them to have the V headstock, so that's how they started out with the run of LE Spyders.

Chrome hardware on this one - even more accurate. Alan, is yours going to have Chrome tuners?

ox_junior · « **Reply #36 on:** January 17, 2006, 07:05:44 PM »

Just for kicks, here's another shot of my modified Spyder in action:

ajdover · « **Reply #37 on:** January 17, 2006, 09:51:02 PM »

Mike,

I'm toying with the idea of gold since the hardware will be gold plated (yeah, I know, not like John's, but damn, I hate having to polish brass!). Not something I have to figure out just yet. Maybe I'll buy two sets of tuners, one chrome and the other gold. We'll see I guess.

Alan

kmh364 · « **Reply #38 on:** January 18, 2006, 05:44:31 AM »

Alan,

A word of advise about the gold-plated hardware. While Alembic's gold plating is done by a jeweler...and it is impeccable plating...it is extremely soft gold and it scratches when you breathe on it, LOL! A standard guitar polishing cloth will scratch the finish.

Now the chrome plating, that's a different story. It is at the opposite end of the spectrum...it's so hard you need special tools to cut through it, according to Mica.

While the gold would look better on your Spyder...and I have both gold and chrome plated hardware on my two 5A quilt-topped alembics (gold on the Orion, Chrome on the Series)...if you want it to stay pristine, go for the chrome.

Cheers,

Kevin

ajdover · « **Reply #39 on:** January 18, 2006, 10:04:21 AM »

Kevin,

I normally polish my instruments with a microfiber cloth, which solves the scratching problem, while polishing anyway. However, I do appreciate the info and it is yet one more thing to consider. I do like the look of the gold/brass better, and it's what John had (brass).

Some of the things I'm considering will leave me with less than an exact replica, but that's OK. John always said he was always looking for the perfect bass; my choices are in that vein as well. As I've noted before, John's not playing this bass, I am. I think, however, I'll be able to capture the essence of what made those basses so special and hopefully why John liked them as well. Thanks for the advice, much appreciated!

Alan

kmh364 · « **Reply #40 on:** January 18, 2006, 10:43:56 AM »

Alan,

You're welcome.

Personally, I like the look of gold as well, especially on maple because of it's nat'l golden color. I think my Orion is prettier all dressed in gold than my Series is with the chrome.

Having said that, I'm anal about my stuff and the Orion's gold bridge, tailpiece, TRC and backplates all have scratches and trying to polish them out only makes more scratches. Fingerprints are tough to buff out, and when you do, it makes more scratches.

The chrome on my Series is surely affected by prints, but you can buff it out easily and with no scratches.

If I had it to do all over again, I'd go with CW TRC and backplates to eliminate polishing and scratches, and I'd probably go with chrome hardware, even though I prefer gold (excluding clashing color combo's). Unplated brass and the requisite polishing is a no-no for me, personally.

In the end, I'm sure whatever you do will look spectacular and will be, of course, to your specification, not JAE's or anyone else's.

Cheers,

Kevin

David Houck · « **Reply #41 on:** January 18, 2006, 11:08:44 AM »

Kevin; I can't remember, I was thinking the nickel plating was the really hard stuff.

kmh364 · « **Reply #42 on:** January 18, 2006, 11:38:18 AM »

Nickle tends to be dull and soft...and is easily scratched (unless chemically or heat-treated). Alembic's chrome plating is super-hard a la hand guns.

I posted a thread recently about how to care for each finish and Mica posted a similar response (a dialogue we carried over into a recent phone conversation I had with her).

http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/22917.html?1133392772

bigredbass · « **Reply #43 on:** January 18, 2006, 06:53:45 PM »

MajAJ

You might consider the brass hardware with gold tuners: My BigRedBass is like this. The 'bird' tailpieces are shot over with polyuerthane, probably your style will be as well. The plating on the keys is harder. You'd only have to polish the brass bridge from time to time. But the gold keys set off the brass nicely AND you'll save a few nickels in the process.

J o e y

kmh364 · « **Reply #44 on:** January 19, 2006, 05:22:22 AM »

Joey:

If our man Alan's bass started as a Series I or II, he gets plated hardware gratis (chrome or gold, respectively). Of course, it can be deleted for a credit.

Any other model, you are absotively correct.

What's that 'ole tune...To Each his Own? LOL!

Cheers,

Kevin