| Author | Message | ||
| rustyg61
Advanced Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 267 Registered: 2-2011 |
I just fulfilled a childhood dream & toured the Mothership last week! It was everything I had hoped for & more! I began my trip to the factory by meeting Sonicus & his lovely wife for supper the night before the tour. After supper he invited us to his home & let me play his beautiful Alembics. Thanks again Wolf! I hope to see you again someday! We got to the factory & Mary took us to the woodshop & introduced us to Bob who did a great job as our tour guide. He explained the process of transforming a tree into a masterpiece. I mean this quite literally, he showed us a stack of wood that was a tree that had been recently cut down in someone's yard which will someday be an incredible instrument in the hands of some lucky person! I was very impressed with how much hand carving & sanding & filling that is involved in creating these instruments. They are so perfectly made that you would assume it is all done on a precision machine, & the main cuts are, but the intricate shaping & tight areas are all done by hand. I was especially impressed with the inlay process! I thought they must have some kind of computer controlled laser cutting machine to cut out the tiny intricate pieces, but they are all cut by hand & the corresponding slots in the wood are routed by hand for a perfect fit! Everyone at the factory was super nice & generous with their time. After the tour, Mica & Susan talked to us for over an hour sharing stories of their beginnings & operation. Ron stopped by & posed for a picture with me, what an honor! Thanks Ron, Susan, Mica, & Bob for your time & for being so accessible to your customers! As for the subject of this thread, I brought a picture of my SC Signature Deluxe & got the people who had a hand in building it to sign the picture! Thanks to all who signed it for me! If you ever get a chance to tour the factory, I highly recommend it! You will gain a whole new appreciation for the amazing instrument they create there & also understand why they take some time to complete. These are incredibly skilled craftsmen & women working to create the best basses & guitars on the planet & they don't take shortcuts! Here are some pictures from the factory...  Sonicus & I   This was recently a tree in someone's yard!     Templates for cutting out inlays  precision hand tools for installing inlays    Bob with a Dragonwing     Repair on a headstock that was broken completely off.  Fret wire  Awesome 12 string bass!   Poster signed by Stanley.  Yes Virginia, there really are file cabinets with files for all the instruments that have been created at the factory over the years! The info is not in a computer database for quick searches, so everytime someone requests info on their bass or guitar, they have to physically search through thousands of files to locate the info. It takes time, so be patient when you make a build or history request!  Ron & I  Signature(s) of the Creator(s) | ||
| hb3
Senior Member Username: hb3 Post Number: 611 Registered: 2-2005 |
Super cool. | ||
| smokin_dave
Advanced Member Username: smokin_dave Post Number: 332 Registered: 10-2002 |
One day I hope to be as lucky to visit the Mothership. | ||
| artswork99
Moderator Username: artswork99 Post Number: 1538 Registered: 7-2007 |
Sweeeet! | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 10242 Registered: 5-2002 |
Great pics!!! | ||
| terryc
Senior Member Username: terryc Post Number: 1620 Registered: 11-2004 |
Yep..did it 2000, got all the pics on film(anyone remember film LOL), got a signed catalogue, pics with the wickershams, the whole deal...a great experience, one I am going to do again before I die..oh yes just to remind everyone, I am from the UK.. | ||
| mario_farufyno
Senior Member Username: mario_farufyno Post Number: 707 Registered: 9-2008 |
You missed the elves... | ||
| billostech
Intermediate Member Username: billostech Post Number: 158 Registered: 1-2011 |
Way to go Rusty. Thanks for sharing your experience. Wow... what a great memory to have...The visit to the Mothership!!! | ||
| mike1762
Senior Member Username: mike1762 Post Number: 928 Registered: 1-2008 |
I saw the "Inside-Out Brown Bass" in one of your pics... I WANT!!! | ||
| redcloud
Junior Username: redcloud Post Number: 29 Registered: 5-2011 |
Wow, what a nice visit for you. I am going to the Healdsburg Guitar festival in August in Santa Rosa. That festival runs Friday thru Monday. I wonder if anyone is in over the weekend. | ||
| darkstar01
Advanced Member Username: darkstar01 Post Number: 338 Registered: 6-2005 |
hey, my classico. and that must be the inlaid logo... looking good. thanks rusty! | ||
| mike1762
Senior Member Username: mike1762 Post Number: 930 Registered: 1-2008 |
Hey Austin... the headstock looks off-center (LOL). | ||
| darkstar01
Advanced Member Username: darkstar01 Post Number: 341 Registered: 6-2005 |
at this point, mike, it could be backwards. btw, there are some really interesting looking instruments in these pictures.... like that guitar behind Ron's left hand, and the short scale two back of the 12 string... any idea what's up with those? edit: also, am i crazy or is that an MTD at the top right of the picture with Ron? doesn't look very alembic like (Message edited by darkstar01 on July 02, 2011) | ||
| mike1762
Senior Member Username: mike1762 Post Number: 931 Registered: 1-2008 |
That short scale is interesting... the truss rod cavity is continuous with the neck PUP cavity. | ||
| thumbsup
Advanced Member Username: thumbsup Post Number: 323 Registered: 7-2008 |
Very cool! | ||
| rustyg61
Advanced Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 269 Registered: 2-2011 |
Austin, your Classico is gorgeous! The inlaid logo looks awesome! All the instruments on the wall were Alembics. Not sure what the models were, but they are all Alembics. The short scale behind the 12 string is Neil's Custom Darling guitar - http://alembic.com/club/messages/631/67349.html?1309188637 (Message edited by rustyg61 on July 03, 2011) | ||
| mike1762
Senior Member Username: mike1762 Post Number: 932 Registered: 1-2008 |
Ahhh... I see the 6 tuner holes (and the inlay) now. | ||
| seventhsunbass
Junior Username: seventhsunbass Post Number: 27 Registered: 4-2011 |
What a wonderful view 'behind the curtain'. The spalted photo, wow, what a striking piece of wood. There will be an amazing instrument made from this, to be sure. The Mothership has offically been added to my Bucket List. | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 2960 Registered: 10-2002 |
looks like you had a great time Rusty. I'm still hoping to get across there late next year. Graeme | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 929 Registered: 1-2005 |
Glad you had a good visit! Awesome pictures too! | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 981 Registered: 5-2002 |
I love the tie-dyed body! | ||
| shae
Junior Username: shae Post Number: 34 Registered: 10-2007 |
Anybody notice the left handed Tele in the spray booth? Just below the picture of the Tie-dye bass and another shot of it above the Classico picture. | ||
| shae
Junior Username: shae Post Number: 35 Registered: 10-2007 |
(Message edited by shae on July 05, 2011) | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 2489 Registered: 6-2002 |
looks like a set neck tele then. Jazzyvee | ||
| pace
Senior Member Username: pace Post Number: 746 Registered: 4-2004 |
I'm with Austin.... That bass closest to Susans office looks like no other Alembic I've seen. Probably there for neck & string dimensions. | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 10255 Registered: 5-2002 |
Also nice are the sandwich on the instrument behind the tele and the core wood of the triple-o ahead of it. | ||
| rustyg61
Advanced Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 273 Registered: 2-2011 |
I believe Bob said the Tele bass belongs to one of the employees. He has been building it for several years! | ||
| pauldo
Senior Member Username: pauldo Post Number: 632 Registered: 6-2006 |
Awesome Rusty! Thanks for sharing. Put that on my bucket list also . . . | ||
| mike1762
Senior Member Username: mike1762 Post Number: 946 Registered: 1-2008 |
The Balance K design seems to have supplanted the Standard Point as the most popular shape (at least for long scale). I don't see a single Standard Point in any of the pics... when was the last time one was built??? | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 7383 Registered: 6-2000 |
Was a fun day! The mystery bass is an MTD that a custom sent to us for reference on a custom. The one by my dad's left hand is a crazy Buckeye Burl Darling guitar that I just recently delivered to Rocker Guitars in San Francisco:  There's some way cool pink stain near the omega on this one. | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 7384 Registered: 6-2000 |
Oh, and that tree is a really special thing. It's thought to be one that was planted by Luther Burbank. It's going to be 2-3 years before we can build anything with it, but you can see some natural edge bowls that Bob turned in the drying room pictures. There's a bunch of "White Walnut" aka sapwood that is gorgeous in that stack - some even with heavy burl figuring. It's going to be a long coupe of years. | ||
| rustyg61
Advanced Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 276 Registered: 2-2011 |
Thanks for elaborating on the tree story Mica! WOW! How cool would that be to have a bass or guitar made from a tree planted by Luther Burbank! I'll start saving now, maybe in 3 years I can find out! :-) | ||
| hydrargyrum
Senior Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 999 Registered: 3-2004 |
That guitar is spectacular. Definitely one of the finest examples I've seen. | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1009 Registered: 10-2006 |
So I look at this thread, and I look at the FTC, and I look at this thread......OK, Mica, besides needing a company archivist, you need someone just for posting pictures of everything you're building - we're missing way too much cool stuff!  Peter | ||
| rustyg61
Advanced Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 277 Registered: 2-2011 |
Great idea Peter! | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 1927 Registered: 5-2009 |
It was a pleasure having meet Rusty and his Wife . Our mutual interests in Alembic products is self evident. Rusty; I am pleased to have contributed to your enjoyment of these fine instruments . That was indeed a fun day . Wolf | ||
| rustyg61
Advanced Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 278 Registered: 2-2011 |
Thanks again for your hospitality Wolf! I look forward to seeing you again someday! | ||
| hifiguy
Advanced Member Username: hifiguy Post Number: 306 Registered: 10-2006 |
Are you sure that isn't Albus Dumbledore with you in the last pic, Rusty? There is unquestionably a lot of wizardry going on at the Mothership! | ||
| rustyg61
Advanced Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 279 Registered: 2-2011 |
I think Albus was trained by Ron! | ||
| gtrguy
Advanced Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 375 Registered: 9-2004 |
Yeah, kinda scary to see them take a file to a 15K bass and start whittling away. | ||
| rustyg61
Advanced Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 280 Registered: 2-2011 |
Yes, it IS! But these guys are brain surgeons who happen to work with wood! | ||
| cje
Member Username: cje Post Number: 79 Registered: 5-2009 |
Sorry... off topic, but hey - I see my guitar peeking out from behind the Omega bass, in the picture directly under the 12 string bass! |
