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mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 2508
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Wednesday, June 08, 2005 - 7:12 pm:   Edit Post

We had a great visit yesterday with Paul. He had already picked out his top and back, and we were just going ot go over the custom inlays and other details. Well, that was before he got a look at a recent Redwood acquisition:

the wood
My mom chalked in the body and rough control locations.

the closeup
Check out those blistery burls - fantabulous!
foth
Junior
Username: foth

Post Number: 20
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 5:48 am:   Edit Post

It's always great going to Alembicland...kind of like going to the Emerald City. You all are healers as well as artists and friends.

This is a northern California bass and the burl coastal redwood top wood is from a primeval northern California tree. I call this bass the sun bass.

Another "good catch" to Chip for remembering the extended horn template that was already made up. That saved a lot of time!

Paul
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 1896
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 6:29 am:   Edit Post

The Sun Bass. I like it!
palembic
Senior Member
Username: palembic

Post Number: 2033
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 8:58 am:   Edit Post

hehehee ...Long live the Paul's
mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 2680
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 4:43 pm:   Edit Post

Hi Paul,

Chip has finished working out the kinks for your peghead:
knobby with rays

and with some notes:
with notes

Hopefully you'll be able to see where the original shape outline is, and how we had to shrink the cutouts for the knobby part to allow for the rays. We can also move the logo up a little more, and get a little more length out of the rays if you like.
foth
Junior
Username: foth

Post Number: 36
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 4:32 am:   Edit Post

Hi Mica!

The peghead shape is perfect. You should move the logo up to the tip of the green arrow, splitting the difference between the top of the peghead and the cloud top's current position. The rays will look best with a longer length, the longer the better. I apologize in advance for the inconvenience of sanding inside those small cutouts!
kmh364
Senior Member
Username: kmh364

Post Number: 1106
Registered: 9-2003
Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 6:07 am:   Edit Post

Burl Redwood! This is gonna be very nice indeed! Congrats, Paul!

Cheers,

Kevin
jalevinemd
Advanced Member
Username: jalevinemd

Post Number: 250
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 8:09 am:   Edit Post

My Orion is burl redwood...beautiful choice for a top!
katana_6506
New
Username: katana_6506

Post Number: 9
Registered: 7-2005
Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 11:54 pm:   Edit Post

Is this going to be a left-handed bass?
foth
Junior
Username: foth

Post Number: 37
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Friday, October 14, 2005 - 3:42 am:   Edit Post

Thanks Kevin!

Jeff, those chalk drawings are a bit confusing aren't they? We were talking about a lot of things, body inlays and continuous backplates and such, while Susan was drawing those. It's a right handed bass.
katana_6506
New
Username: katana_6506

Post Number: 10
Registered: 7-2005
Posted on Friday, October 14, 2005 - 9:10 pm:   Edit Post

Thanks for clearing that up.

I can't wait to see the end result-the wood choice combined with the Triple O body shape=droooool. :-)
foth
Junior
Username: foth

Post Number: 38
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Saturday, October 15, 2005 - 4:04 am:   Edit Post

It'll be a somewhat unusual triple O, with an extended horn and a stinger tail.
bigbadbill
Intermediate Member
Username: bigbadbill

Post Number: 199
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Saturday, October 15, 2005 - 5:00 am:   Edit Post

You know, I considered asking for an extended horn before ordering mine, but wasn't quite sure how it would work out. Obviously I should've gone ahead and left it to the masters......best of luck with this bass, I'm sure it is going to be fantastic (Triple O's are my favourite...)
mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 2706
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Thursday, October 27, 2005 - 1:51 pm:   Edit Post

Some more Burl Redwood goodness! First, a stack of lams with covers cutout:

stack of lams

Next, the new peghead, living on the end of the neck:

peghead

Finally, here's the body ready for all those laminates:

body
eastcoastepic
Intermediate Member
Username: eastcoastepic

Post Number: 157
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Thursday, October 27, 2005 - 7:25 pm:   Edit Post

Paul,
Outstanding choice of wood...if I may ask, why the extended horn? Was this an 'appearance' decision, or a balance issue?
Chris
foth
Junior
Username: foth

Post Number: 40
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Friday, October 28, 2005 - 4:50 am:   Edit Post

Hi Mica, happy paislies! Thank you so much for the pics. It looks like I could play 'air bass' with it right now.

Chris, the extended horn was just a case of function dictating form. I have a 32" small body, so I know about balance issues, lol!
keith_h
Advanced Member
Username: keith_h

Post Number: 227
Registered: 2-2005
Posted on Friday, October 28, 2005 - 9:43 am:   Edit Post

From what I can see of the grain it looks really nice and it should look great once they get the finish on.

Keith
mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 2721
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 2:26 pm:   Edit Post

Pete will be ready to carve your bass tomorrow, and we find there is some clarification needed on the bottom carving. The order states "Heart Omega" but we keep drawing stingers for it. I think the bass is trying to tell us something. Anyway, here's Chip's sketch of the 4-string stinger:

4-string stinger

And a rought heart and stinger sketched on your bass:

sketches

Since I was there, you probably wouldn't mind seeing the front:

Sun bass front
The Mahogany inserts are just to keep things nice while scraping - they aren't part of the finished bass.

Anyway, get back to me on the carving detail so the chips may fly tomorrow.
foth
Junior
Username: foth

Post Number: 42
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 2:52 pm:   Edit Post

Hi Mica
Hope you had a great Halloween!
The bass is to have a full stinger tail, using the 25th anniversary bass in your catalog as the model. It looks more heart-shaped to me than your above drawing. It also looks like a slightly larger cutout.
jerico
Junior
Username: jerico

Post Number: 21
Registered: 7-2005
Posted on Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 2:55 pm:   Edit Post

Wow that is going to be gorgeous! Well, it already is... but you know what I mean.
flaxattack
Senior Member
Username: flaxattack

Post Number: 667
Registered: 4-2004
Posted on Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 2:59 pm:   Edit Post

foth
chip was working on your bass while i was there.
let me tell ya... he was really really making sure that pistol grip bout was gonna come out right=- chip is just awesome when it comes to wood
looks like another winner!
the wood is splenderific.... wait til you see it after spray.....
the_8_string_king
Junior
Username: the_8_string_king

Post Number: 26
Registered: 9-2005
Posted on Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 5:20 pm:   Edit Post

Boy, what a beauty!

Paul... I don't want to be presumptuous, as I don't know you... but... maybe you should get the stinger! Or at least think about it... once it's carved out... that's it...

It looks like it would REALLY look sharp...
mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 2723
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 5:36 pm:   Edit Post

Stinger it is, and I'm working on the carving detail to mimic the Sterling Stinger with Chip. Here's the Sterling Stinger:

stinger ala sterling

And here's what I think is the heart shape Paul is referring too:

sterling ala heart

The Sterling's Stinger is wider and more open than others we've done (including David's which I believe was the first one like it).
foth
Junior
Username: foth

Post Number: 43
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Wednesday, November 02, 2005 - 2:42 am:   Edit Post

Just remember, there are no mistakes...there's only custom!
jacko
Advanced Member
Username: jacko

Post Number: 395
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Wednesday, November 02, 2005 - 4:28 am:   Edit Post

Paul - this is looking like a really sweet bass - love the Burl redwood. I can't wait to see the finished article.

Mica - the last two pics don't load ;-(

Graeme
tbrannon
Junior
Username: tbrannon

Post Number: 33
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Wednesday, November 02, 2005 - 10:44 am:   Edit Post

Beautiful bass! That peghead has got some serious depth and movement going on. I love the purpleheart accent laminate. It really sets off the top. very slick indeed!
mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 2730
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Wednesday, November 02, 2005 - 11:36 am:   Edit Post

Paul, confirm that this is the particular Stinger you areinterested in. Okay, let's try those pics again!

singer sterling try #2

heart

It helps to save in RGB mode when you want to display on RGB monitors (previous pics were in CMYK-oops!).
foth
Junior
Username: foth

Post Number: 44
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Wednesday, November 02, 2005 - 2:04 pm:   Edit Post

Confirmed by phone. My good luck that you answered, Mica. Sorry to take up so much of your time! A pleasure talking to you. You're such a wonderful multifaceted person.
Thanks for your comments everyone. This bass will be busy with details, as I remember the very first Alembics were.
Flax, the guys in the back finesse wood like Jerry finessed strings, don't they? I think a lot of it has to do with that big ol' room with the high ceiling and the great sound system...
mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 2779
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Tuesday, November 15, 2005 - 11:51 pm:   Edit Post

Here's the template for cutting your Stinger

it stings!

It will look a bit different after the roundover and carving, and Peter is aware of your desire to have the tips carved thin like the Sterling in the big picture in the stairwell.
foth
Junior
Username: foth

Post Number: 48
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - 3:43 am:   Edit Post

Thanks Mica. It's starting to look real shamanistic. Your mom speaks highly of Pete's attention to detail.

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