| Author | Message | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 455 Registered: 6-2000 |
I posted a bunch of new pictures of Coco Bolo in the Wood Bank, take a look and see if anything there is suitable for your project. I'm still not able to post the Burl Walnut photos -- they just don't look exciting at all, and the wood is really stunning. Oh well. I'm working on it. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 456 Registered: 6-2000 |
Also, the Amboyna pics you sent are really beautiful. As you said, they are a bit on the orange side, but from what I undersand, it's more typical than the yellowish one I posted in the Essence Showcase. | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Junior Username: prime Post Number: 27 Registered: 11-2002 |
Thanks Mica, I'm actually torn right now. I'm thinking of getting swirly dark cocobolo similar to "Growling Tiger" or burl walnut like Rami's Walnut "Bad Boy" Series II (AMAZING). I like the macassar as well but the figuring is too linear for me. You wouldn't happen to have any of that with more of a wild swirly kind of grain to it would you? Thanks Matt | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Junior Username: prime Post Number: 28 Registered: 11-2002 |
Also. For the body I'm thinking instead of the larger Valentino II, how about a modified Rogue (I really like the long upper horn) with a symmetrical bottom, and omegas on the sides. I'm not sure if the pistol grip horn would look right on this or not, but if you're willing to do some sketches I'll have no problem deciding. Thanks again Mica | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 464 Registered: 6-2000 |
I'm looking for a swirly piece of Mac Eb from Rami right now. I'll let you know if we find any. It's typically straight grained. The other option is Ziricote. I don't have a photo of that wood right now, but I can describe it as Macassar Ebony colors, grained like a slab of picture jasper - like rolling hills. It's stunning. The Stanley Clarke bass we made for Steve Jay (Weird Al's bassist) is Ziricote, you may be able to find a photo of him playing it. The Coco Bolo pictures I posted in the wood section have a scale marked off in 6 inch increments. There's quire a few that will do the bookmatch to center. The side omegas would need to be fairly small, as there isn't a whole lot of room between the edge of the bass and the pickups. I tend to agree with you on the pistol grip, but I'll bounce some stuff off my mom and Mike as well, they are creative enough to make it work if it can. | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Junior Username: prime Post Number: 33 Registered: 11-2002 |
Hey Mica, How long before you can post some pictures of some Ziricote, and Burl Walnut. I saw that Gguitars has a Burl Europa but I haven't gotten a chance to go look at it. (He's a little over an hour away for me). His pics look a tad reddish, though that may very well be the lighting. If this isn't going to happen I'll have to order some samples of the wood so I can make the choice. Also I was wondering if you could show me some sketches of the symmetrical rogue shape with the omegas. Since the special this month is the same as last month I'm thinking I'll wait until after christmas to place my order so I can hopefully put most/all of the money together by the time I make the order. But I'd like to pick a piece of wood, and see the rough design prior to placing the order. Thanks and I'll talk to you soon. P.S. After the template is finalized, how difficult would it be to make a cutting board the same shape? | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Junior Username: prime Post Number: 34 Registered: 11-2002 |
Bump | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 505 Registered: 6-2000 |
Nice to talk with you today. I added the first couple of boards to the Ziricote section in the Wood Bank. Check them out and see what you think. Ziricote doesn't like to be stored in thinner bookmatches, so we leave it as lumber until we are ready to build. You'll have to imagine the bookmatch for these. We dn't make cutting boards out of the same shapes as the instruments. We make similar shapes. As a one-off cutting board, you're probably looking at twice the regular price. | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Junior Username: prime Post Number: 39 Registered: 11-2002 |
Hi Mica I gave Gguitars the downpayment on Saturday, hopefully Chris will be placing the order today! I just noticed this on the alembic.de site. Is this an accurate representation of what burl redwood looks like after finishing? I had always thought of redwood as being more, well... red.  If finished redwood really is that dark and contrasting, I might decide to go with a piece of that over the burl walnut. Thanks for the help. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 607 Registered: 6-2000 |
Yes, that is typical of the Burl Redwood. I added a piece of Redwood Lace Burl to the Wood Bank last week that has a lot of similarities to the one on Station Music's website. The wood has a very reddish cast to it, but like many woods, is generally brown. All the woods get a bit darker with finish. I don't see a whole lot of contrast in any of the burls, including the one in your last post. They certainly have tons of "action," but none of them have the light and dark contrast of Zebrawood or Coco Bolo. The Redwoods tend to give the isntruments a "bassier" tone, seeming to not encourage the extreme highs. If you've ever played a 1970s Alembic made from Schedua, the Redwood sounds very similar. (Message edited by mica on January 13, 2003) | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Junior Username: prime Post Number: 41 Registered: 11-2002 |
Chris has the downpayment and should be placing the order anytime now. Do you have any burl walnut that has as much action as the piece of redwood above? I definately prefer pieces that have very close heavy burling with no fade out, and no spots where the figuring changes form (ie, quilting or flaming). If you don't have any pieces like that I might go with a piece of the redwood. What's price difference for that? Also do you know what your timeframe will be as far showing me some sketches for the body? I'm thinking a Rogue body with symmetrical bottom. Less pronounced "waist" to allow for larger side omegas. In keeping with the symmetrical bottom, no forearm cutaway. I don't really like the look of the laminate layers widening out on that part of the body. Thanks Mica | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 612 Registered: 6-2000 |
Chris did place the order with me, so the process is officially underway. I'll get soome sketches of the body together you later this week. You mentioned in your email about the side markers. They will be aluminum unless you specify otherwise. We recently changed to aluminum on all the models because the high contrast produces a more useful marker. We'll need to know before we start anything about the side markers, since the fingerboard is one of the first items completed, and the side markers are installed before it gets glued to the neck. For plated hardware, we'd like to know at the time of the finalized order, it makes all the scheduling go smooth. You can even change the hardware until the day we set it up, but your bass will be sitting around with everything done while we wait for the hardware to return from the plater. | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Junior Username: prime Post Number: 42 Registered: 11-2002 |
Great. Aluminum Side dots are fine. How much is the Nickel Plating, and if I go with bronze hardware instead is it something I could replace or have plated later? One last thing. I notice that some basses have the Alembic name in gold on the pickups and some don't. Is that an option? Can it be done in a silver metal? | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 615 Registered: 6-2000 |
Nickel and chrome are the same price, $400. The standard hardware is brass. It can be plated later, currently we charge $600 to plate later, as we need your bass here. This includes removing the hardware, prepping for plating, plating and setup. The gold name hotstamped on the 4-string pickups with injection molded shells. You can opt to have the pickups cast in the traditional method like on Rami's fretless. It's possible to have the hotstamping done in any color the foils are available, including silver. I checked with our subcontractor, and he reports a $200 setup for a special order. You could also fill the engraved Alembic name on the traditional cast pickups with silver paint. | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Junior Username: prime Post Number: 43 Registered: 11-2002 |
Ok 1. How much are wood pickup cases? (And do they affect the sound?) 2. What's cost of wood knobs? For both of the above they would need to either be figured or made of laminated strips like the doubleneck and his son. 3. Can I get CVQs or 3 position Qs instead of the 2 position ones? What's the cost for that? | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 620 Registered: 6-2000 |
1. Wood topped pickups (like Rami's) are $300 each. Full cases (like the doubleneck) are $600 each. There is no affect on the sound. 2. The turned dome knobs are $150 each (like Rami's). Multilam knobs are $250 each. Our knobs are turned by my uncle Bob and are always out of choice woods. There are off-the-shelf wooden knobs available, I've seen them in some guitar parts catalogs, and they are much less expensive than ours (of course, they aren't specifically made for you either). 3. CVQ is available only for Series I/II instruments. To change to a 3-position Q switch will be $55. | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Junior Username: prime Post Number: 44 Registered: 11-2002 |
Ok, I'm going to get the 3 position Q switches instead of the 2s. And I'm going to do brass hardware with the gold stamped pickups. (That's the way it was going to come anyways right?) When I send the bass back for the inlay, I'll have the hardware plated. This is SO AWESOME!!! I ought to have basses built more often! | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Junior Username: prime Post Number: 46 Registered: 11-2002 |
I think I'm going want to do a custom headstock as well if the Crown or Fan don't mesh with the theme of the body design. I think I read somewhere that it's 150 for custom headstock templates. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 624 Registered: 6-2000 |
Yes, gold stamped pickups and brass hardware are standard. Typically the peghead templates are $150, it all depends on the design and the complexity of manufacture (for instance, a scrolled peghead would be more than $150). I'm still working on your body design. | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Junior Username: prime Post Number: 49 Registered: 11-2002 |
Mica I talked to Chris and he was willing to send a Lakland out to you to get the neck measurements. (At my cost of course.) I think you had said something about taking initial measurements at the 1st and highest possible frets to help reduce the time you would have the bass for. When would be a good time to actually ship you the bass, in order to minimize the time that Chris is without the instrument? Also when you're doing the body drawings, can you do one the same way as stated above but with a scrolled upper horn similar to this picture? P.S. For anyone that's interested, this bass was made by a great private luthier by the name of Darrin Huff. You can find his site at http://www.dhuffguitars.com Sorry about that Darrin The top of this bass is made from Burl Thuya. Could you get me a piece of this Mica?  (Message edited by prime on January 31, 2003) (Message edited by prime on January 31, 2003) | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 631 Registered: 6-2000 |
Hey Matt, I'm having a dandy of a time getting your body design based on a Rogue.  It's hard to pick where the symmetry will work - it'll either be really skimpy or really huge at the bottom. With the addition of a scrolled horn and the side omegas, I'm getting the feeling we should scrap the idea of basing it on a Rogue at all, as it will not resemble a Rogue even slightly. Let me know your thoughts and comments. | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Member Username: prime Post Number: 53 Registered: 11-2002 |
Here it is Mica this is kinda what I'm looking for. I'm not all that good with the drawing though. I think I made the omegas a little to small. Hopeully you can take it from here though.  | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 636 Registered: 6-2000 |
OK cool, I'm not crazy - it won't look a thing like a Rouge by the time we're done with it. Thanks for the sketch - I wouldn't have known about the lower horn idea without it. I've got good stuff to work with now and I'll post some ideas for you either this evening or tomorrow morning. | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Member Username: prime Post Number: 54 Registered: 11-2002 |
Here's another pic of what I envision the entire bass to look like. The ball on the upper horn is the scroll that I couldn't draw right, so I left it blank.  | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Member Username: prime Post Number: 55 Registered: 11-2002 |
Awesome, Thanks Mica! | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Member Username: prime Post Number: 57 Registered: 11-2002 |
Can you get the Thuya Burl like the picture above? Also what are your experiences with Macassar as a fingerboard? I believe it should behave the same as Gaboon ebony and I love the way it looks. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 642 Registered: 6-2000 |
I've got a couple of suppliers that have Thuya Burl available, we've never used it on an instrument top, so I'm not sure about its affect on the sound. Macassar makes a great fingerboard, especially if you like the looks of the figuring. I've never noticed any difference in service between the Gabon and the Macassar as fingerboards. The Series II on the product page has a Macassar Ebony fingerboard, it looks quite stunning. | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Member Username: prime Post Number: 58 Registered: 11-2002 |
How much is the Thuya. If you can get a 1 piece top thats as burly as the pic I posted, that is what I want. Is there a price difference for the Macassar fingerboard? | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 645 Registered: 6-2000 |
I'll find out about the Thuya Burl, it may take a few days to get back with pricing and availabilty. There's no price difference for the Mac Eb fingerboard, just need to know you want it. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 646 Registered: 6-2000 |
I'll need to know if you're still looking for a bookmatch to center so I can locate the right piece of wood for your bass. | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Member Username: prime Post Number: 59 Registered: 11-2002 |
If I can I'd like to do a 1 piece top to center. Or bookmatched to center if it's not wide enough. Any more pics of Mac fingerboards? I think I'd like it but the pic of the Bass in the products page is a bit fuzzy and I can't really see what it looks like. If not I'd like a piece that's darker overall so that the figuring really stands out. Thanks | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Member Username: prime Post Number: 61 Registered: 11-2002 |
Oh and the back. Would it be a problem to get a piece big enough to go to center (possibly a 1 piece made from the same piece as the top!?), if I ended up choosing not to go to center?. If so I'll let you know by Monday. Thanks | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 668 Registered: 6-2000 |
Still waiting to find out pricing for the Thuya Burl. We've got 2 suppliers checking their stock for wide pieces. I don't have any other examples of Mac Eb boards handy, but here's a closeup from that same bass:  It's nice and dark with good figure. | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
Member Username: prime Post Number: 71 Registered: 11-2002 |
OH YEAH! That's it. I'll have that. Yep! Hey I made a decision!!  Also for the Thuya, if it becomes too much of a problem don't worry about it. I'm still down for the Burl Walnut, provided it is like... BURLY. All the Burl walnut I've been able to find online lately seems to be really lacking. I'm wondering if all the good burls have already been dug up, cut up and used for other things? The quality of the Walnut I've seen lately is nothing compared to some of the stuff from 10 years ago. It must be the damn gun makers buying up all the good pieces.  | ||
| David Willard (dreamer)
Junior Username: dreamer Post Number: 16 Registered: 1-2003 |
Matt- I'm not sure if you saw this yet, but there is a fairly new post that Mica made in Showcase of a bass they are restoring. It has a scroll-looking uppper horn. |
