| Author | Message | ||
| bassjigga
Advanced Member Username: bassjigga Post Number: 249 Registered: 8-2005 |
Hey Mark, I seem to remember you talking about instrument insurance and I thought it was on your thread but I can't seem to find it. Can you point me to it? This is something I've been meaning to do for a while. Dave | ||
| the_8_string_king
Senior Member Username: the_8_string_king Post Number: 810 Registered: 9-2005 |
Dave, the recent post you saw was on "Pauls Series II Mele Aloha bass" thread in FTC. But here's a direct link to Heritage insurance: http://www.heritage-ins-services.com/ Pierre-Yves, a "Fatboy" is a different, non-Series pickup. A lot of people are quite gung-ho on them (like them, American slang). On the recommendation of Joey "BigRedBass" and other members, I've asked for my bridge pickup to be a Fatboy. | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 4817 Registered: 6-2000 |
Even though you know it's done, it's nice to see a photo:  Should be arriving on Thursday, and you can track the progress with the number I emailed to you. It looks and plays and sounds great. | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 538 Registered: 11-2004 |
Lovely stuff. Enjoy it Mark~ | ||
| bassjigga
Advanced Member Username: bassjigga Post Number: 250 Registered: 8-2005 |
Man that looks good! Congrats Mark! Don't know if I could play with that spacing but nice bass all the same! P.S Thanks for the insurance link. | ||
| 5stringho
Intermediate Member Username: 5stringho Post Number: 129 Registered: 11-2006 |
Excuze me while I wipe the drool off my computer screen and keyboard..... Mike (The 'Ho)..... | ||
| the_8_string_king
Senior Member Username: the_8_string_king Post Number: 811 Registered: 9-2005 |
WOO HOO!!! IT'S ON THE WAY!!! Absolutely stunning!!! Mind-boggling!!! Superlative-inducing!!! It's going to be a couple VERY long days waiting!!! That's okay -as long as it gets to me safely, the wait doesn't matter... it'll be over soon, and then we'll be together forever!!! (Well, until I'm wormfood... or a glowing radioactive mutant post-apocalyptic zombie... no, wait, I could still conceivable play it then... oh, I'll just deal with that if it happens...) So the final wait has begun. Thanks for the additional picture to "tide me over", Mica! I guess I'll have to suffer a few more days until I get to see the back with the continueous woodplate in all its glory. I KNOW from experience, it will most certainly be worth the wait. I again want to thank Alembic for their imput and work in creating this masterpiece, my other masterpiece, and all the amazing instruments they've created for all of us over the decades. This is just as good as it gets, folks... it's just that simple. A dream in my head, transformed into reality. And again, I want to thank my fellow club members for their help and support, and for keeping me company during the wait! I got a lot of valuable inspiration and good ideas from other folks here, and from their instruments... and I appreciate it. Hopefully my instrument(s) and my ideas will at least in some small way inspire and/or be helpful to others. So thanks again, all! If all goes well, it'll arrive safely on Thursday, and then I'll take it home... stare at it for a while... fondle it... and play it... probably for a long time. You might not hear from me for a day or two, as I may hibernate with it. I'll also have 2 days off, which I'll spend nearly entirely with Elana and Erica (my human girlfriend)! So I'll be busy. But I'll be thinking of y'all, gang, and looking forward to the rest of you getting your masterpieces, Dave, Mike, Paul, and everybody else! So take care gang, best wishes, and thanks for yours!!! | ||
| mele_aloha
Advanced Member Username: mele_aloha Post Number: 252 Registered: 1-2007 |
I've heard if you leave the two of them in the closet for a while you'll get a Series... OK, never mind. Mark I may hold up the UPS truck like they did with stage coaches in the old days cuz it's so purdy! Congrads bro, but don't forget to do the dishes occasionally to keep mama off your Okole. P | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 1352 Registered: 10-2002 |
Ooeee! looking sweet mark. Be sure and post photos of the back when she arrives. graeme | ||
| bassjigga
Advanced Member Username: bassjigga Post Number: 251 Registered: 8-2005 |
They really did a great job with your request to hide the BTC. It looks like 1 piece of wood. | ||
| artswork99
Intermediate Member Username: artswork99 Post Number: 103 Registered: 7-2007 |
That is really beautiful Mark. Be sure to let us see the back! The Alembic company really makes the finest of basses IMHO. Wishing you many years of health while playing that gorgeous bass! (Message edited by artswork99 on September 19, 2007) | ||
| pierreyves
Intermediate Member Username: pierreyves Post Number: 184 Registered: 11-2006 |
Thank's for your explanation (??) Mark. Your bass is wonderful...nothing else to say, just I'm thinking on you, waiting for two looooooooooong days !! | ||
| the_8_string_king
Senior Member Username: the_8_string_king Post Number: 814 Registered: 9-2005 |
Well, now it's only ONE (more) day!!! If all goes well, it'll safely arrive tomorrow and be in my hands and home by this time tomorrow! | ||
| pierreyves
Intermediate Member Username: pierreyves Post Number: 185 Registered: 11-2006 |
only ONE line and a quarter ?? ;o) Be carefull, your heart will break !! ;o) I will happy with a lot of pictures. | ||
| the_8_string_king
Senior Member Username: the_8_string_king Post Number: 816 Registered: 9-2005 |
This is the day... sure hope it arrives safely and intact! Please, great imaginary beings...  | ||
| bassjigga
Advanced Member Username: bassjigga Post Number: 252 Registered: 8-2005 |
Almost there! I don't expect we'll be hearing from you tonight... | ||
| bkbass
Intermediate Member Username: bkbass Post Number: 152 Registered: 11-2003 |
Good luck Mark the bass is beautiful. Lot's of pix please. I'm also curious on how the balance is with six strings on that small balance k. I play in the 1-2 o'clock position. Will the bass stay there or go directly to the three o'clock?I love the look and I've been thinking about cheating on my Rogues for the next one.Which will be either a six or seven string. Val's batman meets klingon (which I love and in awe of)is inspiration for a extended pistol grip to help with the balance.Please respond when time allows,in the mean time enjoy your honey(s). | ||
| jtussing
Intermediate Member Username: jtussing Post Number: 129 Registered: 12-2006 |
Beautiful bass! Very cool depth to the grain! - Jim | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Advanced Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 202 Registered: 10-2006 |
No post from Mark in almost 16 hours - I guess it got there! Congrats, bro - when you come up for air, let us know by how much it exceeds expectations. Peter | ||
| mele_aloha
Advanced Member Username: mele_aloha Post Number: 256 Registered: 1-2007 |
Hey Mark, Need a cigarette? | ||
| mele_aloha
Advanced Member Username: mele_aloha Post Number: 259 Registered: 1-2007 |
Mark, Hello!!!! Mark hello, come out of there and come look at mine next door. Knock Knock It's Paul, Hello Mark | ||
| the_8_string_king
Senior Member Username: the_8_string_king Post Number: 817 Registered: 9-2005 |
Okay, I've been playing for over 3 hours with a short break, so I'm going to tell it like it is. The bass safely arrived about 1/2way thru my shift at work... I got the call, punched out on break, confirmed it was safely there, and drove my girlfriends Jeep the 2.2 miles. Seconds later, I had it in my hands, and about 90 seconds later -most of the time going to contain and transfer the styrofoam "peanuts- I has the case out... and open. First I inspected it for damage, carefully -especially at the omega tips and at the headstock... didn't find any. Then I looked it over good and close... Like many (if not most or even all) Alembics... the pictures simply don't do it justice. It's a stunning beauty -in many/all respects. The Coco Bolo is fabulous, a gorgeous deep rich wine red color, with lots of brownish-black figuring, and subtle variations and transisitions of coloring; it also has a similar (though not as dramatic) visual characteristic to various Figured Maples and Koa in that the coloring shimmers/changes a little as you move it around. Everything about it is incredibly, stunningly beautiful. The rest goes for the rest of the instrument (that being the neck, and the Mahogany body). The Mahogany body has a more humble -yet impressive- beauty compared to say the my Flame Maple-bodied Europa; but it's awesome -especially in the overall context. It IS very beautify, especially it's honey color, but also it's subtle structure, grain, and shimmer -especially being sandwiched between the dark wine Coco Bolo. The contrast is really neat; and I really love the overall darkness of this bass (though it has overall balance with some lightness in the overall color). And the pinstrips look great, noticable but subtle, and they provide a small, thin, but very noticable accent line... it looks so great! And they did something especially cool for me with the accent laminates... they stop when they hit the body... they don't go over the neck... the Coco Bolo lies directly on the neck... the pinstripes are only on the Mahogany body wings. This looks extra cool -especially at the omega. And the omegas another extra cool thing. I didn't ask them to do this, but I wanted it, and it's like they read my mind; the part cut out for/of the omega on either side (of the whole) doesn't completely divide the physical wood of the tips from the rest of the neck. MY omega tips are actually continueous laminates of wood... and I prefer this. Of course, the continueous back woodplate looks great as they do. As does the peghead on both sides. What is left, of course, is the neck. It looks fantastic, exactly like what I had in mind... yet even better than I conceived, because (again) overall context... Despite the broad range of colors in the neckwoods, it really blends in, yets stands out; it's understated, yet bold and supremely confident in it's appearance; it has a... typical/classic Alembic appearance... and yet a distinct and memorable show-stopping appearance. And it's exactly what I wanted and imagined... only better. It's an unsurpassed gem... at least in my eyes. I'm especially grateful to their attention to detail with the woodworking. They just nailed the disguised BTC on both sides amazingly. I can only see it if I look REALLY HARD -and then it's barely visible. It's basically impossible to see unless I put it right up in my face and take my glasses off, and turn it at different angles under a light! And the tailpiece... is perfectly (or so close it doesn't matter) centered around the Omega... this is the most important thing. Thinkin about the tailpiece thread a while back, and my own desire for a centered tailpiece, I looked at it very closely. It looks great, period. If you look closely, the layout and relative "centeredness" of the (a)tailpiece, (b) bridge, and (c) pickups don't exactly line up; yet, as I looked at this, I saw that, due to the different size and functions of these three things, you CAN'T have them all line up perfect with each other. But what they gave me was pretty perfectly close to the best reality could allow -given the specifics of the components. They're only "slightly imperfectly" out of line, yet the overall balance of these 3 things makes perfect sense. It works, and looks great, and if I look closely, I don't see something perfect symmetrical -but rather something which looks great and works perfectly. The control layout is awesome. IT JUST LOOKS ABSOLUTELY, MIND-BOGGLINGLY AWESOME!!! Well, when I opened up the case, after I inspected it, the next thing I did was tune it up. Immediately, I noticed 3 strings were badly rattling. I knew an adjustment or two was in order. I called Alembic on my cell, and Jason answered; I was having a hard time hearing him and communicating (my cell) but he confirmed it had been tested and set up (of course) and that it was probably due to a humidity change (very humid there, not like here and the desert along the way). So I calmly and patiently followed Alembics instructions for adjustment. I loosened the truss rods in increments of 1/6th of a turn sessions. After about 4 of these turns, I only noticed a slight improvement, so I loosened the strings a bit, and very slightly raised the adjustable nut according to instructions -just a little on the bass side, and then did three more separate 1/6th turn sessions, after which is sounded a little better -but was still buzzing. So I detuned the strings a second time, VERY slightly raised the nut a little more on BOTH sides, raised the bridge SLIGHTLY, and then did 3 more 1/6th turn sessions, each of which was noticably better than the last... by the 3rd additional (10th) turn, the buzz was gone. Then I checked the tuning, and proceeded to play... first to hear the overall tone -I've been so curious- and to check the tone system to see how versatile it really is, and how much variation I can acheive with it. First, the sound is absolute amazing. Just dynamite. For years, I thought my 8-string Europa is the best bass I've ever heard... and it's fantastic. But this bass rivals it, and even blows it away soundwise in certain respects. The wood recipe is a total success!!! I wanted this 6-string built with 6 or 7 woods. I considered asking for Walnut for the outer neck laminates... it was a hard decision, but I decided to leave Walnut out of the recipe, because there wasn't a good place for it... I wanted other woods everyplace else. Being familer with an all-Maple Elan, and my awesome 8-string, I know both the sound of a standard Maple/Purpleheart neck... and also of an Ebony-fortified neck. My 6-strings custom still has 2 of the Maple neck laminates, but the big outer two are switched for Mahogany, while the inner two are switched for Vermillion -which is said to sound similar to Mahogany, but a little more brilliant and warm. So this neck is very different sounding... from a standard Maple/Purpleheart neck... and also from my 8-Strings neck, which is dominated by Ebony, with Maple being the secondary overall sound. I can hear it, and I love it. The flavor of this neck is complex, with a very noticable and pleasant Mahogany (with a Vermillion component, balanced with/against a noticable Purpleheart/Ebony component -with Maple as a 3rd (but noticable) component. It's an awesome balance. The Mahogany/Vermillion component is warm, rich round and full; the Purpleheart does what it's supposed to do, adding stiffness, sustain, and low-end response... yet the sole Ebony laminate in the center seems to blend with and dominate the Purpleheart sound. It's nowhere near as powerful and dominating as the SIX Ebony lams on my 8-string (plus the 3 Purpleheart lams)... but there is NO missing it... the single Ebony lam kicks ass, and contributes to the overall tone/sound considerably. I think the Mahogany/Vermillion component is about 40% of the neck sound, the Purpleheart/Ebony is about 40%, and the Maple is about 20%. And then there's the Coco Bolo -wrapped around a semi-hollow Mahogany body... Alembics "house recipe". BTCered on both sides to get the maximum Coco Bolo visually, and sonicly. Now I KNOW what Coco Bolo sounds like -in a big way- and it ROCKS. Just AWESOME!!! I gotta say, compared to the Maple-topped and bodied Elan it's replacing, the sound of the Coco Bolo just BLOWS THE MAPLE AWAY. It sounds so rich and snappy, just like described... it's incredibly clear and bell-like in it's tone, with a rich and complex tone, with full, round and powerful lows... yet balanced and not overpowering. When I think of the few times I heard other basses that I envied because of a great sound they had that my bass didn't seem to be able to get... THIS BASS BLOWS 'EM ALL AWAY. It's got a whole different tone... and it's a monster! This bass has incredible authority!!! Finally, the last detail that brings it all together and makes it perfect is the tone control system. My 8-string has 16 controls, 12 of which are tone controls; this has exactly half that... 8 controls, six of which are town controls. The system is just absolutely perfect, and mind-bogglingly versatile. The 3-position Qs are perfect! 6dbs is a nice Q level as a reference, and I can either boost it a little more to 9dbs or cut the Q to O. It's so simple to select sounds with the filter, boost or cut the Q, and mix the sound from the two pickups... it's just awesome. But the kicker is the extra bass & treble knobs. The versatility they add is absolutely amazing, and perfects the filters, since anytime I take away trebles with the filter -to get a certain sound with the Q- I can compensate with the treble control. All I can say is it works perfectly, and makes great sense. The individual filters, Qs and blend control are incredibly versatile; the bass& treble controls complete it, and make it perfect, allowing me to do anything. Something I've already done is just totally leave the filters open with the Qs off, and just boost the extremes of the bass & treble controls... like it only had Epic controls... it sounds awesome! It's exactly what I hoped for in appearance AND sound. The information and feedback I got from other club members and Mica made me highly educated when I very carefully designed this bass, and the combination of woods and the sound they deliver... delivers. It has an incredibly warm, rich, detailed and complex sound... while somehow being very neutral and centered somehow in it's sound. My 8-string sounds great... but it's "natural sound" -before I use any of the electronics- that it starts out with is an extreme of sorts to begin with. In that way, this bass is certainly more versatile sonicly in some ways; the existing tonal/sound landscape this bass has to start with when I roll the filters is very different from that of my 8-string. So, in summary it's awesome, and seemingly perfect -or so close I can't tell/it doesn't matter- in every way. The design and physical beauty is outstanding, unique, and awesome, an absolute drop dead knockout, exuding class and many captivating attributes; the sound quality is phenomenal, just an incredible warm rich snappy versatile sound you can't help but to just love and smile when you hear it; and the tone control system perfects it, and brings the bass' sonic potential out far more than just filters alone. It's so incredibly easy to tweak the sound any way I want it. I already completely understand how to use my tone controls, and have total mastery of them; they're like on my Europa, only more simple: 3 Q positions instead of 4, no mid controls, and only one set of bass & treble controls. It's so easy. And the Balance K is just the ultimate body... it's SO comfortable, balanced, and accessible! It's so easy to play. I am just totally ripping on this thing... it's like going to Mars, where the gravity is only 38% of Earths (it's red like Mars, too). So that's it. It's awesome beyond words, beyond description (but I tried). Thanks again, everyone! Thanks to Mica, Bob, Susan, Ron, Mary, and all the other fine folks at Alembic who helped make this incredible instrument! It's an utter masterpiece, incredible in every respect, appearance, sound, versatility, playability, and comfort. Appearance, tone, comfort, versatility, and playability...A+++ it just couldn't get any better!!!!!! (Message edited by the 8 string king on September 21, 2007) | ||
| pierreyves
Intermediate Member Username: pierreyves Post Number: 188 Registered: 11-2006 |
Hey Mark, you will be in guiness book !!! More than 100 lines !!! ONE picture, pictures, pictures .....!!! I'm happy for you. ;o)) | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 1359 Registered: 10-2002 |
Only 124 lines Mark, you're slipping. I expected at least 200 when you got this beauty home ;-) Seriously, I'm really glad she's made it home in exactly the condition and spec you wanted. I know you put alot of thought into your requirements and it sounds like that extra effort has really payed off. To echo Pierreyves, pictures. Especially the back. graeme | ||
| grateful
Advanced Member Username: grateful Post Number: 239 Registered: 12-2004 |
I'm amazed you could put her down long enough to write all that Mark. Glad she made the jouney safely! Mark | ||
| jtussing
Intermediate Member Username: jtussing Post Number: 130 Registered: 12-2006 |
Dude! Thanks for the great report! Made me get mine out again and remember the day I got it. You've managed to depict exactly how it feels - unbelievable desire to inspect every detail and finding pleasant surprises everywhere. Alembic sure knows how to build bass guitars. Your bass is beautiful beyond words. ENJOY! | ||
| crgaston
Senior Member Username: crgaston Post Number: 436 Registered: 11-2005 |
Mark, that is just amazing...I'm really happy for you! Enjoy! | ||
| deano
Junior Username: deano Post Number: 13 Registered: 7-2007 |
Mark - Unbelievable instrument!! Really enjoyed your "story" on its arrival. Congratulations and play it in good health. (Remember the bib for drouling - we don't want any spit dots on the top edge) Dean | ||
| pierreyves
Intermediate Member Username: pierreyves Post Number: 189 Registered: 11-2006 |
Cool, take it ALL easy ... cool.... You are in defcom 7 !!!!  With kindness !!! | ||
| bassjigga
Advanced Member Username: bassjigga Post Number: 253 Registered: 8-2005 |
Mark - congrats! Can't wait to see the pictures. Very thorough report. |
