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Author Message mica Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 5549 Registered: 6-2000 Posted on Thursday, September 11, 2008 - 6:07 pm:    Found your body at the assembly station the other day: So I asked it to pose for a picture: And then the neck got jealous, so it joined in, so to speak: jalevinemd Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 674 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Thursday, September 11, 2008 - 8:55 pm:    Nice...been a long time since we've seen one of these babies roll of the line. Can't wait to see it finished. davehouck Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 7027 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 - 8:39 pm:    Cool!! I agree with Jonathan; it's nice to see a California Special in the FTC. mica Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 5627 Registered: 6-2000 Posted on Tuesday, October 07, 2008 - 12:09 pm:    Now with more glue! jacko Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 1943 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2008 - 4:36 am:    Cool. I'm looking forward to seeing this quilt under some finish. Graeme xray1960 New Username: xray1960 Post Number: 1 Registered: 10-2008 Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - 5:45 pm:    Hi, Mike from NJ here. These are my new guitar's baby pictures. I'm going for an ocean burst with emphasis on the emerald center, going to the auqa/teal edge. This guitar represents a middle aged crisis wish fulfillment of a man who spent too much time away from music. Hope I can be worthy of it when it comes home to me. Actually, it is only the noon of life, and this drop dead gorgeous lady will get me back on the path. Good wishes to all! artswork99 Senior Member Username: artswork99 Post Number: 490 Registered: 7-2007 Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - 7:50 pm:    Hi Mike, Welcome to the forum and congratulations on a great choice to get you back on track. Best, Art hydrargyrum Advanced Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 374 Registered: 3-2004 Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 6:21 am:    Hey Mike, I hope to have a mid-life crisis someday too. Congratulations on your return to music. xray1960 New Username: xray1960 Post Number: 2 Registered: 10-2008 Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 6:46 am:    Open question to all in forum: Look at the front of the guitar, near the tail, especially on the lower body half. Does anyone else see a "waterstained" appearance to the grain? Does this give the appearance of a fault (blemish) in the grain that will detract from appearance later? jacko Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 1960 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 6:51 am:    Are you talking about the dark shaping marks around the edges which will obviously be sanded out during final shaping? otherwise all I see is a nicely figured slice of quilt maple - the dark lines indicate to me that you'll be getting a very deep quilt effect similar to woody. Graeme tbrannon Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 912 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 7:01 am:    I agree with Graeme- really deep quilt, which should look great when the finish hits. adriaan Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 1975 Registered: 6-2002 Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 7:15 am:    No reason to panick - if there's anything really wrong with the wood I'm sure they'd rather not put their name to it. There's another FTC thread here for a Further, where they found a nasty spot in the neck after they started to shape it, which was even after the neck was glued to the body wings. They took the whole instrument apart and built a completely new neck. lbpesq Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3320 Registered: 7-2004 Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 12:25 pm:    Michael: No need to worry. Once the finish hits it, you will be blown away! People who see Woody for the first time invariably reach out to touch it because they can't believe the surface is really flat. The 3-D quality of quilted maple under finish is my all time favorite guitar top. Swirly cocobolo is a close second, which is why I chose it for Woody's back. Alembic don't do no water stains! Bill, tgo xray1960 New Username: xray1960 Post Number: 3 Registered: 10-2008 Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 1:37 pm:    OK. Thanks for the encouraging feedback. mica Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 5647 Registered: 6-2000 Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 6:29 pm:    Quilted Maple is so hard to judge from photos. Now that we're sanding the guitar, the amount of figure appears to wane, so it will be especially rewarding when the finish hits it. The blue arrows are all pointing to the same type of feature: It's not a stain, but rather part of the structure and natural beauty of the wood. It's just where this piece was cut revealed it this way. The routing is completed now: So in a couple of weeks, we'll have sealer coats and the first shots of color. Once you see that, I know your mind can be at ease. This is going to be a stunning guitar. lmiwa Member Username: lmiwa Post Number: 67 Registered: 2-2008 Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 6:55 pm:    Yeah, that is going to look SOOOO nice! mica Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 5669 Registered: 6-2000 Posted on Friday, October 24, 2008 - 6:32 pm:    SOOOO nice is right: That little water stain worry should fade away now. hydrargyrum Advanced Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 377 Registered: 3-2004 Posted on Friday, October 24, 2008 - 7:31 pm:    Absolutely beautiful. More guitars need water spots ;) jacko Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 1966 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Saturday, October 25, 2008 - 5:56 am:    WOW! Sorry Bill, I think I might have a new favourite maple guitar! Graeme paulman Advanced Member Username: paulman Post Number: 334 Registered: 2-2005 Posted on Saturday, October 25, 2008 - 9:52 am:    I can't wait to see the color on this baby! I LOVE Alembic's quilted maple choices. lbpesq Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3335 Registered: 7-2004 Posted on Saturday, October 25, 2008 - 9:54 am:    No problem, Graeme. I may have to get one of these myself! This is turning out to be a stunning instrument in an iconic shape. You are indeed a lucky man, Michael. Bill, tgo xray1960 New Username: xray1960 Post Number: 4 Registered: 10-2008 Posted on Sunday, October 26, 2008 - 6:36 pm:    To All: I am a believer! In fact,I am already getting a Woodrow looking at it. Best, Michael xray1960 New Username: xray1960 Post Number: 5 Registered: 10-2008 Posted on Monday, October 27, 2008 - 6:39 pm:    The stain that I am aspiring to can be found on this website under Products/Skylark/Staining options. Light emerald in the middle, with wash to teal at edges davehouck Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 7193 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Friday, November 21, 2008 - 7:38 pm:    Great quilt!!! jalevinemd Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 694 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Friday, November 21, 2008 - 8:01 pm:    I know your going for a certain color, but this thing just looks so beautiful as it is. I'd put in the electronics, slap on the hardware and call it a day! Either way, it's going to be spectacular. mica Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 5730 Registered: 6-2000 Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 5:21 pm:    As usual, it looks sooooo much better in person: It's in the final curing stage, so it's at least a week away from any more work while the finish finishes hardening. But now you can enjoy that intense color. davehouck Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 7268 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 12:26 pm:    Very nice!! robinc Intermediate Member Username: robinc Post Number: 109 Registered: 5-2008 Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 8:30 pm:    i never thought I would enjoy green so much! (well, except for certain situations... ;-) ) Congrats! xray1960 New Username: xray1960 Post Number: 6 Registered: 10-2008 Posted on Monday, December 29, 2008 - 8:57 am:    Yea Baby! mica Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 5770 Registered: 6-2000 Posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 - 8:17 pm:    Rubout and buffing success story, now just getting loaded and drilled: Nut blank installed: Looking good! davehouck Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 7365 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 - 8:53 pm:    Looking good indeed! lbpesq Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3484 Registered: 7-2004 Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2009 - 10:02 am:    Michael: Believe it of not, I saw another green California Special last weekend at the World Guitar Show in San Rafael. It is being sold by Guitar Showcase in San Jose on consignment from Steve Miller. (GSC had a booth at the show). It's a '93. IIRC the green stain is over flame maple and there is no burst. IMHO yours is far more attractive. That's a VERY nice piece of quilt you have there. And the subtle burst is sweet, especially the matching burst peghead. Congrats on another great Alembic guitar. Bill, tgo mica Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 5773 Registered: 6-2000 Posted on Monday, January 19, 2009 - 6:26 pm:    Here's some photos of the abalone inlays: jacko Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 2070 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - 12:51 am:    Love those inlays. The third fret inlay looks like something crazy going on on Jupiter's surface. Graeme mica Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 5827 Registered: 6-2000 Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2009 - 4:27 pm:    Here's a picture of the finished guitar: Sorry about the flash blowing out the tailpiece, but you can still tell it looks awesome. Once it's all polished up and ready to slip in the case, I'll take some more pictures and share. davehouck Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 7458 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2009 - 5:39 pm:    Great guitar!! Beautiful finish! andbassforall Junior Username: andbassforall Post Number: 39 Registered: 9-2008 Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2009 - 9:01 pm:    Not only is the green finish awesome, the gold hardware makes it even more awesome. bassfingers Intermediate Member Username: bassfingers Post Number: 169 Registered: 11-2005 Posted on Friday, January 30, 2009 - 5:08 pm:    Sweet!. jalevinemd Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 708 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Friday, January 30, 2009 - 5:31 pm:    I cringed when I saw that this spectacular top was getting tinted. But I gotta say...very nice! lbpesq Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3504 Registered: 7-2004 Posted on Saturday, January 31, 2009 - 9:21 am:    Mike: I happened to stop by Alembic yesterday to have a quick upgrade done to Woody, my custom Further. I got to check out your guitar. It is stunning. The abalone ovals are spectacular, especially how they flash and change as the viewing angle changes. As for the tint, I'm with Jonathan - I usually not a fan of anything other than subtle amber tints on quilted maple, but your green burst really works! Congrats on a beautiful guitar. Bill, tgo xray1960 New Username: xray1960 Post Number: 7 Registered: 10-2008 Posted on Saturday, February 07, 2009 - 2:11 pm:    Hey Everybody, Thanks for the support and useful feedback for this guitar. Mica may post more pictures. The most recent finished product pic is not available for some reason. IŽll look forward to your future projects, and will follow them with interest. I think that this may not be my last Alembic. MK davehouck Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 7514 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Sunday, February 08, 2009 - 3:56 pm:    Congrats Michael! mica Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 5851 Registered: 6-2000 Posted on Monday, February 09, 2009 - 12:11 pm:    The picture nibbling gremlin has struck again. Here's the same picture as before, only less missing: