| Author | Message | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 781 Registered: 6-2000 |
Here's the pictures from March 13:     The request for a quartersawn core (to get the edge rings) delayed to body assembly, but the neck assembly progressed in the meantime. The body is slated to be routed on Tuesday, so it's moving right along. | ||
| Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)
Junior Username: ichinumba9 Post Number: 33 Registered: 10-2002 |
Wow, looking great so far! It's crazy to see how much the coco bolo color changed since I visited and I'm glad you guys were able to get the quartersawn mahogany. Thanks so much for the pics and anytime you wanna post more its fine by me. LOL. Oh, one quick question, what frequencies do the Epic bass and treble controls boost and cut at? Thanks again. It's so nice to know that my very own rainbow of sound is forming at the Alembic House of Sound. | ||
| Paul Lindemans (palembic)
Advanced Member Username: palembic Post Number: 350 Registered: 9-2002 |
Nice ... see a project starting and giving birth assistance. Isn't this a nice thought: 550 midwifes assiting to this birth! Mica: what do you mean by this "quartersawn" body. I guess it's a way how to sawn a piece of wood? Does it gives a sound difference or is it merely a design concept? CU Paul - the bad one who is also "butted" | ||
| Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)
Junior Username: ichinumba9 Post Number: 34 Registered: 10-2002 |
Hello again, another question. Are the Epic pickups side-by-side coil humbuckers or stacked humbuckers. Thanks again for all the help. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 793 Registered: 6-2000 |
Michael: All the non-Series Alembic pickups are stacked humcancelling pickups, we don't make any humbucking pickups. Even the ones that look like single-coil guitars pickups are stacked humcancelling pickups. Bob is ready to write the program to route your electronics, you mentioned you had some questions about conrol placement - let me know what you had in mind. Paul: It refers to how the log was sawn and the direction of the grain in the lumber as a result. If you imagine the cross-section of the tree with concenric rings, there are several ways to cut the log to find different patterns. In the case of the body wood, I'm not aware of a difference other than decorative on our basses. | ||
| Michael Walker (rockandroller)
Junior Username: rockandroller Post Number: 47 Registered: 11-2002 |
Isn't "hum-cancelling" the same as "hum-bucking"? (semantics?) | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 794 Registered: 6-2000 |
I associate humbucking pickups as designs with two magnetic core coils, and a flipping magnetic domain (the bucking part). Our design is much more simple with one magnetic core coil and one non-magentic core coil stacked and no bucking involved. I suppose in the world outside of Alembic the terms may be interchangable, though I feel the distinction is important because I don't believe the tone from our pickups is what most people would associate with humbucking pickups. | ||
| Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)
Junior Username: ichinumba9 Post Number: 35 Registered: 10-2002 |
I was thinking for the electronics, maybe having the Q switch somewhere easily accessable so that I could set the tone of the filter and Q to a setting I like before hand and being able to use it as a quick tone change option during performance. Not to sure how the filter and Q will interact with the bass and treble controls but that was my idea. So maybe you can suggest some layouts. Also, I was wondering about the freq's. of the bass and treble controls? Thanks for the info on the pickups. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 798 Registered: 6-2000 |
The Q switch will just control if the resonant peak is present or not, but the filtering would always be "on." Or are you actually looking for an on/off switch for the filter instead of (or in addition to) a Q switch? Here's a quick idea for the control layout (viewed as if in a stand): Volume Bass Filter Q Switch Pan Treble Output Or this arrangement may make more sense to you: Volume Pan Bass Filter Treble Q switch Output Let me know if either of these looks good to you or if you have any other ideas (including the functions). Your bass is ready to route, so we're on hold until these decisions are made. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 799 Registered: 6-2000 |
Well that didn't work very well, did it? Volume . Bass Filter . Q switch Pan . Treble Output ------------ Volume . Pan Bass . Filter Treble . Q switch Output If that didn't look like anything, I'll do a mock up later today for you. I'll also have those freqs available later too (gotta check with dad on that one). | ||
| Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)
Junior Username: ichinumba9 Post Number: 36 Registered: 10-2002 |
From what I got from the quote sheet that we worked on when I visited, is that the 3 pos. Q is OFF-ON-Q. So I thought the filter would be out of the loop in the off position, then I could turn it on as a change in tone. I'm not sure if that is possible but I think that would be pretty cool to be able to do that. I'm not too sure on the layouts that you posted, can't really get a good picture of it. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 800 Registered: 6-2000 |
I should have just done it this way in the first place:   Let me know if either of these arrangements is interesting to you or if you have some other ideas. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 801 Registered: 6-2000 |
Here's a graph of the Epic bass and treble module:  I was just thinking about a standard Q switch, sorry, Michael! Your Q switch has the added function of excluding the filter from the circuit. | ||
| Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)
Junior Username: ichinumba9 Post Number: 37 Registered: 10-2002 |
Thanks for the pics, it's a lot easier to picture it now. So what I was thinking was: -Q switch ------Filter -Pan ------Bass -Volume ------Treble -Output jack I rarely ever touch volume in mid-song. I use the Pan a lot to alter my tone. And I was thinking the Q switch would be closest to be able to alter tone mid-song like for a bridge or chorus etc. The freq. graph for the treble and bass was a little hard to read. Not quite sure where the centers are? | ||
| Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)
Junior Username: ichinumba9 Post Number: 38 Registered: 10-2002 |
Ok, I've been sitting at work staring at what I believe is your 2000 catalog and I like the way the layout of the purpleheart Series II bass on the first page looks. It looks like the same layout as the 25th anniversary electronics, but for my bass minus the bridge CVQ, the PU selector, and the stereo jack. Then have the Q switch where the master volume is, the pan where the neck PU Vol. is, the Vol. where the bridge Vol. is, the filter where the neck CVQ is, the Bass and Treble where the neck and bridge filters are respectively. Whew! That was tough. But anyways I'm not sure if it possible to make it that way but I like the layout, how it is not totally symetrical. Talk to you soon. | ||
| Adriaan Simons (adriaan)
Junior Username: adriaan Post Number: 16 Registered: 6-2002 |
Mica, About the quarter-sawn mahogany, not sure if I'm putting this clear but here goes: if you look at the direction of the grain, does flat-sawn mean that the grain will run horizontally (along the top of the wood) while it would run vertically (across the wood) in quarter-sawn? I don't suppose the grain would be running "across" the strings? Do you only do quarter-sawn mahogany as a special request or do you just look at each log and decide what would be the best way of cutting it? Do I see ebony neck laminates on Michael's Epic? Is this the first set-neck to have them? Would love to know if they produce the BIG sound like they are supposed to on neckthroughs. And how much do they cost on a set-neck? Thanks! | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 817 Registered: 6-2000 |
Ok, Michael, how does something similar to this feel?  Thought you'd also like to see the laminates up close:  Adiraan: When you quartersaw a log, the tree rings run approximately perpendicular to the cuts, and the face of the board will show vertical lines of the growth rings. Check out Wood Web for some good articles about sawing logs. You'd need to specify quartersawn if you want it on your own order. We don't process mahogany logs - we buy them already in lumber form. Those are ebony neck laminates, a $1000 option on set neck basses. I believe this is the first set neck bass with ebony neck laminates, and I too am anxious to hear how they sound. | ||
| Michael Ichiyama (ichinumba9)
Junior Username: ichinumba9 Post Number: 39 Registered: 10-2002 |
Looks good to me, for the electronics, and thanks for the pic of the laminates, looks great! It looks like there's a face showing up in the top as it gets lighter. Kinda crazy. Thanks again for everything. | ||
| ichinumba9
Junior Username: ichinumba9 Post Number: 41 Registered: 10-2002 |
Hello Mica, just wondering if my bass is still on schedule for a May Birthday? Thanks and hope you're all well. | ||
| ichinumba9
Junior Username: ichinumba9 Post Number: 43 Registered: 10-2002 |
You must be keeping my bass as Top Secret. LOL. No, but really just trying to see if it will be ready before Memorial day weekend. Got a little gig(Martystock III)up near Shasta on that weekend and although I love my current Epic, I was hoping to give my new baby a great first birthday at Martystock III. Anyways, gotta go. I'm dreamin every night of the new baby. | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 887 Registered: 6-2000 |
Sorry Michael, sometimes I miss a message here and there, so thanks for reminding me! I saw your bass in the setup room today, fully rubbed out (not buffed of course). I'm planning on dropping it by Guitar Showcase on Wednesday or Thursday of next week (the 14th or 15th). I'll let you know when I know what day the bass will arrive. | ||
| ichinumba9
Junior Username: ichinumba9 Post Number: 44 Registered: 10-2002 |
Thanks Mica for getting back to me. I'm very excited to hear and see my new baby. I was wondering if it wouldn't be to much trouble, to get a picture of it finished. Also, I was wondering if you supply manuals with your basses? I have a feeling that I will have some questions on how my electronics exactly work and how to adjust them, because I am not very familiar with the filter and Q switch and how those will integrate with my regular Epic electronics. Thanks again. | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 912 Registered: 6-2000 |
I'll post a picture for you tomorrow when I "make the rounds" for the Club. The manual is pretty basic, and your custom electronics are not covered in it. But you're always welcome to call or email or come by with questions. The main thing is to just experiment and find out about the sounds the bass will make in your own hands. Looks like my schedule got changed around AGAIN, and it looks like we'll be at Guitar Showcase on Sunday. I'll confirm a with another post so you'll know when it's there. | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 916 Registered: 6-2000 |
Argh! We are CONFIRMED for San Jose on Tuesday. Who thought it would be so hard to coordinate a 2-hour road trip? Pics on Monday, I wasn't able to do the Friday rounds. | ||
| ichinumba9
Junior Username: ichinumba9 Post Number: 47 Registered: 10-2002 |
Sounds great. I'm getting off of work at about 1:30 to go to rehearsal so maybe I can pick it up at Guitar Showcase. Can you let me know if it will be there by then? Thanks, and looking forward to the newcomer. | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 919 Registered: 6-2000 |
I don't know if I should laugh or cry... the meeting we were confirmed having on Tuesday was changed to Thursday, sigh. I don't htink your bass wants to leave the womb. | ||
| ichinumba9
Junior Username: ichinumba9 Post Number: 48 Registered: 10-2002 |
Ok, I guess I'll wait a couple more days. Could you let me know when it will be there on Thursday? Oh yeah, just wondering if you got a chance to get a new picture to post? | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 924 Registered: 6-2000 |
I took a short stop at my friend's house on the way down to San Jose and since you wanted a sneak peek pic, here it is:  | ||
| basstard
Junior Username: basstard Post Number: 35 Registered: 3-2003 |
Mmm... Yummy! Congratulations Michael, you've got a sweet bass. :-) | ||
| ichinumba9
Junior Username: ichinumba9 Post Number: 49 Registered: 10-2002 |
Hello Mica, it's been a while so I thought I would check in and see how the Epic Redo is going. Just wondering if the coco bolo is still seasoning(darkening) or if you've started making the bass. I remember you saying you would have the guys just make the body and take some pics for me. Anyways, hope all is good in Alembic land and hope to hear from you soon. Thanks. |
