| Author | Message | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 44 Registered: 6-2000 |
Here's the sum of all parts. The inlays are even in the fingerboard!  Kris and Ron expect to finish the LED tester by Wednesday of next week, I'll blue label it to you so you can call me on Friday and let me know if the color will be SPLENDID! (Took out the BIG peghead shot - it's not even the peghead anymore) (Message edited by mica on April 16, 2004) | ||
| David Grego (bigbass)
New Username: bigbass Post Number: 1 Registered: 6-2002 |
Did we catch/get the larger fingerboard inlays we spoke about? I can't currently find my original order form. Can you send / E me this info as I don't remember what features I ordered...perhaps there are some things yet to play with since I can't recall my dream. What would a pearl monted Alembic logo cost? Can there be a intensity switch for the side LED's ? I was impressed with the sample brightness. Those small and large ones had the same brightness luminosity. Got any other construction ideas to throw into the mix? I mailed today the other gel samples. You should have them on Wednesday. Even though they are different colors of blue they still create for me the right color. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 201 Registered: 6-2000 |
Here's the fingerboard of your bass next to a regular 34 inch scale Rogue for comparison:  When I hold them right next to each other, your fingerboard looks much longer, but the draft angle on the other bass makes it look only slightly longer. What I'm trying to say is I yours is a 36" scale, even though it doesn't quite look like it in the photo. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 220 Registered: 6-2000 |
Here's some of the buckeye burl:  number 825  number 826  number 827  number 828 and a shot of how the bark fills go:  Sometimes we leave some of it in there and just fill with the finish. If the bark leaves a void, we'll inlay a piece from another area of the board. Here's what the slabs look like before slicing:  | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 221 Registered: 6-2000 |
Here's the last known spec sheet: Rogue 36" scale 6-string 11-piece Maple and Purpleheart neck Spalted Maple top recessed straplocks bookmatch top to center clear satin finish Black MOP ovals Blackened brass hardware Series II pickups and electronics side LEDs in special green/blue front Laser LEDs in special green/blue momentary LED switch (low profile push button) LED mode switch (off-side-both) continuous wood truss rod cover Backplates to match top wood covered continuous pickup tops knob peghead shape Hipshot ultralight tuners in black high profile thin frets bird tailpiece hardshell case | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 222 Registered: 6-2000 |
It's not exactly what we were looking for, but here is the 36" fingerboard compared to a 32" scale:  It might be enough to tell if you want the ovals scaled up. Anyone else have thoughts about the inlay size on this bass? | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 231 Registered: 6-2000 |
Now we'll swap out for fancy natural abalone, concentrating on the greens and blues, and a little purple won't hurt either. Enlarge the ovals proportionally to the scale of the bass. Use 828 for the top laminate. Mandolin frets too. Dimmer for the front LEDs to be internally mounted. Here's some exterior shots of the road case:    | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 237 Registered: 6-2000 |
Just a quick confirmation, we're adding a Buckeye back laminate and continuous wood backplates to this job. I better rename this thread! | ||
| David Grego (bigbass)
New Username: bigbass Post Number: 2 Registered: 6-2002 |
Thanks for the case photos and the adjustments. The photos look great. Perhaps a good back laminate would be #825 above. I got your Buckeye sample today and dumped some alcohol on it.....awesome!!!! Incredible depth in the grain! The sample has an interesting smell that reminds me of my grandfather's house when I was a child. We talked at one time of a "low D (?)" tuner on the B string (guess it is really a low A in this situation....hey, where you joking when you thought I should put one on every string?) and D'Addrio half round strings with a .40 c string (I like 'em thick so they don't sound like a guitar). The stock strings are long enough to fit on my Orchid Bass. I should check again to make sure I didn't originally order them as extra long which I believe they make. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 365 Registered: 6-2000 |
I spoke with Dave at Hipshot Productions today. He's sending me over some mechanical drawings by fax soon. Then we'll know if there are any modifications needed to the peghead design. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 390 Registered: 6-2000 |
I've got the drawings in hand, David. Kris is going to work with me on Monday regarding the peghead design. I think we'll have to stagger the tuners to keep the peghead from getting bigger, but it should work. | ||
| Michael Walker (rockandroller)
Junior Username: rockandroller Post Number: 13 Registered: 11-2002 |
I can see thats gonna be (another) masterpiece! whats the deal with "mandolin frets" though?? | ||
| Matt Bulmer (prime)
New Username: prime Post Number: 10 Registered: 11-2002 |
I read an interview with Leland Sklar where he explains the reason for using mandolin frets. I guess because the frets are so small you still get alot of the sound of the wood, similar to a fretless. He said that most of the songs that sound like he's playing a fretless were actually recorded on a bass modified with mandolin frets. Matt | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 688 Registered: 6-2000 |
Kris cut a paper tempalte so you could see what will show on the lion on the back:  The eyes will be inlaid with the blue grey part from the outside edge. I think it looks just great. Kris will be laminating the back on Monday, so call or email me and let me know if there's any changes before then. | ||
| Paul Lindemans (palembic)
Advanced Member Username: palembic Post Number: 251 Registered: 9-2002 |
Friends, this is gonna be a wonderfull bass! I like to be here and watch the thing growing. Really impressive! | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 1020 Registered: 6-2000 |
Here's your case:   I love the colors. We'll have to do some slightly different wiring for the blue superbright LEDs, they take more power than the red or green ones. It won't really make any difference in how you use them. | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 1021 Registered: 6-2000 |
That funny bridge we were discussing:  Mike is working on the shape for the individual tailpieces. I don't think he'll have a proposal for you until the middle of next week. We're all leaning toward the oval shape. | ||
| basstard
Junior Username: basstard Post Number: 47 Registered: 3-2003 |
Wow... I mean, WOW... This bass is going to be totally stunning! Just can't wait to see it! Congrats David!!! | ||
| palembic
Senior Member Username: palembic Post Number: 487 Registered: 9-2002 |
hm ...I'm a little bit puzzled here. Is this a kind of fan-shaped fret bass kinda voodoo-ding-thing-wall-whatsoever. You at Alembic should go in strip-tease business!!! What's this gonna be? Bass-history in the make ...again!?!?!?!?!?!? The results of a year working and thinking (first post in this thread dates from about a year ago). We can't wait!!!! Paul the bad one | ||
| bigbass
Junior Username: bigbass Post Number: 16 Registered: 6-2002 |
Thank you, Mica dear! I dig it all!!! It is somewhat Buzzar!! My concern with the posts as "tail pieces" is that the string length must be taken into consideration. After all we are already at 36" string length. The high strings on my bass would have to be very-very long given the picture as an example. If the string is too long after the bridge, it could by accident set up a resonant frequency that would create "wolf tones" (harmonic phase cancellation) or "dead spots" on certain pitches. The picture above tells me that this phenomenon could easily occur on the higher three strings. Please share that with Mike. Will there be any loss of sustain with out the weighted bridge or will the individual bridges make up for that? Since Mike's bass is already set up that way, what is his (and yours) take on the sustain issue and over-all sound? What advantages with this offer? Will I be able to get a good steep angle from the individual bridges to the string end? What if we were to use the individual oval bridges and a heavy tailpiece (ie:Bird)? What about individual staggered small birds holding one or two strings each? Birds with individual height adjustments? Hmmm... What happened to the oval inlay samples? When you get to it, could you include some black Tahitian pearl ? | ||
| valvil
Moderator Username: valvil Post Number: 356 Registered: 7-2002 |
Hello David, here's the picture I took last week while testing my new camera. Tony was in the middle of carving your bass, I was looking for something to take pictures of and your bass looked like a good subject...  | ||
| palembic
Senior Member Username: palembic Post Number: 1106 Registered: 9-2002 |
WOW ...oh my god!!! | ||
| bassman10096
Intermediate Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 167 Registered: 7-2003 |
That is one heck of a serious-looking bass guitar!! Bill | ||
| bracheen
Advanced Member Username: bracheen Post Number: 263 Registered: 11-2003 |
Mica, can road cases be ordered seperately? I see them on the price list but no ordering info. Are they only available as an option to an instrument? Sam | ||
| mattheus
Intermediate Member Username: mattheus Post Number: 104 Registered: 5-2003 |
That is a very fine piece of art........ I'll bet that Tony has a lot of friends in 'bass land'..... ; ) | ||
| basstard
Member Username: basstard Post Number: 75 Registered: 3-2003 |
*jaw drop* | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 1468 Registered: 6-2000 |
Betcha want to see the backplates too:  Didn't get in before your bass was prepped for the spray run today, so I'll catch it on Monday. It's looking mighty sweeeet. | ||
| bigbass
Junior Username: bigbass Post Number: 24 Registered: 6-2002 |
Mother McKree! Yea.....Hmmm....I dig the popsicles. There is something very beautiful about the muted tones of the wood without spray. Will a satin finish enhance this? Needless to say...this is all visually deadly! | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 1476 Registered: 6-2000 |
What you're seeing there is the prepped surface between coats where we sand it down. That's similar to how we do a satin finish, only when it's the final sanding, we take it down to 3000 grit paper. Can you find the bass on the fatigue mat?   We're expecting your narrow high profile fretwire to arrive on Monday, so it will get preset early next week and get the hardware out to the platers. Hope you like it! | ||
| davehouck
Senior Member Username: davehouck Post Number: 433 Registered: 5-2002 |
What an amazing bass! |
