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Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 44
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Friday, June 14, 2002 - 6:36 pm:   Edit Post

Here's the sum of all parts. The inlays are even in the fingerboard!

parts


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
Posted on Monday, June 17, 2002 - 5:28 pm:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 6:24 pm:   Edit Post

Here's the fingerboard of your bass next to a regular 34 inch scale Rogue for comparison:

compare

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
Posted on Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 5:16 pm:   Edit Post

Here's some of the buckeye burl:

825
number 825


826
number 826


827
number 827


828
number 828


and a shot of how the bark fills go:
fill

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:

slab
Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 221
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 5:30 pm:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 5:33 pm:   Edit Post

It's not exactly what we were looking for, but here is the 36" fingerboard compared to a 32" scale:
comparison

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
Posted on Tuesday, September 03, 2002 - 12:42 pm:   Edit Post

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:

case

lock

wheel
Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 237
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Wednesday, September 04, 2002 - 11:10 am:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Monday, September 09, 2002 - 4:55 pm:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Tuesday, November 05, 2002 - 4:34 pm:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 5:13 pm:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Saturday, November 16, 2002 - 9:43 am:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Sunday, November 17, 2002 - 10:14 am:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Friday, February 07, 2003 - 5:35 pm:   Edit Post

Kris cut a paper tempalte so you could see what will show on the lion on the back:
the lion roars
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
Posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 1:44 am:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Friday, June 27, 2003 - 4:04 pm:   Edit Post

Here's your case:

exterior

interior

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
Posted on Friday, June 27, 2003 - 4:07 pm:   Edit Post

That funny bridge we were discussing:

mike's bridges

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
Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2003 - 5:27 am:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2003 - 10:30 am:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2003 - 10:27 pm:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Friday, February 27, 2004 - 6:23 pm:   Edit Post

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...
davidgregojpeg
palembic
Senior Member
Username: palembic

Post Number: 1106
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Saturday, February 28, 2004 - 12:07 am:   Edit Post

WOW ...oh my god!!!
bassman10096
Intermediate Member
Username: bassman10096

Post Number: 167
Registered: 7-2003
Posted on Saturday, February 28, 2004 - 11:18 am:   Edit Post

That is one heck of a serious-looking bass guitar!!

Bill
bracheen
Advanced Member
Username: bracheen

Post Number: 263
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Saturday, February 28, 2004 - 2:32 pm:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Sunday, February 29, 2004 - 1:55 am:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Sunday, February 29, 2004 - 8:58 am:   Edit Post

*jaw drop*
mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 1468
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Friday, March 05, 2004 - 10:55 pm:   Edit Post

Betcha want to see the backplates too:

david's backplate trio

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
Posted on Sunday, March 07, 2004 - 7:42 pm:   Edit Post

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
Posted on Friday, March 12, 2004 - 4:31 pm:   Edit Post

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?

preset

peghead

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
Posted on Friday, March 12, 2004 - 4:41 pm:   Edit Post

What an amazing bass!

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