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August 1999Understated EleganceThe first question you might ask about this custom Series II is "Where's the neck?" Not to worry, it's safely tucked behind a bookmatched to center Superb Flame Walnut top that conceals it from the front view. John has us build this, his second Alembic, as a fretless dark twin of his first Quilted Maple Series II. The basses differ only in color and fingerboard surface, making a seemless transition when John switches between the two basses. |
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Since the central design feature of the bass is the bookmatched to center top, let's look at some details.
In this picture, you can see the way the top fits around the fingerboard. This is
actually a very tricky part, and Steve takes his time and gets a really clean fit. Also, the
inlaid maple fretlines show up nicely here.
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At the bottom of the bass, where the Standard Point body forms a "tail" you can get a
good idea of how the top laminate covers the neck. You can also just glimpse the maple
veneer at the center of the mahogany core.
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Some veneer we buy and some we make. If we can't find a good match in manufactured veneer,
Steve or Kris will use our big TimeSaver abrasive planer and make the peghead veneers out
of left over wood from the body to get a perfect match.
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If the woodworking wasn't enough, John also ordered custom electronics. We replaced the normal
2 volume arrangement with a master volume and pan configuration. Then, in addition to the standard
low-pass filter and CVQ control for each pickup, John requested we add bass and treble controls be
to each pickup. With four useful tone controls for each pickup, John has a broad sonic pallete
to select his favorite tones.
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SPECIFICATIONS
Price available on request |
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See Previous Featured Customs |
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