My first Alembic,, I used to have a Zebrawood Exploiter, she had to go :-(

 
Here we are at 'work' helping out on the C.J. Topes cd.

Cool pic!
 
Nice grain pattern on the top!

Wow! I really love those Distillates, and that one is gorgeous!

BTW how is the balance on that? I'm quite intrigued by the thought of a medium (or even short scale) Distillate, but can't deal with Small Standard (i.e. SC) style neck dive.

Big Bad Bill - thanks for the compliments.
The bass does neck dive a little - I have relocated the strap button to help a bit. If you look at the 'end' of the body you can see that the strap is attached just above where the neck wood comes through, it used to be located in the center of the neck.

That's a great looking bass Paul, congrats!  I too am enjoying an '86 Distillate these days.  
Bill, the Distillate has a larger body than the small standards. Also Distillates made in 1985 and later have a longer upper horn for better balance. My '86 balances beautifully.

My 89 fiver also balances beautifully. Medium scale is extremely comfortable and easy to get around on.

Cool, thanks guys. Food for thought.....
 
I wonder how much a new Distillate would be, as they're not shown on the Custom Quote Generator?

As the electronics are the same as a Europa, and, while the generator doesn't list the Distillate body, the Spoiler body, which is close, is no upcharge, I'd think you could get a new Distillate for the same price as a new Europa.
 
Peter

Cheers Peter, I'll check that out. One for the future maybe...

thanks for the props Paul ;-)
I suppose I should have mentioned that mine is an 84 Distillate - I would like to see a picture of your 86.

Lots of Paul's on this site... I'm a lefty so my basses are always ass-half backwards! I will post a picture as soon as I figure out how to do it, my computer skills are lacking. You did mention that it is an 84 in the title of the thread. '81 -'84 had shorter upper horns and an LED next to the jack. 85 & later had the longer upper horn and no LED. Peter is correct, Distillate & Euorpa controls are almost identical so I'm sure Mica & Co. can build you a Distillate if need be. Again a beautiful bass Paul, welcome aboard.

Pauldo, I forgot to mention that my lefty Distillate is already posted as the last thread here in the Distillate Showcase section ('86 lefty Distillate cocobolo).  I bought it from fellow board member JL Picard. I sent it to the factory for a little restoration work so I will need to post more current pictures, but it is truly the darkest coco bolo ever, it almost looks ebony. Hands down though it is my favorite bass, just a pleasure to play.

Paul - ;-)
That truely is a dark coco.
I agree with your statement about  ,,, just a pleasure to play. I have a fretless pieced together 'frankenstein' bass that I like to play, but when I strap on the Distillate it's like a cruise control - no worries, everything is where it should be, the tone selection can suit any situation, there are never any surprises ,,, ahh it is a good thing!

I was inspired by Bill and stripped down my bass and did a thorough cleaning.

 

 Bridge before cleaning

 Bridge after cleaning