Here's my pride and joy: a Distillate I bought in Youngstown, OH around '82 or so. It's helped me get gigs from Fusion to Big-Band and everyone that hears it comments on its clarity. (THANKS, Mica!)
 

Nice piece Russ! That is a beautiful bookmatched  top, I like the way the opposing grain streams thru the flame pattern on the upper and lower bouts. Totally cool!
Clay

THANKS, CLAY!! Guess I'm pretty lucky - I found it just hanging in a music store. (It was new, though). Next, I want to get a custom built axe - like yours!

Wonderful koa! I have a 94 Epic that has a koa top with a very similar pattern with the ripples and the darker lines across the widest part of the body. If you didn't know the instruments were built some 10 years apart, you'd think they stem from the same log of wood.
 
The laminates on your axe run parallel, which complements the body shape very well, while they're in sort of a V shape on my Epic, starting from the bottom and the extending to the horns. They both have that dark line near the center, which makes mine kinda look like Salvador Dali's moustache ...
 
I love looking at that koa with its changing shades and highlights as you change the way light falls on it.

Hi Mica,
 
Could you check the Date of Birth and other vital statistics on this bass when you get a chance? The serial number is 82D2246.
 
Thanks!  
Russ