Its where the women are. -- Truer words were never spoken.

I was looking at a beautiful series 1 76-572, I think. It had a Lacewood top. To me Lacewood (at least this particular piece) greatly resembles birds-eye maple. Is this common? How do they compare tonally?

It's well-known that the Maples tend to be bright; I don't know about Lacewood... but Beaver Felton at Bass Central has owned a Lacewood Series I for a LONG time... and he's played/heard/sold a LOT of Alembics.
 
So if you don't get a satisfactory answer, he might be a person to call to ask... he even has a toll-free #.
 
If you click Alembic dealers on the main page, and look for dealers in Florida, you can easily find his info.
 
Mark

I'll echo what others have said about the triple omega body shape: it's pretty heavy and it isn't very comfortable to play sitting down.
 
That said I do three hour+ sets a night with mine with no problems.  Plus it looks bitchin.