I am truly at a loss for words, but I will make an attempt anyway! I love the blend of colors. I know that they'll change once the finish goes on and I'm sure the photos are not color adjusted at this point but still I can see the potential richness in the combination. Thank you Val for your wonderful advice. And a great big thanks to you, Mica for continuing to post these awesome photos!  I really feel like part of the family! Also, the MD looks just right, very classy and the abalone at the 15th fret has a nice combination of hues. I hope they're all that pretty!

Congrats JL on a stunning bass!  Feel free to pass any of your other lefty Alembics my way if you feel the need to thin the herd, I have a feeling this one will be number one at your house for a long time.

Southpaw, You know there's a good chance I might just do that! The wife ( the real one ) thinks I ought to sell at least one of my others because between this new one and my 80' graphite series II, the others are probably going to start collecting dust. Not a fitting life for an Alembic! If I can actually bring myself to part with any, here's what I have;  
86' dark brown cocobolo Distillate
98' figured/burled Walnut Europa
90' Cocobolo Elan 6
If I do, I will post in the For Sale section to give club mambers first shot at them. Mike

I almost forgot to say thanks to all the well wishers out there. I am so excited. I'm sure like many of you, this is the culmination of a life's dream!

Val, Just wanted to inquire about the extra cocobolo that was to be sent to THG Knobs. How does that work ? Should I contact him directly about my wishes? Als, Any idea how long it takes for a custom knob order? Michael

Michael, that's beautiful!  The 12th fret oval MD is a really nice touch.  Does the 3rd fret oval say anything?  It's hard to tell from the pic.
BTW, is The wife (the real one) a little bit of subtle Mormon humor?
Rich

Rich, Thanks, the third fret is probably a very nice piece of abalone, it doesn't say anything other than look at me .The Wife comment is taken from an older thread on the club where someone refered to his Alembic as The Wife

Michael, I was just trying to make a little bit (obviously a VERY little bit) of Mormon humor myself.  Hope to see your new bass one of these days.
Rich

Rich, I'll let you know when it's actually in my hands. Val tells me it may be January before I see it. Maybe we could have another Alembic Day some time next Spring? I don't think it's going to leave the house much with all the winter weather. Mike

Heart Omega during carving:
 
 
 
Pete's still got more to do, but you can see the form starting to emerge.

Mica, seems like with the power outage and server going down, I've lost your latest photo posting. Can you repost when you get a moment plus any interesting updates? Thanks Michael D.

This bass has pretty much driven me mad. I'd love to see additional photos.

Mica tells me additional photos will be coming soon! The bass is presently in the beginning stages of finish. A sealer coat as of yesterday! This is the point where you start to get a knot in your stomach from the anticipation of the Grand Unveiling. Now you start second-guessing yourself wondering:  
A. Did I make the right choices?  
B. Am I going to love it or be disappointed?  
C. Was I crazy for doing this in the first place?  
D. Will I be homeless after the wife sees the     creditcard balance?  
E. Would I do it again?  (see answers below)
 
 
A. Hope so, B. Love it, C. Most definitely YES! D. Hope not, E. If I have to tell you the answer to this one, then you're not a true Alembician!  
 
The bright spot for me is that Alembic has seldom  
failed to delight. And so I say...  
 In Susan/Mica/Ron/Val/Mary/Chip/James/etc. We Trust!

Here's that heart in carving again:  

   and a new one with some finish on the bass:  

Simply Amazing!!!!!
 
Congrats Michael, This one is really something else...  The amount of time you spent in the past couple of years obsessing over details really shows!!!