I am just testing the waters out there...
 
I bought this Tulipwood Essence 5 from club member SWood about 6 years ago and find that I am really not using it. It literally has seen two gigs and the rest of the time has been in the house. You all know how Steve takes care of his instruments, and I did the same.
 
I'm also looking for an Alembic 5 or 6 with a more narrow slimer profile neck and narrow string spacing like the Ibanez Soundgear Prestige 6 that I have been using. Seems like everything else feels like a tree trunk compared to that bass...including my beloved Essence. Maybe somebody has suggestions for which Alembic to consider. Unfortunately I don't have enough money to custom order anything.  
 
I'm asking $3495. More pictures and discussion about this instrument from the previous posts here:
 
http://club.alembicguitars.net/Images/411/29382.html?1151878300
 

If you are looking for a slimmer neck top to back, perhaps it might be worth considering sending it to Alembic and having them reshape the neck to your specs.

What is a Q switch, and the purpose?  Is this available in the Excels, Orions?  Thanks.

Hi Rafael; the Q switch works in conjunction with the low pass filter; so no, it wouldn't work with the standard bass / treble set up in an Excel or Orion.  On an Essence like this one, adding a Q switch gives you the option of an 8db boost at the cutoff frequency you've dialed in on the low pass filter.

To elaborate on Dave's explanation, actually on an Essence adding a Q switch gives you option to switch OFF the 8 dB boost at the cutoff frequency. On a regular Essence, without the switch, the boost is always on.