Hmmm...to my ears there is a pretty big difference between an oil finish and a poly gloss finish. To my ears, oil finishes impart a sound that is, well, oily.  No joke intended: the sound seems slightly smothered, and the high-end response is reduced.  However, to me the difference in tone caused by replacing a poly finish from the 70's with a modern one is fairly minimal. There may be a difference in tone, but I doubt it would be noticeable in a live or recorded mix.  
 
A lot of the conventional wisdom about the magnitude of the change in tone caused by a refin comes from the time back in the 60's and 70's when refin meant replacing a nitrocellulose lacquer originally applied in the 50's or early 60's with a more modern poly finish.  I totally agree that replacing a nitro finish with a poly finish will greatly influence the tone of the instrument, but the difference caused by replacing a modern poly gloss finish with another poly gloss finish is pretty subtle.

Reminds me of the Red Violin.

I think you are right in what you say Edwin & Steve.
I suppose I was thinking of the old school method.
Alembic will make it just perfect (as usual)
Keep us all posted
 
G

Here's pic Mica sent me of the buffed out body.

Here's pic Mica sent me of the rubbed out body.
 

Looking really nice!

The finished bass arrived today and it looks simply stupendous. The folks in Santa Rosa did a spectacular job. I know a little further up we were discussing the potential tonal changes and the tone has changed, but for the better. Acoustically, it felt much more like it had a boxy, boinky tone, now it sounds smoother and more open. It also handles very nicely. The transition from the glossy finish to the matte finish is really nice. Having a good smooth finish on the neck really makes a huge difference. In some ways it feels like a different bass, but it still has the all the good qualities it always did. Just easier to play and a clearer sound. I'll take a few pics tomorrow and put them up. Then, next week we go on the road!
 
Thanks to all at Alembic for bringing to fruition how I always knew this instrument should be!
 
Edwin

Hey, Edwin!
 
Glad the project tuned out as well as it did. She looks great, can't wait to see the pics of the completed Bass. Enjoy her for many more years, good luck on the tour, and if you get close we'll try to come out and hear You and the Taxi!
Have fun, Mike, tho =]

Congrats!  Looking forward to pics!

I posted some pics at . They are a little scrambled up, but the bass is awesome. I'll be posting some live shots soon. A friend took some on my recent midwest tour, but the disc he burned for me didn't work out.
 
Edwin

I posted some pics at . They are a little scrambled up, but the bass is awesome. I'll be posting some live shots soon. A friend took some on my recent midwest tour, but the disc he burned for me didn't work out.
 
Edwin

Doesn't compare well with your departed (DS's) EB-3, does it?      

Ah well, I have to admit that I've been perusing ebay for another EB-3.........
 
Edwin