So lots of stuff has happened in this build for Brian already...  Picking out woods:

  Rough cuts:

 

  Neck lams gathering:

  Oooey gooey:

  Body lams gathering:

  Rough neck shaping:

  Hey, it's bass time!

Beautiful.
 
graeme

I swear...you guys!!  AWESOME!!!!!

We shall call it BE BOP!  Get it? BirdsEye BoP.........crickets.............. ................distant owl hoot.......

D*mn - just when you thought you'd seen it all...
 
That's gonna be killer.

Had a most memorable trip to the Mothership last month. A wonderful tour of the facility was provided and I had a great time talking with Susan and Mica. I also had a chance to meet briefly Ron, James, and Kris (who was working on the birds eye control plate laminates at the time).  
 
Here is a cell phone shot (compressed to <150k), now with the Omega carving, I took while I was there.

Looks great. Nothing better than a visit to meet the maker :-)
 
Graeme

Indeed! And live for another day

Hi Graeme,  
   
    Thanks!  That MK 5 string of yours is gorgeous! This build idea started out with an MK shape inspired by the Left is Right featured custom Will Gunn brought to my attention.  When I researched the featured customs a bit more, the BoP really peaked my interest since the horn reaches the 12th fret.  
 
Prior to playing my first alembic I bought on ebay in 2013 I had no experience with them.

We are sealed.  

 

  Looks even better in person, and it looks mighty fine in the snapshots!

Thanks Mica! Mighty fine indeed. How many coats approx did it take or is this the first coat? Is that a clear or tinted finish on the Birdseye?  You can see a mild contrast between the maple neck and the Birdseye on the unfinished photos. With it sealed it seems to have much more contrast. Could be the photos and light talking too?

My uneducated guess is that the swirls and grain (mineral deposits?) in the bird's eye maple are now more evident after sanding, prepping and sealing and are contributing to the contrast you're seeing. Bird's Eye is a gorgeous wood.
 
Beautiful choices all around, especially the thicker, purple heart body laminates.
 
Mike

Thanks Mike! Yes that is a good guess and agreed it is a gorgeous wood. Looking forward to Mica's responses as it is intriguing to learn that certain woods and even the same types of woods require more coats than others.