I never really wanted a birth year instrument before - after all, not many great instruments were being built in 1973 - but early Alembics are extremely interesting, great things.
I know that a bunch of people here have experience hunting the early ones down. How long should I expect to look before something good comes up?
You never really know. I've been looking for a 73 or 74 small body bass for years. There was a 74 standard point on reverb for a couple of years that finally sold recently. But, you never really know when they will show up.
There's a couple issues about finding a birth-year Alembic if it happens to be 1973. If I didn't know anything else about you, I'd advise you to readjust your goals. You'll probably find one of the roughly 25 made that year. I'm estimating just knowing #27 is a 73 and and #49 is a '74. It might be 30.
The other thing; those basses (and guitars) usually need work. You're close to the Alembic shop there, so geographically advantaged.
Short story on myself- #73-39 changed my trajectory. I was five minutes too late in buying it. Another Club Member did though, and restored it, and as far as I know they are still playing it today. But that was the educational experience when I realized how far this little family run guitar shop had come. When I spec'd out my Custom 5-string I had them add features specific to pre-1974 builds because of that bass. The realization that they would still build me one... there it was.
You'll find one. Post a thread. There are quite a few 1973 numbers missing, location unknown. To guys like us, that means they are are still in circulation.
FWIW, I even had Ms. Susan draw up a quote for what would have been basically a reproduction of a 1974 medium-scale guitar for me a few years ago when I was having some delusions that somehow an electric guitar might suddenly start working with me. I'm sure it would have been amazing. I'm doing good when my locker of acoustic guitars don't laugh at me. One fully Alembicized Japanese guitar is good enuff these days.
She even agreed to put the batteries between the pickups again, and stamp my serial number into the end of the headstock. I think she thought it was nuts, possibly sweet that I thought that much about the detail. I'd have done it if things worked out better.
Quote from: edwardofhuncote on June 30, 2026, 05:51:20 PMFWIW, I even had Ms. Susan draw up a quote for what would have been basically a reproduction of a 1974 medium-scale guitar for me a few years ago when I was having some delusions that somehow an electric guitar might suddenly start working with me. I'm sure it would have been amazing. I'm doing good when my locker of acoustic guitars don't laugh at me. One fully Alembicized Japanese guitar is good enuff these days.
She even agreed to put the batteries between the pickups again, and stamp my serial number into the end of the headstock. I think she thought it was nuts, possibly sweet that I thought that much about the detail. I'd have done it if things worked out better.
I'd love to do a medium scale bass like that (with the late-73-style fancy mustachio tailpiece, because why not?!?).
I really loved that '74, wonky headstock and all, but psyched myself out about the battery route, and now I'm kicking myself.
I've got a terrible habit of loving unobtainium, but it always seems to appear eventually.
As the saying goes, "there will always be another"
One will show up eventually and it will be worth the wait 😊
As long as it isn't the one stolen from Stanley.
Quote from: Nova Constellatio on June 30, 2026, 07:31:47 PMQuote from: edwardofhuncote on June 30, 2026, 05:51:20 PMFWIW, I even had Ms. Susan draw up a quote for what would have been basically a reproduction of a 1974 medium-scale guitar for me a few years ago when I was having some delusions that somehow an electric guitar might suddenly start working with me. I'm sure it would have been amazing. I'm doing good when my locker of acoustic guitars don't laugh at me. One fully Alembicized Japanese guitar is good enuff these days.
She even agreed to put the batteries between the pickups again, and stamp my serial number into the end of the headstock. I think she thought it was nuts, possibly sweet that I thought that much about the detail. I'd have done it if things worked out better.
I'd love to do a medium scale bass like that (with the late-73-style fancy mustachio tailpiece, because why not?!?).
I really loved that '74, wonky headstock and all, but psyched myself out about the battery route, and now I'm kicking myself.
I've got a terrible habit of loving unobtainium, but it always seems to appear eventually.
Yup. Ever since seeing 74-61 I've been wondering why I didn't pull the trigger! That has to be the wonkyist Alembic to leave the factory in playing condition. I thought it, at the time to be a bit overpriced for a Series I. Hey, it will come around again..... these instruments will outlive us all.
Closest I could ever get would be one from the year I first played bass, and I got close but it's off by a year (75 instead of 76). It has a couple of build features that tell you it's s a fairly early one, so I'll settle for that.
Quote from: adriaan on June 30, 2026, 10:28:46 PMClosest I could ever get would be one from the year I first played bass, and I got close but it's off by a year (75 instead of 76). It has a couple of build features that tell you it's s a fairly early one, so I'll settle for that.
😏 That's kinda' how I lined it up with the '89 Persuader. Technically, I was playing bass before that, but the first time I ever got paid for it was New Year's Eve 1988/89 and that sealed the deal.
It would be hard to authenticate a 1969 Alembic. (birth-year for me)
Quote from: Nova Constellatio on June 30, 2026, 07:31:47 PMQuote from: edwardofhuncote on June 30, 2026, 05:51:20 PMFWIW, I even had Ms. Susan draw up a quote for what would have been basically a reproduction of a 1974 medium-scale guitar for me a few years ago when I was having some delusions that somehow an electric guitar might suddenly start working with me. I'm sure it would have been amazing. I'm doing good when my locker of acoustic guitars don't laugh at me. One fully Alembicized Japanese guitar is good enuff these days.
She even agreed to put the batteries between the pickups again, and stamp my serial number into the end of the headstock. I think she thought it was nuts, possibly sweet that I thought that much about the detail. I'd have done it if things worked out better.
I'd love to do a medium scale bass like that (with the late-73-style fancy mustachio tailpiece, because why not?!?).
How about something like this? If memory serves, this Custom was built as a companion bass for a client with a 1972 guitar with this same body. I'm not sure but this may have been the genesis of my Retro guitar idea. There's been a few Customs with the 'stache tailpiece too.
I love that scroll — I feel like I've looked at that bass somewhere before.
Quote from: Nova Constellatio on July 01, 2026, 06:05:51 AMI love that scroll — I feel like I've looked at that bass somewhere before.
One of the OG here-
https://club.alembicguitars.com/custom-basses/72-14/
The trapezoid-shaped pickups get me every time. There are so many wonky, cool features that show up between 1972 and 1974, whether it's the early pickup variants (I love the caramel ones), the first-style short scale horns, the wider upper cutaway on the early standard point models, the various tailpieces — so much was going on.
1973, is my birth year as well. It would be nice to have the birthday / month / year Alembic, but like others have said, the production number was just so small, it's near impossible.
I was lucky to find a 'birth week' Fender Jazz few years ago, bridge pickup had my birthweek stamp on it, I thought it will be as close as it gets.
Rickenbacker's serial number has year and month, so that's another 'birth month' bass we can look for...
It's fun to look for things like this. :)
Takeo
My birth year/month Rickenbacker 4001 would still have all the desirable features (I think).
I wouldn't have much choice... I'd have to go with the 1958 Fender Precision.
It would be hard to go wrong with one of those.
Quote from: Nova Constellatio on June 30, 2026, 12:51:40 PMI never really wanted a birth year instrument before - after all, not many great instruments were being built in 1973 - but early Alembics are extremely interesting, great things.
I know that a bunch of people here have experience hunting the early ones down. How long should I expect to look before something good comes up?
Well, I'm gonna be looking a long time for my birth-year Alembic.
Closest I could come would be Jack's as my first-year-I-wasn't-on-the-high-school-football-team instrument.
As I dislike maple 'boards, thus ruling out a Fender (who didn't go with rosewood until I was 3), my choices for a birth-year are Gibson, Epiphone, D'Angelico, Martin, Guild, or various off-shore orf jobber-built numbers.........
Peter
Somehow I missed this thread. I've read through the previous posts and they got me to thinking. If I wanted a birth year instrument, the first thing that comes to mind is an electric archtop guitar.
So I ran a search, and there's something that looks really nice, that's not too out of reach financially
(though it would be an extravagance, and there are other guitars that I lust after as well),
and that's driving distance away
(not considering health issues that actually make it impractical)
(and I'm a poor guitar player; so even more of an extravagance)
(and I don't really know anything about old archtop guitars).
So I need to close that webpage quickly and never think on this again.
But it sure looks nice
(He says, as somehow that webpage is still open in another tab).
What's life without a little extravagance?
Quote from: Nova Constellatio on July 04, 2026, 03:49:56 PMWhat's life without a little extravagance?
Life with groceries. :)
Quote from: David Houck on July 04, 2026, 09:44:08 AMSomehow I missed this thread. I've read through the previous posts and they got me to thinking. If I wanted a birth year instrument, the first thing that comes to mind is an electric archtop guitar.
So I ran a search, and there's something that looks really nice, that's not too out of reach financially
(though it would be an extravagance, and there are other guitars that I lust after as well),
and that's driving distance away
(not considering health issues that actually make it impractical)
(and I'm a poor guitar player; so even more of an extravagance)
(and I don't really know anything about old archtop guitars).
So I need to close that webpage quickly and never think on this again.
But it sure looks nice
(He says, as somehow that webpage is still open in another tab).
Oh, c'mon, Dave - don't leave us hanging!
For those of us with a modicum of knowledge on (and a deep love for) electric archtops, what is it? We want details!
Peter
I kinda' got Moderator Dave picked for a Gretsch or D'Angelico. Any old ES Kalama-something would be too conventional for a guy with a Series II 6-string for his main axe.
Well, first off, if I was going to spend that kind of money on a guitar, the decision making process wouldn't be based on the year of my birth. But here is what I found running a search for an archtop guitar made in 1954; and yes, as Gregory suggested, Gretsch and D'Angelico were names that I was favoring; and I found myself also favoring two pickups over one, though I had not previously thought about that. And when I saw this one and clicked the link, I was surprised to find that it was in Durham; bit of a drive, but would have been doable a few years ago.
The pictures looked pretty good, and the guitar shop said that they had their luthier make some repairs (I can't remember what at the moment), and that it was in excellent condition.
But that's not something I need to be going right now, and I'm enjoying trying to learn how to play a piano. For instance, I've learned that if you take both forearms and smash them down on the keys at the same time, it makes a really cool sound. I think that's called a chord.
Unfortunately, I can't get the guitar shop's website to open right now (getting a 504 Gateway Time-out); but it's a 1954 Gretsch 6193 Synchromatic II Guitar. Here's the picture:
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRjlPF76GA2J-qvVWESoJYjLhiuihee5BcxyqfxKIV4xyxcEhTuEtqmeh0&s=10)
That's a winner — the Synchromatic 6193 morphed into the Country Club a little later that year. One of my favorite Gretsches, bar none. The Dynasonics are superb pickups.
Quote from: Nova Constellatio on June 30, 2026, 12:51:40 PMI never really wanted a birth year instrument before - after all, not many great instruments were being built in 1973 - but early Alembics are extremely interesting, great things.
I know that a bunch of people here have experience hunting the early ones down. How long should I expect to look before something good comes up?
Nova Constellatio,
I may be interested in parting with my 73 Alembic. Email me (envelope icon under my name) if interested and I can fill you in about it.
Thanks,
Rob
Does the forearm create a Major or Minor chord?
Quote from: pauldo on July 12, 2026, 11:16:01 AMDoes the forearm create a Major or Minor chord?
If your forearm hits only the black keys,
it's an Eb minor 7 add 11 chord.
But if you're hoping for a major,
it's an F# major 6 9.
If you hit just the white keys, I suppose you could call it
a D minor over a C major 7.
But that might be stretching credibility.
:)
I saw Chick Corea do the forearm across the keys near the end of his solo intro to "Song to the Pharoah Kings" on his gig with Return to Forever's "Returns" tour.
It sounded ace.
If I did it , it would sound painful to the listener. :-)😂🙄