Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere => Topic started by: alembician on February 19, 2016, 10:29:34 AM
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/1977-Series-1-Alembic-Bass-/182029615173?hash=item2a61cf8045:g:KrAAAOSw~OVWxLUU
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Excellent mint playable condition.
Huh. What a complete misquote of instrument condition. ;)
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Indeed ! Now this poor creature surely has a story to tell , yet she holds her head high and sings I will survive ! !_________________She is an Alembic after all .
Wolf
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Mint playable condition, now that's a phrase for you!
What's with that big chunk of wood in the body? Wow!
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Looks like the body cracked or something over the upper cavity and they cut it out and replaced the wood. Not a very good job. I also wonder if it still has the original electronics and DS-5. It might make a good project bass but not at the current bid of $2K.
Keith
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The 5-pin has been improved with an Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator. The pickup uppy-downy doodads have been updated with bolts from a Fry-o-later basket-holder assembly, the dome knobs are off a Tele and the pickup selector knob is from an 80s Sansui receiver.
Other than attempting to move the electronics cavity cover to the front (I'll bet they did it to cover a whorl in the wood grain that appeared to a previous owner as a all-seeing eye mocking his existence), that puppy is cherry!
Does the phrase mint playable seem contradictory to anybody else?
(Message edited by Ed_zeppelin on February 19, 2016)
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Plus, there's no way that upper horn is original. I don't even want to know how much this thing neck dives. Real shame...
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I like a project where anything you do is an improvement. ~my Dad, a long time ago...
I could totally restore that bass, upper horn and all, but at a starting point of more than $2k, just can't see it. It would be a very big job with an awesome result, but cost-wise, no way you'd come out, so we're talking purely a labor-of-love project.
However -and this is a big however- provided this bass still has her Alembic Series electronics, I would totally play what's left of it as-is until such time as restoration was convenient.
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Ill give him $500.
Yikes.
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That neck may be Alembic, but those body halves look like they are homemade. The headstock logo is also wrong for that year. I would hate to see what the circuit looks like! I think it is likely a faked up bass.
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Trevor,
You might be onto something. Looking at the dummy hum canceller cutout the workmanship does not appear to be up to Alembic standards.
Keith
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The body edge bullnose looks too sharp also.
Good eye Trevor
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I also see an uneven glue joint where the body meets the neck. The round over on the body as well as the carved transition at the cutaways is just plain wrong. The hum canceller looks completely wrong. The patched area on the upper half looks like a filled control cavity from the backside of body. The switches are not standard Alembic, and the faceplate looks wrong. I would guess the neck to be Alembic, the two pickups to be Alembic, the hardware to be Alembic, and the fingerboard to be Alembic, but everything else either highly modified, or more likely added?.and poorly I might add.
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Side dots (or smudges) on the treble side of the neck...
Used as lefty or maybe even started life as a lefty?
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I think both Flip and Trevor are onto something... it seems plausible Cletus attempted a left-to-right conversion by switching or replacing body wings. Also note the pickup routes are a little sloppy.
I sent the seller a request for more details, and pictures of the back and electronics cavity... we'll see what he says. They aren't a very active ebayer, no recent feedback, but been registered for a good while.
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quote:The 5-pin has been "improved" with an Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/395/225802.jpg)
I might be wrong (wise married men begin every sentence that way), but if I'm right, the first time someone plugs a 5-pin into that thing, all that would be left in this sector of our galaxy would be old Travis Bean necks and Kanye's ego.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/395/225803.jpg)
Obviously, the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator was reassembled in the control cavity (not without a fight, looks like). The ridiculous asking price might be all that's keeping our planet from being vaporized.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/395/225804.jpg)
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Seller reports:
1. doesn't know if the electronics are original Alembic, but that the bass belonged to his (late) father, who did not alter it while he had it.
2. he does believe it was originally a left-handed instrument.
Kinda' vague... I'm not sure if he knows much about it or is intentionally being elusive. I'm still waiting on additional photos of the back and control cavity. (guy was at work)
I'm sticking to my original post... if the price were right, I'd totally rebuild it, but at this point, it's impossible to know what to even bid... so I'd just consider it a spare parts buy. At the very least you'd have a neck for another more suitable restoration.
I'd expect a little more for $2000. There's a good opportunity for disappointment here.
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Looks like pure trouble to me.
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And yet, there is one bid at $2k. Trouble, indeed.
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Even if the electronics are somehow intact it is a stretch to think of anyone offering even one cent in excess of a grand for what is left of a once presumably fine instrument and that seems overly generous. $5,100 plus shipping for an instrument in that condition is a pipe dream.
But it is in mint playable condition which I take to mean that what is left still plays well ... what it sounds like and whether you would regret looking at the carnage every time you opened the case is yet to be determined. Also yet to be determined is if the seller even plays bass and can assess the playability.
Luckily for the person who bid $2K he didn't meet the reserve price. Doubtful there will be a bidding war for this one.
(Message edited by StephenR on February 22, 2016)
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Edwin , __ indeed . Indeeded !
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That first bid hit the auction pretty fast, for what it's worth.
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Serial number anyone? The logo is OK for the year, but there are lots of things that look awry on this sad puppy.
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Mica , thanks for this confirmation , We saw, and felt it coming . Indeed !
Inevitable it is , as it seem it would be , Sadness .
( I need to write a song for this bass ) BLUES !
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FWIW, I have not received any further reply from the seller regarding the full serial number, nor any pictures of the back or electronics cavity. Their original message did say they weren't too keen on opening it up. Those screwdrivers can be tricky you know... =)
My sense, (which is very trusting and often dead wrong) is the guy doesn't know much more about it than what generally to ask for a late-70's Alembic.
Sad shape indeed, but this whole episode got my interest renewed... probably won't be this one since I already have enough irons in the fire, but someday I hope to find another forlorn classic and restore it. Unless it gets re-listed at a reasonable price, and/or there's some confirmation it has working Series electronics, I'll pass on this one.
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Seller reports serial number is 77-934.
Pictures of the back confirm this is a converted left-handed bass, or at least it *was* a left-handed for a while. Looks like they swapped the body wings and re-cut for symmetry.
No confirmation of Series electronics, as they can't get the cover plate off, because of stripped screws. (guessing they flipped the brass coverplate too...) There's no way to say this without sounding snarky, -and I surely don't mean it to be- but I don't think the seller would know whether the electronics worked correctly or not... they seem clueless other than knowing what the thing is. I take it the bass belonged to a parent who is apparently not able to play anymore.
A second bid of $2375 still hasn't reached the reserve. Might be a while on this one.
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Assuming it has the original electronics to me what you have is a neck and some guts. The routing cavities in the neck look ok so you would need new wings. The hum canceller has been hacked up so it would need replacing or hiding in the body. Possible electronics upgrade. To be honest the seller should be happy to get $1K, expect less than that and sell it as a parts bass.
Keith
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I had a longer conversation with him later this morning... I believe he's figuring that reality out. Kinda' feel for the guy... deal is, his Dad died leaving him a few instruments as an inheritance, however he's having to sell some of them to cover some final expenses.
I agree with the sentiment, that it's a parts bass as-is, with little-to-no collectible value... trouble is, I'm such a hopelessly sentimental squish when it comes to these things, that the crazy side of me wants desperately to save it, and it's completely within my capability to do at least the woodwork, but the sensible old curmudgeon living upstairs knows better than to drop $2k for a total rebuild project. Now for $1K... I'd have to think on that. (Nah - probably best I don't!)
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If you have to basically do a total rebuild with the exception of the neck you aren't really going to be saving anything except some parts. Hard to see a once nice instrument hacked to bits like this one but IMO this would only be worth purchasing if it were dirt cheap and you wanted to use the parts for another build.
If the seller wants to maximize the money he can get from this sale he really needs to take the bass to someone who can assess the condition of the electronics and neck, check to make sure the truss rods still work etc.
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I know it can be hard handling estates particularly when your are unfamiliar with the contents or inherit something you know nothing about. Adding in the emotional nature of losing a loved one only makes it harder.
I'm not familiar with e-bay rules but if I were him I'd accept the highest bid even if it doesn't meet his reserve price.
I've already discussed some of the What do you do with the instruments? with my wife and children. Since none of them play the guitar or bass the majority will be sold. To help them along that route I have kept a file with more or less current values based on the instruments condition.
Keith
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Keith, I've done the same thing for my family, along with suggestions as to who to contact to liquidate my gear, if needed, including the Alembic forum, Gearslutz, etc.
But my Starfire is going to Xander no matter what.
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As expected this bass did not sell first time around. It was re-listed with a buy it now price of $3,000 or a starting auction bid of $2,000.
The seller did include some additional pictures this time. Two blurry ones that attempt to show the serial number and a picture of the back. The original brass back plate still exists but there is a second poorly installed wooden back plate that may provide access to replacement electronics or maybe just a place to stash something, who knows. So when the seller says he can't remove the back plate because the screws are stripped it is hard to tell which one he is referring to. There is also still no indication if he has the power supply.
I feel badly for the seller considering the circumstances of his sale but he is not doing himself or any potential buyers a favor by not taking the time to have the instrument properly evaluated and pricing it accordingly.
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The serial number look like 77 93? or 98?. I want to think the last number is a 2 but we frequently see what we want to whether we realize it or not.
I suspect the electronics are the originals but it would be nice to get a shot of them. The wood back plate for the upper control cavity looks like it was cut from the former top veneer and would fit with a conversion. It would have been nicer if they had been able to use it to patch the new front and then made a patch for the back side but I wasn't there at the time to know if that would work.
Keith
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quote:the seller says he can't remove the back plate because the screws are stripped
Wanna bet?
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/395/226180.jpg)