Alembic Guitars Club

Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere => Topic started by: pocket8 on December 09, 2008, 03:41:20 PM

Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: pocket8 on December 09, 2008, 03:41:20 PM: http://cgi.ebay.com/UNBELIEVABLY-RARE-GUITAR-ALEMBIC-12-STRING_W0QQitemZ160303991883QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item160303991883&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: lbpesq on December 09, 2008, 04:02:47 PM: Very pretty. Check out the upper horn - unusual shape. Nevertheless, I doubt he'll get any takers at $10,000. The market value is likely in the $2500-$3500 range. He is also inaccurate about the electronics, specifically his description of the pickup selector as choosing between active and passive. I emailed him with a more accurate description.

Bill, tgo
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: pocket8 on December 09, 2008, 04:51:56 PM: Agreed, very pretty. The horn looks to me like a take on the early 8 string JPJ triple omega's horn. Simple but different!

By the way, does anyone know how many 12 string guitars alembic has made (like a ratio to the 6 stringers)?
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: bluplirst on December 10, 2008, 12:30:06 AM: Damn, this one would make a nice companion for my plum pudding. Too bad about that price. You tell him bill!
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: llobsterbass on December 10, 2008, 09:43:04 AM: The market value is likely in the $2500-$3500 range.

Really? for a vintage Alembic 12-string? How do you figure? 10k seems way too high, but my guess would be around $5k (not that I have that to pay for it, but..). you don't see a lot of old 12 strings.

anyone recall what similar previous guitars have sold for?
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: FC Bass on December 10, 2008, 09:46:53 AM: Don't ask Bill :-)
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: tdukes on December 10, 2008, 10:59:02 AM: I don't know. The last 6 string Series I guitar that I have seen on ebay went for $4,298.98. I don't know if a 12 would go for much more, but it may go for as much. Or has the market softened that much?

Todd.
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: lbpesq on December 10, 2008, 11:05:44 AM: Here's (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=12500) a link from a couple of years ago discussing a Series I 12 string on ebay. It doesn't reveal how much it eventually sold for, but it does follow the ebay listing over the course of about 4 months, during which the price drops incrementally from $6500 to $3999 as it keeps failing to attract any bids. Given this thread, what I paid for my '77 Series I 12 string on ebay, and the few others I've followed, one should be able to buy one of these for less than $4000.

And oh yea, don't ask Bill! lol

Bill, tgo
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: pocket8 on December 10, 2008, 03:50:36 PM: I was wrong!!!! The horn does not remind me of the old JPJ 8 string Alembic triple omega, because the bass I am thinking of is a BecVar copy of the Alembic design: . If I had inspected the tailpiece more closely and noticed the lack of an Alembic logo, I would not have made the mistake initially!

I also found an old thread in case anyone wants to read about Ed Roman's BecVar ghostbuilding claim that was set striaght from an employee at Alembic. Plus there's a bunch of Ed Roman bashing, including characterizations of his demeanor and his prevarications, all of which I found to be pure edutainment:
http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/3778.html?1228026550 (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=8151)

The most melodious of low end forums sets everything straight as usual, except for why the guitar mentioned in the title of this thread is supposed to be worth 10K!
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: pocket8 on December 10, 2008, 03:55:01 PM: I've got it (loud forehead slapping noise)!!! Maybe this Alembic 12 string has a set of those amazing Fender-Gibson strings that seem to be driving up the price of a lot of other guitars on Ebay! At least that's my current hypothesis, and I'm sticking to it until something else that better explains the price conundrum comes along!
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: bluplirst on December 10, 2008, 04:29:41 PM: Not that anyone here is going to bid on this one, but there is some info I thought would help. I thought it looked like some cracks in the top of this guitar so I asked the seller and here is his reply:

Yes, as it turns out, the bubble down by the strap pin is actually two bubbles, and they are both the result of a crack... ALSO... I found two more (cracks, not bubbles this time) that extend from the brass backplate down towards the peg... They are on the back side only...

Just something to think about as we spend the next year or so watching the price go down.
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: lbpesq on December 15, 2008, 07:24:20 AM: Well, it's back (http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-GUITAR-ALEMBIC-12-STRING-RELISTED-REDUCED_W0QQitemZ160305078508QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item160305078508&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318) at a lower price: $8750. The seller says he got lots of email telling him the price was too high and also calling attention to two more cracks. So the seller claims that, in the Christmas spirit he's lowered the price. He's still claiming the pickup selector has a passive Les Paul setting!

Bill, tgo
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: pocket8 on December 16, 2008, 05:28:53 PM: When he says passive Les Paul, does he mean the classic Les Paul guitar, or a setting for a non-agitated Lester Polfus?

If the guitar has the first that's cool, but the second is far more interesting!
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: pace on December 19, 2008, 10:37:24 AM: >>>Check out the upper horn - unusual shape
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: hydrargyrum on December 19, 2008, 01:32:15 PM: I noticed that as well Mike. Quite odd.

I spoke with the seller via email regarding this guitar, and received some pretty cordial replies. It seems that he isn't totally set on selling the guitar, but thought he would put it out there to see if there were any bites. I tried to convince him to post on the forum, but he says that he is too intimidated.
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: lbpesq on December 19, 2008, 04:32:06 PM: My communication with him was also very pleasant. I think he just doesn't know much about Alembics, or maybe even guitars in general.

Bill, tgo
Title: Cool (but expensive) 12 string
Post by: bluplirst on December 19, 2008, 05:42:43 PM: I agree-he seems like a nice guy. If I had the cash, I wouldn't bat an eye at paying up to 5k for this one. It just looks awesome.