Alembic Guitars Club

Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere => Topic started by: tbrannon on December 20, 2006, 05:11:24 PM

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: tbrannon on December 20, 2006, 05:11:24 PM

This poor thing has seen a rough life- body looks to be in decent shape and the seller says all the guts are intact.  Somebody went Franken-idiot on this.  
 Ouch (http://cgi.ebay.com/Alembic-bass-guitar_W0QQitemZ170063141079QQihZ007QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: kungfusheriff on December 20, 2006, 09:15:31 PM

Not as rough as my ex-'84 Spoiler but close. Who buys an Alembic and bypasses the electronics, let alone puts clown-nose knobs on the poor bass?

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: lbpesq on December 20, 2006, 09:35:39 PM

I would imagine that the low impedance pickups, without a preamp, would put out a rather weak signal.
 
Bill, tgo

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: 88persuader on December 20, 2006, 09:57:55 PM

It's a sin!!!! I'd buy it if it were a 5 string and send it back to Alembic for a re-build.

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: bassjigga on December 21, 2006, 09:35:59 AM

The knobs are no big deal. That's an easy change. But why would anyone want to bypass the alembic pre? Especially when all you have to do is leave the filter wide open if you don't want the sound changed at all...

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: olieoliver on December 21, 2006, 09:41:54 AM

I thought the same thing David. Unless he was having problems with the pre-amp or something.
 
The only other thing I could think of is what a PUTZ.

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: inthelows on December 21, 2006, 10:46:28 AM

I emailed the seller to find out more info.
We'll see what happens.
NLP

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: tbrannon on December 21, 2006, 11:06:24 AM

I emailed asking for pictures of the control cavity.  
 
If they get emailed to me and not posted to the auction, I'll add them here.
 
BTW: If anybody else is thinking of bidding, I'm not interested in the bass- just curious.

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: inthelows on December 21, 2006, 07:06:21 PM

Here's what I got..
electronics are intact but have been disconnected.controls are orig.vol a little low because it is wired to output jack.
That was the email answer I received. No other pictures yet.
NLP

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: kungfusheriff on December 21, 2006, 10:34:12 PM

We call that spin in my line of work.

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: inthelows on December 22, 2006, 07:42:28 AM

SPIN.. is that like willie go round in circles?
NLP

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: edwin on December 22, 2006, 10:20:28 PM

I have to say that I love Alembic electronics, but the real magic is in the wood. Electronics are fixable and if the wood is good, the bass is good. I am tempted here.....
 
 
Edwin

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: edwin on December 22, 2006, 10:22:28 PM

I have to say that I love Alembic electronics, but the real magic is in the wood. Electronics are fixable and if the wood is good, the bass is good. I am tempted here.....
 
Don't like the negative feedbacks, though.
 
Edwin

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: inthelows on December 23, 2006, 08:18:27 PM

A lot of the neg's are for defective equipment not described as such in the eyes of the buyer.
I agree, if the wood is ok the electronics can be repaired/ replaced. At this time the price isn't too bad @ $700.  
I would still love to know why anyone would gut the electronics.
NLP

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: hifiguy on December 24, 2006, 04:11:57 PM

Probably because the person in question is about as smart as a sack of hammers and has no taste.  You can't improve on an Alembic unless you send it back to the Mothership for an upgrade.
 
In the words of the great philosopher B. Bunny, What a maroon, what an im-bess-ile!

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: eflat on December 29, 2006, 08:23:30 AM

It looks like it sold for just over 1k, what would it cost to have it gone over by the folks at Alembic? I didn't buy it, I am just curious. It is a beautiful bass and I was tempted...

Title: Salvageable Essence?
Post by: David Houck on December 31, 2006, 09:02:55 PM

Hi Gary; welcome to the board!  There really wasn't enough information to get a good idea about this bass.  We don't know what condition the electronics were in; nor do we know what condition the finish was in.  At a grand, this may have turned out to be a good deal; or it may have needed a refinish and new guts; or it may be somewhere in between.  But I kinda see what you're getting at.  This is the type bass where you might win the auction and ship it straight to Santa Rosa; have them look it over and call you up with the verdict.  The nice thing about that is you can get some upgrades while you're there and end up with a really nice and personalized bass.