Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere => Topic started by: honkylips on February 15, 2006, 01:00:38 PM
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Check this ebay auction out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Alembic-Bass_W0QQitemZ7391053043QQcategoryZ4713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Alembic-Bass_W0QQitemZ7391053043QQcategoryZ4713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)
This guy's feedback doesn't give me much comfort. Has anyone ever seen a -1 feedback rating? Is this a joke?
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Hi, Craig,
I do not think so... That may happen to an eBay rookie. It almost happened to me when I bid the first time. This account just has this one single feedback for one auction that went wrong. I have seen that before on other accounts.
If I were this person, I surely would not put up anything to sell with that account. I would create a new one and start at zero rather than -1. I would do other things differently, post more pics, use better light conditions, add more details to the listing... but the auction as such SEEMS legit to me. I would not bid a single dime on this, though.
Christian (the faker)
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I may know this guy..the bass and name seem familiar. I just emailed his ebay account to check. I will let you guys know if I hear back from him.
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The pickup selector switch appears to be missing. And it's hard to tell from the pictures, but the tail piece and other brass parts look like they might be well tarnished. I know some members like the look of tarnished brass on an older bass; but for those who don't, some better quality pictures might be helpful. The top and back look nice, subject to the quality of the pictures; in fact the top and back Maple kind of look familiar to me too.
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it looks very similiar to the other series one
begin sold by guitar center in ebay
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I have actually played this bass. About 10 years ago the owner, Skip Slaughter, was the engineer at Phoenix Studio in Macon, GA, which was the old Capricorn studio but under different ownership. This bass is in dire need of some TLC, but Skip is legit. If you look closely, you'll see that the G string is missing. It may have been gone when I played it. Otherwise it looks exactly the same as it did last I saw it. The bridge is badly tarnished, as is the tailpiece. The knob is missing from the selector switch, and my guess is that the 5-pin and 1/4 inch outs will need serious cleaning or replacement as well. If all this is OK with you, I wouldn't hesitate to bid. I may try, if the price stays low enough, as this bass has personal/historical significance to me. Not only was it the first Series I had ever seen, but I had some good times and made some good music with Skip in that old studio.
(Sentimental Story Alert)
When recording Acoustic Workshop's second CD, I told Skip I wasn't happy with my part on one of the songs, so he suggested we come in early the next day and re-cut it. I spent half the night working on that part. The next day we got everything ready, and Skip told me to just play along with the song one time before we recorded to get warmed up. Unbeknownst to me, he was rolling tape during that warmup. The whole take ended up being a keeper, with stuff I'd never tried before (not even the night before) working out perfectly, and no punch-ins. That song still stands as my favorite example of myself in a studio setting.
There was definitely something magical about that old studio. It always had an almost churchlike feel to it, definitely like there was a spiritual presence in the place. Part of it was just seeing the burn marks on the floor that had been put there by, among many others, Duane and Berry, but part of it was creating music in a room that had spawned some of the finest moments in Southern music, and knowing that we were a part of a tradition that had lay dormant and then been reborn after all those years. Phoenix did not last, unfortunately, Macon being too far from the center of anything to attract much attention anymore.
(End of Story)
Charles
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Personally, I wouldn't use a -1 feedback account if it were my intent to scam someone. It is odd that he didn't add a comment to his negative feedback to explain, though.
If I were interested in the instrument, which probably will sell for a fairly low price, I would make an early attempt to contact the seller. A reasonable and honest seller should be willing to provide some means to verify their identity and physical address considering th enegative feedback. You could also request a control cavity picture or some other shot to prove current ownership. The owner could also go through Alembic to validate ownership. If he's really the original owner, they may have that on record.
It does look pretty beat up, so maybe it won't be such a great deal. Time will tell, I suppose. There's no statement about the functional condition either, so you might want to get a staement on the record about how it is working. There could be some pretty rotten 9Vs in the battery cavities.
It just comes down to the usual. Use care when buying online.
Good luck!
-Bob
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Nice story Charles!
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Someone grabbed it for 2K. I bet it needs nothin' more that a set o' strings, some polish and some oil.
OK, maybe a bit more than that, but good job. Hope a member got, will restore it and let us know.