Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Wanted & Wishing => Topic started by: deepwood on February 08, 2016, 01:56:09 PM
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Hello Alembicians! I'm hoping someone out there might be considering selling an Alembic 4 string fretless. I currently own two fretted Rogues (4 & 5 string versions). My mid-'90s fretless Warwick Corvette was recently stolen, and I really need a replacement fretless. I'm looking for something in the $1,000 to $3000 range. I'm also open to other quality brands if there's something in your closet that needs to be played and given a good home (but I LOVE my Alembics). The fretless would be used in electric jazz combo work, and backing-up singer/songwriters. It has been awhile since I've been on the forums, but thanks ahead of time!
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Like this? But more expensive.(http://club.alembic.com/Images/395/225280.jpg)
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Well, sort of, except that your photo is a seven string, fretted (?), work of art well out my price range... I figured someone might have a 4 string Excel, Orion, Essence, Rogue, or Europa fretless looking for a good home.
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I want one too !
I can see a lined fretless Elan with Series I/II Electronics .
OR ; a lined fretless Elan with 2 AXY's Volume/Volume/ Filter .
Where do I see them ? ____ Floating out of a cloud in a dream with me manifesting these instruments in my sleep .
( it seems to work )
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Danno's 7 string in the picture is a lined fretless.
Keith
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What is default tuning on the 7th? And how frigging huge must your hand be to play bar chords?
Deepwood, sounds like you might need to save a bit more, but who knows.
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Sonicus describes manifesting the fretless vision through dreams (good advice indeed). So, when someone tells you, You're dreaming man!, polite agreement is the way to go. And, Wolf's notion of double AXY's (volume/volume/filter) helps me walk the fretless dreamscape as it all comes together. I just have a good feeling about this...
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BEADGCF It just takes some practice. My point was that the mothership can make viturally any dream come true. This was a birthday present to myself and an excellent example of an Alembic fretless in cocobolo. They also made me a custom Exel shape fretless 5, lined w/leds. http://club.alembic.com/Images/631/36334.html?1215114170 (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=7510)
Again, best of luck in your search!
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Trip Wamsley uses an 8-string Alembic.
(http://alembic.com/club/messages/395/225320.jpg)
Here's a video of him playing it (there are quite a few more of his on YouTube) :
http://youtu.be/J6cDv_Cwgd0 (http://youtu.be/J6cDv_Cwgd0)
Luckily, that gorgeous bass was a Featured Custom (http://www.alembic.com/info/fc_trip.html) on this site, so we can get a very detailed look at it. (I love the P-bass-ish pickup arrangement.)
I've been obsessed with the song Finally (http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/wamsley-itsbetter?song=7) from It's Better This Way for a long time. The whole album is just him on bass(es) and I love the way he emulates everything from toy music boxes to orchestral string sections.
I hope that helps with ideas and possibilities.
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There is a maple four-string lined fretless Essence on Talkbass for $1,600.
Also a nice looking 81 Series I short-scale lined fretless up for auction on Ebay. Bass is located in Australia though. Starting bid (0 bids so far) is around $3,100. Two days left on the auction, you might be able to swoop in and get it for the minimum bid at last minute.
Good luck with the search!
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The Alembic Forum is a truly strong group! Many thanks to all who are helping me w/ this quest, and sharing their knowledge & experience.
I truly appreciate the heads up on those two basses, Stephen! The Essence is located in Ontario, and though I did have a bass shipped from Canada about 10 yrs ago, I can't remember how the import tariffs/duties apply.
I'm hoping some folks might share their experience(s) with shipping from Canada to the US? Or, there may be a posting on the Forum regarding this topic that I've missed?
That Series 1 in Australia is gorgeous! After shipping, and whatever tariffs might apply, it is likely out of my reach- even if I was successful on the swoop. Unfortunately, I've sold a lot of gear to get to the $3K ceiling for replacement & upgrade of my stolen fretless. SXSW will be in here in Austin soon, and fretless is needed to cover a couple gigs.
I've also enjoyed the seven & eight-string element of this thread! Expansion of tonal palettes foster re-interpretation of an instrument; and, as the instrument itself changes (5, 6, 7, 8 strings) that re-interpretation is, I believe, exponential. (Hope I didn't geek-out to badly right there...blame it on Ethnomusicology...Ha!)
Thanks again for the continued help! When an Alembic fretless does come my way, you bet I will share those photos.
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Here is one on Craigslist...
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/msg/5444839725.html (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/msg/5444839725.html)
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The Elan Fretless 6 is getting closer, thanks for the heads-up... if it were a fretless four string Elan, well, done deal.
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Here's one for sale (thanks to Jazzy for the link) https://www.zikinf.com/annonces/dispannonce.php?annonce=1240862 (https://www.zikinf.com/annonces/dispannonce.php?annonce=1240862)
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Yes! Thanks Jazzy & Flip! At today's exchange rate it is about $3,343.00US. Any tips (or redirects) about shipping from France to US are appreciated. After shipping & tariffs, it might be beyond my immediate reach, but we'll see. So, thanks again to all for keeping my quest in mind- Any Alembic 4 string fretless for about $3000US, or less, will be considered. A Rogue 4 fretless would be cool...
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Maybe send him an offer of about 1600 Euro, in todays market that would be reasonable. (thats about $1750, I would stay south of $2500 incl shipping on this one)
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Here's one, you could probably have the fretless fingerboard permanently installed if you prefer,
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Alembic-Spoiler-4-String-Bass-Fretless-Stainless-Steel-Fingerboard-/151972324688?nav=SEARCH (http://m.ebay.com/itm/Alembic-Spoiler-4-String-Bass-Fretless-Stainless-Steel-Fingerboard-/151972324688?nav=SEARCH)
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This looks nice...
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/msg/5454537166.html (http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/msg/5454537166.html)
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yes it does!
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Yeah very nice!
Upgraded electronics, most likely Elan or Essence +Q (2 preamps is Elan, one preamp is Essence) and maybe upgraded finish? (hard to see but looks like high gloss finish)
Info on the preamps: http://club.alembic.com/Images/16271/24781.html (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=222)
Stay away from the multi fretboard bass, unless you're prepared to spend some $$$ on the restoration.
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Yes it is best to stay away from the interchangeable neck spoiler. I recall reading somewhere on the site that there is a twist in the neck due to the modification. My guess is it would be fairly expensive to bring it back to original specs and likely exceed the resale value.
The Orion looks like a nice bass. I suspect it is the Essence w/Q switch package as that was a pretty common upgrade back when this bass was made. This is the same electronics I have on my fretted 5 string Orion and they work well. Looking at the hardshell case it appears to be a G&G who is the same company that makes the cases for Alembic. The price seems reasonable and is less than the street price from a dealer was in 2004. Around that time several of the East Coast dealers were selling them for $2350 with a hard sided gig bag (or would you call it a semi hardshell case?).
Keith
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I have an Orion 4 and the same electronics, it's a great bass! The electronics are effective and easy to use live, the bass is light and comfortable to play, and it sounds great!
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An update of sorts... While that perfect $2500 to $3500 Alembic fretless 4 has yet to find me, Warwick made a German Corvette fretless 4 that is doing a standup job for me at present- it's a clone to the one that was sadly stolen. Yet the dream still must manifest: a fretless Essence 4, Fretless Europa 4, Fretless Rogue 4, or a Fretless Orion 4.... Many thanks again to people on this forum. Much Respect!
Ps. My Warwick was built mostly by robots, and that concerns me at some level. (-;/ They are not alien robots though, so I guess it's all good. I mean, hey, I support interplanetary immigration, and specifically the legal immigration of alien robots to Earth, as much as the next guy. But will American robots lose their jobs to alien robots? Only a tear in the time vortex will tell us. Until then, we wait for an Alembic to appear.
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An update of sorts... While that perfect $2500 to $3500 Alembic fretless 4 has yet to find me, Warwick made a German Corvette fretless 4 that is doing a standup job for me at present- it's a clone to the one that was sadly stolen. Yet the dream still must manifest: a fretless Essence 4, Fretless Europa 4, Fretless Rogue 4, or a Fretless Orion 4.... Many thanks again to people on this forum. Much Respect!
Ps. My Warwick was built mostly by robots, and that concerns me at some level. (-;/ They are not alien robots though, so I guess it's all good. I mean, hey, I support interplanetary immigration, and specifically the legal immigration of alien robots to Earth, as much as the next guy. But will American robots lose their jobs to alien robots? Only a tear in the time vortex will tell us. Until then, we wait for an Alembic to appear.
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LOL (-!
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Dang!: Elan fretless (http://www.ebay.com/itm/1989-Fretless-Alembic-Elan-4-string-bass-NEAR-PERFECT-/121926015411?hash=item1c635b59b3:g:gcEAAOSwoudW6MYu target=_blank)
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Step away from that bass Flip..... :-)
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Thermy may hear you so be careful what you say about American robots. We need a happy and healthy Thermy to help the Elves with custom pickup routing and fingerboard sloting
https://www.instagram.com/p/47iQVdgNJb/?hl=en (https://www.instagram.com/p/47iQVdgNJb/?hl=en)
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Tyler, have you considered having Alembic do a fretless conversion on your Rogue 4? It's not cheap, but not prohibitively expensive either. It might be worth a discussion with Mica.
FWIW, I hear she has a few Elven Robots working there...
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Ahhhhh!!! Now the Elan fretless shows up... Wish me luck on negotiations with my financial planner! (-;
I hadn't considered a fretless conversion. My Rogue 4 is so sweet, hard to envision it going into elective surgery. With my preference for unlined fingerboards, I wonder what the subtle inlay options might be?
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I had maple sidelines put in my fretless Orion. I didn't want them to stand out too much so Alembic tinted them. Here is a link to a picture (http://www3.alembic.com/img/inst/13514_sidelinesM.jpg) of them.
Keith
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Pearl inlay in fretless fingerboards is problematic... if that's what you meant. The notes unavoidably sound different when they terminate on wood versus pearl. Regarding lined fretless, I'm pretty sure Mica (or possibly Susan) told me once they use white holly for the ghost frets, because it swells and shrinks at close to the same rate as ebony with given conditions of humidity. If you like that unlined look but still want some reference points, I *highly recommend* the fret sidelines. (I swear there's a picture of them on this Board somewhere, but I cant find it)
Another thought - if you're replacing the fingerboard anyway, maybe think about doing LED's. Once you get to that point though, you might have crossed back over into square one, cheaper-to-find-an-already-fretless bass territory. =)
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AH, ^THERE^ it is - Thanks Keith... you beat me by 5 minutes!
(Keith's Orion Nebula bass is what turned me onto sidelines)
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I didn't come up with the idea. I actually decided on sidelines after talking with Susan about why they didn't like inlaying fretless fingerboards and seeing the fingerboard on this bass (http://www.alembic.com/info/FC_tiger.html).
I highly recommend anyone considering a custom take the time to look at the Featured Custom archive. Not only will you see ideas you might not have thought of but can see how many of the features you are considering actually look.
Keith
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Nice!
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Hello again Alembic gurus! I'm still looking for that magic fretless Alembic 4 string. I was contacted recently by a Club member who was thinking of selling a fretless Elan 4, but I think I may have inadvertently talked him into keeping it! Ah, such is my enthusiasm for Alembics! And, after correspondence and conversation with this quality individual, I know that bass has a good home and is loved.
So, I'm still in need. The fretless I have now is doing fine and paying for itself, but I can't help it- I just want a fretless Alembic! Ideally the bass would be around $2,000US, but I could sell some stuff and make it to $3K. The bass will be on stage, not in a closet. I'm less concerned about cosmetics, and more concerned about having plenty of fingerboard left on a straight neck, solid electronics, and hardware that's functional.
This post, I guess, is more of an emotional appeal to someone that has an Alembic fretless 4 not being played much, but feels like the bass should be played. Collectors play an important role in the preservation and curation of instruments, and players give them life! Your contribution to my cause would not only increase the amount of Alembic tone in the universe, but would put gas in the tank & shoes on the feet!
Many thanks in advance!