Alembic Guitars Club

Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Serial Number / History Requests => Topic started by: Tobias Valentin on October 27, 2016, 03:41:49 PM

Title: (x) 97k10834 USA
Post by: Tobias Valentin on October 27, 2016, 03:41:49 PM

I live in Copenhagen together with a terrific electric bass guitar – it is an Essence 5, that plays amazingly well, and it is really some experience playing it, because the quality of the instrument makes a shortcut between ideas and the actual sound.
It’s actually my girlfriends’ bass. She lives here too. She got the bass as a present from her father, who bought the instrument in a guitar shop in New York City some years ago.

I am curious about the wood and everything else that it is made of. I'd love to learn more about this lovely instrument.

Here are a few quick photos of the bass.
Thank you.

Regards,
Tobias

(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k299/TobiasValentin/Alembic-Essence-5-image1_zpss91s3cff.jpg)

(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k299/TobiasValentin/Alembic-Essence-5-image2_zpstmi1a1xv.jpg)

(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k299/TobiasValentin/Alembic-Essence-5-image3_zpsc3dse4z6.jpg)

Title: Re: 97k10834 USA
Post by: tbrannon on October 27, 2016, 04:00:58 PM

Beautiful essence 

I'm guessing you have a flame maple top over a mahogany body.   Neck is maple with small walnut veneers.  Standard Essence electronics. 

Love that blue !!

Title: Re: 97k10834 USA
Post by: jazzyvee on October 28, 2016, 07:21:53 AM

Lovely bass and having black body on the back is a cool touch too.

Title: Re: 97k10834 USA
Post by: Tobias Valentin on October 28, 2016, 08:50:22 AM

Thank you for your comments.
Yes, it is a nice blue. The back of the body looks almost black on the photo. In brighter light it is a dark azure/blue-green, with visible wood structures.

Title: Re: 97k10834 USA
Post by: edwardofhuncote on October 28, 2016, 09:42:46 AM

Interesting to see a mahogany (?) core on an Essence.

Beautiful bass Tobias, my Congratulations & Compliments to your girlfriend. (hopefully this is a shared asset)  ;)
 

Title: Re: 97k10834 USA
Post by: mica on November 02, 2016, 06:53:27 PM

Hi Tobias,

Here's the details about the bass you live with:

serial number: 97K10834
model name: Essence
model number: KLB5
top: Flame Maple
accent: Purpleheart veneer
body: Mahogany
neck: 5-piece Maple with 4 Walnut veneers
scale: 34" long
fingerboard: Ebony
inlays: none
side markers: bronze dots
finish: Saphhire Blue
pickups: MXY56
controls: "Essence" volume, pan, filter, mono output
originally made for: Manny's, NY
birthday: June 16, 1997

The original owner was in New Jersey.

The Essence model originally was only in Flame Maple with a Maple back. A few years into it we opened up to some other restricted wood choices, and now it's custom anything of course :)

Title: Re: (x) 97k10834 USA
Post by: Tobias Valentin on November 17, 2016, 04:20:29 AM

Thank you for taking the time to look in the archive.
It was great to learn more about this cool bass. It even shares the birthday of my band mate's 1-year old son.

I think the original owner was my father in law. He is Norwegian, but perhaps stayed in New Jersey at the time I guess. I remember someone in our family told me he bought it in a "famous guitar shop in New York". That makes sense - Manny's.

Fascinating with all the different kinds of wood used.
What a bass, it makes the world a better place.