Alembic Guitars Club

Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Serial Number / History Requests => Topic started by: garth4664 on December 22, 2017, 12:18:20 PM

Title: (x) Series 2 fretless 79 1444
Post by: garth4664 on December 22, 2017, 12:18:20 PM

Hello Mica and team,

Rescued 79 1444 from an Canberra pawn shop in Australia. It’s a series 2 long scale fretless with red side leds and what looks like a vermillion top and back. Keen to get any history you may have. Kind regards, Garth

Title: Re: Series 2 fretless 79 1444
Post by: pauldo on December 23, 2017, 07:27:06 AM

Nice score Garth!  She is beautiful.

Title: Re: Series 2 fretless 79 1444
Post by: garth4664 on December 24, 2017, 02:13:47 AM

Thanks Paul :)

Title: Re: Series 2 fretless 79 1444
Post by: garth4664 on December 28, 2017, 03:40:58 PM

My good friend and local luthier extraordinaire Tom Konig thinks the top and back are likely to be Sapele.

Title: Re: Series 2 fretless 79 1444
Post by: garth4664 on December 29, 2017, 10:27:32 PM

Bass back plates polished 👍

Title: Re: Series 2 fretless 79 1444
Post by: germansal on January 03, 2018, 04:03:16 PM

From a pawn shop!!!wowww and what about price???

Title: Re: Series 2 fretless 79 1444
Post by: edwardofhuncote on January 03, 2018, 04:53:57 PM

A-Ha! At last, the magic of Series II electronics is revealed... there is a tiny little upright bass inside them!   ;D

That is a beautiful instrument Garth. Congratulations & Compliments to you sir.  8)

Title: Re: Series 2 fretless 79 1444
Post by: garth4664 on January 03, 2018, 07:14:34 PM

Thanks Ed and German,

Despite coming from cash converters (pawn shop) it was not too cheap...but I still think it was a nice deal 😁

I believe the top and back are from the same tree as this one:

http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=14993.msg153809#msg153809

Thus likely that the build card will say top and back mahogany. Sapele is a type of mahogany, or a close relation as far as I understand so it all makes sense :)

Still interested in any history on this bass. The original anvil case has a “Jazz FM 88/KLON” sticker on it. No other clues so far... anyone seen this bass in the past?

Title: Re: Series 2 fretless 79 1444
Post by: mica on January 18, 2018, 12:38:28 AM

Hi Garth,

You're absolutely right - this IS a Mahogany top and back.

top: Mahogany
back: Mahogany
body: Mahogany
neck: Maple and Purpleheart
scale: 34" long
fingerboard: Ebony
peghead veneers: Mahogany
originally made for: Studio 42
birthday: October 10, 1979

We had this bass in the shop in 1980 and refinished it for the original owner in Pennsylvania. It got a new owner in Pennsylvania in 1998 and that's the last we heard from it until you stumbled across it. The bass is really quite stunning!

Title: Re: (x) Series 2 fretless 79 1444
Post by: garth4664 on January 18, 2018, 01:52:13 AM

Thanks Mica, it’s getting a lot of playing now. What a great fretless! Another one that the mothership should be very proud of.

Title: Re: (x) Series 2 fretless 79 1444
Post by: serialnumber12 on January 18, 2018, 05:12:29 AM

kool ass Bass!!!.