Alembic Guitars Club

Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Serial Number / History Requests => Topic started by: edwardofhuncote on February 19, 2019, 07:37:26 AM

Title: (x) #77-621
Post by: edwardofhuncote on February 19, 2019, 07:37:26 AM
Mica, this wonderful old Series I is in my care here in Virginia now... I'd appreciate any information you can find on her from your files. Of course I know who the previous custodian is.  ;)


Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: tbrannon on February 19, 2019, 09:20:48 AM
that's 3 now?  congrats!   love that straight grained top.  really beautiful bass.
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: edwardofhuncote on February 19, 2019, 09:43:08 AM
Quite a brood of Dragons seem to have taken up residence at my house... this one however, is the most senior among them, and is my only Series-equipped Alembic. I'll do up a Showcase Thread and tell the rest of the story once there's a chance to take some proper pictures.  ;)
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: goran on February 19, 2019, 12:10:12 PM
wow that looks like really nice bass, I bet it sounds as it looks.
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: elwoodblue on February 19, 2019, 12:53:52 PM
Wooohooo!!!  Congrats.
  ;D


 (let me know if you need a DS-5)
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: rv_bass on February 19, 2019, 04:12:00 PM
Awesome, congrats, Greg!  Beautiful bass!
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: mtjam on February 19, 2019, 04:24:43 PM
Wow! Very nice!
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: pauldo on February 19, 2019, 04:29:26 PM
Gregory... I think you have a problem.

 ;D


That really is a beauty, the previous owner obviously loved her deeply and we know you will do the same.
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: hammer on February 19, 2019, 06:23:56 PM
Gregory


Congratulations. I know you've been scoping out what is on the market for some time now looking for that Alembic you just can't refuse and I just knew it would eventually come to you. This appears to be a very nice specimen.


Just remember once you strap that thing up and hoist it onto your shoulders that it's okay to sit and take the load off your spine every three or four songs or so ( the slow ones that is).
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: sonicus on February 20, 2019, 02:40:11 AM
Congratulations ! Very Swell indeed
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: edwardofhuncote on February 20, 2019, 02:34:49 PM
Thanks All!  :)

Well, my firsthand experience with Series basses is limited to a small handful of about a half-dozen, but in a very short time I have totally bonded with this one. It has some of the best traits of my '81 Distillate and Custom fretless, and I swear there's a little bit of my Persuader in there too... so weird! The one that sticks out in my mind though, is the most obvious- it is remarkably close to another sibling bass I played a while back (#77-954) that belongs to another Club Member who was passing through. That one is also a medium-scale walnut-topped Series I... nearly a twin. Playing that bass was a turning point for me.

More later, after Mica weighs in here, and I take some decent pictures, but in short, I love it... very much looking forward to playing it with the band.  :D
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: the_home on February 20, 2019, 05:39:17 PM
Gregory -
Very nice Series you've found. I'm interested in the bridge. It doesn't look like the earlier style (mid 70s and before) which appear to have a more curved look. Yours looks flat. Transitional design maybe?
Enjoy your new physical therapy apparatus.
Tim
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: allgood on February 20, 2019, 07:48:35 PM
Congrats!,
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: edwardofhuncote on February 21, 2019, 01:01:39 AM
Definitely a very transitional model Tim, though I am not sure how many variations on the channel bridge there were... According to Eiji-san's Archives, #77-630 was the last to have one, so maybe at the time of #77-621, they had begun using up old parts. No idea, but I'd love to know.

Here's a better picture of the bridge and tailpiece, for posterity.
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: rv_bass on February 21, 2019, 04:00:26 AM
The ‘73 bass for sale on Reverb has the same bridge with straight ends. 
Title: Re: #77-621
Post by: mica on February 26, 2019, 07:08:29 PM
Here's the details from the instrument file:

top: Walnut
body: Mahogany
neck: Maple, Purpleheart, and Beech
scale: 32" medium
fingerboard: Rosewood
inlays: mother of pearl
peghead veneers: Zebrawood
originally made for: Rothschild

It had at least two owners before you, and both are in the Alembic Club.

Walnut can get a good bit lighter over time - this looks like it sure did.
Title: Re: (x) #77-621
Post by: edwardofhuncote on February 27, 2019, 02:49:39 AM
Thank You, Mica.  :)

Indeed it is a pale, more orange-colored walnut.

A beech central neck laminate... interesting! Like, anti-ebony.  ;D  (well, not really, but it probably does help explain the unusually warmer, woody tone of this one)