Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere => Topic started by: gtrguy on June 17, 2019, 11:09:22 AM
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De-fretted Spoiler fs at GC
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/ALEMBIC/Vintage-1980s-Spoiler-Quilt-Maplt-Electric-Bass-Guitar.gc
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Oh man, I will be in Asheville in about 10 days. I will have to go check it out if it is still available.
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Ha, so I called that GC, had them look the bass over with me on the phone - they couldn’t find the serial #... I am guessing this is an ~1986 Spoiler due to neck pickup placement.
I am hesitant to buy what is obviously a defret job over the phone/internet. GC does offer a 30 day layaway so I am considering that, basically I can make them hold it until I can go try it out in person.
Before I bought my Series 1, I was hot on getting a Marleaux Diva fretless which is probably at least $5k new. The Series hurt my budget (but so worth it) so I don’t know when I would actually be able to pull that off. This could be a nice way to scratch the fretless itch but I just don’t know...
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$2k is way too much fro a de-fretted Spoiler.
You can get a Spoiler in great shape, all original for around that price.
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The serial number was most likely stamped into the end of the fingerboard. There's a possibility that it's inside the control cavity too, either written by some conscious-driven soul before they sanded it off, or stamped there by Alembic if it's a late enough model, although I'm not certain exactly when that practice began. It's worth a look if you can talk them into it.
Regardless of the number, you've already got it identified though... mid-to-late 80's Spoiler, defretted. I'd try to get it cheaper, or just wait for one. A wise old Club Member used to say, "There will always be another..."
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Thanks everyone, I am going to pass on doing any action now. When I get to Asheville, if it is still there, I will give it a whirl and depending on how that goes, I will see how realistic they will be on lowering the price.
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I am popping into this GC today to give this bass a spin. I will report back afterwards.
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The serial number won't be in the cavity on one of this age. But there may be a number under the neck pickup than might be able to be cross referenced to the serial number.
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The serial number won't be in the cavity on one of this age...
For future reference Mica, (and my own curiosity) when did this practice begin? I had kinda' assumed about the same time as the switch from stamping the numbers into the end of the fingerboard to a brass truss rod cover... y'know just for something a little bit more permanent. ;)
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Thanks Mica, if I can come to agreement on pricing, I will look under the pickup.
First, I want to say that the store manager for the Asheville Guitar Center (John, I believe) was a really nice person.
That Spoiler played so nicely and sounded great through the little MarkBass rig that I tested it through. The simplicity of the controls was perfect, the 8db boost for the Q (right?) was great for really emphasizing frequencies and getting unique fretless tones. It also really led me to explore technique/hand position more for tonal explorations too.
Here is the nitty gritty though:
The bass is beat up - some of it is definitely to be expected but there is definitely one headscratcher...someone sanded a chunk of the mahogany but didn't get the maple top. The only explanation that I could thinnk of was that someon played the bass really high and it made the bass more comfortable in their armpit (!?!). Some screws were really rusty. Whatever was used to fill the frets is starting to come out/has come out in a few areas. So that would need some work quickly. The ebony fretboard shows wear from roundwound strings.
The neck was sanded so this makes it very fast so not sure if it is a plus or minus :)
Since this bass has been classified as vintage, the store has no control of the ccost. Guitar Center in Hollywood sets the pricing. The manager of the store went in the back and email them, shared my concerns and asked for a price drop. They declined. The price won't drop at all until the bass has sat in the store for 90 days, so that is Mid-September for this bass.
I am going to watch the bass and see what happens. It would be cool to rescue it and get it in better playing shape. Tom Clement lives in Florida so I would consider taking the bass to him for a bit of restoration...if the price is right for the bass and his work. I would love to have the fretlines filled with wood. I have no shame and would dig lines that show up easily.
Anyways, we will see what happens. Later I will attach a couple of pics of the bass, I have sketchy internat out here in the woods.
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And, someone bought it.
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Another one will come along!
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It's okay. It needed a lot of work. I hope whoever bought it knows the actual state it is in. The GC pictures/descriptions don't match the actual condition of the bass...
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It’s back... now in the Hollywood store:
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/ALEMBIC/Vintage-1980s-Spoiler-Quilt-Maplt-Electric-Bass-Guitar.gc
I am going to call them, give them hell about the condition and see if they can become sensible about the price.