Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Serial Number / History Requests => Topic started by: mchlfloyd on July 17, 2019, 04:52:33 AM
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I have an Alembic Bass. I got it from Reliable Music Charlotte NC. It was said to be the 1st to be sold on the East Coast. I think it is a 1st year of production. The two #'s at the top of the headstock 74 and 72. Is this considered the serial #
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Welcome Michael.
Well, that is quite an entry to the serial number lookups! :)
I will wait anxiously for what Mica comes up with for your number, as information on the early ones tends to be scant, but their details capture my fascination.
I would guess your number is 74-72, meaning a 1974 year, and the 72nd instrument produced. Usually, the year would be stamped on the G/D side of the neck, and the sequence number on the E/A side. Would love to see a picture of it.
Again, Welcome.
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Hey Michael,
Welcome to the forum. As Gregory said, if those numbers on top of the headstock are clear then that is probably the 72nd Alembic built in 1974. (I'm not sure which way they were stamped ... but as you read them it was year first and # second). We're all interested in anything Alembic so please post a few pics when you are able, and tell us the story of how it landed in your hands.
Jimmy J
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Yes, 74-72 is the serial number. The first two numbers are the year of the build, 1974; the second two indicate that is was approximately the 72nd instrument built by Alembic.
Alembic was founded in 1969. The first Alembic bass was built in 1972 - Jack Casady's 72-01. You can read the history here (http://alembic.com/family/history.html). It's a really good read.
I grew up around the Charlotte area in the 60's and early 70's, and lived there again during the 90's and early 00's. I purchased a few things over those years from Reliable Music.
[edit] Hah! Looks like Gregory and Jimmy beat me to it.
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Pictures???
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My mistake on the serial# it is 58-74 according to my letter from Sam. Here are a couple of photos.
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Julius (my Alembic) Best Bass I've ever played. I do love my 58 P-Bass I don't want to insult something I have played all of my life.
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Wow, that’s beautiful, nice find, congratulations! The serial number on the document indicates that it was the 58th instrument made by Alembic and it was made in 1974 (74-58).
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You've actually got more details than I have on the card for this bass, so I'm filling in some of my blanks. There's a note that says we sold this to LD Heater, our distributor at the time and that it was at a NAMM show. Perhaps Reliable ordered the bass at the show.
The only other thing I can tell you is there's one person missing from the list of builders, Ron Wickersham, since he did the electronics. I'll have to tease Sam about leaving my dad off that list when I see him next week :)
There's no record that this was the first one sold to the east coast, but it is the 58th instrument we made. We don't reset the numbers every year, they just count up from 1 in 1972. In any event, this is a very early example of our work.
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One of the blanks I can fill in is the inlays are mother of pearl. To fill in the veneers blank, I'll need to see a clear closeup of the front and back of the peghead and I'll be able to make an educated guess on the matter.
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Julius is a fantastic work of art, Michael. Extra-cool you have the original papers too. Thanks for sharing with us!
If you are still in the North Carolina area, there are a few of us around... I'm just up in Southwest Virginia. Do stay in touch... it'd be nice to get a few of these basses together.
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Looks like a sweet bass! I love those color pickups. I don't think your P-Bass will be offended - each bass has something to offer.
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Jimmy J, The first time Julius landed in my hands. Melvin the owner of Reliable was a close friend who loved music. He also did sound and some recording for a band I played in called Hummingbird. One day he called and said he had something I needed to come to the store and see mysteriously. So there it was it chose me. I told Melvin I couldn't afford it and I already had my 58-P-bass. After Hummingbird broke up I was asked by a band in the Greensboro are to come up and jam. It went well and they wanted to start a band. We called it Free Whirled Band. These guys had bought the Alembic Bass, and had two Alembic guitars, but the bass had been stolen. After a few months we heard a guy was playing an Alembic Bass in a club in Raleigh. He gave it back reluctantly and it was in my hands for the second time. With the electronics the music Whirled we were Free. For about five years we continued our journey never looking back, only in the now could the music control the game. A wonderful experience I am grateful. Thanks mica the only people I knew that created Julius was Ron, Rick, and Sam. The magic spread from the west coast to the east coast. To be continued....
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What a gem, great buy, congrats! A great story os a piece of history...
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Wow, that is quite a tale about the bass changing hands like that, but great that it ended up back in yours! I also first learned of Alembic from my local music store guy Jim Harms back in 1975 and I haven't put one down since. That tone kinda rang my bell you might say.
Your bass looks to be in excellent condition, like new! Have you been playing it and does it all function as it's supposed to? I bet it sounds great.
More pics when you can please,
Jimmy J
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Just wondering, does your bass have clear gloss or satin finish? Can’t tell from the photo. Very nice bass :)
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Would love to see more pictures of that eloquent beauty.
Looks like the pickup mounting has evolved since 1974.
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I also have an Alembic guitar. This one was a custom order. It is solid maple. The band I played with had several Alembic guitars. In 1997 I played once again with some the same members of Free Whirled Band. Particularly Alan Clontz. Alan had two Alembics. After he passed in 2000 his wife was going to sell the Maple Alembic. I offered to buy it to keep it in the family of musicians from these bands. We are kind of attached if you know what I mean. The serial # located after the 24th fret is 79-14-06-USA. I have more history on this one also. Thanks Michael
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here is a couple of photos of gigs with Julius. Two bands Hummingbird 42 reunion and Grewp Onit.
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Grewp Onit Year 2000 at Alan's Memorial.
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Michael; back in 2007 several of our club members in North Carolina got together at Shomaker Music in Burlington. There we met John Clontz and Christopher Clontz, and Kim Shomaker, and Christopher had Alan's '75 S1. There are pictures of John and Christopher and Alan's '75 in this thread: http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=9783.0 (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=9783.0)
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Just did a quick google search, and apparently Alan Clontz played with Willie Tee in the 70's. I remember seeing Willie Tee's band play in Chapel Hill back then, so I may have seen Alan play.
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I thought that name sounded familiar, Dave... now I know where from! Good catch. :)
Yes indeed, Michael, enjoying the stories and pictures of your Alembics. You may need to post another thread for your guitar info lookup. Sounds like the serial number is #79-1406, which when stamped just past the 24th fret should be right for a 1979 build. Great that you already know where it's been all this time.
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Alembic has a satin finish. I kept it in a Pink anvil case most of the time. The band bought it for me and they also called me Pink Floyd given my last name and the kind of music we played. Laughed a lot!
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Michael, love that last pic... sunny day, beautiful bass and that unmistakable Alembic smile! ;D
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Great photos and thanks for the clarification regarding finish.