Alembic Guitars Club

Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere => Topic started by: tomhug on August 08, 2019, 04:19:18 AM

Title: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: tomhug on August 08, 2019, 04:19:18 AM
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F163808705914 (https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F163808705914)


Don’t know a thing about this, but it must have had a colorful history.


Kudos to the seller for including so much good information from reputable experts in the listing.


Kudos to Alembic for building instruments so well they can be restored to this level.
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: David Houck on August 08, 2019, 05:32:36 AM
Interesting documentation.
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: Mark 63 on August 08, 2019, 07:37:16 AM
Maybe Turbo Tom got his mitts on this one.
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: gtrguy on August 08, 2019, 11:02:41 AM
-Neat bass. The battery cover looks like a homebrew too. So is the bass refinished over now? Looks like it was carefully done.
Totally agree about how nice the seller was to include all that interesting info.
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: jwright9 on August 08, 2019, 11:56:36 AM
There is another thread about this bass on here somewhere. I'll let Gregory locate it.  :D
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: edwardofhuncote on August 08, 2019, 11:58:45 AM
I think this is the same bass... if so, here is a thread by the luthier who repaired her truss rod.

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/replacing-the-truss-rod-in-an-early-alembic.1347719/ (https://www.talkbass.com/threads/replacing-the-truss-rod-in-an-early-alembic.1347719/)

If not, it's a remarkable coincidence. (which happens a lot here)  :)

*and yes, there's a thread here too, it'll just take me longer to find. I happened to be subscribed to the repair thread on TalkBass.
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: edwardofhuncote on August 08, 2019, 12:11:17 PM
Found it. Yep, #76-490, same bass. I'm not 100% certain that it's the same one in the TalkBass thread, but I'd take a cheap bet. ;)


http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=23429.15

Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: jwright9 on August 08, 2019, 12:23:37 PM
Found it. Yep, #76-490, same bass. I'm not 100% certain that it's the same one in the TalkBass thread, but I'd take a cheap bet. ;)


http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=23429.15

Yes, it is the same one. I remember inquiring about her on tb and reverb last year when it was for sale.
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: gtrguy on August 08, 2019, 01:40:43 PM
More pics of here on this CL ad:

https://palmsprings.craigslist.org/msg/d/yucca-valley-1976-alembic-series-bass/6952116959.html
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: David Houck on August 08, 2019, 02:50:13 PM
So it picked up a logo somewhere along the way.  Not sure what that thing with the two wall-warts is.

You can really see the difference in the two core halves from the top-down views.  Kinda looks interesting; a chocolate and vanilla effect.
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: edwardofhuncote on August 08, 2019, 03:01:52 PM
I'm particularly amused by how much information is available on this bass, when so so often on more -shall we say- pristine examples [used my G. Gruhn voice... ;D ] there's little or nothing to go on.

Yep, newer logo than the '76 issue. Maybe it came offa' a Fernandes - there's some justice imagined.  ;D

I do wish someone would scrub that black paint off the tailpiece.
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: jwright9 on August 09, 2019, 02:07:41 PM
Original listing from Reverb last year.

https://reverb.com/item/9982722-alembic-series-i-1976-nice-bass-guitar-second-price-update
 (https://reverb.com/item/9982722-alembic-series-i-1976-nice-bass-guitar-second-price-update)


Too bad the current owner didn't know about all the issues that were covered up with the white paint. Must have been frustrating to go to restore it and find out the hard way all the issues.
Nice that it has been restored to this point though.

Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: edwardofhuncote on August 13, 2019, 02:37:12 PM
A bid at $3750. Somebody will get a nice one. Dragons grow replacement wings... who knew?!
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: jwright9 on August 13, 2019, 02:58:24 PM
A bid at $3750. Somebody will get a nice one. Dragons grow replacement wings... who knew?!
Indeed, hopefully that bidder follows through and pays. I can see that they retracted their bid once already.


Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: mica on August 13, 2019, 05:05:41 PM
Was there a photo of the electronics cavity of this bass somewhere? The craigslist ad is deleted now, but I thought I saw a very shiny interior of the electronics cavity without shielding. But then again, my memory isn't quite what it used to be.
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: glocke on August 14, 2019, 01:19:09 AM
Only one truss rod?  My series 1 has dual truss rods, I thought they all did.
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: edwardofhuncote on August 14, 2019, 02:12:09 AM
Single truss rods until mid-'77.  ;)


That particular bass has a replaced truss rod, but it was a single to begin with.
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: gtrguy on August 14, 2019, 12:39:31 PM
I do remember looking at the control cavity on CL and thinking something was a little odd, but i don't know what.
Title: Re: Restored 1976 Alembic Series I with colorful history
Post by: rv_bass on August 14, 2019, 05:04:43 PM
Although I think Hieronymous’ ‘75 double neck has dual trussrods in one of the necks, but probably an exception. :)