Alembic Guitars Club

Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere => Topic started by: gtrguy on March 06, 2020, 12:34:15 PM

Title: Converted SS Series on Reverb [confirmed as a Fernandes]
Post by: gtrguy on March 06, 2020, 12:34:15 PM

Converted SS Series on Reverb
Warning, not for the faint of heart! PG13 or worse for significant modifications.


https://reverb.com/item/32744488-alembic-series-1-ssb-jc-1970-s-natural-left-handed-conversion (https://reverb.com/item/32744488-alembic-series-1-ssb-jc-1970-s-natural-left-handed-conversion)

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: gtrguy on March 06, 2020, 12:41:38 PM

Oh, and the "pickups are missing some screws".

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: mica on March 06, 2020, 01:20:26 PM

Ummm.... Anyone considering this needs to confirm the guts. This really looks like a Fernandes bass to my eye. There's no evidence of a logo ever being on the peghead, and the FAB basses used a decal that many just remove.

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: xlrogue6 on March 06, 2020, 01:21:08 PM

At least "the phaser circuit is working"!

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: mica on March 06, 2020, 01:25:21 PM

I'm actually heading downtown in a little while, so if the traffic's not bad and I can park I'll pop over to this shop and get under the hood and see what's in there.

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: xlrogue6 on March 06, 2020, 01:27:52 PM

Here's an old thread with pics of a non-hacked Fernandes that look to me to confirm Mica's suspicions.
http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=3897.0

[changed the link to topic at the current Club]

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: David Houck on March 06, 2020, 01:35:34 PM

Looking forward to Mica's report!  (Especially with regard to the phaser circuit.)

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: edwardofhuncote on March 06, 2020, 02:16:55 PM

I agree, that looks suspiciously Fernandes... neck laminates proportionally off, light wood body core, no logo mounts, no numbers, that oddball selector switch knob, etc. all bears out Mica's keen eye.


That being said, I call dibs on the phaser... I got this humongous bear gettin' in my trash at night.  ;D


All jokes aside, as a loothier (goofy spelling intentional) can I just say, whoever did the conversion did some interesting, kinda' thoughtful stuff. Note how they made a continuous wood backplate of the dropout piece from the secondary control cavity to replace the original? I have on several occasions thought about how to do something like this job. I might've gone about the 'pickgaurd' a little bit more artfully, but this was no rank amateur hackjob.

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: jwright9 on March 06, 2020, 02:20:20 PM

Also thinking it could be a Fernandes... I asked the seller about this... His reply:
"Hi There , we got confirmation from a local luthier that this is a Bass that was built by someone that worked at Alembic and that this is not a Fernandes , although they do look very similar , Thanks . TM"

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: neyman on March 06, 2020, 02:55:09 PM

I was going to say Fernandes.

Looks like a rosewood fretboard to me

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: xlrogue6 on March 06, 2020, 03:18:53 PM

I've had dealings with this seller. Not the brightest bulb in the box.

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: mica on March 06, 2020, 05:16:17 PM

I stopped by the shop this afternoon, but the bass wasn't there. They sent it to a guitar repairman to see why the electronics weren't working, pickup selector didn't have output in all positions. Sigh. Anyway, they are supposed to send me a photo of what's in the electronics cavity. I'll report back when I know anything more.

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: David Houck on March 06, 2020, 05:51:13 PM

 :)

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: mica on March 12, 2020, 06:18:22 PM

I got pictures of the electronics tonight and I can confirm 100% that this is a Fernandes bass.

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb
Post by: David Houck on March 12, 2020, 06:48:43 PM

Thanks for the sleuthing Mica!

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb [confirmed as a Fernandes]
Post by: gtrguy on March 13, 2020, 10:42:27 AM

Hopefully they didn't pay too much for it.

Title: Re: Converted SS Series on Reverb [confirmed as a Fernandes]
Post by: xlrogue6 on March 13, 2020, 03:24:49 PM

As it was foretold...

Thanks for the update, Mica.