Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Serial Number / History Requests => Topic started by: Yutaka Hiwatashi on April 06, 2020, 04:58:52 PM
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Hello!
I bought a old SSB bass.
The serial number is 79 1370.
Please tell me the details of specification.
Best regard!
Y.H.
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I would love to see a picture of this beauty!
Michael
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Me too. Welcome to the world of Alembic.
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Thank you!!
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79? Congrats!
*(I just can say it was built back in 1979)
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Hiwatashi-san,
we would love to see some photos of your bass!
Greetz
Oliver (Spyderman)
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I will send pictures of my pretty bass.
When having arrived!
Regars.
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Beautiful instrument. :) Welcome to the Alembic Club, Yutaka-san.
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Super nice!
Zebrawood on the back of the headstock? Same on the back of the body?
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Very nice!
Yes that classy configuration with the zebrawood on the
back on the headstock.
JE had that aswell on his Spyders.
Greetz
Oliver (Spyderman)
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Thanks!
This is the neck and back body materials.
Y.H.
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Beautiful bass, congratulations! :)
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What is the wood on the surface?
Is it maple?
Do you see in the photos?
Please advise.
Y.H.
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Yutaka-san, due to the ongoing shutdowns here in the United States from the COVID-19 pandemic, Mica may not be able to get to her records, so I wouldn't want to post out of turn. I believe she will eventually confirm though, that is certainly a maple top and back, I would guess on a mahogany core. The dark laminates in the neck should be purpleheart.
Your bass also has an interesting feature not usually seen... those two thin dark pinstripes on either side of the neck running through the body are know as 'framing veneers' today. It may have been ordered that way, or its purpose may have been to add a bit of width to the body wings, possibly covering a mishap in the round-over process. Whatever their reason, I really like these a lot!
It is a beautiful instrument, one of the finest made, and should bring you many years of enjoyment.
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Sorry for inquiring without considering the effects of coronavirus
Advice, thank you very much
Y.H.
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That bass is beautiful!! I really like the framing veneers too. That does look like a maple top to me too with a bit of birds eye figuring. That bass is just so pure with the original finish and no modifications that I can see. Stunning!
I also really like the form fitting case you have it in. I think that is the same type of case that was supplied for the Fernandez basses. All of the Fernandez basses I have seen had that type of case with the celery green inside.
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I have gained a lot of new knowledge about my bass.
I did not know that the thin brown line was unusual.
By the way, is this case really for Fernandes?
Recently, it was good to buy a spare case with the AREMBIC logo in purple.
Everyone,Thank you very much.
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Hopefully, you meant "ALEMBIC"! Congratulations, by the way. Beautiful bass, and nice case, too!
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アレンビック!!!
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Thanks for your comment.
And also ありがとう‼︎
I want to wait for data from Mica.
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Your case looks a lot nicer than the Fernandes I've seen. I just noticed similarities as it form fits the bass and the light green upholstery.
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Yes. I think the case of the first photo I posted is also an old Alembic case.
As you said, the body and cushion are just fit. However, there is no logo mark.
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That frame seems to be a contrast line to differentiate neck from wing top/back as they all look to be maple. Tasteful.
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Thanks Mario!
I see. Certainly it's all maple, so it might be an accent line.
Artistic work!
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My 79 SS case is black on black with no Alembic logo.
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Thank you.
The 79 SSB cases found that there was no Alembic logo.
I believe my case is original,too.
Y.H.
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Everyone. Please give us another advice on SSB. Sorry for some questions.
What kind of string is good for my short scale bass?
What kind of strings do you use?
I throw away the old strings and use the Daddario 45-105set, but I get a buzz. Especially the 4th string. Please let me know if you have a recommended strings.
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Congratulations on the new bass. It looks and I assume plays well. Alembic sells its own strings which are good if you like a brighter sound. Personally I’m a believer in TI flats. Not cheap but they last forever and sound good whether you are plucking the strings with your fingers or a pick. Some here, however, feel they don’t have enough tension and feel floppy. I use TI flats on all but one of my Alembic basses
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I prefer flatwound strings, and I use Pyramid Gold flatwounds on my Short scale Alembic. They are higher tension strings and not as bright as TI flats.
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Thank you.
Thomastik-Infeld / JF344 and Pyramid Strings / EB-Gold .040-.100 short scale chrome-nickel flat wounds. Both are sold in Japan, so I would like to try these.
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I ask you anther question. my SSB bass is been almost 40 years, but the neck is slightly warped. neck seems to be stable, but is it okay to adjust the truss rod?
Is it better not to adjust too much?
how about do you think?
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The thread below should give you all the information you need to adjust the truss-rods and get your bass set up properly. Alembic basses are easy to adjust and it is a good idea to learn how to do it yourself. Make small changes and then wait a day to see if you need to do more after the neck settles in. Plenty of help for you here if something about the process is not clear.
http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=311.0 (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=311.0)
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Thank you!
Read another page and try.
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Now, based on your advice, I am adjusting the condition of ssb. Please tell me. What size driver should I use to adjust the pickup height? I couldn't get into the small pickup cover hole with my driver. SSB made in 1979. You can also introduce related sites.
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Now, based on my advice, I am adjusting the condition of ssb. Please tell me. What size driver should I use to adjust the pickup height? I couldn't get into the small pickup cover hole with my driver. SSB made in 1979. You can also introduce related sites.
The screws on top should be the same as the ones underneath, so just use a smaller size Phillips driver that does fit into the hole. If you don't have one at hand, you can also remove the two screws on top, move the pickup out of the way, adjust the two underneath, and put the pickup back in place. Make sure that you do not overtighten the screws, or the shell might get damaged.
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I did not know that. So that's it. Once, I remove the pickup cover. Then use the screw below to determine the height. Then tighten the upper screw again. I'll try it.
Thank you very much.
Y.H.
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I did not know that. So that's it. Once, I remove the pickup cover. Then use the screw below to determine the height. Then tighten the upper screw again. I'll try it.
Thank you very much.
Y.H.
There is no pickup cover. Other than that, you should be fine. :)
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Ah, entirely my own fault for calling the housing a shell. :)
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Okay, thank you! ;D
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A JIS should work for the Phillips screws.
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Pauldo-san!
I saw your live photo! Your Distillate is also wonderful !
funky! Banzai! ;D
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Arigatou gozaimasu Yutaka.
I know of JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) from my 1981 XJ Yamaha motorcycle. You can NOT successfully use a Phillips screwdriver on a JIS head screw.
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Not only the driver but also several wrenches are inch standard, so I ordered them from Alembic mail order.
Thank you for your advice.
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Now, I'm in the line !
I found 79' SSB (no serial No. info.) in my archives. It was on the Yahoo auction over 10 years ago.
Top wood is very similar with pin stripe between the neck and body.
But it was lying dawn on the blue lining, exactly the case was original blue case.
Your case is made for Distillate bass (Alembic logo on the top) by YAMAHA, not for Fernandes.
However the bass is very nice example !
Congrats Yutaka san !
Please ask me any question by Japanese.
My address is in my profile.
Eiji
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I found more info.
It was listed on Yahoo auction at 2005 Mar. by original owner.
I had never seen it from 15 years in Japanese market.
Eiji
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Thank you for the valuable information that was exhibited in Yahoo auction in 2005.
The serial number is 79 1370, so I think it's 1979, but when you open the circuit there is also a handwritten character that says 1980/6,
I'm asking MICA for the exact date of birth.
Also, the case was made in Japan when Yamaha was an agent.
In any case, thank you for the information.
From Y.H.
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My beloved SSB. There is a difference between the serial number written on the end of the neck and the date written on the circuit. Which is the correct birthday? I think the new date is the correct birthday, but does anyone know about this gap? I love her!
I want to know her birthday! !!
Y.H. :-* :-*
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Number 79-1365 has a birthdate of June 7, 1979
http://alembic.com/club/messages/394/30622.html?1156549312
And 79-1373 is June 21, 1979
http://alembic.com/club/messages/394/54701.html?1236514792
So yours is likely from around that time.
This is a handy reference link
http://members.ziggo.nl/alembicserialnumbers/alembic/10.htm
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Thank you very much. Mr. rv_bass. This is very nice information.
Actually, I thought I would be the happiest if my own birthday was June 4th and miraculously the same birthday. I am very happy just to know that it is the same Gemini.
And,I am very thankful for the link I did not know. :-* :-* :-*
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Hi Yukata,
Here's the details I found in the instrument file:
serial number: 79-1370
top: Maple
body: Mahogany
back: Maple
neck: 5-piece Maple and Purpleheart
scale: 30.75" short
fingerboard: Ebony
inlays: Mother of pearl
peghead veneers: Zebrawood
pickups: Alembic SC1/HX
controls: Series I
birthday: June 14, 1979
originally made for: Rokkomann, Kobe, Japan
There's no note of the framing veneers in the original record, but there's also no place on the form that was filled out for that so it's not entirely surprising. I've added that to the details now.
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Hi MICA,
Thank you very much for being busy.
I'm so glad to finally find out her exact informations and birthday!
I will cherish her for a long time in the future!
Y.H.
;D
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I've got a serial answer, but there are things I want to look up.
Are the DS-5 and DS-5R of the preamplifier exactly the same circuit?
The sound of Alembic SSB is wonderful and I would like to buy DS-5R if I upgrade.
Please let me know if you already have the answer in another FAQ.
Thank you.
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Yutaka-san,
The DS-5R is simply the rack-mounted version of the DS-5. Both are only power supplies providing around +/-18V DC and there is no other audio circuitry. The only difference is that you have an extra set of output jacks on the rear of the DS-5R.
Jimmy J
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Jimmy-san,
Thank you for the information.
I learned that the circuits are the same.
I would still like to buy the DS-5R as a backup!
Y.H.
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There is a question about a tenor base.
My base is SSB made of 79 year.
What do you choose as a string of a tenor base?
::)I'd like to copy for Stanley Clark.
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Yutaka, I’m not sure about your strings question, but there is a rack mount DS-5R for sale right now on reverb.
-Rob
https://reverb.com/item/34189892-alembic-ds-5r
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I am toying with stringing my sc deluxe as a a tenor so the string gauge is of interest to me also.
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Yutaka-san,
I think (although I don't know for sure) that Stanley's "lead" bass is tuned a fourth higher - so the bottom string is low-A and is the highest is C (A, D, G, C). String companies usually refer to these sets as "piccolo bass" so if you search that term you should find some options. You may need to alter your instrument's nut and bridge saddles to accommodate these smaller gauges.
Jimmy J
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Happy Birthday to #79-1370 today too. :)
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Thank you very much.
It seems to be tuning of A D G C certainly.
0.32 gages will be set in 1 handle.
And thank you for celebrating a birthday of 41 years old of SSB(6／14).
Her owner was a birthday of 60 years old, too!(6／4)
:-* :-* :-*
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Many Happy wishes to you both !! :D