Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Serial Number / History Requests => Topic started by: echo008 on January 18, 2021, 11:53:33 AM
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Hello, I just purchased this bass, was hoping to find out some history, I was told its had a refin, new fretboard w/abalone ovals and electronics upgrade, I would love to see if Alembic has record of this?
Thank You
- Tom
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Hi echo008, here are the results of a previous serial number lookup for this bass, but maybe Mica has more info now.
http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=22314.msg225188#msg225188
-Rob
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Thanks Rob. So it was inconclusive if Alembic did the work but it sure does seem like they did. And we know that it had the electronics upgrade? I would say that alone is proof they did the work no? who else could do the upgrade...
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If the electronics look like the images in Rob's link, then there is no electronics upgrade. There isn't much else I can tell you than what was in the file a few years ago, sorry.
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Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to answer. Can I ask, can you tell if the ovals and the truss rods look “right” ? Sorry to bug you I’m just looking for your opinion, won’t hold you to It. -T
http://club.alembic.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=22314.0;attach=1969;image (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=22314.0;attach=1969;image)
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I have not had any noise issues with this bass, but the image in the referenced link does reflect the current state of the electronics, so my original assumption that the bass had the electronics upgrade was incorrect. It’s good to have that clarification, thanks, Mica.
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Yeah it pretty much looks right from these photos. I would say the refinish was tinted, because the polyester doesn't yellow like that. The only thing that looks a little odd is around the HX - its that just dust or something else? Is there something about the truss rods and ovals that gives you pause?
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Hello
The Rods and ovals looked right to me, I just wanted to hear your opinion on it since there was not any “official” record of work being done at Alembic. I appreciate that.
The refin I don’t know maybe Rob can chime in. I don’t have the bass in my possession yet.
It looks very well done. Can you tell from this photo below.
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I don’t know for certain since I did not have the work done, but I would agree that the finish is likely tinted. When I compared this bass to my other Series Basses, everything looked equal. It’s a fantastic bass, but let me know if you have any reservations about the bass when you receive it, I want you to be as happy with it as I was.
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Thank you. Appreciated. Bass is actually “out for delivery” right now.
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As far as the electronics upgrade goes don’t necessarily make a decision to send it back if it doesn’t have one as Mica suggested. I have three Series I basses none of which have the upgrade. One is absolutely silent no matter where it’s played and I have had it in studio and at many live settings. One is noisy except for a few spots in my home. The other is in between. No need to get the upgrade if the original product still functions as intended even in a new century.
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Appreciate the info. Like Rob mentioned the bass has been quiet for him, hoping that’s the same case over by me. Thanks!
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We tint finished all the time for people that want the bass to look as close as possible to it's aged condition. The rubout looks very good, I don't see many others get that detail as good as we do.
It's actually not about the product still functioning as intended. It's because about 30% of the older models have the pickups matched well enough to have tolerable levels of noise. We traditionally didn't do any matching, because the pickups all had the same number of turns on the coils. However, because the amount of copper varies in the wire draw (the same length of wire will have a different number of copper atoms in it), that level of matching isn't always good enough in the much noisier environment of today. The upgrade goes way beyond the noise level floors and makes instruments quieter today thatn they were decades ago in the quieter environment decades ago.
Even if an instrument is quiet, I would not rely on a non-upgraded Series I or II as my sole instrument on a gig. I would take a backup in case conditions change because even the same location will change over time so a previously quiet place may require you to face a certain direction to be quiet.
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Thank you Mica, I understand. You would recommend the upgrade in general for any older series instrument. Can I ask. what the cost is? I’m not gonna be able to do anything else now but would be good for future reference in case. Right now I guess, I gotta see how the bass reacts to my environment.
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Mica, in the 2016 thread Rob linked, you say the center neck lam looks like cherry to you; in the last pic in the last post in that thread, it looks to me like the center lam is actually lams - cherry with walnut on either side. Could we get your thoughts on that, please?
Peter
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For what it's worth, I have had NO trouble with my instruments needing the upgrade. My Series basses are older Series 1's and Series II from 1972 to 1981.
I may have a newer one on the way though!
Michael
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It all depends with the upgrade - it also depends on your expectations of sound. Most people tolerate a lot more noise than my dad does! And a good percentage of the older guitars and basses are completely adequate, though an upgrade will make them even quieter. The price is a two-tier depending if it's "easy" or "hard" - $850/1950. The hard ones have brass backplates and truss rod covers (or the worst - the ones withe the brass mounting bar for the pickups)
Peter, I did see all 5 laminations in the neck, and the center laminate does look Cherry to me - and like you I think it's flanked by Walnut. It would be VERY unusual to have a 3-piece neck back then. On a 1976 index card, "Maple and Walnut" for the neck would imply a 5-piece neck with a Maple center laminate, which this bass clearly does not have.
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After a short adventure down to the big city, 270 is back with me.
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Since there's an open discussion about this bass, I'm curious about the pickups. I can't recall seeing the more modern shape Series bass pickup cast in caramel color... only in the earlier two-tab mounts. I guess there can't be many... or much way to know how many. Rob's bass has enough unusual/unique features that I wonder if they were cast especially for it on a customers request, perhaps having seen, or even owned another instrument with them. (I'll paddle back to the shallow-end now.) ::)
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I will say the neck profile of these 76 basses is my favorite; thin, narrow, very comfortable. I have had a couple of 76 basses and they are all the same. Just great. :)
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Greg, we've made many different colors of cast pickups. Of course with the "brown" pickups there are MANY shades, and they do age. The polyurethane ages and so any color will not be stable, just like the originals. The most difficult color is the classic BSB color that the polyurethane originally came in. At the time, many people did not like the color of the pickups, as so black became the dominant color. We can still tint the pickup casting material, but it's not totally predictable.
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Thank You for the clarification, Mica... I'd been wondering for a while. ;)
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Well since wasn't marked with an (x) I pulled the file again, and looks like the repair order made its way back in the file! So I can confirm in 2005 we:
1. installed a new adjustable nut
2. installed a new tailpiece
3. repaired a crack in the control cavity
4. installed threaded inserts for the cavity plate
5. installed a new fingerboard (no note of inlays, but can't understand why they wouldn't be done at that time)
6. install new dual truss rods
7. fill in hole & strap pin on lower horn
8. says "mini switch?" so I don't know if one was replaced
9. new case
Any refinishing must have been done at an earlier visit or somewhere else. Fun to find a another piece of the mystery!
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Hi Mica,
This is a nice surprise! Great to see that the work listed was done by Alembic (sans the finish, which is undetermined). I’m guessing that the reference to a “mini-switch” was a replacement of one of the Q switches, since one is black and one is lighter colored.
Thanks for posting!
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The black one is the replacement.