Alembic Guitars Club

Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere => Topic started by: garyhead on July 21, 2025, 01:55:17 PM

Title: I Find This Hard To Believe
Post by: garyhead on July 21, 2025, 01:55:17 PM

There is a Spoiler on Reverb:
https://reverb.com/item/91431123-alembic-spoiler-1983
Seller states the repair was done by Alembic.  I find it hard to believe Alembic would Not match up the wood better than that.  Mica will have the final say.....but when I first saw it....I thought it was a photoshop!

Title: Re: I Find This Hard To Believe
Post by: edwardofhuncote on July 21, 2025, 02:06:30 PM

I'll say Alembic probably didn't do that. But I don't dislike the repair - it was well-executed. Then someone tore out the jack again.  ::)


I will guess that they didn't have access to fairly plain koa to patch the solid wing with, and the repair was going to show anyway. When I'm faced with something like this, I will usually opt to go with a stark contrast... something that says; "I meant to do that!" In this case, maybe birdseye maple or purpleheart. Possibly even a brass plate mount.

Title: Re: I Find This Hard To Believe
Post by: sonofa_lembic on July 21, 2025, 08:04:17 PM

Well, if you can't tell the difference between koa and zebrawood, I say it is a fail. Not bloody likely and Alembic repair, but then again, Ray Charles was working at Alembic for a short time....LOL.

Title: Re: I Find This Hard To Believe
Post by: keith_h on July 22, 2025, 04:01:15 AM

I agree with Greg that sometimes it is better to go with a contrasting wood rather than try to hide a repair that will still look like a repair. However I think they could have been a bit more tasteful by selecting a more compatible wood and not going with the straight lines and sharp corners in the patch. 

Title: Re: I Find This Hard To Believe
Post by: gearhed289 on July 22, 2025, 08:19:22 AM

I was thinking the exact same thing. Why zebra wood? Very nicely done, but an odd choice.

Title: Re: I Find This Hard To Believe
Post by: hammer on July 22, 2025, 02:07:16 PM

As Alembic is a custom shop, it's always possible that this is what the customer requested.  They have been asked to do and have done a number of things that are not to my taste. However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Title: Re: I Find This Hard To Believe
Post by: bigredbass on July 22, 2025, 07:07:16 PM

I wondered where Mr Magoo went to work after he retired from Hanna-Barbera.