Alembic Guitars Club

Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Serial Number / History Requests => Topic started by: rv_bass on November 30, 2015, 12:58:50 PM

Title: (x) 75-174
Post by: rv_bass on November 30, 2015, 12:58:50 PM

Hi Mica,
 
I recently purchased a beautiful Series I bass. When you get a chance, can you please provide information for 75174?  
 
Thanks very much,
 
Rob

Title: (x) 75-174
Post by: flpete1uw on November 30, 2015, 01:21:55 PM

Rob,
  Would love to see some pictures. There is a group here that dig the old ones, the ancient ones and alas the wiser with age ones.  
I have 75-215!  
Best of luck,
Pete

Title: (x) 75-174
Post by: rv_bass on November 30, 2015, 02:30:34 PM

Thanks, Pete, I just posted a couple of pics under the Showcase tab.
 
Rob

Title: (x) 75-174
Post by: StephenR on November 30, 2015, 03:28:09 PM

So you are the one who snagged the Andy West bass from GC... congratulations!
 
There is at least one other thread about this bass on the forums here.
 
http://club.alembic.com/Images/395/138983.html?1347292437 (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=11054)

Title: (x) 75-174
Post by: rv_bass on November 30, 2015, 05:18:21 PM

Thanks, Stephen!
 
Yes, I saw it posted on the GC site in October, scraped together the funds over the last month.  Thanks for the link as well, interesting history for this bass so far!
 
Rob

Title: (x) 75-174
Post by: mica on December 15, 2015, 11:28:32 PM

This is an interesting bass.
 
Here's the scant details from the original build card:
 
serial number: 75-174
model name: Series I*
model number: LSBI4
top: Zebrawood
accent: none
body: Mahogany
back: Zebrawood
neck: Maple (only wood recorded, but pictures of Andy West with bass show darker laminates in the middle)
scale: 34 long
fingerboard: Rosewood
inlays: Abalone
originally made for: NAMM display (don't know if 1975 or 1976)
birthday: not recorded
 
OK, so we know from the history that Andy West posted  here (http://www.andywest.com/alembic.html) that he purchased the bass from Charlotte's Reliable Music, who we must have sold the bass to at the NAMM show.  
 
In 1980 Andy sent it in to have the peghead repaired and the frets dressed.  
 
In 1981 Andy sent it in again to have the peghead repaired. We also repaired the power supply as the thermoprotector needed replacing.  
 
There is an undated note with the synthesizer wiring:  
1-black
2-red
3-orange
4-blue
Which explains the second XLR housing and the holes on the front where the pickup was previously mounted.  
 
In 1985, the second owner of the bass had the whole neck replaced, keeping the original body. This was recorded as 5-piece neck, which is typically maple and Purpleheart. He also had us leave the fingerboard black because he was considering a custom inlay, which he apparently had us do (though it's not recorded, it looks like our typical Tree of Life design).
 
Whew! The other little note is this bass has the top from The Zebrawood a massive board with Bird's-eye figuring and wiggly flames here and there that we made a lot of guitars and basses from.  
 
*Calling this a Series I, though technically these model names were not yet established.

Title: (x) 75-174
Post by: rv_bass on December 16, 2015, 04:55:20 AM

Hi Mica,
 
Thanks very much for the detailed information, very helpful!  It looks like this bass has had quite a journey so far, fitting for a creature of the '70s! Living retro!
 
Rob