Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Showcase => Series I Basses and Guitars => Topic started by: rv_bass on November 30, 2015, 02:27:53 PM
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Here are some photos of a 1975 Series I bass that I recently purchased. The pickup selector knob has been replaced with a three position toggle switch. The bass is in fine shape.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/222229.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/222230.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/222231.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/222232.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/222233.jpg)
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Wow congratulations! That's a great looking bass with some gorgeous inlays. Wonder what's up with the 2nd XLR connector? And are those thumb rests near the bridge pickup? Just a guess.
Tell us more!
Jimmy J
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The bass used to belong to Andy West. The second XLR connector and round dots were for a synth pickup.
Rob posted a Serial Number/History request earlier. My response included a link to another forum thread about this bass which has a link to Andy's description of the bass. I should have posted it here, too, so...
http://club.alembic.com/Images/395/138983.html?1347292437 (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=11054)
I am sure others here will be able to fill in more details.
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Yes.Congrats.Such a fine specimen.Beautiful and quite a history.When I was in high school I never knew that this was the bass I was listening to.
The great Andy West from the Dixie Dregs.
http://www.andywest.com/alembic.html (http://www.andywest.com/alembic.html)
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Congratulations !
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Thanks everyone!
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roooooooooooo.... had luck I was not so fast as usual..... ;-)
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The links provided by stephenr and smokin_dave mention damage to the neck when Andy West owned the bass. Looking at black and white photos of Andy West playing the bass, the neck looks to be constructed of maple, two purple heart, and possibly ebony in the center. The neck now looks like maple with two purple heart. So, it appears as though the entire neck through was replaced during the repair.
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Very Nice!! Love these classics.
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Is that a Bocate top and back?
Love the Tree of Life inlay on the fretboard
VMG
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Not sure, kind of looks like Bocate. Others have suggested it's Zebra Wood. I think the core is either Mahogany or Vermillion.
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Recently, Mica and the talented and creative folks at Alembic did a fantastic job (as usual) restoring and upgrading 75-174 with RMC pickups. Now each string has its own piezo saddle pickup. Many thanks to Mica and everyone who worked on this, it really came out great!
-Rob
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That is awesome! What synth are you using with it?
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I haven’t decided on a synth yet, still researching options, so I am open to suggestions. Thanks!
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That's fantastic Rob. 8)
If I ever have anything done to "Chain-Links", that'll be it. There was a time in the planning stages when I'd thought of piezoelectric bridge saddles as something to ask for, and just didn't follow through on. Great to know it's a possibility now. ;)
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Just thought I'd add a couple photos of the nice Tree-of-Life inlay on the fretboard of this bass.
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Absolutely stunning! What a work of art.
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Truly magnificent...
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Very nice! Would love to hear what you end up doing with the synth.
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Wow !
The bass has Synth driver again !
I am very interested how difference of the sounds RMC PUs and Graphtech PUs. (Metal vs Plastics)
RMC PU size is slightly over size for my narrow 5 strings, that I think.
I can't decided major modify, so my piezo project is minimal modify.
But I believe Rob's bass is one of best way !
Eiji
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Just saw the Dregs last night in NJ and was floored to see Andy on stage again with this bass!! Highlight of the night. Was it a one night loaner? Regardless, thanks for sharing it here and allowing him to share it with us again, even if it was for one night.
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Mica and everyone worked hard to prepare the bass, and he will be using it throughout the tour along with his six string bass. Great photo, thanks for posting!
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Sweet. It was nice to see him with it - totally unexpected.
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That's a very cool thing. 8)
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Absolutely gorgeous instrument...
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I'm curious when the fingerboard inlay got added. I definitely don't remember it from back in the day.
I also recall a bass being sold at Cambridge Music in Porter Sq. in the early 90s in Massachusetts that they said belonged to Andy West. Now I'm wondering what the story was with that bass and where it ended up.
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The inlay was added in the mid-80s, the bass you saw in Porter Square was likely not this one.
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You can read about this bass here (I’m the guy he mentions in the second-to-last sentence, the third owner of this bass):
http://andywest.com/music-gear/no-longer
Here is the Alembic file lookup info:
http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=5490.0
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The inlay was added in the mid-80s, the bass you saw in Porter Square was likely not this one.
Yeah, I've come to that conclusion as well.
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Just saw the Dregs last night in NJ and was floored to see Andy on stage again with this bass!! Highlight of the night. Was it a one night loaner? Regardless, thanks for sharing it here and allowing him to share it with us again, even if it was for one night.
That is so awesome - I was kind of jealous because I thought they weren't going to be coming to the SF Bay Area, but I just got my tickets for Santa Cruz 4/17! I've seen Steve Morse live once, but am really looking forward to seeing this band - and this bass!
If people are interested here's the Dregs website with tour dates:
http://dixiedregs.com/#about (http://dixiedregs.com/#about)
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Just saw the Dregs last night in NJ and was floored to see Andy on stage again with this bass!! Highlight of the night. Was it a one night loaner? Regardless, thanks for sharing it here and allowing him to share it with us again, even if it was for one night.
That is so awesome - I was kind of jealous because I thought they weren't going to be coming to the SF Bay Area, but I just got my tickets for Santa Cruz 4/17! I've seen Steve Morse live once, but am really looking forward to seeing this band - and this bass!
If people are interested here's the Dregs website with tour dates:
http://dixiedregs.com/#about (http://dixiedregs.com/#about)
Hah! The first time I saw them was in Santa Cruz at the Coconut Grove Ballroom! I still have the towel that Allen Sloan whipped out into the audience at the end of the show. Anyone want some 40 year old violin sweat?
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Updating with correct labeling. Moderator, if you don't mind, can you please delete the labeled photo on page 1 of this thread (or replace with this one if that's possible)?
Thanks!
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Replaced the three-position toggle pickup selector switch that had been installed previously with an original Alembic four-position rotary pickup selector switch. The toggle switch was wired in mono for all selections when using the five pin or 1/4", so I had it wired to its original stereo output configuration. I also had the RMC piezo-mag blend pot added, so now I can go from all magnetic Alembic pickups to a range of blend between magnetic and piezo, to all piezo. I can also mix those pickup designations with the synth, or just have synth only, or have bass pickups only. This is a very cool bass for experimenting with all kinds of sounds. Here is an updated photo...
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Here are a couple more photos of the inlays...
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Old 174 is approaching Mission Control status. 8)
The blend function is a big advantage. :D
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I absolutely love this inlay and if I could afford one would have this on a custom bass.
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Adding a couple more photos, it’s such a nice bass :)
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The new pictures are nice; great bass!
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This is most certainly an exemplary image of beauty , elite craftsmanship and function . I love it .
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:)
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I had a cool strap made for this bass :)
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Regular folks don't do things like that... ;D
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😎
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Weight 11.2 pounds