74 -53 guitar on ebay

[ivorypic]

I just posted this to the listing but felt it would be best to post it here too. I just spoke with my Guitar Tech who went through the electronics; cleaned up connections, tested, etc. All passive aspects of the guitar function fine, and all active functions currently do not. He said the pickups, all the wiring, knobs, and connections are good, but the pre-amp, what he called the PF-6, is not working. His oscilloscope is down so he is not currently able to test further to see what part or parts may be bad. The PF-6 from what I understand is the circuit board  mounted to the back plate of the guitar.  
 
Thanks,
Peter.

[phillywill]

Hey guys that's my old guitar (yes, I'm the one who had the Roland GK-2 installed). I bought it at a Chicago area Guitar Center, about 1982. It was my main axe in a Minneapolis band called Cats Laughing. I sold the whole rig when the band broke up.
 
The headstock break was repaired by the luthier at a Minneapolis music store called Knut Koupee in late 1983. (I believe by the the same guy who built Prince's guitars back in the day.)

[lbpesq]

Peter:
 
No disrespect to your guitar tech, but how experienced is he with Alembics?  They are completely different beasts electronically from everything else out there.  If this is his first Alembic experience, you might want to suggest that he contact Alembic directly for guidance.  The folks there are incredibly friendly and helpful once you get in touch with them.  And they treat owners of used instruments the same as if they just bought a brand new $20K instrument!
 
By the way, I applaud you for being honest and forthright about the guitar's condition.  I just had to return a guitar I won on eBay because the seller grossly misrepresented the condition.  What he described as ready to gig and mint condition - the finest example you'll ever see was actually a bit beat up with non-functioning electronics.  I hope I'll get all my money back, but even then I'll still be out $50+ for return shipping.  
 
Finally, I can assure you that even with the electronics problem, I'll still be watching and bidding above where it's at right now.  Fortunately, I live about an hour from Alembic, so I can conveniently bring it back home for any repairs/restoration should I win the auction.
 
Bill, tgo

[afrobeat_fool]

Dang, Bill. How come you get all the old guitars out there? LOL. I might want this one. Some of us can't compete with all that NORML money. I might have to break out some of that internet money we are all owed. My wife just slapped me, it's all yours bill.
 
 
Nick

[afrobeat_fool]

Dang, Bill. How come you get all the old guitars out there? LOL. I might want this one. Some of us can't compete with all that NORML money. I might have to break out some of that internet money we are all owed. My wife just slapped me, it's all yours Bill.
 
 
Nick

[edwin]

Hey Nick, I just got my student loan check so we could go in half and half and share it!
 
:-)
 
My wife will have the same reaction though. Oh well, she loves the new Series I!

[pace]

I only made 10K off of my hedge funds this week, so I'll have to pass as well.... (have to grease the pool-babe for winterization!!!)

[toddharris]

Hi Mike - great looking early Alembic - oh man, gotta love the pre 100s. Significantly better pricing than Neil Young's which I would have loved to have! Todd

[pace]

agreed, Todd!!!  
 
Oldies, but goodies fo'sho'!!!  
 
BTW, nice to see the BANDITS steppin' out lately!!!!  
 
I think we're all scratching our heads wondering where NY's #15 went.....  
 
FWIW, I don't have a pool or dabble in hedge funds... lol...

[ivorypic]

Hi Bill,
 
You ought to file a claim with ebay and you can likely get your shipping $ back. I have the feedback rating I have for a reason. I don't like returns!(so keep it straight to start with and it avoids the hassle for both of us later)
 
My friend could likely build an Alembic from the ground up if he was so inclined. He went through the guitar when he built the pwr supply in '93 and had everything working correctly, but he had a working scope and a schematic then. The scope died today, and the schematic is long gone, so under the circumstances it seems best to sell the guitar as is and give the next owner something to do besides play. When talking to my tech he said he could easily get a schematic for $10 and possibly find a scope to borrow and dive in to repairing it, but with the timing of everything I don't feel it's the right thing to do. If I were to go the route then I would feel it best to pull the listing, fix the guitar, (ordering parts? etc) then relist with proper description. As it is I think I'll be fine with wherever it ends and call it a day.
 
Thanks,
Peter.

[mike1762]

Hey Peter
 
Please don't take this as any sort of value judgment on your guitar, but you might want to be sure that the wining bidder is aware of the addendum you made to your listing.  I almost didn't see it because I thought the ad ended after the black box... there's a fair amount of space between there and the addendum (at least on my browser).

[ivorypic]

Hi Mike,
 
Absolutely. This will be pricey to ship and I want to keep it straight for all concerned.
 
Thanks,
Peter.

[ivorypic]

Hi again Mike,
 
This is an unfortunate part of how ebay works, and I wish their recent update addressed this better in terms of where description updates are placed. It is in the most visible place ebay will allow once bids have been placed. There is a reference in the main ad that says I will be posting findings from my tech later on, so hopefully people catch this.
 
Thanks again,
Peter.

[toddharris]

So who is the lucky new owner?

[lbpesq]

Not me.  It went for about $500 more than my highest bid.
 
Bill, tgo