It is in my hometown, so I went to take a look. I brought a power supply with me, and tried it out. I was pleasantly surprised that the electronics worked, although a little noisy. I did not try to dial out the hum. The bass could use a fret dress, but played ok.
The de-lamination on the headstock seemed to be just that, and not a break. I tried flexing it, and seemed pretty solid there. But there are other spots along the edge of the headstock that were de-laminating as well. There was an additonal screw hole for a strap button that someone added. It was located in the upper cutaway in the core of the bass. An odd spot for sure!
I passed on it, it was just a little too rough. It would need to go back to Alembic for the logo. While it's there you may as well get the missing inlay replaced, refinished, etc. There was so much wear in the wood between the 2 pickups I do not believe that it could be successfully repaired. I think to fix it, the top would need to be replaced.
The screws on the pickups were just as described. Speaking of screws, one of the screws for the battery compartment was broken off. It would have to be drilled and tapped out.
I think that the bass could be used as is, but I couldn't. That finish was just too rough. I already have a bass in similar condition that hopefully I will send back to Alembic for a refurb in 2026.
Michael
