Author Topic: Europa 4 Used Value (Read 188 times)

halftooth · « **on:** January 28, 2004, 10:34:06 PM »

I'm wanting to know what a 7 year old Europa 4 in dead mint condition with the following options should sell for on the used market:
*Striped Mac. Ebony facings
*7 piece neck w/ 3 Purpleheart racing stripes *Signature Electronics

David Houck · « **Reply #1 on:** January 29, 2004, 07:19:52 AM »

Are you saying the front and back body woods are Macassar Ebony? I would love to see pictures of that! What is the scale length? It's hard to know what such a bass would sell for since there is not much of a market in them; I guess it depends on what buyers happen to be out there when the seller is selling. Are you selling this instrument or looking to buy it?

halftooth · « **Reply #2 on:** January 29, 2004, 08:40:32 AM »

I'm looking to buy it. It belongs to a friend of mine, and yes, the front and back woods are a striped Macassar Ebony. The bass is a 34' sclae, and is literally in brand new condition. Alembic had to re-do the headstock, and as a result, they had to spray another coat of finish on the bass. After he received, it was just placed in a case and really not brought out all that much. So, I started planting the seed in his head that he should sell it to me, and I think he's now coming around to doing so. He's thinking 2000-2200 for it. I'm trying to see if that sounds about right.

David Houck · « **Reply #3 on:** January 29, 2004, 09:10:42 AM »

First off, do you like the sound of the instrument? The Ebony probably contributes to a fairly unique tone. When you say that Alembic had to re-do the headstock, was it damaged? To what extent? The fact that the headstock was repaired probably decreases the value to some extent. However the fact that the repair was done by Alembic should help from a value standpoint and probably has resulted in a perfectly good instrument. The Ebony definitely increases the value if you like the tone. Given what you've told us, and depending on the headstock situation, and depending on whether this is the bass you really want, I would say that $2,000 - 2,200 is very reasonable. You previously posted that you were looking for a short scale SC model and in particular a Brown Bass. Since you are familar with this instrument, you know that a 34 wide taper Europa is not a 30.75 narrow taper SC. And that the tone, especially with the Ebony front and back, is not the tone of a Brown Bass. And I believe there is probably a substantial weight difference as well. But, depending on the headstock situation, it sounds like a wonderful instrument and well worth $2,200 to someone.

willie · « **Reply #4 on:** January 29, 2004, 10:04:26 AM »

halftooth
europa's come with a 5 pc. neck, (3 maple & 2 purpleheart)as standard so that neck is an upgrade. also that macassar ebony is an upgrade and not a cheap one so as long as the peghead repair is ok, and since alembic did we will assume its as good as can be i would say thats a good price. does it have led's? signature electronics is also a step up. lets see some pictures if possible. and hell, if you don,t buy it let me know, it would make a great sister to the europa i already have.
willie

halftooth · « **Reply #5 on:** January 29, 2004, 10:34:13 AM »

I was deadset on the SC short scale until I played one with a strap. The balancing was an issue with me because I couldn't get the bass to sit in just the right position, even with a wide Levy's strap! I'm sure though that if I were to buy one and play it for a while, I would get used to how it sat.

The tone of the BB, as most of you have mentioned, is much different than the Europa. The BB had a woodier tone for lack of a better word. I was more or less looking for that in an Alembic. I thought it would give me more of a traditional sound. After playing this Europa right after I played the BB, I realized that the Europa was more my style, plus, the bass balanced much better. The shape of the Europa is much more similar to what I'm looking for as well.

As far as the neck goes, the three P-heart inserts was an upgrade. I was told by someone before that Alembic normally only uses two on the 4's and three on the 5's and 6's.
The headstock repair wasn't due to damage at all. In fact, it was really a minor repair. It had something to do with one of the tuners not fitting perfectly. There was going to have to be some finish to be reapplied, and from what I understand, Alembic decided to just respray the entire bass. I guess they wanted to go above and beyond in customer service which seems really cool to me. They also swapped out the gold/bronze tuners to the black ones which they thought made the bass look a lot better as well. I was really impressed with that customer service from Alembic when I had heard that.

I guess what I'm hearing is that I should probobly shell out the dough for this one!

bob · « **Reply #6 on:** January 29, 2004, 11:38:38 AM »

halftooth - for your sake, I hope your friend doesn't try out the custom quote generator... if I'm reading it right, a new one today would list around $8500 (2600 of that for the mac. ebony front/back). So even if you were getting 15% off through a dealer, it would still be over 7K. (Looking at an older price list, it might have come out about 1500 less.)

Or you could look at it as paying half price on a virtually new 5K bass, and getting the ebony thrown in for free. Plus you don't have to deal with shipping, and best of all - no waiting! If you like the sound, feel, and look, I'd go for it before he wakes up.
-Bob