Author Topic: Hole in my Alembic (Read 740 times)

lysosome · « **Reply #15 on:** June 02, 2006, 05:36:21 PM »

Yeah..I toyed around with the idea of making a pickguard when I first got it. Woodworking is a hobby of mine, so making a pickguard wouldn't be much of a problem. I was thinking of making one much like the brass control place your bass has, Keavin.

Still a little undecided though..I'll post some pictures if/when I modify it.

Thanks everyone!

lysosome · « **Reply #16 on:** June 02, 2006, 05:59:23 PM »

By the way, Keavin, what kind of wood is #12 made of?

keavin · « **Reply #17 on:** June 03, 2006, 06:02:58 AM »

walnut top/mahogony core, the neck is purple heart/walnut strips then the ebony fret board......hey that brass pick guard sounds like a good idea....or since you work with wood a good creative cut-out Could give that Bass a new face!

David Houck · « **Reply #18 on:** June 04, 2006, 06:24:16 PM »

There's a trim pot there, so at least some of the original electronics are still there. But just looking at the picture I can't tell much more than that. The grounding wire attached to the shielding is not original. If it were me, I think I would ask Alembic what would be required to restore the electronics to original or better. The idea of a top mounted electronics cavity cover is a good one; and as you may have noticed in the Showcase section, a series of Distillates made for export to Japan had such a cover. I would even inquire of Alembic if they could construct the cover and mount the electronics for you; but that's just me. Looking at the pictures I linked above, it appears to be an otherwise nice Alembic and it wouldn't take much to make it a very nice Alembic.

lysosome · « **Reply #19 on:** June 04, 2006, 08:52:55 PM »

I dunno Dave..I don't really have the money to restore it right now, especially the electronics. I'm 17 and work part time in a guitar shop; I dont have a whole lot of cash :p. I've talked to Larry Banks over the last week or so about an Alembic of his that I'm going to buy soon. I'm probably going to have to sell this Spoiler, but am going to make a pickguard and clean the entire bass before I do so, just so it's not such an eyesore.
It's a shame that whoever did this to this bass was allowed to do so. Ah well though...I'll do what I can.

David Houck · « **Reply #20 on:** June 05, 2006, 06:24:23 PM »

Well, here's something else you might want to consider, or not. If you are going to sell it, you might want to try listing it here first in our For Sale section before making any more changes to it. Depending on the condition of the existing electronics, it might be worth it to someone to have Alembic add a Pan and Q and maybe even bass and treble quick change switches, and have them mounted on a nice Ebony plate. It would result in a bass with the flexibility of a Europa at what might be significantly less than the cost of a used Europa, Rogue or even Distillate. If you were to make further changes to the bass before you sell it, it might, for some folks, actually lessen the value. But I'm just guessing; it could be that no one is presently in a postion to attempt the project. But it might be worth the listing to find out.