When is a Series II a Series I?

[rv_bass]

I recently saw an ad on GC in West LA for a Series II bass for fairly low price.  Figuring it was too good to be true I called and asked about it. I was told it was a Scorpion body shape Series II in good condition and was sent some photos.  It turns out it was a standard point Series I with cracked headstock and other blemishes, along with a DS5 that did not work.  I told them they should change the ad so that it properly reflects what they are selling.  Hope whoever buys it knows what they are getting.

[gtrguy]

Is that the one with no photo on their web site (West Hollywood)?
 
Yeah, I have been watching that ad for a while. I saw where they must have sold it and it was returned  a day or two later (listing dropped for a couple days) and I assumed it was a faulty listing. If it is the one I have been tracking, they have deliberately not posted a photo of it.  
 
I found a small photo of it (I think) in Dubai or somewhere and it was obviously a series one.
 
Once again, it is now listed as not for sale.
 
Fishy

[gtrguy]

Or maybe they just don't know what it is. However, considering the amount of vintage gear they carry, that is hard to believe.
 
I have always had nothing but good dealings with Guitar Center myself, other than the fact that they never answer any emails about used gear.

[rv_bass]

That looks like it.  They said it was in their vintage museum for the past ten years and it sold for the listed price this morning.

[alembician]

Last Monday I called twice (both times they said they would send pictures via email), talked with three people and no one could understand the phonetic Uh-lem-bic.  I had to give out the GC listing number to them.  Everyone was cordial and I was polite, but they didn't really know what was going on...

[sonofa_lembic]

I purchased the bass today to try to figure out what is really wrong with it.  I am returning it today since the circuit is D.O.A.  The power supply actually works.  The two 5 pin cables with it are also non functional.  I tested the bass on the bench with my functioning power supply and cable.  I also swapped circuit boards with a functioning 1980 Series 1 I have in stock, and there is a lot more wrong with the circuit than just the card.  When plugged into a working power supply and cable, there is a howl from the treble channel.  The bass has had a cracked headstock, has a crack in the output jack area, has the most checked and literally crispy finish I have ever seen, has a crack in the pickup, has wear on the top of the pickups, the pickup selector switch is worn out, and the truss rods are on the tight side.  It has definitely seen better days, and certainly was NEVER a Series 2.  On the positive side, it does play nicely.  The top and back are koa.  I would buy it at $1500.00 and repair it, but for $3600.00 including tax?.not a chance.

[sonofa_lembic]

Close Up Photos:  

 

 

 

 

  (moderator edit: aligned photos)  (Message edited by mica on February 25, 2016)

[sonicus]

Trevor,     I really must tip my hat to you for being such an adventurous investor !  
 
     Cheers friend !  
 
  Wolf

[rockerdebassman]

Each instrument has a story, doesn't it? This one might have been left to rot in the desert and crawled its way back to the market under false pretense. Shall it make it back to the mother-ship and a second life? Wait and see....

[rv_bass]

Wow, nice job checking it out!  I was wondering if it was the circuit board that was shot and not the DS5.  I actually offered him $1500 figuring it would need a couple thousand invested for restoration, he obviously turned down my offer.  Maybe someone will eventually get it for the appropriate price and have it restored.  The Koa is certainly nice!

[hammer]

This bass looks almost exactly like the one I just purchased from Alan (pacificshine) for $3600. Except for the fact that my bass has new PUs, no cracks in the finish, nor a broken headstock, a DS-5 that is functional, and most important of all...it works.

[gtrguy]

Well then, mystery solved!

[gtrguy]

Well then, mystery solved!
 
Did you happen to see a vintage 1950's Slingerland blue sparkle Radio King drum set they have for sale, but are not posting a photo of, while you were there??

[sonofa_lembic]

Drums are just not on my radar, so I probably saw them, but nothing registered.  
This bass was in the GC museum collection, and had been neglected for about 10 years.  The fingerboard came unglued, and the neck took a twist.  The repair dept. at GC, glued the fingerboard and somehow untwisted the neck.  Like I said, the bass plays and feels very nice currently, but that does not mean the twist won't return.  I really would like to save this bass, and get it back to 100%, but yes, the price would have to be around $1600.00 to make any sense of it.  Leroy, who runs the vintage dept. at GC Hollywood, seemed dead set on keeping the price where it is.  I suggested he just bite the bullet and send the bass to Alembic to have the circuit restored, since in the current condition, the bass is simply unsaleable at that price.  It needs a full circuit upgrade, and a new 5 pin cable.  As you folks know, that would be a minimum of $1700.00.  If you could buy the bass for $1.6K, that would bring the price back to what they are currently asking for it, and frankly more than it is worth.

[sonofa_lembic]

Wolf,  I am less of an investor than a sucker for a down and out instrument.  As you know, I am a luthier during the day, and I have a hard time passing up the challenge of restoring an Alembic that is teetering on the edge of becoming firewood.  I was also quite curious as to what the bass was, and what was really wrong with it.  The only way to really know was to get it back to the shop, and inspect it thoroughly.  I was also fortunate enough to have a Series 1 in stock from the same year, so I could compare the wiring, and even test using the working circuitry, cable and power supply.  With Guitar Center's 72 hour return policy, it was not a gamble.  If the issue had been simply the power supply, I would have kept the bass for restoration, but with the issue being the circuit, it is just an expensive project that is too much even for my strong desire to save the bass.