Spoiler on ebay, buy it now US$899

[bob]

I'm not an ebay guy (no transactions on either side yet), but just got an email from a reader here who has owned an Alembic for ages but is not formally a member, and therefore not able to post.
 
Don't know anything about the bass, the seller (not the guy who mailed me), or even that much about Spoilers, but it sure looks like the real thing to me.
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38080&item=7314955584&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[bsee]

Looks pretty good.  If you ignore all the Prince hype, it's still a very good deal!  If I were in the market, I'd jump on it.  Being black, you would think Danno would buy it.  I think he has the single largest collection of black Alembics on the planet...
 

[petiteblonde]

If any of you are in the market and have any reservation about bidding, please call the seller at the number listed in the eBay post.  I talked to him at length a couple of weeks ago, and the Prince thing is possible (St Paul/Minneapolis, Prince's home base).  It wouldn't matter to me who had owned it if the bass was right for me.  I would have bought it, but already have an 86 black spoiler just like this listed one.

[David Houck]

The text is interesting.
 
From the listing: For controls it has 2 volume knobs, 2 tone knobs and a splitter switch.

[petiteblonde]

The photo only shows 3 knobs and 1 switch, just like my Spoiler.  I can understand how he thinks there are 2 volume knobs, since the teardrop shaped knob seiously affects the overall volume.  I'm still on the low end of the learning curve, so I don't know what everything does or is called yet.  I got the impression from talking to him that he doesn't see many Alembics, mostly lower priced instruments in his location.

[fmm]

I went to the store over lunch and looked at this bass:
 
It has seen some significant wear.  There are several chips in the finish.  The output from the bridge pickup is much lower than the fingerboard pickup, even though it?s considerably higher.  The Q switch is in upside down (at least compared to mine): you flip it up to engage the circuit.  There is no logo, or evidence that there ever was one.  The brass truss rod cover has 4 square corners.  On mine, the corners nearest the fingerboard are rounded.  I don?t think the tuners are original.  On the A & D tuners, the small ?tab? that the mounting screw goes through has been half broken off, and only one screw secures both tuners.  The nut is set abnormally high (you can see the gap on the 2nd picture on ebay) but I don?t think that?s a big deal.  There?s a second strap button on the lower horn.  No idea what that?s doing there.  The fingerboard may never have been oiled and it shows.
 
I don?t mean to sound so negative.  I think the bass sounds great, and I?m going to mention it to my students (I doubt any will bite, though).  I?d be thinking about it if I hadn?t spent all of my money on a new cabinet saw.
 
If someone wants further details let me know.  I could probably spend another lunch hour looking at gear.

[bsee]

Well, the tuner thing is normal on those basses that had the narrow cone headstock.  Also, the truss rod cover on my '82 has all squared corners.  Finally, some tweaking of the trim pots inside the control cavity should clean up the pickup balance issues.

[dannobasso]

I puts in a bid. Now to be fair I have 2 black, 1 almost black and another black excel on the way. 1 black ric, 1 black t-bird, 1 black les paul and 1 black japan strat. Does not a black bass owner bleed too?  
Danno

[ajdover]

Danno,
 
   Don't forget, you have a natural Ripper.
 
   You must like black, huh? ;-)
 
   Of my 15 instruments, I have natural, sunburst, and tangerine Jazz basses; a natural Ripper and RD77 Artist; a Tobacco burst Thunderbird; Autumn Glo Rick; Greenburst Ovation acoustic-electric; Natural Godin A4; Cherry Sunburst Peavey; Flame Maple Spyder; Wineburst Europa; Natural (coco bolo) Dragon's Wing; Natural Musicman; and an amberburst Pedulla MVP.  Basically, I run the gamut.  You on the other hand ... ;-)
 
    I had a black Rick at one point - I'm still looking for a used 4001 in decent shape that I can convert to what I had, e.g., Badass Bridge and Schaller tuners.  It was the first high end bass I'd owned, so there's a bit of the nostalgia factor there.
 
    Hope you win the Spoiler.  I know it would go to a good home where it could join multitudes of instruments that look just like it!
 
Best of luck,
 
Alan

[bsee]

I have one black bass.  It's a Dean with a Jazz-spec neck.  It's the E-Lite model from a little over 20 years ago, and I am the original owner.  Real cool looking guitar, but I haven't really played it in 15 years or so.

[dannobasso]

I do have a goodly amount of other woods as well, remember my family picture?  7 other Alembics in quilt maple, cocobolo, flame walnut, flame koa, and what ever the SC deluxe is plus a Stambaugh that's figured whatchamacallit. Also have a quilt maple w /red mockingbird, flame purple hamer, and dark blue flame schecter 7 guitar. Oh yeah, I forgot about an Ovation prototype el/ac bass in black/grey metallic.
Yes....I do like black. Now if I can keep my checking account balance black........
Danno  

[adriaan]

(Messy editing.)
 
(Message edited by adriaan on April 13, 2005)

[adriaan]

(Still messy ...)
 
(Message edited by adriaan on April 13, 2005)

[adriaan]

There are a few variations on the cone headstock, and I think this one is the original shape, which is narrow at the bottom but isn't really pointy:  

  The two other shapes that you see are the current one, which is overall wider:    

  ... and the rather more rare pointy one:    

[adriaan]

I give up ... here's the really pointy one: