In line with our several recent discussions on when is a signature bass not a signature bass is this nice looking
small body bass on Ebay. The listing's title calls it an alembic signature standard. The only identification of the features is the basic description of a signature standard lifted off the Alembic site. The listing states that the list price of the bass is $5,700, which is the current list price of a signature standard. The listing does not say whether it's a Mark King or a Stanley Clarke; and it doesn't say anything about the top wood or the scale length. But the thing that really caught my eye was the controls. The description, having been lifted off the Alembic site, describes signature controls; but these do not appear to be signature controls. These look like Epic electronics. Big difference in price. And at this point, the listing starts looking a bit fraudulent. It may very well be the case that the seller has no idea what he has and that the inaccuracies in the listing are honest mistakes. Or not. And it could be the case that the seller ordered a signature bass with Epic controls; and that the serial number does indeed show the bass to be a signature. Or not. And I suppose that the seller could possibly have ordered a signature bass with filters but no Q switches. Perhaps a few kind emails will set the record straight and prevent some unfortunate buyer from paying signature prices for a bass that's not quite what it's described to be.
(Message edited by davehouck on April 17, 2005)
