Hello, all
My trusty Chevy pickup seems to be making new and frightening noises every day, and considering that I live 25 miles from work and haven't been playing either of my Small Standard basses, it seems pretty clear what I have to do.
Before anybody asks, Eiji says he will take the graphite bass off my hands, so consider it sold. If it becomes available I will let you know. The Big 6 isn't going anywhere.
I am the second owner of this bass, and acquired it in a trade about three years ago. The original owner replaced the tuning pegs with gold Schallers and a Hipshot Drop-D but made no other modifications. Unfortunately, he played the bass hard for eight years and then put it away, so even after all the labor I put into the bass it has some problems which I will discuss below.
On the plus side, the bass has the thinnest neck I've ever felt on an Alembic (measurements pending), but the neck is still very stable through the swings in weather we get here in the Northeast. The koa is dramatically flamed, with the figure spread evenly across the top and back. The sound is, to my ears, classic Alembic with a heaping helping of warm low-end that I associate with koa. The finish and fingerboard are in great shape, especially considering the bass is 27 years old. I hear no hum, buzz or extraneous noise and I live in an old Victorian with ancient wiring. My '95 tends to buzz when I play it at home through the same amp and power supply. The nut is solid brass (non-adjustable) and the bass weighs about 10 pounds.
The five lowest frets are heavily worn and will probably need to be replaced. Because the bass sat untouched in its' case for about 15 years, the tone pots are corroded and according to Mica will cost $80 each to replace. The three volume knobs and both CVQs function flawlessly as do the pickup selector, LEDs (red) and the internal electronics.
The bass will ship in a sturdy but non-original plywood case with the original DS5 and cable, both of which work perfectly and are in excellent cosmetic condition.
I am asking $4,000 which I believe is fair considering the premium Small Standards carry over other Alembics, and also taking into account the problems this bass has and what it will cost to correct them. The price is somewhat negotiable. I will cover insurance and shipping in the continental US, but would prefer to make this a domestic sale. International shipping will be at buyer's expense.
I have a pictures ready to e-mail and would be happy to take more shots of whatever a serious buyer would like to see. For now, look here for a sneak peek. This bass is pictured on the right.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/kungfusheriff/100_0352.jpg If there are any questions, please ask. Thank you for reading my ad.
(Message edited by kungfusheriff on September 16, 2009)
