Help need on a tough decision...

[lothartu]

Here's the situation.    I have a love/hate relationship with my Series I.  I purchased it in early '91 from the original owner who honest to god kept it in a closet and never played it for almost 3 years.  He was always out of town on gigs and never home and he couldn't stand the thought of taking his new Alembic on the road so he took his old "road weary" Alembic instead.  As a result, I was able to purchase this bass in perfect condition.  Here are the details on the bass from Alembic (http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/7391.html?1073428388)  ------------------------ 1988 4 string series I bass quilted maple top & back mahogany body maple/purpleheart neck oval mother of pearl inlays brass hardware gotoh tuners quilted maple headstock veneer clear gloss finish completed 7/21/88  ------------------------  I honestly do love this bass.  It's my baby but I hurt my back badly when I was young and I've never been able to comforably play this bass.  The 34" scale mixed with my less than average height mean that I have to really reach for the first 3 frets.  Half way through a set my left arm hurts from being out of position and the next day my back is telling me that I stood a bit too long with a big ol' Series I around my neck.  So here's what I'm "thinking" of doing.  I want to get a 32" scale bass and there's no other choice but Alembic for me so I'm thinking about selling it to finance the purchase of a 32" Mark King Balance K Omega but I don't know what I can reasonably expect to get for my Series I.    As far as imperfections go...  Case - I've got the original case and it has a bit of wear and tear but nothing all that bad.  DS-5 - The DS-5 has had the power cable replaced and the mono/stereo switch replaced.  Series I - The bottom tip of the horn has a couple of blemishes on it and there is one very very tiny pin dot of a scuff on the end side of the bass.  I've circled these in blue in the second photo.  

 

  So what's everyones opinion?  What can I reasonably expect to sell this bass for?  

[lothartu]

EDIT: I forgot to mention that some of the finish is beginning to come off the brass truss rod cover plate.

[jagerphan84]

I've been watching eBay as well as most of the bass-related classified ad sites for about the last year, and my main focus has been on pricing and availability of Alembics.  I would say that the average Series I fetches between $2000 and $3000, unless it is in particularly great or particularly terrible shape.  Yours certainly is more on the positive side of that scale, so the price would be reflected accordingly.  This instrument, while certainly a gorgeous piece of art, is not made of particularly rare woods (the q-maple is super pretty, but not exactly a rare find), so that would keep things in check somewhat.  It's never easy to know what kind of price the market will determine, but I would venture to say that I'd expect your bass to fetch at least $2200, but not likely more than $2700 or so.  Perhaps others will feel differently, but this is what I would have in mind if I were in your shoes.
 
Adam

[fungke]

I'd certainly be interested if this was to go on sale.
 
Let me know if you make a decision.
 
Cheers, Andy.

[lothartu]

Thanks fungke I'll keep it in mind while I'm deciding.  What'll really decide this for me is if I'll be able to sell this Alembic for enough so that I will be able to afford getting the smaller lighter Alembic that I want/need.  
 
Thank you for your opinion jager.  It's always hard to price something like this.  I've been keeping an eye on ebay also but what I've tended to see are mostly older 1970's Series I's popping up.  The price range looks like it varies from around $1800 - $2800 depending on condition and rarity of wood.  These older Alembics are wonderful but a common question that pops up is how much for the Series electronics upgrade?  I'm not sure how much the upgrade costs but I'ld imagine that for some people that figures into what they consider the instrument to be worth.  If they're the kind of person that will insist on the upgrade then it's valued lower than someone who either doesn't know about the upgrade or doesn't feel they need to have it done.  
 
Mine is a later model so it has the new upgraded electronics.  I'm not sure when Alembic switched to the new version but I'ld guess it was in the early 80's.  
 
Anyone know how much the Series electronics upgrade costs?  It'ld be handy to know since it can impact the value of an older Alemic that was pre-upgrade and that's what I tend to see being sold most often.  Maybe thats part of the reason for some of the sales.  
 
 
(Message edited by LotharTu on August 31, 2004)

[bsee]

From my perspective, I wouldn't take a penny less than $2500, and $3000 sounds like a pretty reasonable price for a private sale.
 
-Bob

[wcv]

Lothartu,
Here are the prices I got from Mica, when I checked recently.  
 
Series I/II Upgrade  
2004 PRICES  
 
1999 and newer: no charge except for transportaion (unlikely any in the field)  
1995-1998    $850  
1985-1994    $1250  
1975-1984    $1500  
pre 1975       $1500+  
 
Bill  
 
 
(Message edited by wcv on August 31, 2004)

[lothartu]

Thanks for the info wcv but now I'm a bit confused.
 
Mine has it's original 1988 electronics in it which are pretty much dead quiet when adjusted to the room properly.  The date ranges you listed imply that there are multiple versions of what I referred to as the upgraded Series I electronics.
 
Any idea what the differences are?  ex: What's the difference between a 1995-1998 Series I electronics upgrade and a 1985-1994 Series I electronics upgrade?

[mica]

The only difference is age, we've found the older instruments take more time to calibrate than the newer ones. Plus, some of the components do age and they make the job harder. We try to keep as much of the original electronics intact while we engineer the solution.  
 
In the age ranges above, the only significant date is 1975, when a revised version of the electronics was introduced.  
 
Not every one needs the upgrade (seems that about 30% don't) and it is highly location specific. It may be perfectly quiet in one area, but when you play in the next town, you may have the directional noise, it just depends.
 
Also, the prices are maximums. If we're lucky and things go smoothly, it will cost less. Of course, if it takes dad 80+ hours, the price won't go higher.  

[wcv]

 
 
(Message edited by wcv on August 31, 2004)

[David Houck]

Hey, I learned something new today!  Thanks Mica!

[lothartu]

I learned something new too. Thanks also Mica.  
 
I've been contacted by a couple of people and I'll go ahead and answer some of the questions I've gotten.  
 
The quilted top really is pretty awesome looking.  I've tried to get a decent photo of the front that would show what the quilt really looks like in person but so far I've not been able to really capture it.  I'm going to try and take some new photos in the next few days to see if I can get a more accurate one that show the quality of the wood pattern.  
 
I'll get photos of the back of the bass also.  The quilt is nice but not as nice as the front.  
 
The back plates are brass.  There are some scratches on the back plates but I don't think they're that bad at all.  Nothing I'ld consider unusual.  I've never tried polishing the plates so maybe some of that can be hand rubbed out.  Other may have experience with this.  
 
The electronics are very quiet.  Quiet like is this thing plugged in? quiet.  Quiet like a tomb. For those that don't know there are 4 small screws that are accessed through the brass control plate on the rear of the bass.  There is a gain control for each pickup and a magnetic field rotation control for each pickup also.  Here's how the electronics become silent. (please forgive my hamfisted explanation)  You have a control for each pickup that rotates that pickups magnetic field.  When two magnetic fields are set directionally opposed to each other they cancel each other out.  So what you do is toggle only one pickup on.  Then you adjust the field rotate control until the bass is as noisy as you can get it.  Then you toggle both pickups on and rotate the other field control.  All of a sudden all that noise will instantly disappear because you've rotated the other field control to cancel out all the noise.  It's seriously cool.  I have mine set where I never get any noise.  It's almost always dead silent.  The only times it isn't is when there's a bunch of neon signs plugged in near me or something equally as nasty.  I've always kept a little flat head screwdriver in the case and on those rare occasions where I was getting some noise all I had to do was just turn the field control just a little bit one way or the other and it would all magically disappear.  Kudos to Alembic on that one.  It's a very very cool feature with the Series electronics.  
 
I've also replaced the original 5pin DS-5 cable.  I got some good advice from people in these forums that have made their own cables and I decided to do the same.  I had contacted Alembic about a replacement cable and they said they'ld sell me one but suggested that I just make my own.  It was pretty easy to do.  Nothing complicated about making a high quality cable.  
 
 
(Message edited by LotharTu on August 31, 2004)

[bob]

Your 'hamfisted' explanation was most excellent. I don't have Series electronics myself, but this is by far the best and most practical/intuitive explanation I've ever seen. Thanks.
 
Personally, I think that first photo is quite stunning. Most likely the color is off a bit, and I'm sure you can't see the depth as well as in real life, but the detail jumps right out. It's a beauty, and sad that you have to part with it, but it shouldn't be all that hard to find something comparably wonderful that will fit you better.
 
Someone else will undoubtedly be quite delighted to help you out :-)

[lothartu]

Here's some more pics that hopefully show the detail of the wood better.  

 

  Back of the bass

  Back of the bass and brass control plates.  If you look close you can see the scratches on the control plates.

  Here's a better pic of the bumped bottom horn tip and the few tiny scuff marks on the bottom side.

  Front of the case (a little bit of wear and tear)

  Back of the case (a little bit of wear and tear)

  The DS-5 and instrument cable

 

[David Houck]

Not only is the detail better, but the color is better as well.
 
Thanks for the pics!