Short 30.5" or medium 32" four string Alembic wanted, <$1000

[effclef]

I was wondering if anyone could help me out. I am thinking of getting a special gift for my niece, learning bass. She is short, and has small hands, and finds 34 a stretch.  
 
I'd love to find a short or medium scale Alembic for her. Less than $1000 preferably. An Epic would probably be great, or I would conider an Elan, Essence, etc for more money. Condition and woods not too important, but it must be playable. I know Spoilers/Persuaders/Distillates were made in 32 scale many times.
 
Post here, and we can get in touch if there's any possibilities. Thank you!
 
EffClef

[rraymond]

Hey effclef:
 
I've got an 85 Distillate that I want to sell. It can be seen here:
 
http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/5877.html?1063343786
 
I bought it used off eBay, it's spent its life on the road and has its share of dings, but it is 100% in terms of its mechanical and electronic aspects. It sounds wonderful and is easy to play. It comes with an Alembic hardshell case and I'm asking $900.00 with the buyer paying for shipping and insurance. I'm selling it because I am on the Malthumb trade-up program and have a custom 5 string being built! :-)
 
Let me know if you are interested,
 
Reid

[bsee]

Heck, if he doesn't buy that, I will.  At least, as long as I don't have to pay for shipping from Australia.
 
-Bob

[effclef]

Reid, that looks nice. Definitely interesting to me - but what's the scale length? And what's the toggle switch near the output jack?  
 
EffClef

[rraymond]

Howdy effclef, and oops! It is a 32, medium scale neck. The extra 3-way toggle switch was added by a previous owner and is actually really handy for gigging folk. It allows having two batteries inside so that if one fails mid-gig, flip the switch and keep playing. The mid-position switches both batteries out of circuit. Pretty cool idea!

[rraymond]

Bob, I wish I could hand deliver it to Australia! I've always wanted to visit there. BTW, if anybody's interested in an Epic 5 string, I'm selling mine towards the custom being built. The Epic can be seen here:
 
http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/880.html?1074101339
 
It's Bird's Eye maple/Purpleheart/Mahogany and has Essence electronics. It's in great shape, has very minor player wear that can only be seen on close inspection. It's a 9.5 out of 10. It comes with the Alembic adjustment tools and case, Dunlop straplocks and a strap. I'm asking $1000.00 with the buyer paying shipping and insurance.
 
Regarding the Distillate, it does have the allen wrenches, but is missing the combination wrench for adjusting the truss rods.

[bsee]

Sorry, I was misunderstood.  I am in MA.  The last bass I looked at was in the UK and they wanted almost $300 to ship it.  Shipping from the West Coast should be pretty reasonable in comparison.
 
-Bob

[effclef]

Reid, thanks for the additional info - I'll email you privately.
 
EffClef

[bsee]

Well, I suppose I should mention that I am still looking for the something similar to what Effclef asked for.  I have a Persuader five, but I am wondering if I can convert back to a four and would like to try one for a month or two before I order a super-custom.    
 
I would pay up to $2K for the right instrument.  That means neck-thru, purpleheart in the neck, a regular to jazz string spacing and a strong electronics package.  Primarily, something that will strongly represent the Alembic feel and tone that I can sell for at least 90% of what I pay within six months.  
 
Oh, and I also have a five-string Zon Legacy Elite with a Piezo bridge that I am offering for sale if there's any interest here.  It's translucent red quilted maple and in near mint shape.  Looking for $2K plus shipping (list is around $5500, I believe) with the factory hard case.  Email for more info and/or pictures if you like.    
 
-Bob
 
(Message edited by bsee on July 23, 2004)

[funky4]

Reid,
 
I would be interested in speaking to you about your '85 Distallate as well, if EffClef has not already taken this?  Please email me at: chuck.fesmire@earthlink.net  
 
ChuckF

[bracheen]

Reid, your Epic only has three knobs.  What's different from the standard Epic?
 
Sam

[rraymond]

Hi Sam,
 
The previous owner ordered the Epic with Essence electronics as an upgrade. The bass sounds really nice, great growl, thump, etc.
 
Pardon my slow reply, but yesterday was one of those days. One of the bands I'm in played a wedding reception, we were supposed to play a couple of hours. We were there 8 hours! We ended up playing the wedding ceremony itself. Now this band is a blues and lite-jazz type band, we have no honest-to-gosh wedding music so the father walked the bride down the aisle to Moondance by Van Morrison! :-O And to make the day even more interesting, I got a call mid-morning that the network at my office had crashed and no one could log on! So, three hours before I'm supposed to be at this wedding thing, I'm heading downtown to fix the company's network! But all's well that ends well, the happy couple got married and we played'em a bunch of tunes like Keep Your Hands to Yourself, The Thrill Is Gone, Heard It Through the Grapevine, and Before You Accuse Me. I hope we didn't doom the marriage! :-0
 
Reid

[bsee]

That's funny, Reid.  We did the same thing about three weeks ago.  Another couple at the party liked it so much, we've been hired to do another one the first weekend of October.  Although, we did adjust the set list a bit to pull out the more heinous songs.  Robert Cray's Right Next Door is one that comes to mind as having been left out for the evening.
 
My ex-band will be playing a concert-in-the-park thing this evening.  We played regularly through the 90's, and now get together for this gig once a year.  I think this is the fourth year of doing this, and I am always shocked when it comes off with no rehearsals.  If anyone happens to be in Wrentham, MA and bored this eveing, stop by.  We'll be at the junction of 1A and 140 on Wrentham Common from about 6:30 til dark.