Author Topic: Hi Alembic Cognoscenti (Read 194 times)

acmehouseofmusic · « **on:** April 10, 2015, 05:01:43 AM »

I have a couple of Alembic guitars that have been consigned with us at ACME HOUSE OF MUSIC in Oakland. They both have carbon graphite necks. One of them is an exploiter. The other is a Telecaster style guitar.

Looking at the Exploiter, where the neck joins the body....the woodworking seems sort of rough hewn. A couple cracks have developed also. The lack of finesse seem odd considering the reputation for attention to detail that is rightfully the Alembic claim to fame.

I will post pictures after I get into work today. They obviously will help a great deal with illustrating what I am talking about here!

One other thing with the exploiter. It has EMG pick ups. I thought alembic made pick ups. This also seems a little puzzling.

Any help would be great. I like to position things as squarely as possible to the market. If there is anything untoward, I would want to divulge this to potential buyers.

Thanks in advance!

J

64.7 K alembicwexploit
Exploiter

keith_h · « **Reply #1 on:** April 10, 2015, 07:04:49 AM »

It is not unusual to see Alembics where an owner has replaced the Alembic electronics/pickups with another manufacturers product. If the original electronics can be included with the instrument so the new owner can reinstall them this change does not usually affect the value. If the original electronics cannot be located this usually lowers the value of the instrument as the majority of buyers want Alembic electronics. A picture of the control cavity will help us determine what you have.

If you can also provide a first three characters of the serial numbers this will help determine the age and model of each instrument. I'm not sure if this is the same for graphite neck instruments but the serial is usually stamped at the end of the finger board where it meets the body or on top of the headstock.

In case you are not aware to post pictures they must be under 150K in size.

Keith

sonicus · « **Reply #2 on:** April 10, 2015, 07:21:51 AM »

Hello John , I noticed that your store is in Oakland , Ca. When I have time I would be happy to drop by and have a look . We have other local folks here as well that might chime in . Welcome to our little corner of the Web.

Wolf

lbpesq · « **Reply #3 on:** April 10, 2015, 07:49:22 AM »

John:

I never heard of your store before, though I live in the area! I'll try and stop by today and take a look at your guitars. I'm especially interested in the Telecaster Style guitar. I'll give you a call later this morning to find out what time you open.

Bill, the guitar one

lbpesq · « **Reply #4 on:** April 10, 2015, 02:29:16 PM »

I checked out these guitars today. Neither are Alembics. Both have Modulus bolt-on necks, one branded Modulus Alembic as we've seen before. It appears to be an early neck with a custom Explorer/Exploiter type body. The pickups are EMGs. The guy there told me that it barely makes a sound when plugged in, so we took off the backplate to find two old 9 volts with major leakage.

The other is a later Modulus neck with a basic Tele type body. The neck is exceptionally thin and has a Tele type headstock, something I had not previously seen from Modulus.

Acme House of Music is a cool store with a nice selection of old, unusual, and just plain weird guitars, along with the more common stuff. Well worth a visit for anyone in the Bay Area. I know I'll be back.

Bill, tgo

acmehouseofmusic · « **Reply #5 on:** June 25, 2015, 10:43:03 PM »

Thanks so much you guys. I learned a lot from Bill in particular. I did verify with the lady at Alembic that the Exploiter body was made by Alembic. Most likely a miscue that made it available for the bolt on neck by Modulus. The exploiter is dedicated by way of a plaque on the back side to the editor of BAM magazine. The Telecaster is going for $1000. The Exploiter $1400. Both of the guitars have been completely serviced. The electronics are now functioning to spec. The action is vastly improved on both. The exploiter had a rather clumsy connection to the modulus neck. This has been cleaned up and idealized by my tech also.

acmehouseofmusic · « **Reply #6 on:** June 25, 2015, 11:04:46 PM »

Thanks so much you guys. I learned a lot from Bill in particular. I did verify with the lady at Alembic that the Exploiter body was made by Alembic. Most likely a miscue that made it available for the bolt on neck by Modulus. The exploiter is dedicated by way of a plaque on the back side to the editor of BAM magazine. The Telecaster is going for $1000. The Exploiter $1400. Both of the guitars have been completely serviced. The electronics are now functioning to spec. The action is vastly improved on both. The exploiter had a rather clumsy connection to the modulus neck. This has been cleaned up and idealized by my tech also.