Author Topic: I am getting a lovely Orion Guitar (Read 440 times)

jazzyvee · « **on:** November 24, 2005, 02:46:08 PM »

I have been looking for an alembic guitar for quite a while now and have lost a number of auctions on ebay. Thankfully I have agreed a buy now price for an Orion Guitar that was on sale on ebay from a German Music store rather than risk losing this in a battle at the end of the auction. The guitar has a quilted maple top, maple neck , ebony fretboard, mahogany body with purpleheart pinstripe, gold tuners, bronze logo, 25.75 scale length, brass hardware, gold strap pins, plastic oval inlays completed 10/03/95, serial No:?9509260USA Hopefully I will get my grubby little fingers on it it during the next week. Here are some photo's of it from the Ebay listing. Full frontal

close up of that lovely quilted maple

Headstock

I currently use my Fender strat ultra which also has an ebony fretboard as my main guitar for touring as it sounds ( to my ears anyway ) better than any other solid body guitar I have heard. So It will be interesting to compare it with the Orion when it arrives. I've never to my knowledge heard an Alembic guitar nor even seen one in the flesh so to speak so it will be nice to know the first one I will ever see will be mine :-) Hopefully if we get on well I will bring it on the road with me next year. If you were a previous owner of this guitar maybe you could tell me what you think of it. Jazzyvee

jalevinemd · « **Reply #1 on:** November 24, 2005, 02:58:57 PM »

Congrats! My Alembic cherry, too, was broken on an Orion that I bought never having played one before. You won't be sorry.

Jonathan

tom_z · « **Reply #2 on:** November 24, 2005, 04:02:14 PM »

Nice score Jazzy. It looks like a beautiful guitar. Enjoy it.

Tom

j_gary · « **Reply #3 on:** November 24, 2005, 09:11:55 PM »

Wow, that is one of the nicest guitars I've seen.
Congrats, I would be very interested in how she sounds and compares. You were smart to grab her.

jacko · « **Reply #4 on:** November 25, 2005, 03:13:21 AM »

Beautiful guitar jazzy. You'll have to do some gigs up here so I can see and hear it.

graeme

karl · « **Reply #5 on:** November 25, 2005, 04:27:37 AM »

Ah yes, I saw that on ebay and drooled over it for a while . . . Almost made me wish I was a guitarist rather than a bass player! Congratulations anyway! A really beautiful guitar.

K.

kmh364 · « **Reply #6 on:** November 25, 2005, 04:56:01 AM »

Beautiful! Very nice...congrats and play it in good health!

David Houck · « **Reply #7 on:** November 25, 2005, 05:17:07 AM »

Congrats Jazzy!

lbpesq · « **Reply #8 on:** November 25, 2005, 07:37:54 AM »

Jazzyvee:

Warning! Once you start playing more guitar it will open up amazing new facets of music that you previously, as a bass player, had no idea existed. Things like melody, and notes that most people can actually hear! LOL! Just kidding. It's a stunning instrument. I love the way the elbow contour sets off the quilted maple/mahogany combo. As your first Alembic guitar, you will find that it's a different beast than your strat. You'll be able to get clear bell-like tones that your strat can never achieve. You'll also find that you will need to pay a little more attention to technique. A little fudge here and there that isn't apparent when you play a strat will stand out naked for all to hear on the Alembic. As a result, it will make you a better player. Enjoy and keep us posted regarding your impressions after you've had some time with your beautiful Orion.

Bill, tgo

adriaan · « **Reply #9 on:** November 25, 2005, 08:23:50 AM »

Hey Bill, pssst ... Jazzyvee IS a professional guitar player. He also happens to play bass - even in a Stanley Clarke tribute band, so he can't be all that bad on 4 strings.

Jazzy, that's a mighty fine Orion!

serialnumber12 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 25, 2005, 01:15:59 PM »

Make sure you've got plenty of paper towels, for after you Plug Her in!!!

(Message edited by serialnumber12 on November 25, 2005)

jazzyvee · « **Reply #11 on:** November 27, 2005, 04:48:17 AM »

Thanks for all the vibes guys on the Orion, I will certainly let you know how she sounds and feels in my loving embrace. I do actually play more guitar than bass, well that was until I got my Alembic SC DLX bass then I got loads of session work as a bass player.
Last year I got the call to join Asian Reggae artiste Apache Indian's band, then I got back into doing exclusively guitar apart from a handful of Stanley Clarke Project gigs which went down a storm.

I absolutely Lurve my strat and although I have taken it on the road most of the past year, I 'm just worried about losing it or having something dreadful happpen to it.

In one of my other posts I did recall a story that was told to me by the band I'm in where the hotel they stayed in in Brazil refused to hand over their equipment from the store room as the promoter slipped out of the hotel overnight without paying the bill. That was about 6 years ago and they have not seen any of their stuff.

Not saying I want my Alembic to get stolen. But that strat has been with me for years and I'm quite posessive over her...lol

This summer I got a brand new Parker Fly P-44 to take on the road as a backup guitar before going on tour to the USA this summer and also took it to Singapore for the WOMAD Festival we played there. There is nothing wrong with the guitar , it's just that i'm more into the crispness and versatility of my Strat Ultra.

http://www.jazzyvee.freeserve.co.uk/on_tour/Womad-Singapore/nsj-Womad-Singapore2005.html

so now its on sale on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Parker-Fly-P-44-Not-Fender-Gibson-PRS-alembic_W0QQitemZ7369964273QQcategoryZ33039QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Anyway once again thanks for the vibes and will report back soon.
Jazzyvee

pace · « **Reply #12 on:** November 27, 2005, 09:03:22 AM »

Delano,
Congrats on the new Orion.... I purchased an Orion Baritone with the same woods from a fourm member not too long ago! The one thing you may not like ( not like your SC or Europa ) is the cut/boost treble and bass knobs in place of an LP filter & Q combo..... I swapped my Orion guts for some Essence controls, and I am extra happy to own such a fine guitar now.... Enjoy!!!

-Mike

jazzyvee · « **Reply #13 on:** November 27, 2005, 09:36:32 AM »

Funny you should say that cos I was thinking the same thing about the filters.
I did try an orion bass that was on sale on ebay. I did find the controls less flexible than the filters on my SC but still more flexible than my non alembic Musicman.
So i think that with the bass and trebble i would still have more tonal range than my strat which just has a single tone control.

I haven't got it yet and i guess I'm just speculating buy I'm preparing for the shock.
Jazzyvee

hydrargyrum · « **Reply #14 on:** November 28, 2005, 11:33:48 AM »

Nice guitar. I was the above mentioned forum member.

Hey Mike,

I was just thinking about how much I missed that Orion baritone. Glad to hear it is still singing sweet. Upon reflection I liked it even better than the skylark I had. I watch all the time to see if another one comes around. I have not seen very many with the walnut pinstripes yours has though.

Kevin