Bec-Var?

[Bob Bell (kipknee)]

What's the story on Bec-Var (Becvar) basses?  I've seen a couple over the years, and a some advertisements in old Guitar Player magazines.  I've always heard them referred to as being affiliated in some way with Alembic.  Anybody know?

[Dave Houck (davehouck)]

Here's what I've been able to find.  Bruce BecVar records music in the New Age vein, with 13 albums since 1986.  He apparently runs Shining Star, the record company that distributes his music.  He is also a luthier and apprarently worked for Alembic at some point, perhaps in the early 70's, before opening his own shop in Sonoma, CA.  It appears that he discontinued the luthier business when his recording career commenced.

[Matt Bulmer (prime)]

I've been reading up on this too. It seems he built John Paul Jones' 8 String.  
 
Frome the Shining Star Website
 
BecVar's art and skill in the making and embellishing of instruments, along with growing recognition for his guitar compositions, brought him to Northern California in the early '70s. He set up shop in Sonoma where he became well-known as a Luthier, making one-of-a-kind electric guitars for such world-class rock 'n' roll bands as The Who, The Peter Frampton Band, Led Zeppelin, The Jackson Five, Earth, Wind & Fire and Carlos Santana. One of his guitars, ornate with exotic inlay and carving, now resides in the permanent collection of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

[Matt Bulmer (prime)]

I should probably clarify that.  
 
I believe he made a BecVar 8 String for John, NOT the Alembic 8 Stringers.
 
Matt

[Bob Bell (kipknee)]

Okay, that makes sense.  I remember seeing a Becvar advertisement in Guitar Player for JPJ's 8-string bass.  (This was back in the 70's, of course.)  The ad said something like Currently on tour with Led Zeppelin.  It was a beautiful instrument, but it was almost identical to the classic Alembic shapes.  I probably still have that Guitar Player magazine floating around somewhere since I don't throw anything away.  In the same issue, there was an interview with JPJ.  He talked only of his Fender Jazz and his Alembic basses.  He didn't mention the Becvar at all.  Maybe he just kinda lopped them into the same category.
 

[Susan Wickersham (susan)]

re Bruce Becvar
 
I received an application from Bruce in 1972 seeking employment with us. His previous employment was with Dobro. I hired Bruce and he worked for Alembic for approximately 5 years after which he set up his own repair shop.
 
Regarding his resume from Shining Star, the people listed bought Alembic instruments. Bruce was one of eight people working in the shop at the time. No one person ever built an Alembic on their own. It has always been a group effort with the instrument traveling from department to department. He may have made instruments in the late 70's for some of these individuals after his employment with Alembic ended.
 
In General
 
It is a seemingly never-ending source of amusemnent to me that if someone picked up a piece of sandpaper in my shop at any time they feel free to take it upon themselves to lay claim to things they have no right to.  
 
In fact, people who have never worked at Alembic make claims of employment, designing, founding, funding you name it.  
 
 

[Matt Bulmer (prime)]

Wow. The thing that gets me the most is that he doesn't even mention Alembic. He's totally taking credit for crafting the instruments single handedly.
 
This brings up a matter about which I must now inquire.
 
Did Rick Turner co-found Alembic? I've seen this in various places. Most notably I believe I saw it on Ed Roman's web site  
 
(I have seen other fallacies on his website where one of his luthiers takes credit for making some of the most recognizable Carl Thompson basses, including Les Claypool's basses and Stanley Clarke's original piccolo bass.)  
 
I've read the long history of Alembic and to me it seems that he was an employee who was eventually given stock as an incentive, and nothing more.
 
Matt
 
P.S. Thanks for the info Susan.

[Michael Delacerda (dela217)]

I own one of the old Becvar basses.  It is quite obvious that he thought Alembic had a great design.  It seems that he copied a lot of what they did.  Even down to the bird tailpiece!  The knobs, control layout, pickup shape, oval neck inlays,... you name it.  I always thought of it as a bass that he could have made there after hours and stuck his name on it.  Who knows.  I am not sure if all his basses looked like this or not.  I enjoy collecting basses like this.  I have basses by the other folks that worked there too.  Brian Smith, Rick Turner, etc....  I think these instruments represent that era.  It seems like all the luthiers of that time were copying the masters - Alembic.  I can understand why they want to associate themselves with Alembic, don't you? I think that it is great that we can get the facts from the folks at Alembic.  Thanks Susan! If anyone wants to see pics of my Becvar, drop me an email...Michael

[Googe Endeveronte (goooge)]

what kills me-is the doug irwin deal with him taking sole credit for the wolf guitar that Jerry Garcia played and was sold at auction for $750,000-I have posted a pic in the artists section of the showcase-the alembic symbol is located where the truss rod cover would be located if it were accessable from the headstock-all irwin did was remove the inlay, the alembic symbol and slap another one on there, inlay some on the body and maybe some electronics mods and it suddenly became an irwin-not an alembic/irwin- an irwin-I can see Susan's point totally. and that sucks for you guys

[Matt Bulmer (prime)]

I saw that. That's totally ridiculous.
 
BTW. Are you the same Googe from the CT message board?
 
Matt

[Steve Wood (s_wood)]

Doug Irwin isn't the only luthier to steal someone else's instrument.
 
Matt Friedman builds Acacia basses.  He lives near me, and I own a couple of his basses.  Once, during a visit to Matt's shop, I saw an Acacia  that Mike Lull had worked on.  Mr. Lull had removed the Acacia lgoo from the headstock and replaced it with his own.  Other than that, the bass was 100% designed and built by Acacia.  Matt had the good grace to laugh as he told me the story.
 
Here's another one: ever notice the similarity between the Spector NS body style and the Warwick   Streamer?  There's a fine line between homage and theft...and I would never own a Warwick for moral reasons.
 
Of course, Warwick claims in its ads to have invented the adjustable nut, but we Alembicians (Alemboids?) know better.

[Bob Bell (kipknee)]

Thanks for the info Susan.  I sorta gathered that Becvar was stretching the truth a bit.
 
Sounds like this is all old news anyway, but at least my curiosity has been assuaged.
 
It's kind of interesting that the more I learn about Alembic, be it the products, the people or the history, the happier I am about owning my two Alembic basses.

[Joey Wilson (bigredbass)]

I always felt that if WARWICK didn't make some sort of acknowledgement to Ned Steinberger, they  
REALLY would be totally shameless.  I even remember the wood headless models before the NS2 influenced models came along.
 
Susan:  
 
Someday, I really wish you could expand the long history, especially the early days.  You and your husband were witnesses to history.  I'd much rather hear the the truth than a bunch more BecVars.  Your family created the artist bass, just as surely as Stradivarius advanced the violin.  I'm sure we could all listen to these stories for days, and it's history that can only be told by the people that were there.
 
My Very Best to All of You for the Holidays,
 
Joey Wilson  

[Glen Mertens (valhallabass)]

From a JPJones interview in a GuitarWorld Zep issue:  Jones eventually settled on a sort of sub-Alembic 8-string, which was actually a Bec-Var.  It was built by a guy who was at Alembic and then left the company to start on his own.  It's just an amazing creature--sort of Gothic Revival in style. Actually, it's more California Gothic, with a mandala on the back, with little mermaids, sea shells and palm trees inlaid.  A very fine instrument.  Very loud.  The Riff King it was called.  When Page first heard it he said, Oh, no.  I'm not playing to that!

[Derwin Moss (bassdude63)]

Regarding Warwick cloning their Streamer Stage-II bass shape from the Spector NS-2: I read in Bass Player magazine that Stuart Spector was going to/or did take Warwick to court. Years later I was told that Warwick had to pay Stuart a large sum of money, similar to recording royalties, for their borrowing of the NS-2 shape. But I can't verify this. Warwick still produces Streamer basses, so I'm not so sure. And we could also write quite a thread on Fender instruments and design theft.....
-D.M.