(x) 1977 SN 954 - What a long strange trip it's been...

[dsimms]

New to the club, but not this Long Scale.  I first bought it used from a college professor in Philadelphia around 1982/83.  It had been modified and still bears those scars... the bottom point was cut off, with that part refinished, it looks to have been converted to a lefty at some point, then back to normal (the strap points had been moved and the bridge regrooved), and the pickup selector moved closer to the controls.  I gave it to my wife (at the time) since she played bass and I played mostly guitar.  We divorced and she kept the bass.  Sadly, she died two years ago and I had no idea what happened to the bass.  Last week, I was stunned when her family told me they had cleaned out the house and wanted to return it to me.  I got it last weekend.  It didn't include the power supply and cable, but I'm so thrilled to have the bass and can replace those. This has been sitting in it's case for at least the last ten years.  It has a good bit of finish checking but the electronics check out and there was no battery leakage when I replaced the old ones. The third fret inlay is gone.  After all that time, is was still holding nearly perfect tune.  I'm going to have my guitar tech go over it/clean up/oil the fretboard/restring and check the setup this week.  I used to put Rotosounds on it, but don't remember the gauge so I'm thinking their 66 set will work.

Glad to be here and back in Alembic land.

Here are some pics...

[dsimms]

This doesn't have the threaded metal inserts for the back plate - just wood screws.  And there's no adjustable nut - not sure if it came from the factory this way or that was a later mod.

[StephenR]

Welcome to the club and congratulations on getting your bass back despite the sad reason for its return. A 77 Alembic would not have had an adjustable nut or threaded inserts for the back plate. Yours certainly looks well played and with a bit of TLC and spiffing up should continue to offer you years of sonic pleasure.

If you have not done so already exercise the pickup selector and pots. They are self-cleaning and usually about 30-40 rotations will help if they sound scratchy from lying dormant all these years. If you plan to use the 1/4' jack and it hasn't been modified the jack will be wired so that with a mono cable you will only output the neck pickup. If you want stereo output from the 1/4" jack you will need a stereo cable. The jack can also be modified to output both pickups using a standard mono instrument cable.

[dsimms]

Welcome to the club and congratulations on getting your bass back despite the sad reason for its return. A 77 Alembic would not have had an adjustable nut or threaded inserts for the back plate. Yours certainly looks well played and with a bit of TLC and spiffing up should continue to offer you years of sonic pleasure.

If you have not done so already exercise the pickup selector and pots. They are self-cleaning and usually about 30-40 rotations will help if they sound scratchy from lying dormant all these years. If you plan to use the 1/4' jack and it hasn't been modified the jack will be wired so that with a mono cable you will only output the neck pickup. If you want stereo output from the 1/4" jack you will need a stereo cable. The jack can also be modified to output both pickups using a standard mono instrument cable.

Thanks for the info Steve.  The controls have been quiet and working perfectly but I did the rotation thing as well.  I've been using a stereo cable into my Axe FX rig to combine the two pickups into a mono signal for now, but also have a stereo to mono cable. It plays and sounds incredible.  I'm hoping the finish checking will be ok - it will be a while before I have the money to send it back to Alembic for a refinish and going-over.

[mica]

Hi Doug,

So there's not much in the file, as this was only in index card form. But here's what I can tell you:

model name: Series I
model number: MSBI-4
top: Peruvian Walnut
accent: none
body: Mahogany
back: Peruvian Walnut
neck: 5-piece Maple and Purpleheart
scale: 32" medium
fingerboard: Ebony
inlays: mother of pearl ovals
originally made for: Rothschild
birthday: January 18, 1978

This is a case where the serial number was issued in 1977, but the bass wasn't finished until early in 1978, as the peghead stamping had to happen before the finish or it would crack.

Your bass already has an amazing story! I've updated it to have a file and included the details you shared above.

[dsimms]

Thanks Mica! I've always assumed this was a long, not medium scale bass, so it's good to know what I've got here.  I sure love the peruvian walnut!