!973 Series I On Craigslist-Warning!

[sonofa_lembic]

There is an early 1973 Series I bass listed on Craigslist in Los Angeles. The listing notable for omitting some important information.  I have personally inspected the instrument, and following should be considered when looking to buy this bass.
-There is a crack in the peghead which runs radially down the side of the neck joint into the neck transition.  It appears stable, but the veneer on the headstock is poorly repaired. 
-There is a mis-matched and incorrect switch replacement on one of the Q switches.  This may be a possible cause for the circuit having a major issue on the one pickup.  In one position, the pickup will work, but in another, it makes a horrible noise and will blow up your speakers. 
-The second pickup does not work at all.  I personally tested the bass with an Alembic power supply and cable, and could not get the second pickup to work. 
-The existing noise cancelling pickup is a later addition and the cavity around it is filled with epoxy. 
-There is no original case for the bass, as well as no power supply or cable. 
The bass plays fairly well and is light weight with a mahogany neck.  It has an oil finish and its share of dings dents and scratches, but is acceptable.  Ventura Music in Studio City is the store offering the bass.  It is a cool place with lots of unusual vintage stuff.  The owner seems very firm on the price, so if buying it, consider it should go back to Alembic for major repair to the electronics.  The circuit is super old and nothing like the current version of a Series I, so repair may be an issue. 

[David Houck]

Thanks for posting the report.

[edwardofhuncote]

I reckon this must be it: https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/msg/d/studio-city-1973-alembic-series-bass/6883698760.html

Wish we could see the serial number. What a cool old bass!

Take it easy Ed... don't go into [rescue mode]. 

[sonofa_lembic]

It is a fun older timer.  The best part is the old headstock logo.  That old circuit board was scary, but Ron would know what to do.

[rv_bass]

Yes, thank you for the report, very helpful.

[edwardofhuncote]

Since we're just talking, not really promoting this one...

Just some pure speculation on my part, but this bass must fall pretty close on the timeline to #73-43, currently for sale on Reverb. https://reverb.com/item/13291506-alembic-series-i-lb-1#&gid=1&pid=1 Looked at side-by-side, some of the easy to see things-

Soft upper horn Standard point body.
Raised logo, with the "Floating A".
Same neck layup.

A couple other observations-

The battery compartment should have been located between the pickups on this bass, and the humcanceller glued inside the body. We can see a newer humcanceller embedded in epoxy Trevor mentioned, and the battery box appears to have been moved to the back, one would guess at the same time.

The bird tailpiece is odd. I think it's probably newer than the bass, but not by much. It looks kinda' like the very first birds did from '74, but as a '73 with this construction I would have thought this bass came with either a moustache or a curvy-block-type bridge. Maybe this bass sat around the shop unfinished for a while too, who knows.

One thing is for sure, somebody played this bass, a lot! Like always, I hope somehow it'll find its way here.

[KR]

I inquired about this bass earlier this week, asking about the serial #, which they won't share; that really peaked my BS meter. Not being forthcoming about anything about this bass, and dealing with that store owner was a big turn off for me--I passed. Can of worms, but it can be brought up to great condition by Alembic. Trevor checked out what was up about the bass, thankfully.

[glocke]

I inquired about this bass earlier this week, asking about the serial #, which they won't share; that really peaked my BS meter. Not being forthcoming about anything about this bass, and dealing with that store owner was a big turn off for me--I passed. Can of worms, but it can be brought up to great condition by Alembic. Trevor checked out what was up about the bass, thankfully.

why on earth would someone not share a serial number?

these older ones have such a cool vibe. 

[edwin]

I've seen a number of people reluctant to share serial numbers. I think it's part of the new online market.

[edwardofhuncote]

I guess the fear is, somebody might try to use it somehow, though I can't imagine what good a 1973 Alembic serial number would do. Unfortunately, keeping such a close hold isn't going to help with the sale of a pretty messed-up bass.

I was thinking yesterday; there's only so many numbers that it could be... I'm not exactly sure when on the evolutionary timeline this soft upper horn Standard Point body happens from the symmetrical horned Standard Point body, or if they were created simultaneously. There are quite a few Small Standard short-scale basses around this time too. Whatever the genesis, the different styles seem to be clustered in small groups, which makes sense especially if you think about it from a builder's perspective.

A few '73 models we know about from various threads here are:

#73-27 is McVie's symmetrical Standard Point.
#73-30, 32, and 33 are all Small Standard short-scale basses.
#73-39 is another soft upper horn Standard Point, maple top.
#73-43 also soft upper horn Standard Point, schedua top.
#73-44 is the "missing" or "skipped" serial number. *Might be the Tiran Porter bass, which is a soft upper horn Standard Point body too. Fits right in this time frame, but no number.
#73-45 is a guitar. Small Standard body, walnut top.
#73-47 is a Small Standard short-scale bass, and is the last 1973.
Don't know whether #48 bears 73 or 74 year stamp, but...
#74-48 is s SS guitar. (*hat-tip Eiji-san!)
#74-49 is a Small Standard short-scale bass.

So given its construction and features, there are a handful of empty slots this one could conveniently fit into, but I'm guessing it's going to fall between #73-34~46. But then, I may be totally full of sh...ugar. 

[edwardofhuncote]

This one is still hanging out there... same bass, new link- https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/msg/d/studio-city-1973-alembic-series-bass/7184282583.html


Who could she be?

[the_home]

I have a son and his wife in North Hollywood, cheek to cheek with Studio City. I should probably drive over and have a look at this (mind you I live in Florida, but what else is there to do these days?).