somehow i don't think this is factory standard...

[BeenDown139]

saw this pop up on reverb, it all looked good until i got to the confounded bridge (tailpiece, actually)...

https://reverb.com/item/35074055-alembic-series-i-1987-koa-wood-natural


why oh why? not even close to being evenly centered.  $11,999?  i don't think so..

[Rondog]

I just saw this on reverb and was about to post it.
Shame about the through-body drilling, because that looks like a nice piece of koa on the top.
Might the owner have done this to enable them to have more flexibility on the types of strings that could be used?

I also wondered about the rosewood fingerboard.
It looks kind of odd, almost black down the middle, and red-brown on other side.
Is it likely to be genuine?

[rv_bass]

Looks like macasar ebony fingerboard

Also looks like musaci’s (spelling?) old bass

[Rondog]

I didn't think of macassar ebony, that would make sense.
I really like the overall look of this bass, and if it was sensibly priced I'd be willing to tolerate the defacement.
Presumably it would also need the noise suppression upgrade as well, which makes $12k seem an astronomical price.

[rv_bass]

Also, wondering about the year (1987), the round battery cover and non-adjustable nut makes me think more like 1979-80, or early 80s.  There is probably a thread for this bass posted somewhere here at the Alembic Club.

[adriaan]

Also looks like musaci’s (spelling?) old bass

I was thinking musashi too.

[Rondog]

I thought this was the bass:
http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=13262.msg141391#msg141391

But then I looked down the thread to the photos and it can't be because the headstock in the Reverb advert is different (non omega headstock). Everything else looks...identical?
Can it be that two basses were made with the same through-body string modification at the factory?

[Rondog]

Just got a reply from the seller, who says the bass went back to alembic to have a new headstock put on and it was also refinished.

[edwardofhuncote]

Here ya' go fellas.    She's an '81... and a total bad-ass she-dragon. (we had a little bit of an affair, a few years ago... I really can't discuss it any further...)

http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=13262.msg141404#msg141404

[ducatidoc]

Found this on YouTube.