(x) History request: S/N 1117 ('78)

[Rondog]

Super news, thanks Mica. I took the tailpiece off and it looks like it has been moved closer to the bridge or changed (there are other, older looking screw holes). I checked for other Rothchild bases and found this one from 1977 with the same bridge style but a solid metal tailpiece instead of the wood and brass one on mine: https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=24575.msg245259#msg245259. Another from 1977 appears to have both the same bridge and tailpiece as mine: https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=26576.msg270205#msg270205

[edwardofhuncote]

Hey there Jon, that is my '77 bass you linked to there...


and since you did, here's my unsolicited guess about your bridge and tailpiece. I suspect that they are both from an Alembic bass from 1976 or earlier. Perhaps a previous owner of your bass has a couple, and preferred the earlier versions of the hardware. Anyway, yessir... that channel bridge is not usually seen after about serial number 640. Could there be more, sure! That two-piece wood-n-brass tailpiece was phased out in favor of the one like mine even sooner. That would also explain the extra set of screw holes. Alembic is so cool that they will still make you one very much like it to this day!


These are purely guesses, 100% guaranteed to be 100% wrong. But I am a total nerd for Alembic minutiae like this. I would not consider these things to be in the slightest bit a downgrade... much the opposite to me! That is a beautiful, Classic Alembic.

[rv_bass]

Beautiful top wood!

I think Greg is right.  78-1116 (finished on the same day as yours) has the newer style bridge and solid brass tailpiece.  Also, look how close it gets to the five pin jack.  My guess is it came from a large body 76 or earlier bass.  I really like those wood and brass tailpieces.  Is walnut the wood used for those old tailpieces?  Beautiful bass you have there!

[Rondog]

Thanks both for replies, information and for the compliments about the bass. I absolutely love it.


What seemed interesting is that looking at other basses supplied to Rothchild around that time, it looks like a few have the channel bridge, so I wondered whether that was something they had specified. However, I agree that this is most likely a modification (tailpiece at least) done by one of the owners.


Either way, everything works fine and it performs beautifully. Personally, I would prefer the newer tailpiece and I will think about changing it at some point if the current one isn't original. It is a bit oversized.


I just had a re-fret done (in the UK) because I didn't like the feel of the frets and some were a quite worn on closer inspection and more playing time. It had been re-fretted at some point, and not very nicely. So, I had slightly larger Jescar Gold frets fitted because the colour seemed to suit the look of the bass, and indeed they are great.

[mica]

The specifications were more fluid at that time. Heck, if you ordered a Myrtle bass you'd get that on the top - but the back and peghead veneers would likely be something different. Maybe we found some channel bridges in a box when we moved to Cotati and decided to use them up on new builds. The tailpiece could be the same story - or just moved. Any new build may have the location of the tailpiece reconsidered.

I do know that Rothchild didn't special order with these bridges. They purchased our production that wasn't custom made or for a particular store. They got what they got.

[Rondog]

Someone might find this interesting. It was part of a Rothchild Musical Instruments catalogue from 1977.
https://reverb.com/item/10985541-alembic-rothchild-musical-instruments-guitar-and-bass-catalog-1977