1977 Series 1

[banjodeb]

Hello to all of you Alembic folks!

My boyfriend passed in 2017.  He left me his beautiful  1977 Series 1.   I have the power supply and original road case, but I do not have the battery compartment.  Can anyone help me to figure out how this is set up?  I am trying to sell it and no one seems to know how it works.  Paul was an audio engineer and technical wizard, so without him around I am at a loss.   Please send a photo if possible of the battery compartment.   Does it use two 9 volts? 

[edwardofhuncote]

Hi Deb, and Welcome. Sorry to hear about this. Your boyfriend had a Classic Alembic, for certain.


Yes, it will run on two 9v batteries but it will consume them quickly, and unless the 1/4" jack is wired for mono output, you will only hear the neck pickup without a special adapter cable. They are readily available, but not inexpensive. You're better off since you have it, to use the DS-5 power supply.

That said, the batteries go in the square box located in the center of the neck beam, on the back of your bass. (Here's the reverse of my '77...)

Please post us some pictures when you can. 

*and tell me about "banjo"... I build, and work on them!

[adriaan]

Hi banjodeb, welcome to the Club! Sorry to hear about your loss.
A Series I with a power supply doesn't need batteries to run, just the right type of cable to run between the ps and the bass.
It probably does have a battery compartment, and for a 1977 build that would be under the round brass plate that's in the back of the bass. The two 9V batteries will last a couple of hours on the older Series instruments, and somewhat longer on newer ones.

[lbpesq]

Hi Deb. 

I see you received my message over at the Gear Page.   You’ve come to the right place for info and to sell the bass.   People love pictures around here, so the more you post, the better.  As for selling it, once you post pics, the folks around here will give you a fairly accurate estimate of value and you’ll have an excellent chance of hooking up with the right buyer.

Bill, tgo

[rv_bass]

I echo the welcome


This is what the battery compartment looks like under the square brass plate on the back of the bass.  As others have said, if your blue box DS-5 is working and you have a functioning five pin cable, you can run your bass without the batteries.  Note that your bass may have a stereo 1/4” jack, so if using batteries and a mono 1/4” cable you will only get output from the neck pickup. You need batteries to run out of the 1/4” jack. You will get output from both pickups using the five pin cable and DS-5 box.

[banjodeb]

Here are some pictures of his bass.

[OJ Dorson]

Hi Deb - that’s a beautiful bass. They’re not so complicated as others are making it seem and others above have pointed you correctly. Where do live? If your local, I’d be happy to help sort it out, and we could FaceTime, too. You can send me a message with the envelope icon under my name to the left of this post.

[banjodeb]

Thanks!  I am near Cleveland, OH

[banjodeb]

I am near Cleveland, OH. 

[OJ Dorson]

I might be headed over that way soon. Let me know if you want to talk more about it - click the envelope icon and let me know how to get in touch with you. Alternately, look me up on FaceBook - OJ Dorson.