NBD - Alembic Distillate Exploiter

[gearhed289]

Well it's about time I posted something about my newest acquisition. I've had it for two weeks now. Seems I'm at least the third club member to own this bass over the past 3-4 years! This is a 1983 Distillate Exploiter.

83D 2473
32" medium scaleFlame koa top, maple pinstripe, mahogany bodyMaple and purpleheart neckEbony fingerboardKoa headstock veneers

Sent to Alembic by a former owner around 2018 for a complete refinish, new frets, new headstock veneers and gold tuners (I replaced them with chrome). Apparently some kind of electronics upgrade as well, though I'm still not sure exactly what that involved.
What a great bass! Balances perfectly sitting or standing. I think the medium scale works really well with this body style. Looks incredible. Sounds as it should. It's been a decades-long dream to have an Alembic Exploiter. The fact that it's a Distillate is the icing on the cake.

[senmen]

Congrats Gearhead!
A gorgeous looking Exploiter with the classic
Exploiter shape a la JE‘s Spyders. 
I personally don’t like the Exploiter shape used
where the lower cut is wrong and the horn is too thin. 
But this one is really gorgeous.  Love the Koa!
And the change to the chrome tuners is really classy. 

Greetz
Oliver (Spyderman)

[pauldo]

With a Hip Shot! 😎

[KR]

Nice one.

[lbpesq]

Very purdy!  Congrats and play it in good health!

Bill, tgo

[edwardofhuncote]

Congratulations & Compliments, Tom. That's a fine-looking bass there. I especially like the 'bishop' type headstock. Very cool variation.

[BeenDown139]

all spiffed up and ready for a gig! 😎🙃👴🙃🏴‍☠️

[fivestringdan]

 

[gearhed289]

A gorgeous looking Exploiter with the classic
Exploiter shape a la JE‘s Spyders. 
I personally don’t like the Exploiter shape used
where the lower cut is wrong and the horn is too thin. 

Oliver (Spyderman)

I know exactly what you mean. I'm glad the lower horn is more traditionally shaped.

With a Hip Shot! 😎

Yes! Been a fan since the 80s. I'm not a big 5 string guy, but I do like to drop down to D once in a while.

Congratulations & Compliments, Tom. That's a fine-looking bass there. I especially like the 'bishop' type headstock. Very cool variation.

I am a fan of the Bishop! Not one you see often.

all spiffed up and ready for a gig! 😎🙃👴🙃🏴‍☠️

Yes sir! December 10th, I have a 1 hour set of the Who to play. Wish it was longer, but there's a Doors tribute headlining.

[gearhed289]

Well I have fully bonded with this bass. It is an amazing piece of playable art. I'm surprised I couldn't find a serial number lookup for it, so I'll be putting in a request for that. It's got a bit of history here at the club, and I'm trying to piece together exactly what's been done to it. From what I've found, it was purchased by Exploiter007 in December 2016 and sent to the Mothership to get worked on that same month. From 007 - "Everything on this bass was either refinished, upgraded, polished or replaced, right down to the new recessed truss rod plate!  ...The only thing I didn't replace was the back brass electronics cover." There was also mention of an electronics upgrade, but I'm not sure if that happened or not. Also a re-fret (yay!), inlaid strap locks (not my preference, but fine), new koa headstock veneers, and new gold tuners (I've stashed these away and put chrome ones on). It also appears to have the stainless steel bridge screws upgrade. The bass was returned to 007 in November of 2017, and then sold in March of 2019. It seems to have passed through a dealer or two before landing with BeenDown in July of 2021.

Fast forward to this past summer - I got the bug to go to a 5 string (EADGC) bass and sold my beloved long scale Distillate to purchase a cherry sunburst Elan 5. Things didn't work out, and I was missing my Distillate. I knew BeenDown had been thinking of selling, but I didn't think I could pull it off financially. After doing some math, I figured out I could make it work, so we worked out a deal. Despite having never invested so much cash into a single bass, I have no regrets. In fact, I'm still getting used to the fact that I even have this bass!

I want to thank the gals at Alembic for getting me the 2 resistors needed to boost the output level of these old Distillates. I performed the procedure last night, and it was a complete success. Like my former Distillate, this one now plays nice with my other (loud) basses without any messing with preamp settings. It's very common for me to play a couple of different basses per set, so this is important.

[edwardofhuncote]

Congratulations & Compliments, Tom. Seems like this one was supposed to end up with you. 


I always thought an Exploiter body bass with our newgrass/jamband group would be a hilarious shock appeal, and would totally have done it. Josh would have loved it!

[Picure]

Congratulations on your NBD! It’s so cool that everyone in the Alembic Club cares so much about the past history of their basses. Its as if we are adopting a cat or dog 😂

[gearhed289]

It’s so cool that everyone in the Alembic Club cares so much about the past history of their basses. Its as if we are adopting a cat or dog 😂

I feel like these basses are worthy of having their history preserved. 

[BeenDown139]

a little late to the party on this one, kinda been on hiatus while my hands and body heal from the end-of-summer crash construction project this whole transaction started.

i've never viewed these instruments as investments.  they're works of art that need to be played and appreciated, not stored away in a closet or flipped at some markup that puts a lot of actual players who would break their piggy banks open for one of these instruments out of the market.  all of my latest bass transactions have been through members on this board.  it's karma.  it's awesome to see.
kinda felt like i was paying it forward a little after it all played out.

so i'm happy to see that this bass is getting the exposure that she deserves.  she's a very pretty bass.  and she's got that tear-your-face-off tone that i prize so dearly which meshes perfectly with her body.  alas, if she'd been a long scale, my kids would've gotten to fight over her after i kicked the bucket.

so may she make you happy like she did me without making you absolutely freaking nuts.  like she did me.  what was i thinking?  wasn't the first time i got taken in by a pretty face.  kinda hoping it'll be the last.  until next time.  sheesh!

[Spoiler Alert]

Yes congrats! That bass is one of the most beautiful Exploiter's I've ever seen. I have a 1984 Spoiler/Exploiter (had it about 20 months now) and like you said, I still open the case with astonishment & amazement that it's mine. I was told when I bought mine, that it was originally purchased new by the bass player in the Metal Band TKO. It's my understanding he worked for a music store in Seattle and won a contest or got a bonus and they gave him his choice of a new bass (and he chose this one). We do love our history.  Again, congrats on the purchase and bonding with that beauty!