S/N 78-2001 Beautiful Old Series 1 Bass

[j_gary]

Hi Mica, I've owned this bass for over 30 years. She rarely leaves the house but I have used her for recording. She is a beauty in excellent condition. As I've entered my 70's I'm looking to sell her for something a bit lighter.


I know to sell an Alembic you better have your A game ready to answer questions from some very cerebral bassists. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a bass dummy so I'm hoping you can help me with the information & technical make up of this bass. I probably have no business owning an Alembic due to my lack of expertise about the instrument, but they are individual works of art so I have three. A couple questions to you and the membership if I may:


!) One of my cases is blue. Was there a time Alembic supplied blue bass cases?


2) Any opinion on what would be a fair asking price for this bass?


Regards, Gary

[StephenR]

Hi Gary

Nice looking bass, you have kept it in great shape! I own 78-1172 a five-string with a Rosewood top/back. It came with a blue case like a lot of other 70s Alembics so it is not surprising that you have a blue case. The build sheet for mine indicated that it was finished 6/30/78. Your bass would have been completed later in the year. If Mica can locate the build sheet for your bass she will confirm the "birthdate".

Used prices for the old Series basses are all over the place. Many of them sit on Reverb unsold for quite a long time. You can get a bit of an idea by looking at the sold listings on Reverb or eBay. 

[j_gary]

Thank you Stephen for the kind reply. Good to know about the blue case history.


I went on "Reverb" but I had trouble figuring out how to get to their "Sold" vehicle. I take another look to see if I can figure it out.

[FC Bass]

Nice one! and wow... Unusual number and seems to be a duplicate number: http://alembic.com/club/messages/394/42065.html?1187806939 (2000+ numbers start in 1981/1982)

[fivestringdan]

Here you go.
https://reverb.com/marketplace?make=alembic&show_only_sold=true

Thank you Stephen for the kind reply. Good to know about the blue case history.


I went on "Reverb" but I had trouble figuring out how to get to their "Sold" vehicle. I take another look to see if I can figure it out.

[j_gary]

Thank you fivestringdan!

[j_gary]

FC Bass,

That bass looks very much like my bass. I double checked my S/N and it is indeed 78-2001. I took a close up of my S/N and tried to post it but for some reason it won't post, too large. I'll see if I can reduce the size and post it.


This could get interesting.

[rv_bass]

Here you go.
https://reverb.com/marketplace?make=alembic&show_only_sold=true

Thank you Stephen for the kind reply. Good to know about the blue case history.


I went on "Reverb" but I had trouble figuring out how to get to their "Sold" vehicle. I take another look to see if I can figure it out.

This link shows what items were listed for at the time of sale, not necessarily what they actually sold for.

[fivestringdan]

Yes, keep that in mind. But this is the only indicator I'm aware of using the Reverb site. There is enough information to create a decent assessment.

Here you go.
https://reverb.com/marketplace?make=alembic&show_only_sold=true

Thank you Stephen for the kind reply. Good to know about the blue case history.


I went on "Reverb" but I had trouble figuring out how to get to their "Sold" vehicle. I take another look to see if I can figure it out.

This link shows what items were listed for at the time of sale, not necessarily what they actually sold for.

[tkotmk42]

Hello, very nice bass indeed!

My "79 has serial number lower than 2000..... it's in 1300s.... I guess not all serial numbers are given sequentially??

Also, about the value:  it seems to me that medium scale bass sells at bit more money than long scale, in standard point body shape. 
I am sure it has a lot to do with the balance and playability, but maybe that is only applicable in Asian market.

[j_gary]

You bring up a good point tkotmk42. How can one determine the scale length? Not sure what the scale is on my bass.

[adriaan]

You bring up a good point tkotmk42. How can one determine the scale length? Not sure what the scale is on my bass.

Measure from the inside of the top nut to the top of the 12th fret, times 2 (what with the octave being at exactly the halfway point of the scale length).

[tkotmk42]

I bet it's medium scale, based on the placement and spacing of pickups and their relative position from the edge of the fingerboard.


This one has the 'narrow' spacing b/w neck pickup and edge of fingerboard, than my medium scale bass, yet pickup spacing looks similar.


Very nice to see 7 piece neck on Series I bass.  Rare maybe?




Takeo

[tkotmk42]

Nice one! and wow... Unusual number and seems to be a duplicate number: http://alembic.com/club/messages/394/42065.html?1187806939 (2000+ numbers start in 1981/1982)

Wow, this one has the purpleheart neck with 7 piece neck!!!!  I don't think I have seen that before. 

Takeo

[j_gary]

Thank you adoriaan for the tip!


I measured all three of my Alembics, they all measure 15" from the bottom of the nut to the top (Toward the headstock) of the 12th fret. It would appear they are all short scales?