now this is truly awful

[BeenDown139]

i dunno.  im speechless.

https://reverb.com/item/85025773-alembic-exploiter-4-string

[jazzyvee]

Strip it back and refinish clear.

[DistillaMatto]

It could be a natural combination of Red Ivory hardwood and Rainbow eucalyptus.

[Quasar1]

a bit hard on the eye's , that's for sure

Glam Rock Special !

The late Arthur Kane of the "New York Dolls" would have loved it!

[Songdog]

(for those who don't remember / get the reference): https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/aug/22/spain-church-mural-ruin-restoration

[gearhed289]

Love the blue. The pink, not so much.

Songdog, I do remember that! Very fitting. 

[xlrogue6]

The very apex of 80's nostalgia!

[hammer]

This is what sometimes (although I'd be more accurate to say rarely) comes out when you are fully custom shop. If the customer indicates "I want an Exploiter that's pink and electric blue," that is what they shall receive.  Now I know that Mica and Susan will, when necessary, gently guide a customer when a bass is being built.  However, from what I've seen, that is typically advice of a functional nature (e.g., we can build you a bass that has an ebony core, ebony front and back and 5 ebony stringers but its going to weigh 23 lbs").  I do wonder, however, whether anyone has ever asked the good folks to build something so garish and ugly that Mica has needed to say, "we just can't have something that looks like that assocaited with the Alembic name.

[adriaan]

The ad clearly says “finished by Pat Wilkins“, which suggests it was not done at the mothership.

[StephenR]

The ad clearly says “finished by Pat Wilkins“, which suggests it was not done at the mothership.

I didn't see that detail (too hard to look at the bass itself so I moved on) but had a feeling that was not a factory finish. If it were a factory finish it would be easy to strip the color and refinish to taste, maybe not possible now.

[gearhed289]

"I do wonder, however, whether anyone has ever asked the good folks to build something so garish and ugly that Mica has needed to say, "we just can't have something that looks like that assocaited with the Alembic name."

Wasn't that sort of the case with Entwistle's Buzzard concept?

[lbpesq]

"I do wonder, however, whether anyone has ever asked the good folks to build something so garish and ugly that Mica has needed to say, "we just can't have something that looks like that assocaited [sic] with the Alembic name."

Some of us old farts may remember "The Love Giver" that Alembic built for Tenacious D.  (Though Mica may not want to admit it!)  lol!

http://www.alembic.com/info/fc_brutallegend.html

Bill, tgo