In the later 70's, when I was about 17 I heard Stanley for the first time. Yeah he was good, LOL, but that sound was what I wanted. I was hooked... and when I identified it as 'Alembic', I tracked them down (no internet... but I was on a quest).
I wrote to them and rec'd an info packet (which I still have to this day), including a 1980 price list. Ouch! There goes that idea. But a couple of years later I saw an add for a stock model, the Distillate.
This time I called and asked if they could tell me who might have one to try. That led to a Saturday, driving over 4 hours to a store in Cleveland. They had just gotten a Spoiler. I played two notes and melted to the floor. But alas, still couldn't afford.
So I looked for the closest thing I could find, and settled for an Aria Pro II SB-1000, which had similar features and I could afford.
But finally my luck changed (fate). In '85, a muscian I had recently met, contacted me about someone who was selling one. I finally had an Alembic, a 2 year old Distillate.
It's a tank, and has been my main bass for over 25 yrs. Still in the same shape as adopted.
It was getting lonely though, and recently I was lucky enough to find another 32 Alembic. A custom Elan with the bonus of Anniversary electronics. Pristine, so my poor Distillate will still have to do the bulk of out-of-studio work.
Yes... I've been obsessed (or posessed)!
