Author Topic: (?) 78-1062 (was 78-1078) (Read 2063 times)

marcusbass · « **on:** January 16, 2007, 04:13:00 AM »

Hi all. I've owned this bass for well over 20 years. It's an old stanley model, short scale, and has a couple of extra switches on it and no LED's. Will send a pic soon. It's beautiful to look at and to play. Serial number is short so it may be an early one. Any information regarding it's history would be much appreciated. Cheers, marcus

marcusbass · « **Reply #1 on:** January 27, 2007, 11:15:17 AM »

Waaah...any word on 1078?

marcusbass · « **Reply #2 on:** January 27, 2007, 11:24:01 AM »

Will post photo soon...have been living and playing in singapore / india / china / vietnam / japan...hell...asia... for the last five years...using the TRB-5,,,yes, I know...poor substitute but ' the wife will be joining me very soon and will then post pix! Am having serious alembic withdrawals!!!

marcusbass · « **Reply #3 on:** January 30, 2007, 02:57:37 AM »

Hi, a little more information regarding #1078. Series 1 short scale. I think it's a maple top and back with mahogany body. Only modification I have made to the bass is to get rid of the pickup selector switch and convert the two pickup volume controls to master volume and balance. Much more sensible IMHO. Also, as a result of over enthusiastic slapping, sometimes I would contact the pickup selector switch ( damn painful ) or hit it into the OFF position! Not too desirable. The bass also has 2 extra toggle switches sited above and between what were originally the pickup volume controls. Can you please give me some information about these as I have never seen them on any other Alembic. The bass is in pristine condition...aged but perfect!!! The 'wife' will be with me shortly and I will post pix as soon as poss. Cheers marcus

marcusbass · « **Reply #4 on:** January 30, 2007, 03:10:12 AM »

Also, an interesting quote from one of my favourite books and authors...'Tunc' by Laurence Durrell. As follows... I became alembicated and began to exflunctify ! Dunno what it means but it sure as hell sounds good!!!

adriaan · « **Reply #5 on:** January 30, 2007, 03:55:19 AM »

Google exflunctify, and you get exactly ONE match - anybody still into googlewhacking?

Exfluncticate, meaning to overcome, with variants exflunct and exflunctify, dates back to the early 183os [...]

Google links to a 1948 article on De Quincey's Use of Americanisms (opening page only).

marcusbass · « **Reply #6 on:** January 30, 2007, 10:43:02 PM »

Ah, the mystery is solved!. now it makes perfect sense. Thanks Adriaan

adriaan · « **Reply #7 on:** January 31, 2007, 02:46:00 AM »

It makes perfect sense? I guess all lovers of modernist literature are created equal, but some are more equal than others. ;-)

marcusbass · « **Reply #8 on:** January 31, 2007, 01:50:09 PM »

hmmmm....modernist literature...what does that mean exactly? Literaturre is literature. Alembicated I understood, exflunctify I did not. but now do.Obviously I was using the wrong search engine! However, is this last comment a positive or a negative? Will take you on any time man!!!!

adriaan · « **Reply #9 on:** February 01, 2007, 01:50:54 AM »

I was hoping the smiley for irony would do the trick ... Anyway, what a funny thing to say, that exflunctify makes perfect sense.

Didn't Durrell have a brother who wrote books about animals? I must have a copy of the Alexandria Quartet somewhere, but can't remember reading more than a couple of pages.

jacko · « **Reply #10 on:** February 01, 2007, 04:43:12 AM »

That would be Gerald Durrell, adriaan. probably more famous than Lawrence in the UK. I had the pleasure to meet him in me early teens when I visited his conservation zoo in Jersey - the island off france, not the NY suburb;-) A really nice guy, perfectly happy to chat for ages to one of his biggest fans. (at the time i had grand ideas of following in his footsteps and becoming a naturalist).

graeme

adriaan · « **Reply #11 on:** February 01, 2007, 05:34:01 AM »

Bonus points to Graeme! Personally, I don't care too much for the worldwide obsession with the animal kingdom - the sorry fate of Steve Irwin comes to mind. Doesn't mean I don't like the occasional visit to the zoo, and with a 6 year old one can't really avoid that - and Rotterdam zoo is not too bad. It's caged birds that I find most depressing.

marcusbass · « **Reply #12 on:** February 01, 2007, 10:36:24 AM »

Hi guys. Yes correct about Gerald Durrell. Laurence IMHO is a much hipper writer though. Alexandria quartet and Avignon Quintet are amongst the finest pieces of literature! Yeah Adriaan I got the irony, but interested in why you don't think exflunctify makes sense. I will try to dig uo the entire paragraph so you get the context of the entire statement. Very cool! Ummm...by the way...isn't this forum supposed to be about Alembic lovers? Here we are lapsing into literary pursuits! Don't get me wrong though..I love it!! Also interesting that my posts pertaining to my bass ( the wife ) have elicited zero response, but quote Laurence Durrell and look what happens!!!

adriaan · « **Reply #13 on:** February 02, 2007, 02:00:28 AM »

Marcus, exflunctify is a made-up word with comic overtones. The sort of term typically used when poking fun at excessive verbiage (ooh, aren't I the show-off).

As far as modernist literature is concerned, I prefer Musil.

And thus continues our wait for the final word on #1078.

marcusbass · « **Reply #14 on:** February 05, 2007, 01:06:16 AM »

Hi Adriaan. I read this book many years ago, and went in search of that word, going as far as the complete OED and not finding it there or in past editions. I concluded it eas either obsolete or made up. Tended toward obsolete because I've never known Durrell to make up a word in any of his books ( that I've read anyway ). The reference in De Quincey's Americanisms' was interesting because it was the first indication that the word may be real. Looks like the mystery continues! I Prefer music too...been a professional for 30 years!! Still waiting for news on #1078. Curiouser and curiouser!