Author Topic: 1988 SC Deluxe - Cleaned up rather nicely (Read 1433 times)

actual_size · « **on:** May 04, 2014, 09:39:07 AM »

I very much enjoy reading about and seeing all the photographs of your beautiful basses. I thought I would share mine. I hope you enjoy. I bought my first Alembic bass form Edwin van Huik's Bass Connection late last year. When it arrived, although stunning, it was in need of some long overdue maintenance. So, with the excellent information I discovered on this forum, and my limited experience in instrument building, I carefully went about addressing the basses issues. The attached photos, as you all know, do not do these wonderful basses justice. There were extra strap button holes in the neck heel and the upper horn. I filled, sealed and blended them with the existing finish. The repairs are not completely undetectable, but are significantly better than the holes as they existed. The bridge was on backwards when it arrived. It was completely disassembled, cleaned, oiled (Break Free CLP) and polished (Flitz). Then reinstalled the right way round, set the string height and intonation. It intonates perfectly all the way up to the 24th fret. The fretboard was quite grungy. So it was thoroughly cleaned and treated with 100% pure lemon oil I purchased from a local GNC shop. The truss rod cover was scratched and had a good amount of the poly coat worn away. It was stripped, sanded to 2000 grit, buffed and polished (Flitz). I have not yet decided if I will respray it with any sort of poly coat. The battery cavity received an new foam rubber holder (a cut to size Jazz Bass mute). It was a fantastic bass when it first arrived, but it now plays as if it were brand new.

lbpesq · « **Reply #1 on:** May 04, 2014, 12:28:10 PM »

Gorgeous! The wood seems to have an inner glow!

Bill, the guitar one

flpete1uw · « **Reply #2 on:** May 04, 2014, 01:00:01 PM »

Very Very Nice!!! She's a keeper and now in good hands.
Pete

actual_size · « **Reply #3 on:** May 04, 2014, 03:33:35 PM »

Thanks, Pete. A definite keeper indeed. I'm very fortunate to have it.

The wood does have a depth to it. It has ambered and aged beautifully over its 26 year lifespan.

dead_head · « **Reply #4 on:** May 04, 2014, 08:01:35 PM »

Looks beautiful, Steven. You did a nice job sprucing it up. Enjoy!!!

Rob

jazzyvee · « **Reply #5 on:** May 04, 2014, 11:56:37 PM »

A superb looking bass bass Steven. Do you know what the extra switch and led light is for? I presume it's not for fretboard LED's as there is no large battery cavity on the back.

Oh by the way, what do you think of the way it sounds?

Jazzyvee

actual_size · « **Reply #6 on:** May 05, 2014, 07:56:20 AM »

Thanks Jazzyvee. It looks even better in person.

The extra switch and led is essentially an on/off switch. It allows you to remain plugged in without draining the battery. From what I was able to find out, there seems to be a disproportionate number of this switch configuration on EVH basses. The connection with it being on my bass may be that I bought it from Edwin van Huik in the Netherlands. And, it was originally built for export to Kenman, Switzerland in 1988. Speculation on my part.

The sound is singular and incredible. I'm still getting used to the way the unique tone controls function. One of the most amazing things to me is the endless variety of sounds this bass is capable of producing. It is a challenging bass to play in that the pickups are quite acute and accurate. They not only beautifully amplify the bass itself but any imperfection in your playing. I will, I think, ultimately be a better bass player for it.

Steven

artswork99 · « **Reply #7 on:** May 05, 2014, 10:00:57 AM »

Beautiful!

jazzyvee · « **Reply #8 on:** May 05, 2014, 01:48:45 PM »

One thing I notice from the wiring is that there is no ferrite bead. It may be that one was not needed on your bass but they are included in my 2002 signature bass and it may be worth just knowing about it in case you experience issues with noise at some point.

Check out this link for further information it has a couple of follow on links about the ferrite bead
http://club.alembic.com/Images/16271/16909.html?1109872910
jazzyvee

actual_size · « **Reply #9 on:** May 05, 2014, 03:45:01 PM »

I haven't noticed any noise as of yet. I will certainly keep this in mind if it should become an issue. Thank you very much for the information jazzyvee.

Steven

pauldo · « **Reply #10 on:** May 05, 2014, 04:15:48 PM »

Oooo wee!
Looks great.
Nice job!

bigredbass · « **Reply #11 on:** May 05, 2014, 04:25:54 PM »

NICE job, Steven. It's amazing how many things you can do to one of these so that you don't have to send it back to Cali.

You've done better than I did at first. I promptly took the bridge completely apart when I bought the BigRedBass used, did the polish/BreakFree workup, and installed it backwards !

As for the BreakFree, you might (although I'm sure you may have already done this) want to put a drop in the three Allen screws in the adjustable nut. BreakFree is really good about 'sweat proofing' all the little tiny electric guitar screws (it's the ONLY thing to use for Floyds!).

And wonder of wonders, the pickup screws in are in properly, for once.

And oh yes, you will hear LOTS of things you never heard before. These things can be brutally honest, but they will make you a better player. Not a lot of basses include that as standard equipment. . . .

J o e y

sonicus · « **Reply #12 on:** May 05, 2014, 05:43:45 PM »

Nice Bass!

rustyg61 · « **Reply #13 on:** May 05, 2014, 06:39:37 PM »

Hard to believe that bass is 26 years old, it looks brand new! Congratulations & great job refurbishing it!

Enzo · « **Reply #14 on:** May 06, 2014, 05:13:32 PM »

But that's not the? actual size?right?