https://reverb.com/item/94031548-alembic-series-2
no inlays. look like 11-laminate neck. not sure i've ever seen a headstock logo like that. not sure i like it. premium price. listing's pretty sketchy. imho. ymmv. good luck to all!
I noticed the seller clearly doesn't want to show the serial number in the lower description. I can't tell if that Alembic scrip is an inlay or a decal. But you're right "premium" price.
I'm no expert but I'd give that a zero chance of being real. The effort is impressive wow. Zoom in and check out the orange peeling on the finish reflection. Only 1 review on the sellers account. "Alembic" written on the peghead in pain text😂 Screaming red flags
I think that may be a digital label added to the photo to help "identify" the bass. I contacted the seller yesterday since it certainly appears to have toggle-switches, not CVQ knobs. I told him it is a Series I with added master volume. I got a message back...
"Thanks! The build sheet from Alembic say Series 2 which comes with the bass"
Asked if he was willing to share the build sheet and mentioned that it would be helpful to show it in the ad itself. Will report back if he responds again. I didn't ask about the fake lettering on the headstock. I guess it is possible to pay Alembic to inlay the company name on the headstock... if they did it should be noted on the build sheet that has yet to appear. Just to knit pick if he does have a build sheet I doubt it says Series 2 using the numeral 2.
No matter what the bass is not remotely worth the asking price. So far many reasons to avoid this transaction...
Ok. I zoomed in on the serial #. 9710.....that's 100 units after my 1996 Classico so my guess is 979710. But yup....toggle switches. So about $18k too high.
I keep forgetting that folks Not in this club are not as knowledgeable of what they have.
I guess we could have Mica look up the build card. If for nothing else than to see Series 2! ;D
edit - Thanks Greg for the past sale info. The build card does state a completion date of Feb 1996 so, 969710
Bass is legit. Decal or transfer on the headstock is after-the-fact. FWIW, the build card says it's a Series II.
It's been here before, https://club.alembicguitars.com/seen-on-craigslist-ebay-and-elsewhere/another-questionable-listing-dock-s-again-series-ii-16k/msg241249/#msg241249
Wonder what happened to Dock?
Ah I stand corrected. I had remembered reading about fake Alembics listed for sale with logos written in similar plain text a long time ago. Something about them popping up in pawn shops. The orange peeling I'm seeing must be the reflection. You learn something new everyday.
I never doubted that this was a real Alembic, the question was whether seller actually had the bass and the ad was legitimate.
Seller told me he will post pictures of the build sheet along with the listing. Still won't explain the missing CVQs. I guess it would be easy to replace the CVQs with the toggle-switches if you didn't end up liking the variable Q.
Not much can be done about the price but that is for the seller to figure out.
well ya never know what's gonna float someone's boat when it comes to customizing they own insturment but i gotta say that is one fugly mod and totally deprecates (nay, desecrates) an otherwise beautiful work of craftsmanship. imho. ymmv.
that coupled with the sketchy listing and totally out of bounds list price make for another marathon reverbb listing that'll be posting fodder for years to come.
that being said, i could be totally worng, wouldn't be the frist time.
good luck to all!
I reckon it could be a scam, I mean... who knows with Reverb anymore. It seems like there's a simpler explanation. The same bass is listed in the same town it was years ago, Gaffney, S.C. The guy who used to have it had a few Alembics for sale in various condition, some years back, but this was arguably the best. Supposedly it was his personal bass. The homemade decals on the bass, case, and power supplies kinda' back that up as a personal touch that it seems like none of us particularly care for.
Perhaps the bass was inherited by a relative, or maybe Alex is actually Dock. I suppose one could ask? I'm just not in a buying mode, and if I were this one is out of range. Like my boss at the store says though, ask whatever you want to... you can always come down.
We should all know by now Greg's ability to keep all things Alembic in his noggin' and viola.....a link to a previous sale in 2018.
The build card photo is much clearer here. Completion date of Feb 1996 so 969710. It's listed as a Series II. It also states 2 Q switches (instead of CVQ's) There is no indication of LED's. No inlays. The only thing left is the Gold plating and master volume that qualifies as a Series II.....Unless....the Q's have custom boost / cut frequencies. No photo of the power supply but the 2018 sale looks like someone took the DS-5 and made it rackmounted. Anyway, this was a fun exercise in researching into a 30 year old Alembic. A strange story of making a Series II look like a Series I. :D As for the price, we All think we own a Unicorn.
It's good to see some traffic again in the club. Looks like we lost quite a few contributors in last months bot attacks. "Shane! Come Back!
Quote from: BeenDown139 on May 01, 2026, 09:38:32 AMhttps://reverb.com/item/94031548-alembic-series-2
no inlays. look like 11-laminate neck. not sure i've ever seen a headstock logo like that. not sure i like it. premium price. listing's pretty sketchy. imho. ymmv. good luck to all!
You know.....I wonder if the original customer wanted a 5-string Europa.....but Series electronics wont fit into a Europa.
Use the search function and look for threads in this section with "Dock" or "Dock's". You'll find more. Whoever that guy is (or was?) they had an eye for really unusual Alembics. I seem to remember a couple Club Members bought from him. And though I don't think it ever came to fruition, Dock had a 6-string that Moderator Dave had some interest in. I forget the model... Elan or Europa maybe? And Gaffney isn't too far from him. There's always another one, said Paul.
This Series 1.5 or 2 I don't believe ever sold. It looks the same as it did, stickers and all. The body is also a sorta' custom pattern. Danged if I remember what it's called. Lemme go look for that. *Starts with a B.
*BULGER! I'm not sure but I'm thinking that's what this one is. Took me a while to run that down.
I guess I'm not done yet. Up-thread, Stephen asked the seller to include more photos and the build card. Well, the seller just updated his listing. INSTEAD of the build card (as seen in the 2018 listing) he posted a receipt from the Mothership from 11/1990 for 75AE40???
The only thing in common is 5-strings.....
New photos of the power supply....not from 2018 so it's the same supply. As someone else mentioned this is probably a seller acting for someone else.
Quote from: edwardofhuncote on May 02, 2026, 10:08:52 AMUse the search function and look for threads in this section with "Dock" or "Dock's". You'll find more. Whoever that guy is (or was?) they had an eye for really unusual Alembics. I seem to remember a couple Club Members bought from him. And though I don't think it ever came to fruition, Dock had a 6-string that Moderator Dave had some interest in. I forget the model... Elan or Europa maybe? And Gaffney isn't too far from him. There's always another one, said Paul.
This Series 1.5 or 2 I don't believe ever sold. It looks the same as it did, stickers and all. The body is also a sorta' custom pattern. Danged if I remember what it's called. Lemme go look for that. *Starts with a B.
*BULGER! I'm not sure but I'm thinking that's what this one is. Took me a while to run that down.
Dang it.....Now I'm looking for it too.....instead of getting my yardwork done. ;D I think I recall a thread where Mica used the name of the body style. I know a lot of the body styles were named after Lotus cars.....did one start with B? Ok....I've stalled long enough.....my lawn is now 6+" high.....it's gonna take all day.
Well this is even more interesting. So somewhere or another, there is #75AE40, a 1975 Series bass that's been converted to a 5-string. In a funny turn of circumstances, that would make it technically older than Jimmy J's original 5-string which was the first! And that invoice is hilarious... I wonder what the cost for a wave of the magic wand is these days?! 🤣
So I found another thread for a Series II 6-string with I think this same body. It was referred to in the build card as a "Bulger" whatever that meant. (remember that sapphire blue 6'r in Indonesia a while back Gary? Pickups were upside-down in it...) If you look at the Series II Custom that's pictured in the literature with the bass being sold here it appears to be the same. There was another body called Rogue II, but this doesn't look quite like it. And at some point Europa was modified to accept Series electronics because there are quite a few of them, but this isn't an Europa either.
So that's all I got. I think it's just what it looks like... a custom 5-string with Series electronics. I think realistically they could sell it around $8-10k. It's in nice shape. $25k is unrealistic. I bet it's a tone monster.
I was just thinking......that script on the headstock is the equivalent of affixing a DYMO label.......just to clarify that's it's NOT an "Olympic" bass! ;D
Oh and that 1990 invoice......$1k for a refin / added string and magic wand? What A Deal!
Bulger was the name of the person the shape was designed for.
The nickel finish switches look a little funny to me. We do get them on request (early ones were all nickel). CVQ and Q-switches fit in the same hole.
I don't think this is a fake, but the logo is wrong. It's smooth, and the proportions and shape are wonky. At first I thought it was maybe distorted after taking it off, but it really doesn't look like it came out of the same mold. KindaFunkyLogo.jpg
See what I mean?
The logo in your photos appears to be the hand carved version. Could they have special ordered that and so looks a little wonky?
I also thought that, but the more I look at it, maybe it is a molded logo that was removed and damaged, and this reshaping is the best they could do to average the harm. I'm not saying it couldn't leave the shop like this, but it would be a bit surprising. If we damaged the original logo modding the headstock for a 5-string, I'm sure we would have replaced the logo.
Quote from: mica on May 03, 2026, 09:09:44 AMI also thought that, but the more I look at it, maybe it is a molded logo that was removed and damaged, and this reshaping is the best they could do to average the harm. I'm not saying it couldn't leave the shop like this, but it would be a bit surprising. If we damaged the original logo modding the headstock for a 5-string, I'm sure we would have replaced the logo.
Well, this is a possibility I hadn't considered. Are you thinking this bass (subject of the thread) is the converted 1975 bass? I was wondering if possibly this logo may have been the old one that was mentioned in the shop receipt, that somehow made it onto this 1996 bass. Like the same person owned both. Mysterious!
it'll only costya $25k USD to find out!
¡good luck to all!
🗿🐕
No it's not a 1975 bass for sure. But 90% of this body shape is 6-strings. We'll have to investigate the serial number and see what we can see.