that is, if yer into this sorta thing. myself, i cant really make a 4-string work in my situation anymore, elsewise i'd be all over it. looks legit but who knows? good luck to all!
https://reverb.com/item/98329802-alembic-dragon-wing-2018-with-fretboard-leds
Looks like we might have a motivated seller. The price has dropped $2K since it was first posted. The last Dragon Wing in February sold for $12.5K......then "flipped" for $19K. Anyone "jonesing" for a DW might want to act on this one.
i keep trying to tell myself 5hat i really really have no use for a 4-string anymore but i'm drawn like a moth to a flame on this one.
he'll hafta get a lot more motivated than that to me to bite, however. fyi notice no OHSC and sold "as is, no returns". danger, will robinson!
somebody needs to snag this before i have a moment of weakness. a DW is one of the very few alembic body types i haven't owned yet. kinda curious.
good luck to all!
🐕🗿
now listed on evilbay, so the seller must be feeling the pressure. or not.
almost makes me wanna shoot him an offer but then again if he bites now i have another knockout bass in my stable with limited stage utility in my playing sitrep. between our two guit@rists our stage setup has 3 keyboards, a harp and and at least 5 guit@rs with vaarious tunings. i try to hold my stage armada to 2 basses (1 fretted, 1 fretless), i could easily see that expand to 3 or 4 without much more encouragement. oh, the mental anguish and gnashing of teeth! must be time to get baked again.
good luck to all!
Looks to be the same bass as this old listing: https://reverb.com/item/9674710-alembic-dragon-wing-2018-cocobolo
Seller shaved off another $250.00 bring it to $15,750.
QuoteSeller shaved off another $250.00 bring it to $15,750.
yeah i saw that. i don't need any
more encouragement, thank you very much. i hafta say i'm
sorely tempted by this one, even though practical tim keeps saying "it's a
4-string, you freaking moron!" at this point in my career, i can only play about half my repertoire on a 4-string. everything else is either drop tuned or transposed to a lower key to accomidate aging vocalists or lazy guit@rists.
OTOH collector tim is saying "that 5-string fretless hasn't showed up in 3 years of searching. yer gonna kick hte bucket before one shakes loose at this rate. quit being such a tightwad and pull hte bloody trigger already!"
gotta tell ya, it ain't easy being me. just ask all those dudes living in my head. this would amke alembic #15 to pass thru my hands since i bought my first essence in 1998. at some point ya gotta give it up, one would think. good luck to all!
I struggled with a lot of similar concerns as you, Beendown, before I pulled the trigger on a reverb DragonWing. Unless I missed one, I bought the one that popped up shortly before the maple one. It's the sister of the current one, minus LEDs and continuous backplates. I've gotta say it's the one bass that even months later I find myself staring at in awe. It's actually been a lot of fun reworking songs on a 4 string (I find myself grabbing the D at the fifth fret of the A string a lot, but otherwise it's not too challenging). My favorite thing is just how out of place it looks in just about any context, yet I'm constantly getting approached by people asking exactly wtf it is. Lots of compliments about what a cool and unusual instrument it is. Fun times. I'm sure I'm not helping...
QuoteI'm sure I'm not helping...
no. you're not.
Yup. That maple wing was hard to pass up. The price was right too. I know where it is now after speaking to the current owner. BUT this one.....all lit up like a party ball! It definitely is a Peacock! :o
Quote.....all lit up like a party ball! It definitely is a Peacock! :o
well there's always
that aspect. it's taken a while for my bandies to come to grips with just what a bass narcissist i yam. all ya gotta do is watch one of our videos.
that's what's drawing me like a moth to flame on this one. yer not helping either btw. good luck to all!
A Dragonwing as a Series bass would be cool 😊
come to poppa 8)
Quote from: BeenDown139 on June 30, 2026, 06:19:02 PMcome to poppa 8)
Ok. You just made me go to Reverb.....and as Colin Blunstone of the Zombies laments "She's Not There!"
You Only Live Once..... 8)
Quote from: rv_bass on June 30, 2026, 05:28:00 PMA Dragonwing as a Series bass would be cool 😊
Is there adequate cavity space in a Dragonwing for series electronics?
Quote from: BeenDown139 on June 30, 2026, 06:19:02 PMcome to poppa 8)
Awesome! You are gonna love it! Remember: lame old people do crossword puzzles to keep their brains sharp. Us cool old people figure out how to play without a low B string.
Quote from: The Sandman on June 30, 2026, 06:37:13 PMQuote from: rv_bass on June 30, 2026, 05:28:00 PMA Dragonwing as a Series bass would be cool 😊
Is there adequate cavity space in a Dragonwing for series electronics?
I'm sure Alembic would "make it so" if you ordered new.
That's a question for Mica 😊
Quote from: rv_bass on June 30, 2026, 06:52:25 PMThat's a question for Mica 😊
I was looking through the Dragon Wing threads and it appeared Oliver asked Mica that 20 years ago. Body was not thick enough.
Quote from: garyhead on 1-7-2026, 03:46:48I'm sure Alembic would "make it so" if you ordered new.
That's what they did with the Europa shape for Jason Newsted, they combined the upper half of the Europa with the lower half of the Elan (which is about 1/4 bigger) to make the Series electronics fit. (Europa II shape)
So the road case I got with my Elan is a perfect fit for the SII Europa, thanx to Newsted and Mr. Kramer! :-)
IMG_20230803_173529.jpg
Quote from: BeenDown139 on June 30, 2026, 06:19:02 PMcome to poppa 8)
Congrats, Beautiful bass! Let us know what you think :)
Quote from: rv_bass on June 30, 2026, 05:28:00 PMA Dragonwing as a Series bass would be cool 😊
It has crossed my mind that if you made it a bit thicker, and flipped the lower bouts around so the big part is on top, you'd have room to fit in fancier electronics than Mission Control's.
Peter
When I had my 2nd Dragonwing built, I asked for Anniversary electronics and a 5-pin jack to be installed (so I could run it from my Alembic rack [DS-5R, 2 F-1X, and SF-2] I use with my S.1 and S.2) in addition to the regular 1/4" jack. I wanted to be able to switch basses without fussing with cables. Plus, the DW is lighter without the LED batteries. On top of that, I then asked Mica if both the plugs could be on the edge instead of the face so as not to clutter the front. After a bunch of trials with back-and-forth emails, she figured it out how to make it work (although the 1/4 jack is in a non-standard location - no problem).
So, like Flip noted, I believe they can make almost anything work if they know when starting the build. Maybe not so much with a retro-fit.
Jon
thanx for all the encouragement and support, guys. like i really needed it. bass shopping in this place is kinda like going into an opium den and asking if they know the way to the rehab clinic. this will be alembic #15 for me over the years. i think i gotta stop. might even go as far as to deactivate my reeeveerb account like some others here have done. execpt that's where i get my strings and stuff that i used to get at GC. sigh...
so - buying the bass was the easy part. now i gotta sweat it out waiting for UPS. i really have no room left to put it in my cozy east denver townhome. this makes 5 alembics of various flavors, a status headless and a beater ABG competing for space in my bass corner. i'd consider selling one (*GASP!*) but i play 'em all. gotta order a set of roto rounds for it. gonna need a strap. figure out how i'm gonna work it into the show set.
that pretty much shoots my wad for the bass budget. so much for finding a 5-string fretless like i really wanted (now's when one will pop up. guaranteed.). guess i'll hafta make do with the essence. good thing i live by myself so i don't hafta hear a daily dose of static about my obsessive behavior.
cheers!
Quote from: BeenDown139 on July 01, 2026, 08:03:35 AMthanx for all the encouragement and support, guys. like i really needed it. bass shopping in this place is kinda like going into an opium den and asking if they know the way to the rehab clinic. this will be alembic #15 for me over the years. i think i gotta stop. might even go as far as to deactivate my reeeveerb account like some others here have done. execpt that's where i get my strings and stuff that i used to get at GC. sigh...
so - buying the bass was the easy part. now i gotta sweat it out waiting for UPS. i really have no room left to put it in my cozy east denver townhome. this makes 5 alembics of various flavors, a status headless and a beater ABG competing for space in my bass corner. i'd consider selling one (*GASP!*) but i play 'em all. gotta order a set of roto rounds for it. gonna need a strap. figure out how i'm gonna work it into the show set.
that pretty much shoots my wad for the bass budget. so much for finding a 5-string fretless like i really wanted (now's when one will pop up. guaranteed.). guess i'll hafta make do with the essence. good thing i live by myself so i don't hafta hear a daily dose of static about my obsessive behavior.
cheers!
That pretty much sums up my experience with the doublenecks. I bought Leviathan thinking I would
never own Goliath. Two years later (Leviathan) and 6 months ago for Goliath I have No regrets. They are the first things I see when I come home from my daily cancer treatments, and it brings me joy. When that fretless 5 pops up.....tear open that false bottom on the piggy band and snatch it up. To quote Henry Royce (of Rolls Royce) "The quality will remain long after the price is forgotten."
Quote from: BeenDown139 on June 30, 2026, 06:19:02 PMcome to poppa 8)
Right on, man. Well done.
I've always loved the Dragonwing body/shape. They're wonderfully designed.
QuoteWhen I had my 2nd Dragonwing built, I asked for Anniversary electronics and a 5-pin jack to be installed (so I could run it from my Alembic rack [DS-5R, 2 F-1X, and SF-2] I use with my S.1 and S.2) in addition to the
kinda bored whilst waiting for UPS so i doomscrolled a little thru my past near misses and this popped up. kinda looks like anniversary electronics in a dragon wing. i passed on this one because i was pretty sure the controls on the backplate woulda sent me over the edge. i got anniversary electronics in the A-bass. definitely like them over the signature electronics except i want a master volume like my SII. but im a stereo kinda guy so ymmv.
https://reverb.com/item/71822283-2007-alembic-starburst-custom-made-1-of-1-aaaaa-top-leds-original-case?show_sold=true
Yup. Keep us posted. A lot of us are waiting for "New Bass Day" by proxy! :P
That "knob-less" Dragon Wing sure was a looker but it too would drive me over the edge if I had to play it with a screwdriver handy......like hanging from a string from the rear straplock! ;D
to quote some famous dead musician - the waiting is the hardest part!
gotta be homebound all day until this arrives. arrgh! hope i don't get to baked to unpack it
...and the wait is over. hwat a beauty! already drawn blood, the middle latch of the case decided to rake my forearm while i wrestling the bass out of it. hope that's not a harbinger.
gonna let 'er air out, soak up that colorado hot air and wildfire smoke. got a new set of RS66LD's to put on, tweak what needs to be tweaked and got a bevy of songs to work on this afternoon after my nap.
cheers!
Cool looking bass, play it in good health!
Congratulations — it looks fantastic!
Looking Good!
ok, nap time's over. gotta say, this bass is pristine. can't find a scratch on it. still has the OHSC and all the case candy. other than a missing threaded insert on the battery plate and a dried out fingerboard it looks like it just came from the mothership. got the lemon oil setting in. gonna string 'er up, do a set up and then it's sound check time. i haven't told my bandies about this yet, got rehearsal thursday and shows coming up.
soooooo hawt.
Very nice, congrats 😊
Quotesoooooo hawt.
oh this is definitely a
LOOK AT ME! bass. i hadda fire up the front LEDs just to make sure. it's even more impressive looking than my SII (*GASP*!). should be some real entertainment at our next show. i've got a 2018 MKD, same electronics, same strings, they both have a
totally different sound. just gave it the home sound check shakedown. quite impressive. gonna strap it up after dinner and see how she hangs. a pleasant surprise was satin finish neck. gonna take some gettin used to playin a 4-string again. gonna hafta tote a 5-string along regardless. got rehearsal thursday. should be entertaining.
Would be fun to see candid reactions from band mates when you whip that out! ;D
Got to love those basses, plus you have front led's too. Nice touch. hope you have great musical moments with it. Has it stopped you searching for the right fretless.🙄🧐🤔😁
Congrats! That's a wonderful bass!
Quoteit. Has it stopped you searching for the right fretless
yeah. i'm done. buying
any more instruments. period. i've been searching in earnest for
that fretless for probably 3 years. a coupla close calls but never one that checked
all the boxes. i'm 70 years old. i have a perfectly serviceable fretless 5-string essence with a FretFX strip on it (just try buying one of those now. go ahead.) it's my gigging bass. so we're kinda bonded anyways. this show can't gonna go too much longer, anyways. i'd pretty much already given up when this came along. always wanted a DW. so there ya go.
so... the DW. havn't played a 4-string fretted in years. lefty's used to feeling that B-string, so it'll take some work. balances perfectly. it's got its own voice just like my others. they all sound like alembics, but they
don't all sound the same. this bass is a 2018. the pickup covers are un-scuffed. not a scratch on it that i can see. still had the original alembic strings on it. not sure if it's ever really been played. myself, i'm gonna play the daylights out of it. already did coupla times today.
so it's going into the show rotation with the rest of the crew - get some time in front of people. i only take 2 with me for a show, gonna get interesting.
cheers!
Quote from: BeenDown139 on July 07, 2026, 09:13:29 PMQuoteit. Has it stopped you searching for the right fretless
yeah. i'm done. buying any more instruments. period. i've been searching in earnest for that fretless for probably 3 years. a coupla close calls but never one that checked all the boxes. i'm 70 years old. i have a perfectly serviceable fretless 5-string essence with a FretFX strip on it (just try buying one of those now. go ahead.) it's my gigging bass. so we're kinda bonded anyways. this show can't gonna go too much longer, anyways. i'd pretty much already given up when this came along. always wanted a DW. so there ya go.
so... the DW. havn't played a 4-string fretted in years. lefty's used to feeling that B-string, so it'll take some work. balances perfectly. it's got its own voice just like my others. they all sound like alembics, but they don't all sound the same. this bass is a 2018. the pickup covers are un-scuffed. not a scratch on it that i can see. still had the original alembic strings on it. not sure if it's ever really been played. myself, i'm gonna play the daylights out of it. already did coupla times today.
so it's going into the show rotation with the rest of the crew - get some time in front of people. i only take 2 with me for a show, gonna get interesting.
cheers!
Sounds like you are off to a good start with the DW. Enjoy! It's beautiful!
Maybe go BEAD?
And congrats; sweet score!
Peter
I'm glad this DW went to you. They are a rare breed and need an appreciative player. Great match!