Thought it was about time I add my request to the queue!
https://club.alembicguitars.com/series-i-basses-and-guitars/series-i-bass-75-254/
I love the chunky point on that one.
That's a beautiful bass! :)
What's not to love?
My educated guesses are: walnut and maple neck, ebony fretboard, m-o-p ovals, bird's-eye maple top and back, walnut core, 34" scale, headstock veneers of an unknown dark brown species, silver hand-cut logo.
It has a couple of minor issues that need addressing though, so expect some calls for help from the Troubleshooting aisle ...
The de-tuner from the pictures is long gone. They are new Schallers that work absolutely fine, though it seems they stick out quite far out in front - could be that the headstock is a bit thinner than usual. On one of the tuners, most of the head of the wood screw is sheared off, so that might be a bit of an issue.
Only two of the screws on the brass backplate tap into the wood, the rest is either missing or just hanging in there without a proper hold. At Mica's suggestion, I won't attempt major surgery to install threaded inserts but will just try filler on the screw holes and use woodscrews again.
Someone removed a small chunk of the end of the fretboard beyond the last fret, presumably to have more room for popping the G string.
The pickup mounting screws were not very responsive. I managed to get the two hold-down screws on the neck pickup loose, but one of them has its threaded insert stuck to it (might be glued). There was some foam in the cavity ... The screws on the bridge pickup didn't budge much, and the pickup cavities are pretty tight, so I left that as is.
Someone added a screw and a washer on the tippety tip of the Point, a Dunlop branded washer under the 1/4" jack, and a woodscrew to the abandoned hole for the strap pin on the upper bout (the bass balances surprisingly well with the new strap position).
I expect that the bass was refinished, as there is barely any of the checking that you see on instruments of these years. There are some darker markings on the top, and actually quite a lot of them to the back of the neck, but it seems they might be small cuts, and I wonder if they can be buffed out.
It has fairly new frets!
Someone had the transformer in the DS-5 changed out for a 240V compatible one, and they replaced the fixed cord with a coiled one ... The 5-pin cord is surprisingly thin, and it has Switchcraft plugs that make an unhappy fit with the Neutrik jacks on my newer DS-5 and Series II (but the new cord happily services the old bass). The old DS-5 also has a ground hum that the new one simply doesn't have.
Also, the Q switches are not engaging the different amounts of boost predictably, so they may need to be replaced.
That's it, warts and all! It's also very noticeably LOUDER than the Series II, and fun to play!
It's a beautiful bass, Adriaan. I remember it well from a past thread. I'll wait for your TS thread for further comment on those issues, but I agree with your wood observations. #76-265 is another long-scale Standard Point in maple, with those dark headstock faces. I love that look.
Maple with walnut core and walnut in the neck must sound fantastic! :)
Quote from: edwardofhuncote on September 04, 2026, 04:33:24 AMIt's a beautiful bass, Adriaan. I remember it well from a past thread. I'll wait for your TS thread for further comment on those issues, but I agree with your wood observations. #76-265 is another long-scale Standard Point in maple, with those dark headstock faces. I love that look.
Yep, 76-265 confirms that 254 must have been completed fairly late in 1975.
The veneers on 265 have some very nice figuring, perhaps bocate? There's less distinct grain to the veneers on 254, nothing fancy. I love the look of a maple top paired with cocobolo veneers, but who knows how many of those are around.
I owned 76-265, it had a cherry core, great bass (wish I still had that one :) ). The veneers were bocate I believe.
Do you have any pictures of how the bass is now Adriaan? Still need to come to see it in person...
Looks kinda like this. (Large Body, really?) 2016 vs 1975
PXL_20260630_084013421_copy_2268x4032.jpg
Ok looks nice. Only too bad they carved a little piece out of the end of the fingerboard. What did someone think when doing that? Are you going to have that repaired?
One might say it adds character ...
Just tell people it's scalloped.
You have to get up close to see it ...
Gonna guess that scallop was done to make extra room for snapping (popping?) the G-string. To each his own.
Nice basses!
Jimmy J
Wood is a forgiving medium. That one is relatively easy to fix if desired, just as easily ignored. No real playability issue.
They do make a nice set.
Quote from: JimmyJ on Yesterday at 02:33:36 PMGonna guess that scallop was done to make extra room for snapping (popping?) the G-string. To each his own.
Nice basses!
Jimmy J
That makes sense. But then (if it was mine) I would have it cut out on the whole length if possible with the end pin. Cause I also pop the A and D strings and sometimes even the E string. But as Adriaan says you don't notice it from a distance.
I thought you guys might enjoy this terrible hack I once did for a melody that had a high-A in it. No G# so this is a "26th fret" for the G-string only. HAHA. But one could certainly imagine some extra frets built into a truss rod cover. Just sayin'. (Sorry for the hijack.)
Jimmy J
Quote from: JimmyJ on Yesterday at 07:53:28 PMI thought you guys might enjoy this terrible hack I once did for a melody that had a high-A in it. No G# so this is a "26th fret" for the G-string only. HAHA. But one could certainly imagine some extra frets built into a truss rod cover. Just sayin'. (Sorry for the hijack.)
Jimmy J
That's what a 6th string is for. ::) :o 8)
Back in 2015 you were touring with the Steve Gadd band, and you played in Zoetermeer, where we had a nice chat after the show, and you even remembered the 6 string being built. So what do you know, last July I bought the 75 off a guy in Zoetermeer - funny how that works out.
Quote from: JimmyJ on Yesterday at 07:53:28 PMI thought you guys might enjoy this terrible hack I once did for a melody that had a high-A in it. No G# so this is a "26th fret" for the G-string only. HAHA. But one could certainly imagine some extra frets built into a truss rod cover. Just sayin'. (Sorry for the hijack.)
Jimmy J
That's a cool MacGyver solution! :) Do still have that mod on it?
Quote from: adriaan on Today at 12:16:53 AMBack in 2015 you were touring with the Steve Gadd band, and you played in Zoetermeer, where we had a nice chat after the show, and you even remembered the 6 string being built. So what do you know, last July I bought the 75 off a guy in Zoetermeer - funny how that works out.
Wow, that's wild. And it's a great looking 6. My operator's license only covers 5 though. ;) If I need higher I will sometimes do the false harmonic thing. But this melody I was asked to play started over and over again on the high-A so...
Quote from: Barend on Today at 02:12:55 AMDo still have that mod on it?
No but I keep the little aluminum piece in my toolkit just in case. :)
Jimmy J