•Alter Ego Ballade 4 string (
ALTER EGO electric acoustic string instruments and EUB)
•Removable neck upgrade
•“Dual Preamp” upgrade
o Despite the name, there are in fact three separate pickups that blend together via this preamp. There are two piezo pickups (one under each bridge foot), one aligned optimally for arco, the other aligned optimally for pizz. There’s also a Schertler Stat-B pickup mounted inside the bridge hole. The two piezos can be blended together, and the resulting piezo output then blended with the Schertler. The resulting tone quality is very good and has a great range of flexibility for matching different amplification situations and different venues.
•two gig bags
o One gig bag is designed to carry the bass with either the neck attached or unattached. There is an expandable neck pouch on the end of the bag that extends the length of the bag to fit the bass when the neck is on. This is the bag used inside the flight case. The other bag is designed to be used for everyday transport with the neck on. This bag is larger and offers heavier protection.
•flight case (with recessed handles and wheels)
•upgraded bridge with adjusters
o One of the great features of this bass is that because it doesn’t have f-holes or a soundpost to determine the position of the bridge, the bridge height adjusters can be used to adjust both the height of the strings and the string playing length (mensure). For example, lowering the adjusters and moving the bridge towards the fingerboard can create a 39” string length. Raising the adjusters and moving the bridge towards the tailpiece can create a 42” string length.
•Quite a few hours were spent with an excellent luthier working on the fingerboard to make this bass as easy to play for the left hand as possible (I have nerve damage in my left shoulder from a ski crash, so this bass has been set up to be very easy on the left hand.). The luthier also deglossed the neck which makes for a very smooth feel.
•Evah Pirazzi weich strings
•a solid, stable stand
This bass has been very well cared for and is in excellent condition. The only significant signs of wear or scratches are two small nicks in the top (see photo) and a very fine scratch in the tailpiece due to the sharp end of the Spirocore string previously used on this bass (see photo). These are minor, but must be mentioned in the interest of full disclosure. Otherwise, the instrument is near mint and is functionally and tonally perfect.
The price for this bass new from Alter Ego would be 5,500 Euros ($7,925) plus shipping from Italy, customs costs and the cost of a flight case.
I am motivated to sell, so I’m only asking $4,500 for the whole package. I pay for the shipping costs. The bass will ship in its removable neck gig bag inside the flight case. The neck-on gig bag and stand will ship in a separate package. I will be shipping these from St. Louis, MO.
Feel free to contact me with any questions (jimlehman7@hotmail.com).
sound samples:
Mp3 Samples - AlterEgo YouTube - ‪Tristar‬‏ YouTube - ‪Tihomir Hojsak on Alter Ego double bass‬‏
pictures
more pictures
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