Extremely in love with these:
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2010 Elan 5 and 2023 Series II Europa 5
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2010 Elan 5 and 2023 Series II Europa 5
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Best looking Alembic you’ve seen
- Thread starter Chickenwheels
- Start date
I love these basses; they are different to everything else ! One has a graphite neck (neckthrough of course ).
Somehow the phrase "my six Alembics" is not one that ever occurred to me might exist in the English language. =80 
Does the cf neck make the bass sound different? If so, do you like it?
Yes it sounds very different with the graphite neck; more aggressive and a better slap sound ; that bass is a beast !
The bass that made Me want to start playing was Stanley Clarke's Alembic.
But at 19 years of age I could not afford one.
But their aesthetics forever swayed my preferences in basses.
For me,this is the best looking Alembic bass.
An Alembic "Mark King"K type sixer.
But at 19 years of age I could not afford one.
But their aesthetics forever swayed my preferences in basses.
For me,this is the best looking Alembic bass.
An Alembic "Mark King"K type sixer.
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In this case, Phil Lesh's Balerion
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Well...
You could always do what I did; buy a used one. I got my "bottom of the line" '95 Alembic Epic off of eBay in... 2006, IIRC. There was an empty spot in my "Bass Herd" for "Active Bass". Didn't matter what kind; just had to be active. The day I started looking at left handed active basses on eBay, this Epic was the one that caught my eye. So... I bought it. It wasn't exactly cheap, but it didn't kill my credit card, either. I've paid a lot more for other basses... It's the basic model Epic; book-matched Flame Maple over Purpleheart, on a plain - but nice - Walnut body. But, it was in absolutely beautiful condition, and the workmanship... well, least expensive one or not - it's an Alembic. It's one of my hardest basses to play - out of 27 - because I don't dare look at it much. I get distracted, and wind up just looking at how well it's made. It is also absolutely unforgiving of mistakes; and, according to this bass? I make a lot of them...
But, yeah; I'd say definitely look at used ones. Very few people who buy Alembics, ever abuse them. Mine has some very minor dings on the back, and a small scratch or two on the brass tailpiece; and... that's it. Plus, Alembic doesn't care if you buy one used; you're an Alembic owner, which makes you part of the family...
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At least at the time I visited, half or more of the employees were left handed, and they said that had something to do with why they wouldn't charge extra for left handed instruments. As brother to one, father of another, and nephew to several more left handed people, I appreciate it
And yes, now that I have all my "must-haves" and then some when it comes to basses, an Alembic would top my "nice-to-have" list
I've wanted a Spoiler with a flame koa top for thirty years!Some of the Alembic employees are fountain pen enthusiasts and occasionally come to my fountain pen show to sell wooden boxes, pen rests, etc. The last time they brought this bass and an acoustic guitar. I seriously thought about the bass for a moment.
That Mark King is amazing but I want to ask about the pen stuff, they look cool. Had no idea they made things like that, very classy!
The boxes are very much in the style of Alembic. I think they spent a lot of time buying from other vendors.
It's Balance K heart omega all the way for me. I do really like the Triple Omega as well.
Phil Lesh's (RIP) Dream Fyre and Khaleesi short- and medium-scale basses are at the top my list of favourite Alembic basses.
Phil Lesh's (RIP) Dream Fyre and Khaleesi short- and medium-scale basses are at the top my list of favourite Alembic basses.
Many years ago I was in a music store in a remote town in the Italian pre-Alps. They had a flame maple Essence, with the 'arrow' style headstock. Three knobs, and four strings. Fit me like a glove, sounded incredible, and was just the prettiest thing.
I was too poor to buy it. It had a price tag in Italian Lira (I told you it was a long time ago). There were a lot of '0's in the price.
I was too poor to buy it. It had a price tag in Italian Lira (I told you it was a long time ago). There were a lot of '0's in the price.
I worked in a music store in the mid-80s that had an Exploiter-shaped Alembic Distillate 4-string bass hanging on the wall for the longest time...and I was shocked at how comfortable that bass was to play. I would have expected it to be awkward, uncomfortable, and to possibly interfere with playing ease. It was none of those things.
