Best looking Alembic you’ve seen

[Fuzzbass]

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.

I get it, many are totally fine with the T-bird/Explorer style. I've never owned either of those, but did rock a Charvel Star Body bass (example below, not mine) for awhile in the 80s. Even though the body was heavy, there was significant neck dive (when standing!) due to the non-existent upper horn.

Also, when I just let the bass hang, it felt like I was reaching way out to play in the lower register compared to an FSO. To be comfy down there, I had to pull the bass to my right. The same is true (for me) for Spector style 24-fret basses -- or the Alembic Series line (to bring this back on topic) -- that have short horns, and the bridge toward the middle of the body rather than the butt end where it is on FSOs. The great advantage to the former config is that it allows easy access to frets 20 thru 24, but I'm mainly a classic cover tune guy who stays in the lower/middle register, and most of my basses have 20-21 frets.

It's all relative, right? If I decided the Exploiter or Series was my style then I'd become accustomed to that, and probably uncomfortable with FSOs. But after many decades of rocking FSOs, I stay within my comfort zone.

 

[AltecGreen]

Do you mean this Buckeye Burl MK...



View attachment 7096697

That would be the one.


I might have even licked it at one point.

 

[alembicbones]

Here's a great example of what the fine folks in Santa Rosa can produce.

Bones