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Show me your Alembics

#242
Thanks to JazzyItalian and all the GASsers here on the board, my first Alembic; a 1998 Epic 4 that plays like butter and sounds like, well, thunder? No, not thunder. It does sound big, though. And crisp as a winter day, or perhaps a potato chip.

Not feeling very poetic tonight, but certainly in love with this one.

:hyper:
 

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#245
Chris2112 said:
That Alembic and that Sei look like a killer team! Congrats on two gorgeous basses!
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Cheers Chris! They're my "drag myself out of my 70s Rickenbacker prog rock obsession" basses. ;) Although maybe the Alembic is a bit prog...:hmm: I just wish it weighed the same as the Sei. The Sei is no more than 8 lbs and is sooo comfortable. I love my Alembic to bits, but my back really doesn't...:bawl:
 
#246
tbrannon said:
Nice! You don't see many mahogany bodied/maple topped Essence basses floating around.

That is mahogany right?
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*Yes it is Mahogany. Pretty nice quilt top on it too. Still the best playing Alembic I have ever laid hands on. Small, comfortable and comparatively lighter than other Alembics I have played. Sounds like the hammer of the gods. Sounds frickin' huge. Cuts through like no other. I have tried many other high-end basses since but I always come back to this one. It just feels right for me.
 
#248
Here's my custom series II, absolutely the nicest bass I have ever played. There really is nothing else (at least that I've tried) that comes close!
 

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#250
Chris2112 said:
I think they select the best tops, period! All the nicest bits of wood I've seen have been on Alembics I think. Well, apart from Zebrano, which was on a Spector. Sitting next to me now! :p
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I think I have to agree. The walnut on my Triple O is unbelievable in person. It's almost holographic; you appear to be able to see though layers of the wood. I've never been able to get it to photograph; I'll keep trying! I've honestly never seen anything like it before. It's like looking through amber or something.
 
#252
melt said:
Ah, so you got it! Beautiful! Triple Os are my favourites - I have one myself, although my back is struggling with it these days (I had it made hollow too...)
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It's really not that heavy. About 9.5 lbs. I used it for a 2 hr practice last night and no issues whatsoever except for that the the neck seem longer than other basses I own. Take a bit of getting used to.
 
#253
I bought me a repaired Spoiler (at a nice price) when getting back to bass after 30 years away from it ... then discovered that the frets were not where my fingers wanted them to be (they "remembered" by EB-0). After fumbling about for a year or so, I stumbled across a 30-year-old short-scale Series I, with a schedua top, all very simple, plain, well-aged. Paid a lot for it (sold the Spoiler to a happy purchaser), and will hang onto it until my estate has to deal with it. Front & back:


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Wonderful axe. Occasionally loan it to good players when playing a blues jam, and they fall in love.

Flybynight
 
#254
KPO2000 said:
It's really not that heavy. About 9.5 lbs. I used it for a 2 hr practice last night and no issues whatsoever except for that the the neck seem longer than other basses I own. Take a bit of getting used to.
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Interesting; that's comfortably lighter than mine. I would have thought that yours, having no rear laminates, would be more likely to have a have a solid body (I was told when ordering that in order to have a truly hollow bass I would have to have back lams), so I would've thought mine would likely be lighter. You also have a maple top compared to my walnut and the crown headstock as opposed to the smaller knobby headstock on mine. And you have a brass back plate! Just goes to show; I wish mine only weighed 9.5 lbs, I wouldn't be even be considering getting rid. My 4001CS weighs that much. What's the balance like? I got the longer pistol grip horn to help and mine balances perfectly.

BTW, the necks sit further out which makes them seem longer; I find the same thing to a lesser degree with most Warwicks. In fact Paul Turner once told me that's why he didn't like Warwicks.
 
#255
Crazykiwi said:
I went there already on the Alembic forum. Apparently all custom orders get approved by Susan and, according to Mica, she doesn't approve of headless Alembics.

Can't think why. ;)
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Yeah- I'm not a big fan of headless basses myself, but I was referring to a Custom Series II that he had built that got knocked over and had the headstock snapped off.

IIRC he has insurance that is covering the rebuild.
 
#257
melt said:
Interesting; that's comfortably lighter than mine. I would have thought that yours, having no rear laminates, would be more likely to have a have a solid body (I was told when ordering that in order to have a truly hollow bass I would have to have back lams), so I would've thought mine would likely be lighter. You also have a maple top compared to my walnut and the crown headstock as opposed to the smaller knobby headstock on mine. And you have a brass back plate! Just goes to show; I wish mine only weighed 9.5 lbs, I wouldn't be even be considering getting rid. My 4001CS weighs that much. What's the balance like? I got the longer pistol grip horn to help and mine balances perfectly.

BTW, the necks sit further out which makes them seem longer; I find the same thing to a lesser degree with most Warwicks. In fact Paul Turner once told me that's why he didn't like Warwicks.
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My bathroom scale is not very accurate, but that's what it weighed approximately. I have a '74 P bass that weighs more. The balance is very good. I put a towel on my leg when I play seated to prevent the omega edges from digging in.
 
#258
Flybynight - That is one beautiful instrument. I know what you mean about others falling in love. I too used to host a blues jam night. I would let others sit in and use my short scale Alembic bass. They loved it! My hat's off to you for letting others share the expierence as I did.

In a weak moment, I ended up selling that Alembic. I am still kicking myself. It was a 1975 short scale, Zebrawood top, maple core and figured walnut back. It sported a vermillion or bloodwood fingerboard with abalone inlays. None of my other short scale Alembics came close to the sound that bass got.
I sold it to someone in Hiwaii. If anyone knows of it's whereabouts, I would love to know how it's doing. It's the only bass I've ever sold and truly regret it.

I need to break out the camera and take some pics of my other Alembics to post here.

Michael
 

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