so, the thing i want right now is a new custom bass, a friend of mine was going to set me up with a used alembic bass. but the thing is, those basses are made for individual people only. OR go for the bass that my friend has and loves, he would hook me up with a new custom Pavel bass to my specifications. they would cost about the same as well. so what one should i get?
I have a custom Pavel and from the minute I held it in my hands, it was like, well, like it was made for me. You won't be sorry.
PAVEL basses are hott! I've played several instruments, but my Pavel has been the hottest thus far! You will LOVE IT! GO FOR IT!
and when i say i've played several...i'm not talkin' on the shelf in music stores...i'm talkin' custom instruments. played and owned! my Pavel bass has spoiled me tho! LOL
If you know EXACTLY what you want, go custom. But if not, give the Alembic a try. Maybe you'll fall in love.
Josh,although Alembic is cool and a classic bass,you'd get more of what you really want having a custom bass made to YOUR specs! I have a Pavel bass that wasn't even originally built for me and it was one of the best basses I'd played. Just make sure you know what sound and feel you're looking for and you'll never go wrong with Pavel! Peace, Jackie Clark
I'm just going to endorse everything else that has been said about custom basses. If you get the used Alembic, you're going to get someone else's bass. If you get your own custom made Pavel, you're getting something that was built specifically for you and will truly be your own instrument. Also, I had the opportunity to meet Mr Pavel at a recent Victor Wooten clinic in Sydney, Australia, and he is a down-to-Earth individual with a lot of knowledge and passion for electric basses. So I say that you should go for the Pavel and get something built to your exact specifications from an up and coming luthier.
Pavel! All the way! Like ras1983, I met Pavel when he was in Australia. Chatted to him for ages and got to play 3 different models of his basses. MIND = BLOWN! Build quality is amazing, feel is superb, and sound is brilliant. Plus they look fantastic! And I think ras may have mean "With a lot of knowledge and passion" - not "without"!
Oops. Yes I definitely meant to type 'with'. I'll edit once I get home. Android won't let me edit the post :-(
Having a bass custom made to your personal specifications is like holding your own baby in your hands! I currently have my own custom Pavel on the way, I cannot wait! Pavel has incredible knowledge and helped me decide on specs that would suit the exact sound and feel that I am after. I have played a friend's Pavel custom bass, and I immediately knew that that bass was the sound/feel/look I had been searching for. So i put in my order straight away! Pavel basses are built by a luthier who REALLY genuinely cares, and the quality is so high. I strongly recommend PAVEL basses!
I would pick the Alembic. All the Alembics I tried were just incredible. I had a Aryel Signature 6er and I was underwhelmed. It was a nice bass and sounded nice but for $8000+ (base price) I think not. I would try to play one before committing. YMMV etc. You can get a lot for your money. There's lots of great luthiers out there (Stambaugh, Cliff Bordwell, Ray Rogers & Wilser Ramirez come to mind) that can build your dream bass with all the bells and whistles for around 3K.
Dude, After playing many of Pavel's basses I can tell you without a doubt to go with the Pavel. They are GREAT basses!!!!
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