Which Alembic?

[sylvanbass]

So many knobs and switches. I can barely handle a head with that many lol.

 

[J Wilson]

I'd second the advice to add a fourth choice of finding a used Alembic.

IF you're flexible in terms of what you want from a used one, those models with the 9v powered AXY/MXY/FatBoy pickups are attainable if you have the time to wait out the right deal on the right instrument. Interestingly, because of that shape, non-Series Exploiters are often the most reasonable of the 9v Alembics on the used market.

 

[Rdore2000]

Has anyone here got a new alembic from the mothership? That's a bucket list item for me

 

[Gabe7539]

As a big fan of John Entwistle, the next logical step after a Thunderbird and an 8-string is an Alembic! I'm also building a Sunn-sounding preamp pedal.
I've seen a pair of good deals on Zenmarket, and you could check it out if you're interested, too. You could also find them on eBay and Reverb, but they cost a bit more there. I'm in China and they're in Japan, so shipping should be fast and reasonably affordable.

• An Alembic Japan AJ-II-HB headless bolt-on bass for $2250. Mahogany body with maple top, maple neck with ebony fretboard. A pair of PAF-sized Activator pickups with the filter preamp. Comes with the shiny Alembic emblem.
• A pair of AXY pickups with filter preamp for $400. Theoretically the AXY pickups should sense the strings at a wider aperture, giving a higher output and more classic Alembic tone. I could drop it into a locally-available neck-through Aria bass, or slightly route the body of another bass, such as an Epiphone Explorer.

In a more distant future (at least a few years later), I'd like to build a bespoke BQW Explorer-shaped bass with Alembic pickups and circuitry. If I buy the AXY right now, I could save them for my custom build. But I may be able to get another pair during the waiting time.
Any insights?

I ended up buying the ones off Reverb because I wanted to put them in a Washburn. Turns out I'm happy with how the Washburn sounds stock, if you're still interested I'll list them in the classifieds here for $400 plus the tax/shipping I paid on Reverb and they're yours.