ALEMBIC guru's help me with this bass please.

[burnthiscorpse]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=320328169664

 

 

is it a "real" alembic? i know they have at least one "lower" series. what do they use for electronics/pups? sound like? type of body wood? neck wood? how many piece neck/body ect? worth the BIN? i am asking him about a trade right now. what do the necks feel like on these?

I plan on researching later when i get home but any help would be greatly appreciated:)

[82Daion]

That's the genuine article.

 

The body and neck are maple, and it's an ebony fingerboard. The body is considerably more ergonomic than their earlier designs. The pickups and electronics are Alembic's proprietary designs. I believe that the controls on that model are volume, pickup pan, low-pass filter, and a single-position Q switch, which is a resonance control. Basically, it provides a sort of attack boost around the point of whatever frequency you've got the filter set at. It's much easier to understand with the bass in hand.

 

Tonally speaking, they're very clean-sounding basses, without a lot of color. That one will probably sound pretty bright and dry as a result of being made completely of maple.

 

As for neck profile, it should be pretty comfortable, and the size will be somewhere between a Jazz and a Precision, leaning in the Jazz direction, probably.

[DevilRaysFan]

Yes it is

 

If you mix a Fender Jazz with 'shroom tea, thats what you get

[burnthiscorpse]

so being a big fan of the snotty gibson bass, or old P bass through the 68' SVT growl would i dig the bass? I remember my gibson grabber was all maple i think. i didnt care much for it.

[fealach]

I've never played a Grabber, so I can't compare them. My Alembic is Mahogany with a Maple top. The electronics are volume/pickup switch/filter knob/filter switch. With the filter knob all the way up, it's very bright and twangy; the switch makes it even more so. This setting sounds awesome into a slightly gritty tube amp. With the filter all the way down, and the switch on, you've got low, boomy thud. In between there are degrees between the two, for instance a mid-heavy sound sort of like using a wah pedal but leaving it engaged, not moving it. Surprisingly versatile for a simple setup. It doesn't do that boom clicky mid scooped thing, but most anything else is in there.

 

I've never played that model so I can't comment on the neck. It looks thinner than mine; mine's thicker than I'd like, but the sound is worth dealing with it. I don't know the going rate, it might be a good price. Mine was $1600 a few years ago, but a different model - technically a cheaper model but with a body style that's a huge upcharge.