Grateful Dead Music Forum

Figured this may be of interest to some. No clue if pricing is fair, no clue why a bass needs a power cord, no clue what an exotic speaker cab is but have seen an exotic rack in the movie "Total Recall" when he walked into the bar and stripper had 3....

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/msg/1786105556.html

1978 alembic custom series one extra long scale bass - $18000 (oak park)
Date: 2010-06-11, 7:09AM CDT
Reply to: sale-6dcqg-1786105556@craigslist.org

i had this bass made in 1977 , it took a year to get it. main builder was rick turner, bass is mint with all original power cord/supply and case. plays and sounds like nothing else on market. also have exotic rack/speaker cabs to match if interested. (bag end/crest/alembic) if you know alembic this bass is stunning and loved by it's owner who is retiring.

Older high-end Alembics used a sort of combo power/output cord instead of an onboard 9V. I think a lot of them ran on much higher voltage, like 48V but don't take my word for it. It'd be a nice setup IMHO... many onboard bass preamps sound punchier with higher voltages in my experience but we end up settling for 9V alkalines which gradually droop to 8V and lower.

$18k is way too steep IMHO. You could get a brand new and customized Series I or II for that much.

I wonder if the guy is a famous musician for that kind of dough? but I would have to agree that you can have one made to personal specs for that kind of money, that may include the other gear and maybe a famous halo from the previous owner... sounds like cool stuff though. I have a feeling these guitars(Alembic/Irwin) and such are going to be worth obscene amounts of money in another generations time. Might be worth snatching one up at a somewhat reasonable price one day.

Rusty the Scoob wrote:Older high-end Alembics used a sort of combo power/output cord instead of an onboard 9V. I think a lot of them ran on much higher voltage, like 48V but don't take my word for it. .

The bass player in my band has a '76 series 1 bass. It's killer. The power supply is 18v by way of either 2 batteries or a the remote box that came w/ the bass. I recently made him a new power/instrument cable for him. Alembic wanted $190 - Yikes!!! The Alembic Power/breakout box is pretty cool. It has outputs for the treble and bass pickups individually. one pickup to one channel and the other to another channel of a preamp.

Yeah, Alembic wants $190 for a cable, but they also want $10-20k for a bass! So I guess their clientele can mostly afford it while you and me solder our own cables.

Oh, man, he's got the whole deal! Man, I'm jealous. Nobody who plays an old Alembic from that era ever seems to switch basses, while those of us playing modern supposedly higher-end basses are constantly switching. Funny how that works.

You're steering me towards a decision on my next bass. I've always had a blend control with one output and it works fine for me, but I should try the separate outputs. the '69 bass is my chance and I should grab it. Then again modern Alembics are single-output.

yes, I'm rambling... sorry... I'd love to hear your bass players thoughts on the pros and cons.

Rusty the Scoob wrote: Nobody who plays an old Alembic from that era ever seems to switch basses, while those of us playing modern supposedly higher-end basses are constantly switching. Funny how that works.

Very true. I known but a few who have played Alembics and each has said it is their rig and will play nothing else.

Rusty the Scoob wrote:

Nobody who plays an old Alembic from that era ever seems to switch basses, while those of us playing modern supposedly higher-end basses are constantly switching. Funny how that works.

Dunno, I play my '79 Series II a lot and it has rich complex woody tones and a rock solid sound, but my Modulus 5 and 6 have a different and more sonically pure vibe. Especially with the low B. (Though I don't love the stacked EMGs on the 5) Depends on the gig and other musicians/instruments too.

The Alembic weighs in at 11.6 lbs and both Mods are the same at 10.4 lbs

Rusty the Scoob wrote:Older high-end Alembics used a sort of combo power/output cord instead of an onboard 9V. I think a lot of them ran on much higher voltage, like 48V but don't take my word for it. It'd be a nice setup IMHO... many onboard bass preamps sound punchier with higher voltages in my experience but we end up settling for 9V alkalines which gradually droop to 8V and lower.

New Alembics also have the external power supply. the difference is the Series I or II electronics vs. all the other ones. They still have stereo outs as well. My Series I, whenever they get around to finishing it, will be exactly like that.

Edwin

what happened with external power supply ?

williamblake621 wrote:what happened with external power supply ?

In what way?

This bass looks awesome... I have recently started to play more, and am looking for a restored older bass that plays well, but not sure what my price range should be... I am thinking around 2k... Any suggestions for good old bass models I should look for? Thanks!

zambiland wrote:

Rusty the Scoob wrote:Older high-end Alembics used a sort of combo power/output cord instead of an onboard 9V. I think a lot of them ran on much higher voltage, like 48V but don't take my word for it. It'd be a nice setup IMHOChicago Downtown Hotels many onboard bass preamps sound punchier with higher voltages in my experience but we end up settling for 9V alkalines which gradually droop to 8V and lower.

New Alembics also have the external power supply. the difference is the Series I or II electronics vs. all the other ones. They still have stereo outs as well. My Series I, whenever they get around to finishing it, will be exactly like that.

Edwin

Chicago Downtown Hotels | Chicago

barrymorgan88 wrote:This bass looks awesome... I have recently started to play more, and am looking for a restored older bass that plays well, but not sure what my price range should be... I am thinking around 2k... Any suggestions for good old bass models I should look for? Thanks!

What kind of sound are you looking for? Do you like flatwounds? Roundwounds? Fingers? Pick? It's hard to know without knowing what kind of thing you are going for.

janemcready wrote:I am looking for a classic model guitar from long time. Is there any such guitars available for sale? There are no other constraints, but I just need the prize to be cheap. I am not a professional guitar player, but started going for guitar classes and need a guitar to practice the same at home.




JANE
seo tools

<-------SPAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look at your local Craig's List. Get a strat or a telecaster. Squiers are fine.

In the meantime, remove the link to spam in your posts.

Post, singular. You're responding to a bot! Barrymorgan88 was at leasta more relevant bot.

I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. At least the post was about a musical instrument and not about how they made $17,000 in a weekend using their computer! Don't we have a moderator around here who can clean up this nonsense?