Alembic, you dig?

tito · Post by **tito** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 7:07 pm

http://www3.alembic.com/img/inst/13380_45view.jpg

Mighty nice one there
Mighty expensive. . . .

Kinda like looking at your Ferrari poster as a kid, it's just a dream. . .(for the. .long time being)

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 7:19 pm

Sean, nothing personal here at all, but...

to me that whole Deadhead thing just kills it. Aesthetically, these always seemed kind of joker-American-naive; the level of finish and the superb materials being far, far above the aesthetic ideas presented.

Sorta like the selfsame Ferrari, but painted metalflake gold with wide whitewalls. Expensive stuff, great care in construction, disappointing product.

I could not take any instrument with a cartoon wolf graphic, seriously.

But I understand they play killer-good...

325_fan · Post by **325_fan** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:24 am

I have an old (1982) Series II Short Scale bass. The craftmanship is perfect. I can only imagine how the new ones are. The guitar player in my band desperately wants one of those Greatful Dead Alembics. I wish he could afford it.

mgauction · Post by **mgauction** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 4:34 am

I see the guitars, which are very scarce, being offered by dealers for about $2500 and there are no tire kickers nor any interest. Tough sells to say the least.

I have a 1974 Series 1, which is very early.

Look at Alembics sale histories and there is basically no secondary market. They sell in auction (ebay) for a fraction of the cost. There are still some interested parties but generally the major guitar dealers won't buy them. If you buy one you better like it!

tito · Post by **tito** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 5:12 am

I used the grateful dead "tribute" link because I found it the most attractive. I have always had a deep interest in Alembic even before I knew Rickenbacker exsisted. I particularly like the Furthur model. In no way would I ever buy the wolf model, which is pictured above. You basically tack on 4 more thousand for a little wolf tattoo. I just personally find it very attractive, and I love the tone also. After hundreds of hours listening to live Grateful Dead albums when Jerry used "Wolf" I just wanna pick one up and . . .rock out!

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 6:26 am

Didn't Stanley Clarke play an Alembic bass originally? Of course it makes more sense to hype the Dead connection for purposes of moving units...

I think if you put out a Hummer with dancing bear graphics on it, you could sell a million to the 'Trustafarians'...

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:53 pm

Yeah, so did Entwistle, and McVie for Fleetwood Mack, and believe it or not even the guy from metallica played one (that's like playing a Stradivarious with Spike Jones), Clark is probably the best known Alembic player. I like the style Mike has above, it looks like the ones Clark plays.

jps · Post by **jps** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 6:03 pm

How about this one?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 6:13 pm

Hack, hack. Um, does it come with a Legolam hobbit amp?

stubby · Post by **stubby** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 7:35 pm

Your message is funny Paul-it reminds me of a comment by one of the guys in my band. Unlike me, he's a dyed-in-the wool electric player and plays a lot of guitar synth stuff (incidentally Howard B., he has a JC-120 that he's looking to sell but then again, he's half a world away from you'!). When I told him I was going to order a Rickenbacker, he was privy to my anguish over which finish to go with. Eventually, I settled on a Blueburst. When I debated colour preference ("the Fireglo is classic and the Jetglo is pretty cool-but I really like the blue ones, not sure which, etc., etc."), he said "who cares if it's sh*t coloured, it's a Rickenbacker!" Though I know some members (and maybe especially you-the guy who is apparently the Finish Master) might find that this comment is perhaps off-colour, you have to think that his heart is in the right place! They play killer-good, no?

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 8:13 pm

See what happens when you use it as a paddle in shark infested waters??

Hey, Bill! Can you ask him why he's getting rid of the JC-120? I assume he's getting something to replace it and I'd be interested to know what it is.

Cheers

H

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 8:44 am

Bill...tell your bandmate it's not "sh*t coloured"...the correct name is "Sh*tburst".

stubby · Post by **stubby** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 10:01 am

Well he'd be the first to admit he doesn't really know a lot about Rickenbackers. I'll pass on your message Dane.

Howard-my friend has a newer Roland VGA-7 so his JC-120 is superfluous for his needs. And, I think he wants to raise some cash to help justify other musical equipment purchases to his wife.

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 10:50 am

Both very good reasons, Bill. Funny how "wife" and "justify" often appear in the same sentence, eh?

I've heard about the VGA-7 - looks interesting......

stubby · Post by **stubby** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 3:51 pm

As I said, he does a lot of guitar synth stuff. He plays in another band called Software, him and one other guy. They do an evolving piece/show, kind of freeform jazz/prog rock/etc., etc. No really sure how to describe it. They have a theme and they spontaneously explore it over the course of the evening, one piece, one set, about two hours long. The other guy uses period synth instruments - i.e. all equipment dating from a particular era (though these change from show to show). Strange stuff and very dense. In any event, the VGA-7 suits his needs nicely and seems to my novice eye a very versatile amp but probably not that suited to the classic rock kind of sound. But what do I know?