| Author | Message | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 1257 Registered: 2-2011 |
Last week I was on vacation in California starting at The Mothership, then driving up the Pacific Coast Hiway seeing sights along the way. We made a stop in Carmel By The Sea & I saw on the map that there was a vintage guitar store in town, so I decided to stop in & see what they had. To my great surprise they have a custom Alembic guitar that was built for Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers! The guitar was built around '73/74, but I couldn't find a serial number, so it may have been a one of a kind custom hand made by Rick Turner that had no serial number. Mica can probably shed more light on the origins, but they did have a letter from Rick Turner talking about the build & in it he says there would be no record at Alembic of this guitar. on the same letter there is a hand written note from Dickey Betts telling how he got the guitar & what he did with it. The binding around the guitar is all brass & the headstock doesn't look like any Alembic I've ever seen, but it does have the Alembic logo. It is a Series I guitar & the owner of the shop said he has the DS5 & cable & that everything works on it. Currently the guitar is not for sale, but he said if he did ever sell it he would ask around $30K. The shop is Rumble Seat Music in Carmel. Their number is 831-293-8299 if you want to call & ask about the guitar. They have a nice selection of guitars & basses, so I recommend checking them out if you are ever in Carmel.              | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 11410 Registered: 5-2002 |
Great that you got to see this guitar in person; and great pics too! Roger posted a couple of threads on this guitar a few years ago; here and here. | ||
| hammer
Senior Member Username: hammer Post Number: 528 Registered: 9-2009 |
Thanks for the history lesson. Very interesting story. | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1727 Registered: 10-2006 |
The 2nd pic in the 1st thread Dave links is in Gregg's autobiography ("Dickie showing me his Alembic guitar"); nice to see more of it! (An Alembic with the TRC on the headstock! I wonder how few of those there are.) Peter (Message edited by coZmik_cowboy on July 07, 2014) | ||
| pauldo
Senior Member Username: pauldo Post Number: 1208 Registered: 6-2006 |
Awesome find Rusty! Thanks for sharing the pics and info. She is a beauty. | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 4116 Registered: 6-2002 |
Great looking guitar, something I'd imagine Bill tgo would like the look of too. Did you get a chance to plug and play? That mushroom on the back of the headstock looks familiar for some reason. I must have seen it on another guitar or logo. | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 11414 Registered: 5-2002 |
The mushroom is an Allman Brothers logo. | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 1258 Registered: 2-2011 |
Thanks for the links Dave. I figured there was probably something on here about the guitar, but at least we know who the current owner is now & where it can be seen if anyone happens to be in Carmel. | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 1259 Registered: 2-2011 |
Jazzyvee, I did not plug the guitar in, but I did play it a little. The action was a little high by Alembic standards, but it played very well! | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 1260 Registered: 2-2011 |
Correction on the binding, I was told by the shop owner that it was brass, but according to Roger it is sterling silver. The finish has yellowed so it looks like brass now. | ||
| dead_head
Junior Username: dead_head Post Number: 18 Registered: 5-2014 |
That's beautiful, Rusty. Thanks for sharing the pics and the story. Very interesting. | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 1797 Registered: 5-2002 |
Looks good on you, Rusty. I say you go back and snap it up. You don't have to tell the wife, it will be our secret. | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 1271 Registered: 2-2011 |
Thanks Edwin, but my wife was nice enough to let me have a custom Europa being built now, so I'm not going to push my luck! | ||
| oddmetersam
Advanced Member Username: oddmetersam Post Number: 361 Registered: 7-2008 |
Rusty, thanks for this cool thread! Man, that guitar looks REALLY good on you. Next time I'm in Carmel for the Pebble Beach Concours I'll make it a point to swing by, myself... | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 1272 Registered: 2-2011 |
Glad you liked it Sam! |
