| Author | Message | ||
| tim
New Username: tim Post Number: 1 Registered: 3-2004 |
Can you help me out on the history of this? SN= 77617... | ||
| valvil
Moderator Username: valvil Post Number: 392 Registered: 7-2002 |
Hello Tim, welcome to the club. I wonder if that's the correct serial number you have; according to our records 77617 is a long scale 4 string series bass, not a 6 string guitar. It is possible that we may have duplicated the serial number, but if so we have no record of it. Valentino | ||
| tim
New Username: tim Post Number: 2 Registered: 3-2004 |
sorry about that, the correct # is 77619. What model is this? Any idea of the original cost or resale value today? | ||
| keavin
Intermediate Member Username: keavin Post Number: 158 Registered: 12-2002 |
hey tim! keavin here ,welcome to the club alembic! got any photos? we here love to feed back on each others goods. | ||
| valvil
Moderator Username: valvil Post Number: 393 Registered: 7-2002 |
Hello again Tim, this is what we have on file: 1977 6 string medium scale Series guitar walnut top & back birch/beech/purpleheart neck padauk (vermillion) fingerboard mahogany/maple core mother of pearl oval inlays peghead veneers zebrawood/walnut That's all we have on it. Pretty unusual combination of woods. Valentino | ||
| palembic
Senior Member Username: palembic Post Number: 1227 Registered: 9-2002 |
oh-la-la laaaaaa Brother Tim, seems to be georguous on paper. So ...lend me your ear that I can yell "PICTURES" in it. Trying to keep the looks all for yourself huh ....ahaaaaa ...no brother than you cam to the wrong place. Here you're confronted with about a thousand "key-board droolers". So get a pair of nice shots of this beauty in the appropriate department and let the drooling begin. Oh ...and welcome by the way Paul the bad one PS: I'm always laughing when I imgaine all those situations where senior management yells " HONEY ...you wetted the keyboard again ....where were you lookin at". Believe me they don't take "the Alembic club" as an answer LOL | ||
| tim
New Username: tim Post Number: 3 Registered: 3-2004 |
Here's my story. I'm really just a self-taught beginner when it comes to playing guitar. I came across this Alembic in a shop in Rhode Island about 10 years ago, and bought it as an investment. It's only been out of the case about a dozen times since then. 2 weeks ago, I brought it in for a cleanup, and possible consignment sale. The owner wasn't interested in Alembics, only Strats and Gibsons. So I brought it home and played it really for the 1st time. I was blown away by the sound. Now I'm hooked... Anyway, excuse a couple of ignorant beginner questions. What does the 'blue box' do. I plug the 5 pin cable from the guitar into the mono jack on the box, and from the box to my little Amp. Great sound, but how do I take advantage of the stereo capabilities? What do the 9 volt batteries do? When I'm done playing, should I unplug the blue-box? How often should the batteries be replaced? (Message edited by tim on April 04, 2004) | ||
| keavin
Intermediate Member Username: keavin Post Number: 178 Registered: 12-2002 |
dude!!! alembics are the "the most potent electric drug" on the planet, you caint get no higher!!! | ||
| lembic76450
Junior Username: lembic76450 Post Number: 47 Registered: 5-2002 |
Tim, did you get that from Butch at R.I. Music?? Kenn R. | ||
| tim
New Username: tim Post Number: 4 Registered: 3-2004 |
I dont recall the name...but it was in Pawtucket | ||
| lembic76450
Junior Username: lembic76450 Post Number: 48 Registered: 5-2002 |
Tim, That's the place. Do you know the story behind your guitar? I know just a bit about it. Curious? | ||
| palembic
Senior Member Username: palembic Post Number: 1246 Registered: 9-2002 |
Hmmm ...and those pictures Timmy?? Hmmmmm ... About your question. The "Blue box" is a transformator to get the 18(???) volts to make the electronics on your guitar work. In the same time it transfers the sound info from you playing to the amp. Indeed two outputs you can switch from mono to stereo, in stereo having the neck PU and the bridge PU each on a channel. So to have stereo you can work in a Bi-amping situation or ...work with two identical amps ... or ... Paul the bad one | ||
| tim
New Username: tim Post Number: 6 Registered: 3-2004 |
Kenn - very curious about the history of the guitar... What information can you provide? Thanks! | ||
| lembic76450
Junior Username: lembic76450 Post Number: 49 Registered: 5-2002 |
Tim, sorry, I have been out all day. Not to get too long, when I first started playing I was turned on to this small hole in the wall music store in Pawtucket, run by Tony and his wife Jenny called Tony's R.I. Music. Somewhere in '75 or '76 they picked up the Alembic line. Later, in the early '80's Tony passed away and the store was bought by his service tech, Butch. My guess is that the basement was a real dungeon. It seems that not to long before you bought your guitar, while cleaning the basement to get ready for a move a couple of store fronts away, under a pile of what he thought were empty guitar cases, Butch found a case with a new, old stock Alembic 6-string in it. He told me this story after the fact, in case you are wondering. He said it was in funky conditon from being in the basement so long. It had the original strings and the brass and other hardware needed a serious cleaning. He said that it cleaned up very nicely. If yours is that same guitar, I believe you are the first owner. Does that jive with what you know?? Kenn R. | ||
| tim
New Username: tim Post Number: 7 Registered: 3-2004 |
That's consistent with the story I was told at the time of purchase. Am I the 1st owner? Well - the guitar has a couple of minor nicks (maybe received while on display), and the plates on the back look a little weathered. Could that be due to 'natural' conditions (being in the basement for so long? If so, I guess I am the original owner. Thanks for the info. | ||
| bracheen
Advanced Member Username: bracheen Post Number: 360 Registered: 11-2003 |
Tim congratulations on the guitar. I'll be looking forward to pictures. That's pretty cool being the original owner of a '77 that you bought in '04. Has anyone mentioned that you can register as the owner here on the Alembic site? I think it's in the support section. You can find it on the site map if not. Sam | ||
| lembic76450
Junior Username: lembic76450 Post Number: 50 Registered: 5-2002 |
Tim, I just hung-up the phone from speaking with Butch. He definitely remembers your guitar as having never been sold. He also remembers that all the paperwork was included in the case. He said that only the 5 pin cable was not original.It was not in the case, so he made the one that you have. As to your questions about the blue box, as Paul said, that is the guitars power supply. The 2 1/4" jacks are the each pick-up if you use both. If you just use the left jack that gives you mono (both pick-ups summed). Also the 1/4" jack on the guitar is probably a stereo jack. That is easy to determine, if you plug in a regular 1/4" cord, only one pick-up will work. The batteries on a Series bass tend to run down rather quickly, maybe about 20 hours. I would imagine the guitar would be about the same. I hope you find this all of interest. Find a digital camera somewhere and post some pics, as Valentino said, a most unusual combination of woods. Although he is not a member, Butch is going to have a look in on the site, he has become interested in the story and I'm sure would like to see pics of the one that got away. Kenn R. | ||
| tim
New Username: tim Post Number: 8 Registered: 3-2004 |
What an unbelievably small world the internet makes. Thanks for the 411. As soon as I can, I'll post some pictures. It looks like my short time in the ocean-state paid off. Good memories of Lupos Heartbreak Hotel... | ||
| lembic76450
Member Username: lembic76450 Post Number: 51 Registered: 5-2002 |
Tim, Who did you play there with? the world just got a little smaller. Kenn | ||
| tim
New Username: tim Post Number: 9 Registered: 3-2004 |
I'm not a pro, just a slacker. I went to watch the bands. Duke Robillard, Jimmy Vaughn, some local bands... | ||
| tim
New Username: tim Post Number: 10 Registered: 3-2004 |
To Valentino: I understand the Serial # indicates the year, and number of the instrument. In my case, does this mean it was the 619th instrument that was built by Alembic, or the 619th guitar? Any idea how many guitars were built prior to this one? | ||
| keavin
Advanced Member Username: keavin Post Number: 259 Registered: 12-2002 |
that would be the 619th instrument. | ||
| valvil
Moderator Username: valvil Post Number: 411 Registered: 7-2002 |
Keavin is correct, yours is the 619th instrument made by Alembic. The only way to tell how many guitars were built before yours would be to go through all the previous records (which are in kept in filing cabinets, not in a computer ) and that would only give you approximate number since they are incomplete as well. I can tell you that about half or more of the first 20 or so Alembics were guitars. Valentino |
