| Author | Message | ||
| lysosome
Junior Username: lysosome Post Number: 31 Registered: 1-2006 |
Hello all. I've had my '83 Spoiler for about 4-5 months now. I bought it from my boss, who sold it to me for a very generous price. The whole bass is in decent shape (nothing spectacular, but it is 23 years old) except for the lower right side of the body itself, where there is a hole. I'm not sure what happened to it, or why the hole is there, but it is. Actually, it seems like when the electronics were messed with (there is no 4-way switch/knob), they removed something, leaving a hole. The hole is about the size of a quarter..just a big gaping hole in my bass. I was wondering, what would be the best way to fix this up (cosmetically)? I'll post some pics if I can. Thanks in advance. | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 3913 Registered: 5-2002 |
Yes, a picture would be helpful. How have the electronics been changed? (I can't remember if this has been discussed before.) Looking at this picture, it does look like the hole is where the selector switch was; and it looks like the knobs are not stock. I can't tell from the picture if the Q switch is still there. If the selector switch is gone but the rest of the original electronics are intact, then you could get another selector switch or even a pan control. | ||
| lysosome
Junior Username: lysosome Post Number: 32 Registered: 1-2006 |
The hole is below the jack in that picture. No, the knobs are not stock; theyre brass. there are 2 knobs; a volume and a tone. i'm not sure if the tone knob is stock or not. about half way up, its at high tone, then anything past half way up, it has a wah type effect built in, which is pretty cool. and, there is a pickup 3 way selector switch. i'll do my best to have some pictures up by tomorrow, or maybe even tonight if possible. | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 3914 Registered: 5-2002 |
While you're taking pictures, take some of the inside of the electronics cavity. | ||
| lysosome
Junior Username: lysosome Post Number: 33 Registered: 1-2006 |
I found this Spoiler, which looks alot like mine. I used paint to change it around and labeled everything according to how mine is set up. I'll have some actual pictures tomorrow.  | ||
| keith_h
Senior Member Username: keith_h Post Number: 452 Registered: 2-2005 |
If it wasn't for the size I would have thought it might have been for the power LED some of the older basses had. Could the old jack hole have been damaged so someone enlarged and moved the jack to the LED hole? Keith | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 3915 Registered: 5-2002 |
Jimmy; there's definitely something strange going on here. Without seeing the real pictures yet, my guess is that someone stepped on a chord, yanking the plug straight down and cracking the top around the jack. The jack appears to have been moved to where the Q switch was located. The volume has been moved to where the filter control was located. The 3-way pickup switch is located where the original pickup selector switch was located. And the "tone control" may be the original filter control, since, as you described, it still partially has the wah effect. In my personal view, I think consideration should be given to more than just a cosmetic filling of the hole. I think as a first step it would be helpful to determine the current state of the electronics. | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 3916 Registered: 5-2002 |
Keith; it took me a while to post my response and I didn't see you suggestion. I didn't think about there being a power LED. | ||
| keith_h
Senior Member Username: keith_h Post Number: 453 Registered: 2-2005 |
Dave, I don't know the old instruments well enough to know what goes where. I think your description of the current jack being where the Q switch normally resides is correct. The one thing that I am pretty sure of and you brought up also is that the original jack hole had a problem so the jack was relocated to another location in the cavity. Jimmy, If it is only the Q switch that's missing you could see about adding an inlay to fill the body hole. This would also provide a place to remount the Q switch. Keith | ||
| lysosome
Junior Username: lysosome Post Number: 34 Registered: 1-2006 |
Actually, I moved the jack to where it is now. It used to be where the hole is; they just had some kind of cover on it, but it eventually fell off. Since it would have ripped the wires out if I had left the jack there, I put it in the spot where it is now. there was also an empty hole there, but the jack fit perfectly in, so i decided to just leave it alone. | ||
| lysosome
Junior Username: lysosome Post Number: 38 Registered: 1-2006 |
Ok, here are some actual photos   | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 830 Registered: 12-2002 |
what i would do is get some sort of pick guard custom fitted so that it would look as if it were an original part of the bass......thats a nasty little hole! | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 1341 Registered: 7-2004 |
Good place for an inlay, maybe? Sort of like Jeff's Dire Wolf? http://www.alembic.com/info/fc_direwolf.html Bill, the guitar one | ||
| lysosome
Junior Username: lysosome Post Number: 39 Registered: 1-2006 |
Yeah..I had considered both of those ideas. I'm not sure what I'm going to go yet though...just curious, about how much do you guys think this bass is worth with that damage? The rest of the bass is in fairly good shape; there may be a small ding here and there, but this is the only part of it that looks BAD. I paid $900 for this bass..do you think it was worth it? And about how much do you think I could get out of it if I was to put it up for sale? | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 831 Registered: 12-2002 |
I would only sell it after some sort of repair mainly because who' ever purchaces it from you might not want to give you what(you) paid for it.so it's your best bet to fix & perhaps play it,......dont feel bad my old alembic has been decapitated several times over the 26yrs ive owned it & it's still my main bass for gigging still today | ||
| lysosome
Junior Username: lysosome Post Number: 41 Registered: 1-2006 |
Yeah..I toyed around with the idea of making a pickguard when I first got it. Woodworking is a hobby of mine, so making a pickguard wouldn't be much of a problem. I was thinking of making one much like the brass control place your bass has, Keavin. Still a little undecided though..I'll post some pictures if/when I modify it. Thanks everyone! | ||
| lysosome
Junior Username: lysosome Post Number: 42 Registered: 1-2006 |
By the way, Keavin, what kind of wood is #12 made of? | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 832 Registered: 12-2002 |
walnut top/mahogony core, the neck is purple heart/walnut strips then the ebony fret board......hey that brass pick guard sounds like a good idea....or since you work with wood a good "creative cut-out" Could give that Bass a new face! | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 3923 Registered: 5-2002 |
There's a trim pot there, so at least some of the original electronics are still there. But just looking at the picture I can't tell much more than that. The grounding wire attached to the shielding is not original. If it were me, I think I would ask Alembic what would be required to restore the electronics to original or better. The idea of a top mounted electronics cavity cover is a good one; and as you may have noticed in the Showcase section, a series of Distillates made for export to Japan had such a cover. I would even inquire of Alembic if they could construct the cover and mount the electronics for you; but that's just me. Looking at the pictures I linked above, it appears to be an otherwise nice Alembic and it wouldn't take much to make it a very nice Alembic. | ||
| lysosome
Junior Username: lysosome Post Number: 45 Registered: 1-2006 |
I dunno Dave..I don't really have the money to restore it right now, especially the electronics. I'm 17 and work part time in a guitar shop; I dont have a whole lot of cash :p. I've talked to Larry Banks over the last week or so about an Alembic of his that I'm going to buy soon. I'm probably going to have to sell this Spoiler, but am going to make a pickguard and clean the entire bass before I do so, just so it's not such an eyesore. It's a shame that whoever did this to this bass was allowed to do so. Ah well though...I'll do what I can. | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 3925 Registered: 5-2002 |
Well, here's something else you might want to consider, or not. If you are going to sell it, you might want to try listing it here first in our For Sale section before making any more changes to it. Depending on the condition of the existing electronics, it might be worth it to someone to have Alembic add a Pan and Q and maybe even bass and treble quick change switches, and have them mounted on a nice Ebony plate. It would result in a bass with the flexibility of a Europa at what might be significantly less than the cost of a used Europa, Rogue or even Distillate. If you were to make further changes to the bass before you sell it, it might, for some folks, actually lessen the value. But I'm just guessing; it could be that no one is presently in a postion to attempt the project. But it might be worth the listing to find out. |
