| Author | Message | ||
| rv_bass
Junior Username: rv_bass Post Number: 12 Registered: 8-2014 |
I recently saw an ad on GC in West LA for a Series II bass for fairly low price. Figuring it was too good to be true I called and asked about it. I was told it was a Scorpion body shape Series II in good condition and was sent some photos. It turns out it was a standard point Series I with cracked headstock and other blemishes, along with a DS5 that did not work. I told them they should change the ad so that it properly reflects what they are selling. Hope whoever buys it knows what they are getting. | ||
| gtrguy
Senior Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 1010 Registered: 9-2004 |
Is that the one with no photo on their web site (West Hollywood)? Yeah, I have been watching that ad for a while. I saw where they must have sold it and it was returned a day or two later (listing dropped for a couple days) and I assumed it was a faulty listing. If it is the one I have been tracking, they have deliberately not posted a photo of it. I found a small photo of it (I think) in Dubai or somewhere and it was obviously a series one. Once again, it is now listed as not for sale. Fishy  | ||
| gtrguy
Senior Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 1011 Registered: 9-2004 |
Or maybe they just don't know what it is. However, considering the amount of vintage gear they carry, that is hard to believe. I have always had nothing but good dealings with Guitar Center myself, other than the fact that they never answer any emails about used gear. | ||
| rv_bass
Junior Username: rv_bass Post Number: 13 Registered: 8-2014 |
That looks like it. They said it was in their "vintage museum" for the past ten years and it sold for the listed price this morning. | ||
| alembician
Junior Username: alembician Post Number: 27 Registered: 10-2015 |
Last Monday I called twice (both times they said they would send pictures via email), talked with three people and no one could understand the phonetic Uh-lem-bic. I had to give out the GC listing number to them. Everyone was cordial and I was polite, but they didn't really know what was going on... | ||
| sonofa_lembic
Intermediate Member Username: sonofa_lembic Post Number: 120 Registered: 5-2014 |
I purchased the bass today to try to figure out what is really wrong with it. I am returning it today since the circuit is D.O.A. The power supply actually works. The two 5 pin cables with it are also non functional. I tested the bass on the bench with my functioning power supply and cable. I also swapped circuit boards with a functioning 1980 Series 1 I have in stock, and there is a lot more wrong with the circuit than just the card. When plugged into a working power supply and cable, there is a howl from the treble channel. The bass has had a cracked headstock, has a crack in the output jack area, has the most checked and literally crispy finish I have ever seen, has a crack in the pickup, has wear on the top of the pickups, the pickup selector switch is worn out, and the truss rods are on the tight side. It has definitely seen better days, and certainly was NEVER a Series 2. On the positive side, it does play nicely. The top and back are koa. I would buy it at $1500.00 and repair it, but for $3600.00 including tax….not a chance. | ||
| sonofa_lembic
Intermediate Member Username: sonofa_lembic Post Number: 121 Registered: 5-2014 |
Close Up Photos:      (moderator edit: aligned photos) (Message edited by mica on February 25, 2016) | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4757 Registered: 5-2009 |
Trevor, I really must tip my hat to you for being such an adventurous investor ! Cheers friend ! Wolf | ||
| rockerdebassman
Member Username: rockerdebassman Post Number: 58 Registered: 8-2015 |
Each instrument has a story, doesn't it? This one might have been left to rot in the desert and crawled its way back to the market under false pretense. Shall it make it back to the mother-ship and a second life? Wait and see.... | ||
| rv_bass
Junior Username: rv_bass Post Number: 14 Registered: 8-2014 |
Wow, nice job checking it out! I was wondering if it was the circuit board that was shot and not the DS5. I actually offered him $1500 figuring it would need a couple thousand invested for restoration, he obviously turned down my offer. Maybe someone will eventually get it for the appropriate price and have it restored. The Koa is certainly nice!  | ||
| hammer
Senior Member Username: hammer Post Number: 855 Registered: 9-2009 |
This bass looks "almost" exactly like the one I just purchased from Alan (pacificshine) for $3600. Except for the fact that my bass has new PUs, no cracks in the finish, nor a broken headstock, a DS-5 that is functional, and most important of all...it works. | ||
| gtrguy
Senior Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 1012 Registered: 9-2004 |
Well then, mystery solved! | ||
| gtrguy
Senior Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 1013 Registered: 9-2004 |
Well then, mystery solved! Did you happen to see a vintage 1950's Slingerland blue sparkle Radio King drum set they have for sale, but are not posting a photo of, while you were there?? | ||
| sonofa_lembic
Intermediate Member Username: sonofa_lembic Post Number: 122 Registered: 5-2014 |
Drums are just not on my radar, so I probably saw them, but nothing registered. This bass was in the GC "museum collection", and had been neglected for about 10 years. The fingerboard came unglued, and the neck took a twist. The repair dept. at GC, glued the fingerboard and somehow untwisted the neck. Like I said, the bass plays and feels very nice currently, but that does not mean the twist won't return. I really would like to save this bass, and get it back to 100%, but yes, the price would have to be around $1600.00 to make any sense of it. Leroy, who runs the vintage dept. at GC Hollywood, seemed dead set on keeping the price where it is. I suggested he just bite the bullet and send the bass to Alembic to have the circuit restored, since in the current condition, the bass is simply unsaleable at that price. It needs a full circuit upgrade, and a new 5 pin cable. As you folks know, that would be a minimum of $1700.00. If you could buy the bass for $1.6K, that would bring the price back to what they are currently asking for it, and frankly more than it is worth. | ||
| sonofa_lembic
Intermediate Member Username: sonofa_lembic Post Number: 123 Registered: 5-2014 |
Wolf, I am less of an investor than a sucker for a down and out instrument. As you know, I am a luthier during the day, and I have a hard time passing up the challenge of restoring an Alembic that is teetering on the edge of becoming firewood. I was also quite curious as to what the bass was, and what was really wrong with it. The only way to really know was to get it back to the shop, and inspect it thoroughly. I was also fortunate enough to have a Series 1 in stock from the same year, so I could compare the wiring, and even test using the working circuitry, cable and power supply. With Guitar Center's 72 hour return policy, it was not a gamble. If the issue had been simply the power supply, I would have kept the bass for restoration, but with the issue being the circuit, it is just an expensive project that is too much even for my strong desire to save the bass. | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4759 Registered: 5-2009 |
Hi Trevor, Thanks for your response. I too share the feeling of bringing some TLC to an older Alembic when needed . When I run into a situation in my " neck of the woods" I too try to make it happen. I feel blessed that when 73-32 was presented to me that the needed attention was within very reasonable means for me. A few years back I remember walking into the that Hollywood Guitar Center and seeing a mid -1970's Series I Alembic Scorpion shape bass hanging on the red brick wall . I was in town visiting friends. I reported back here on this site about it after ward. It seems that store has quite a turn around of used Alembics . Wolf | ||
| gtrguy
Senior Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 1014 Registered: 9-2004 |
They won't make a profit on it if they spend the $ to fix it. I also am a sucker for music gear that needs work. Sorta like neglected puppies to me! I seem to remember that Mica mentioned there is a reasonable price cap on fixing (or replacing) circuit boards in series instruments. | ||
| edwardofhuncote
Senior Member Username: edwardofhuncote Post Number: 843 Registered: 6-2014 |
If I ever have a third Alembic, I'm actually hoping to find a vintage Series bass (like this one) to restore one day. Came within a phone call of buying #73-39 one year ago this month. It would've been a very expensive project to do correctly, so I ended up ordering a custom instead. | ||
| ed_zeppelin
Advanced Member Username: ed_zeppelin Post Number: 261 Registered: 2-2010 |
In re: the thread topic, when I first bought "the kid said it was an 'Olympic'" (I say that to myself every time I open the case, and the name stuck), I checked with "Olympic" (nyuk) to make sure nobody had stolen it before I did. What I knew about Olympics at the time would comfortably fit in a Higg's Boson with room to spare, so when Olympic faxed me a "pedigree" it said it was a Series II. I don't have to play dumb. Ask anybody. So when I joined this forum, I proudly posted pics of TKSIWAA, saying it was a Series II (maybe somebody can dig up that post) and was promptly informed of the error. Imagine my embarrassment. So it happens. I cringe at the number of times somebody recognized my Olympic over the years and I haughtily sniffed; "It's a Series II Olympic." I'm actually glad it's a Series 1, by the way. I like the "preset" nature of the controls, and not because I don't like fiddling and twiddling to find the "perfect" bass sound. No, it's the other way around. I like it too much. I won't quit and have to slap my own hands to make me stop. (I'm threatening myself with a sexual harassment lawsuit, for similar reasons.) I know it's a horrific thought, but since it obviously happened anyway, wouldn't it have been cool to hear what it sounded like when Mr. "I don't need no steenking stand" let gravity win that round?  | ||
| sonofa_lembic
Intermediate Member Username: sonofa_lembic Post Number: 124 Registered: 5-2014 |
Wolf, I ended up buying that mid 70s Scorpion that was on the wall at GC Hollywood. Unintentionally though. It was way too much at the $5.5k price they had on it, and like this bass, I wanted to get it back to the shop for evaluation. They did not indicate that the bass had to be returned in 72 hours when I bought it, and I was informed that I could not return it when I brought it back four days later. That is how I ended up with it, and eventually lost a lot of money on it. It was a cool bass, and very unusual with the tapered neck stringers. | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4763 Registered: 5-2009 |
Trevor , I remember playing the mid 70's Scorpion there . At the time there was also a 20 Th. Anniversary that was a nice player there as well . I played them both . When I got back home up the coast I called them back to inquire about making a deal but got side tracked with yet another Alembic on eBay that was local that I ended up acquiring instead. SO many Alembic possibilities almost simultaneous ! That week it rained Alembic dreams in my world . Wolf (Message edited by sonicus on February 20, 2016) | ||
| rv_bass
Junior Username: rv_bass Post Number: 15 Registered: 8-2014 |
Ed_zeppelin; yes, easy typo to make. I just noticed that the Alembic website premium woods page states that the flame koa example is shown on a Series II, but I believe the photo is a very nice Series I. Odd coincidence if that is the case. http://www.alembic.com/info/wood_premium.html http://www3.alembic.com/img/ws_flamekoaL.jpg (Message edited by RV_BASS on February 20, 2016) | ||
| ed_zeppelin
Advanced Member Username: ed_zeppelin Post Number: 262 Registered: 2-2010 |
I just realized that i inadvertently lied. While I have said; "the kid said it was an 'Olympic'," that's a lame name for a masterpiece. In horror, I realized that I haven't properly named my Olympic. I thought about it - you married men can understand how rarely that actually occurs - and asked myself; "what do I say every time I open my Alembic case? Oh yeah! I say;
Thus I have dubbed it. I'm sorry for any confusion this may have caused. I blame Kanye. Thank you for your time. | ||
| rv_bass
Junior Username: rv_bass Post Number: 24 Registered: 8-2014 |
Trevor, Thanks again for your assessment. After thinking through your comments, I went ahead and purchased the bass. The neck repair seems professionally done and stable, and I think the bass is worth restoring. We'll see how it goes. Rob |
