| Author | Message | ||
| gkweston
Junior Username: gkweston Post Number: 25 Registered: 2-2009 |
http://cgi.ebay.com/Alembic-California-Special-Electric-Guitar-w-case_W0QQitemZ370174798436QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item370174798436&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50 I don't know much about them but if there's anyone who's been itching for one. | ||
| elwoodblue
Senior Member Username: elwoodblue Post Number: 635 Registered: 6-2002 |
interesting...first Alembic I've seen with a floyd rose. | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 7750 Registered: 5-2002 |
Very nice!! No reserve. | ||
| altgrendel
Member Username: altgrendel Post Number: 51 Registered: 5-2008 |
I think the controls description is wrong. Controls; vol, pan, low-pass filter with q switch, individual on-off switches for pickups I don't see that in the photos. | ||
| barryr1
Member Username: barryr1 Post Number: 96 Registered: 10-2007 |
Do you think that the floyd rose is original | ||
| bsee
Senior Member Username: bsee Post Number: 2232 Registered: 3-2004 |
Yes, Barry. Controls look like vol/filter/5-way. -bob | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3608 Registered: 7-2004 |
The description also states it has a graphite nut. That certainly isn't stock, and while graphite may arguably be an upgrade, I wouldn't trade it for losing the adjustability of the Alembic standard nut. And I HATE it when the photos only show small parts of the guitar - not a single photo of the whole instrument. Makes me think of the old story of the blind men and the elephant. Also makes me worry the seller is trying to hide something. Bill, tgo | ||
| hydrargyrum
Senior Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 482 Registered: 3-2004 |
Wouldn't these electronic specs actually place it closer to being a spectrum (although the body shape is clearly a California Special)? Does this get back into that vague ground of what exactly constitutes any particular model? | ||
| keith_h
Senior Member Username: keith_h Post Number: 1247 Registered: 2-2005 |
From my dealings with Chuck Levins Music I have found them to be reputable. I am sure they would provide more pictures and be willing to talk over the phone. Keith | ||
| hydrargyrum
Senior Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 483 Registered: 3-2004 |
Just for the heck of it I emailed the seller to let them know about the potential electronics discrepancy. I also mentioned this thread, so who knows, maybe someone will post regarding this guitar. | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 7753 Registered: 5-2002 |
The controls description was lifted off the Alembic product page for the California Special; other California Specials have had the the Strat-type switch. And the California Special is the only Alembic that comes standard with a trem bar. So I feel certain this is indeed a California Special. | ||
| dannobasso
Senior Member Username: dannobasso Post Number: 993 Registered: 3-2004 |
I too have dealt with Washington Music and Brian handled a few custom builds for me and I also bought a MM Petrucci 7 from them. Great people, great store and I trust them whole heartedly. The CS also had a Kahler option (my personal choice)/ Beautiful axe. I'm sorely tempted. | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 715 Registered: 12-2003 |
Why would Alembic not have used an original Floyd Rose? | ||
| bluplirst
Junior Username: bluplirst Post Number: 46 Registered: 12-2004 |
Schaller actually makes the original Floyd, which is pretty much identical to this one. Maybe Original Floyds weren't in production at that time. | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3612 Registered: 7-2004 |
Well, I put in the opening bid. I couldn't stand to see this beauty sitting there, all alone, with no one bidding. :-( Bill, tgo | ||
| artswork99
Senior Member Username: artswork99 Post Number: 608 Registered: 7-2007 |
Auction ended early by seller... Link above that is... (Message edited by artswork99 on March 19, 2009) | ||
| artswork99
Senior Member Username: artswork99 Post Number: 609 Registered: 7-2007 |
Ah, new listing... http://cgi.ebay.com/Alembic-California-Special-Electric-Guitar-w-case_W0QQitemZ370175925475QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item370175925475&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262 | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 7758 Registered: 5-2002 |
The description has been changed. It now has a brass nut instead of graphite. The controls are now properly described. Shipping is now $60 instead of $45. The words "very heavy" have been added to the description of the case. | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3614 Registered: 7-2004 |
It still lists: "One Humbucker and Two single coil pickups". When will they ever learn? I again placed the initial bid. Bill, tgo | ||
| olieoliver
Senior Member Username: olieoliver Post Number: 2198 Registered: 2-2006 |
I SURE thought about bidding on this Bill but won't bid against a brother. OO (Whew, thanks Bill. You probably saved my marriage)LOL | ||
| bsee
Senior Member Username: bsee Post Number: 2235 Registered: 3-2004 |
Generally, when there are multiple of us interested, I prefer for people to discuss, privately, what they're willing to pay. For example, if Bill will go to $3000 and Olie will only go to $2500, then it would be nice for only the one is is planning to go highest to bid. Olie can't win, and it can save Bill a few bucks. Of course, when the seller is one of ours, it should never get to eBay and a private deal should be worked out so all are happy and things like this don't matter. I would hate to see two or three of us force the price up on a family member when we can't win anyway. Personally, I'd go to $2K on this one, but I would believe it to be worth more than that and that one of you is willing to go higher. | ||
| ajdover
Senior Member Username: ajdover Post Number: 703 Registered: 11-2003 |
I have a friend I've been trying to talk into getting an Alembic guitar. He has a company called Lava Cable. He makes custom cables, and he's a guitar player. He's had a lot of "boutique" instruments over the years, but never an Alembic. This might be his opportunity to at least try one. I've let him know about this, but would like to have him hear from Alembic guitar owners what an Alembic guitar is all about. I have his email, but ... if any of our six string brothers have any insights as to what it means to play an Alembic guitar, please send it to me and I'll forward it to him. Who knows? Maybe he'll pick up this California Special and become one of the faithfull ... ;-) Alan | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 1379 Registered: 6-2002 |
I've think that California is a great looking guitar but one of the things that would put me off bidding on it and for that matter any guitar with a locking nut is the delay that would be encountered if a string broke during a gig. I'm not a heavy wammy bar user and having to find the tool for unlocking the nut and being unable to take up the slack with the tuning peg from pre-stretching the string before tuning to pitch would be cumbersome and time consuming. I often wonder why a roller nut like on the Strat Ultra wasn't used instead on these wammy bar setups. Educate me. What does a locking nut offer that a roller nut doesn't in terms of maintaining pitch after wammy bar use? Yes, I know taking more than one guitar would be a solution but for me when touring that has rarely been an option due to weight & space restrictions placed on the band. Jazzyvee | ||
| bsee
Senior Member Username: bsee Post Number: 2237 Registered: 3-2004 |
The locking nut was the precursor to the locking tuner, and possibly a little superior in performance. At the tuner end, your string is held in a perfectly locked position. If the tuning key loosens under the pressure of the string, it doesn't matter because the lock eliminates that segment from the performance. Likewise the string slipping or tightening on the tuner. You end up with a fixed length of string that is anchored at both ends and the only thing that should pull you out of tune is the actual stretch of the string. A locking tuner also locks the string, but it is possible for the tuning key to loosen under string pressure over time or as a result of whammy use. That's the trade-off for the easier string changes. You could always live without the locks and/or replace the tuners with a modern locking set. Skipping the lock shouldn't be a bad thing if you aren't using the whammy. As far as a second guitar goes, a steinberger-style stick makes a good backup because of the small size. I carry one to gigs just in case. You never expect a problem from your Alembic, but who wants to have a gig screwed up because of one? You can get a Hohner or cheaper model Steinberger for a few hundred bucks and, if you have to, replace the guts. As an emergency backup, a set of cheapo EMG Selects sounds a lot better than dead air. -bob | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3615 Registered: 7-2004 |
Gee, I feel sorry for all those strat players who played guitars with tremolos and no locking nuts or tuners for over a quarter century and didn't know that their whammy bar didn't work! What a tragedy. And how did I ever survive without bicycle helmets, shoulder harnesses, or airbags when I as a kid? I too have never liked locking nuts for the string change hassle reason. Bill, tgo | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 5974 Registered: 6-2000 |
While this guitar has a Floyd Rose tremolo (vibrato), it has a Kahler finger lock nut. There's two strings for each lever - no tools needed to change strings. Now we would use a graphite nut (strings won't bind like is possible on a brass nut) and locking tuners. On the short list of things we just won't do is install a Floyd Rose locking nut. The idea of drilling two holes through the weakest part of the guitar makes my mom ill. | ||
| barryr1
Member Username: barryr1 Post Number: 97 Registered: 10-2007 |
I'm no expert on whammy bars, shit I just took one (bigsby) off of a guitar and made it a hard tail. But I do own one nice conventional strat with a whammy bar, and have owned number of them in the past. One was the Jeff beck super deluxe with the roller nut and the locking tuners. What my experience is is that the reason that guitars go out of tune while playing more often than not is because the nut is not cut properly and the string hangs up. It rarely slips at the tuner if the string is installed properly (or the string stretches) from doing acrobatics or was not properly stretched in initially. | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 1380 Registered: 6-2002 |
I get what you are saying Mica and I have seen a Red California on ebay a few years ago with a finger lock nut, but unless my eyes are playing me up, that California on ebay now sure looks like it has locking screws at the nut. |
