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Alembic Club » Miscellaneous » Archive: 2005 » Archive through June 03, 2005 » 2003 Archive » Archive through August 22, 2003 » On eBay « Previous Next »

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rogertvr
Member
Username: rogertvr

Post Number: 74
Registered: 1-2003
Posted on Wednesday, July 02, 2003 - 4:38 am:   Edit Post

Can someone explain to me what the 'like Alembic' part of this bass is please?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2541125321&category=4713
groovelines
Member
Username: groovelines

Post Number: 60
Registered: 4-2003
Posted on Wednesday, July 02, 2003 - 5:09 am:   Edit Post

I've noticed a number of items will have "like Alembic" in the description line. It seems to me it's a gimick to increase the cache of potential buyers.

The honest approach would be: "like Alembic, but not even close, I just wanted you to look."
mattheus
Junior
Username: mattheus

Post Number: 16
Registered: 5-2003
Posted on Wednesday, July 02, 2003 - 5:16 am:   Edit Post

I think,
"from the USA, like Alembic"
or
laminated stuff, like Alembic
or
if you drink very, very, very heavily it looks just like an Alembic. But prepare for a shock when you sober up!
palembic
Senior Member
Username: palembic

Post Number: 490
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Thursday, July 03, 2003 - 1:05 am:   Edit Post

Yes they do it to get attention.
On the other hand th eneck-through design is most of the time linked with Alembic because they used it the first on "serial-build" basses (well in the case you can talk about "serial" in the case of Alembic). The second was Rickenbacker (beware ...if I remember well)

Apart from the misinfo on this auction: it IS INDEED a very RARE bass! I know one guy who played it and he loved it very much.

Paul the bad one (with a bad memory in this case)
elzie
Intermediate Member
Username: elzie

Post Number: 141
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Thursday, July 03, 2003 - 5:31 am:   Edit Post

I think you are being too kind Paul. When I see "like Alembic" I think it is an underhanded trick to get people to look.

On a similar note, there is a fake Alembic on there now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2543059003&category=4713

This is in another post, but I sent the seller a message. I find a little hard to believe that they don't know what they are selling. The buy it now price is $1199! So I went through all the seller's recent transactions and found that they have sold a lot of guitars lately, ie; Fenders and Gibsons.


Paul The Good One ( with a half bad memory)
palembic
Senior Member
Username: palembic

Post Number: 493
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Thursday, July 03, 2003 - 5:42 am:   Edit Post

Well ...that's completely me ...I'm so kind ...oh man, can I be kind!!!
Really badly-kind!

It's a sales trick! I know.

Apart from that again: it is INDEED a RARE guitar!

Paul the too-kind one
mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 1039
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Thursday, July 03, 2003 - 11:24 am:   Edit Post

I can hardly believe people still do this to "increase traffic" what's the point if you make your potential customer wary of you?

BTW, Rickenbacker did the neck throughs first. I think they were one-piece necks, but they deserve the credit for making instruments with neck through construction before anybody else.
u14steelgtr
New
Username: u14steelgtr

Post Number: 3
Registered: 7-2003
Posted on Thursday, July 03, 2003 - 8:59 pm:   Edit Post

The Martin EB-18 that RogerTVR mentioned is like an Alembic is some ways: neck through body, 4 strings, comes with tuning machines, brass nut, laminated body, so yes there are some things that are similar. And as some of you know; in addition to building guitars Alembic does also build basses.

I would not say that it was like an Alembic if I were selling it. But then again... I am not selling it.

As no-frills basses go I rather like the EB-18. They are quite playable, sell for very low prices, they sound pretty good.

An argument could be made that the people that comprise Alembics market are people that appreciate good instruments that are clearly not the most commonly seen. I think that those of us that comprise the Alembic market would be far more likily to know what an EB-18 is than most people that were shopping for a bass. In that context using the A-word in the listing makes some sense. And an EB-18 is not likily to show up in a carefully-crafted eBay search because they are so unusual.

If I were selling an EB-18 Martin. I would want it to go to someone that appreciated it. So I think that putting in a few key-words to help it appear in people's eBay searches is reasonable (to a point) given the rarity of this instrument.

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