Long-time Alembic dealer Will Gunn has rather unique personal instrument requirements. In his case, it ultimately took two basses to satisfy his needs. While most players tend to design their rigs around their instruments, Will chose a Superfilter as his starting point. Each bass is equipped with simplified Series electronics. As Will puts it, "For years, I've used a Superfilter for all my instrument tone shaping, preferring its numbered controls mounted eye-level in a rack to any on-board electronics." But why TWO basses? Will understands that by tailoring wood choices he can have two distinctly different voices at his command. Total refinement achieved!

	The striking cream colored pickups are the first difference to catch the eye, but any Alembic aficionado can see that there are far fewer knobs on these "Series II" basses. That's because there are no tone controls on the basses - the tone is completely controlled by the SF-2, giving him an extended range down to 45Hz, plus all the other functionality of the Superfilter. As he explains, "I typically roll the highs off at around 500 Hz with little or no Q added via the Superfilter. Does omitting the on-board controls short-change the full tonal potential of these basses? From one perspective, maybe yes. But I've got exactly what I NEED - both tonally and ergonomically - for the music I find myself playing regularly with these two incredible basses. And after all's said and done, isn't that what it's all about?"

	The tiny framing veneers between the neck and the body look so very sharp. On the Quilted Maple bass, they are done in Ebony, on the Walnut bass the framing veneers are Walnut.

	Two different wood recipes, two different looks, two different sounds. As light dances across the surface of the Quilted Maple bass, the grain appears almost holographic. Will observes, "the Maple-topped bass has a very well balanced but overall mellow tone on account of the heavy percentage of Vermilion in its construction." Bass response is still nice and tight thanks to that hefty chunk of Ebony flowing down the center of the neck. The Walnut bass was designed for Will's foam mute (not pictured), with exactly the right space between the bridge and the treble pickup for it to slip in place. We decided on Walnut for fast attack and Maple for brightness. The result is just the tone that Will was dreaming of. In Will's words, "a very 'Old School R&B' sound - one bass with the mute, and the other without."

	Both pegheads are the Orion inline shape and feature a bevelled edge on the front. The Walnut bass has a bevelled front and back with walnut veneers. The Maple bass sports an Ebony front veneer and a Vermilion back veneer. Both basses are tuned B-E-A-D, giving Will the low range of a 5-string, but with the playing ease of a 4-string.

	We took the simple direction "make the tailpiece as rounded as possible" to create this smoothly sculptured form. The same tailpiece is also on the Quilted Maple bass. Chrome plating is the most durable finish. It is actually harder than the brass it covers. It will not need polishing, just an occasional wipe with a soft cloth.

	These are hardcore Series II basses with no batteries, and no 1/4" jacks. Will always uses the power supply and 5-pin cable. We fashioned the housing for the 5-pin connector and mounted it on the side.

	Will chose the inlaid logo with a black Tahitian mother of pearl cloud, abalone rays and circle. Every part of the logo is under the glassy smooth finish Alembics are famous for. The Walnut bass features a similar logo inlay. Will's energy and style have been well known to us here at Alembic for some time (he got his first Alembic in the mid-1970s). It was truly enjoyable for us to once again work with Will on this refinement of what makes Alembic basses work best for him.

SPECIFICATIONS Custom Essence 4-string bass Quilted Maple top Vermilion body Maple, Vermilion, and Ebony neck Ebony fingerboard with green side LEDs Series I/II pickups and preamp Controls: Master volume, bass pickup volume, treble pickup volume, LED dimmer, side-mounted stereo 5-pin output Custom round bar tailpiece Chrome plated hardware Concealed hardware bridge Orion peghead shape, bevelled front with ebony veneer, vermillion back veneer Inlaid logo with shell and rays Continuous wood truss rod cover and backplate 6-string Essence body shape Ebony neck framing veneers Dunlop dual straplocks Custom THG knobs Sold by: Will Gunn Guitars to Will Gunn :)

Wallpaper: 1600x1200 1280x1024 1024x768 800x600 Widescreen: 2560x1440 1920x1200 1680x1050

SPECIFICATIONS Custom Essence 4-string bass Superb Walnut top Flame Maple body Flame Maple, and Purpleheart neck Ebony fingerboard with green side LEDs Cream Series I/II pickups and preamp Controls: Master volume, bass pickup volume, treble pickup volume, LED dimmer, side-mounted stereo 5-pin output Custom round bar tailpiece Chrome plated hardware Concealed hardware bridge Orion peghead shape, bevelled front and back Inlaid logo with shell and rays Continuous wood truss rod cover and backplate 6-string Essence body shape Walnut neck framing veneers Dunlop dual straplocks Chrome knobs Sold by: Will Gunn Guitars to Will Gunn :)

Wallpaper: 1600x1200 1280x1024 1024x768 800x600 Widescreen: 2560x1440 1920x1200 1680x1050 Text and photos of guitar by Mica Wickersham Thomas, © 2011 Alembic, Inc.

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