Essence Bass

Pictured in Macassar Ebony with custom options

ESSENCE

Many have asked how they could get the Alembic sound without the size and weight of the classic Alembic instruments. Our answer is the Essence.

We took the lead for the design from right half of the Small Standard body. We slimmed this down until it was barely big enough to hold the electronics. For the left half, we extended the horn so the bass would balance as a long scale. For 5-string and 6-string versions, the upper horn is longer yet to retain the excellent balance. The Essence bass is our smallest body - a scant 12 inches across.

The heart of the Essence's tone is the Alembic low-pass filter, the same tone control we pioneered in 1969 when Ron Wickersham first introduced active electronics to the musical world. With this one tone control, a wide range of sounds from deep to bright are available with a simple twist of one knob. Even a small amount of rotation can produce a big change in tone.

The Essence bass gives you all the essentials of Alembic: neck through body construction, Alembic pickups and active electronics, solid brass hardware, all crafted in Santa Rosa, California, USA, the only place that Alembics are born.

EXAMPLES: ESSENCE

Bird's-eye Maple
Bird's-eye Maple
Flame Maple
Flame Maple
Quilted Maple
Quilted Maple AAA
Mutant Maple
Mutant Maple
Lacewood
Lacewood
Light & Dark Buckeye
Light & Dark Buckeye
Flatsawn Zebrawood
Quartersawn Zebrawood
Flatsawn Zebrawood
Flatsawn Zebrawood
Bocate
Bocate
Bubinga
Bubinga
Bubinga with Oil Finish
Bubinga Oil Finish
Burl Amboyna
Amboyna Burl
Burl Redwood
Burl Redwood
Vermilion
Vermilion
Vermilion with Oil Finish
Vermilion Oil Finish
Purpleheart
Purpleheart
Flame Purpleheart
Flame Purpleheart
Moonburst
Moonburst
Oceanburst
Oceanburst
Ruby Red
Ruby Red
Coco Bolo
Coco Bolo
Quartersawn Coco Bolo
Quartersawn Coco Bolo
Flame Walnut
Flame Walnut
Superb Walnut
Superb Walnut
Indian Rosewood
Indian Rosewood
Dark Buckeye
Dark Buckeye Burl
Ziricote
Ziricote
Macassar Ebony
Macassar Ebony
Black Stain
Sheer Black
Black
Solid Black

EXAMPLES: FEATURED CUSTOMS

Featured Custom: Quietly Custom
Quietly Custom
Featured Custom: Smooth Operator
Planet of the Bass

Note: Some examples include custom options. Start exploring your own custom Essence bass.

FEATURE 4‑STRING 5‑STRING 6‑STRING
Scale length 34 in 34 in 34 in
Neck woods 3-piece Maple with 2 Walnut pinstripes 5-piece Maple with 4 Walnut pinstripes 5-piece Maple with 4 Walnut pinstripes
Fingerboard Blank Ebony Blank Ebony Blank Ebony
Nut width 1.625 in 1.875 in 2.200 in
24th fret width 2.360 in 2.930 in 3.560 in
Peghead Orion 4 Orion 5 (3+2) Cone 6
Truss rods dual, body adjust dual, body adjust dual, body adjust
Top wood Any standard or premium wood Any standard or premium wood Any standard or premium wood
Body wood Mahogany Mahogany Mahogany
Sandwich Top, accent veneer, body wood Top, accent veneer, body wood Top, accent veneer, body wood
Body depth 1.55 in 1.55 in 1.55 in
Finish Polyester gloss with satin neck Polyester gloss with satin neck Polyester gloss with satin neck
Pickups Alembic MXY4 Alembic MXY56 Alembic MXY56
Controls volume, pan, filter volume, pan, filter volume, pan, filter
Backplates Plastic Plastic Plastic
Bridge Solid polished brass Solid polished brass Solid polished brass
Tailpiece Solid brass, half moon shape Solid brass, half moon shape Solid brass, half moon shape
Nut Solid brass, height adjustable Solid brass, height adjustable Solid brass, height adjustable
Machine heads Gold Alembic‑Gotoh Gold Alembic‑Gotoh Gold Alembic‑Gotoh
Average weight about 8.5 pounds about 9 pounds about 10 pounds
Overall dimensions 12″ x 45.25″ 12.5″ x 45.00″ 13.125″ x 46.50″
Origin 100% Made in Santa Rosa, CA USA 100% Made in Santa Rosa, CA USA 100% Made in Santa Rosa, CA USA