Find an Alembic dealer. Click to view larger version. The body core is Mahogany. Click to view larger version. At that point we were introduced, and I barely managed to get back onstage in time to start My Generation. If you listen closely to the video, you can hear me tuning the D string as we go. Sunn Bass bin, courtesy rockstarsguitars.com. The bass was so loud on stage The Who and their road crew used to vacate my side of the stage whenever I played it. The Stramps are turned all the way up, the Sunns set at about 5 or 6. Alembic Basses: Stanley Clarke, Mark King, Series 1, Series 2, Rogue, Orion, Epic, Excel. Sunn Bass bin road case, courtesy rockstarsguitars.com. Oct 19, 2015 #2. L.D. Ca. Clean, clear electronics allow yo Unbelievablecomfort and playability are the hub of the Skylarks design. In 1976, Johns amplifier rig was built into a custom Gelf rack by Kenny Flegg, and switched from Alembic preamps to Stramp 4120 stereo preamps. Johns speaker configuration remained largely the same as the 1974 setup, though the Sunn W bins now had the badges on the horn bells, and the Sunn 312 speaker cabinets moved to the center of the setup, while the Sunn 412 speaker cabinets moved to the outside on top of the Sunn 118 speaker cabinets, with filler boxes to balance the setup due to the differing heights of the bottom row cabinets/bins. A 1976 Alembic Bass guitar; serial number 76-A046, in natural finish, neck through body constriction [sic], curved maple top, mahogany body cores, maple and walnut laminate neck, ebony twenty six fret fingerboard with oval abalone inlays and LED side markers, headstock with walnut facing and silver Alembic logo, two pickups, four rotary controls, one selector switch, two mini-toggle switches (one broken), jack and cannon connector sockets, gold plated Schaller tremolo bridge/tailpiece with four adjustable saddles; and an original blue rectangular hard shell case with red plush lining owned and played by John Entwistle on stage with The Who; accompanied by a black and white image of Entwistle playing the instrument on stage at the Winterland, San Francisco, 28 March, 1976. Check out this month's special. Used Electric Bass Alembic SERIES I MSB MAPLE TOP 1979 (S/N:79 1345) Opens in a new window or tab. . Jun 25, 2006. see details, Featured in this TalkBass.com forum post. [2]:35ff, The company's first instrument was a bass guitar, made in 1972 for Jack Casady. That kept us in bread for a few month back then. John Entwistles amps are the responsibility of Bill Harrison, who stands to the rear of the bass cabinets when the Who are onstage. There are a variety of body shapes for the Series I bass. Sold in Sothebys May 2003 auction. Completed in late '76, this very same bass was a catalog model for the early 1977 brochure (see pics). Alembic Mark King Deluxe 5, Buckeye Burl / Ebony *Similar On Order, ETA Dec. 2022, Alembic Stanley Clarke Signature Deluxe, Buckeye Burl with Ebony and Blue LED's, Alembic Stanley Clarke "Brown Bass", Walnut Top/Back with Ebony *Green LED's, Alembic Stanley Clarke "Brown Bass", Walnut Top/Back with Ebony *Red LED's, Alembic Mark King Deluxe (4), Buckeye Burl / Ebony / Blue LED's *On Order, ETA April 2023, Alembic Mark King Deluxe 4, Cocobolo with Ebony and Red/Blue LED's *Similar On Order, ETA Dec. 2022, Alembic Stanley Clarke "Brown Bass", Walnut Top/Back with Ebony *Blue LED's, Alembic Mark King Deluxe 5-String, Cocobolo with Ebony and LED's *Similar On Order, ETA = Oct. 2022. Categories. Ill be playing through two cabinets and therell be a separate sound coming out of each one. Right before we were to play, my main bass went dead because Id accidentally crossed some wires while changing the battery. The Essence bass is heir smallest body - 12 inc Brown Basses are a nod to Stanley's second Series I bass from 1974. Founded in 1969, the company began manufacturing pre-amps before building complete instruments. He bought it from the Sothebys May 2003 auction of Johns estate. ** total_quantity ** | ** unit_price ** / ** unit_measure **, Alembic Darling Guitar - 5A Quilted Maple, Alembic "Starry Night" Further Guitar - Buckeye w/turquoise/red resin top, Alembic Stanley Clarke Deluxe Bass - "Blue River" - Buckeye top, Alembic Essence 4 string Bass - Zebrawood. Indistinct serial number (74-A011) impressed to top edge of headstock. document.write(' Photo: Ebet Roberts '); Graphite-reinforced neck of laminated walnut and maple. Ca. 1976, with Alembic bass and Sunn rig. Free shipping on many items | Browse your favorite brands | affordable prices. SERIES 1. 8 Dec. 1979, Chicago, with Sunn 412L 412 and Mega 118 cabinets. Click to view larger versions Custom Flame bass, made by Peter Cook. Please include the serial number of your instrument in the comment area of your order so we may update the records. Ca. I jetted to San Francisco 3 days before the tour started and bought three more! Sold by John at auction in April 1988. Two Peter Cook-built pickups, three controls, gold bridge baseplate with four adjustable saddles. Please check the fields highlighted in red. Click to view larger version. com. We had a rehearsal one day and I had five basses made with an Explorer body and Thunderbird pick-ups and Fender necks Id had them made up for the next bout of touring. All images courtesy and copyright rockstarsguitars.com. Of the many Alembic bass guitars for sale on eBay are several worth noting for their exceptionality, including the following: 1980 Alembic Series I four-string bass in walnut or rosewood mahogany with ebony fingerboard. Spiders web wire sterling-silver inlay, which later appeared to be brass as the instruments lacquer yellowed with age. Find the best selection of ALEMBIC Bass at Guitar Center at the guaranteed lowest prices and free shipping. This information, along with all other content included in Whotabs, is intended for private study, scholarship or research. Entwistle describes his goal: Mainly the sound qualities that I am looking for in this particular amping system center around the fact that I like separation between low and high notes. Rogers CP103 and Mesa-Boogie 412 visible at right. [CDATA[ 9 May 1978, Ramport, with Fender Explorer-Bird and Mesa Boogie amplifier. 1975, Sunn rig, with amplifiers moved to side-stage rack: two Sunn 412 speaker cabs (outside top), two Sunn 312 312 speaker cabs (inside top), two Sunn 118 speaker cabs (outside bottom), two Sunn W 118 reflex bins (inside bottom). Through the 1980s, Alembic introduced several new models. // ]]> -->, Ca. [CDATA[ You can get any sounds you like, just by varying the switches and by turning the tone controls backwards and forwards. bucephylus said: . 10 or 11 Sept. 1982, N.E.C., Birmingham, three Mesa-Boogie 412 cabs (top) in place of the Sunn 412L 412 cabs, with four Mega 118 cabs (bottom). Aug 22, 2015. Ive started using the Alembic where the extra treble and the facility to get up high means that I can take more solos. Show More. Great pieces of Alembic history from their 46 Foley street address.Ships USPS priority mail with 2-3 day delivery, tracking and ins. Ca. 1974 Alembic Series I in zebra wood. > Kind of a cool story see details, Lake can be seen in this photo playing an Alembic Series 1. see details, In this video you can see John McVie playing his Alembic bass at 2:50. see details, The only time Curt was seen with an Alembic was while performing "Shout" on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 1985. Click to view larger version. This item is sold As-Described and cannot be returned unless it arrives in a condition different from how it was described or photographed. Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. [2]:35ff 1973 was also the year that Stanley Clarke, then with Return to Forever, replaced his Gibson EB-2 with an Alembic, increasing Alembic's profile. Alembic Stanley Clarke Signature Brown bass w/LEDs. 16 watchers In fact, we were making them before we even had model names or a catalog. For more, see Terms of Use. Lined Fretless Series I long scale bass in 5A Quilted Maple with Ebony neck laminate, custom taper fingerboard. . Short scale 30.75"Coco Bolo top & backAlembic Crown peghead Coco Bolo front and b As an authorized Alembic dealer, we are proud to offer their basses and guitars for sale. Hey! In fact, we were making them before we even had model names or a catalog. document.write(' Photo: Denis O’Regan '); Entwistle can be seen on this page in photos playing an Alembic Series 1 bass. Founded in 1969 in the San Francisco Bay Area, Alembic is still going strong to this day, producing the most artistic, finely crafted, and imaginative electric instruments in the world. Later, I was on holiday in Los Angeles and I found a guitar shop that sold nice old guitars. The Definitive Online Tablature and Gear Resource for The Who since 1997. [CDATA[ The Explorer-shaped Alembics have necks and bodies of birdseye maple and walnut. [CDATA[ Series I basses have been played by such varied musicians as Stanley Clarke, John McVie, and John Entwistle and you couldn't ever mistake's one's tone for another, as the Series I gives a natural sound that is truly a reflection of the emotion the player puts in to the music. Just flicking two switches on the preamps allows me to select which sound I want at any given point., Unlike the vast majority of bassists, John has his strings (Rotosounds) changed before every concert in order to attain maximum crispness. Alembic pickups fall in two categories. Completed in late 76, this very same bass was a catalog model for the early 1977 brochure (see pics). Gibson Explorer-style body with Fender Precision Bass maple necks and machine heads; gold-plated hardware, two volume controls/one tone control. its also about three times as loud as a normal bass. What finally put me off was when we did Live Aid. We can help you choose the right woods for your custom bass. Peter Cook Lightning Bolt bass visible on stand at left. This configuration gave the player the fidelity of single-coil pickups without their inherent noise, and is used to this day. I flew over early to order three more basses from Alembic, who eventually built me the Explorer-shaped models., Click to view larger version. [3][4], Inspired by the wide frequency response of the Hagstrom Bi-sonic pickups installed in Phil Lesh and Jack Casady's Guild Starfire basses, Ron Wickersham and Rick Turner designed low-impedance pickups and electronics with greater bandwidth than the high-impedance pickups typical in electric guitars and basses of the time. On stage with Alembic Series I and spare. At least three of these Gelf racks built by Kenny Flegg of Gelf. No idea why, but they sound great. John stated in the catalog that this was used on the U.K. Television show Top of the Pops in the early 1970s. By continuing to use Reverb, you agree to these updates, and to our cookie policy. > I have an Alembic Series I that I bought from Stanley Clarke. We have chosen to keep our model names tied to the electronics rather than the shape or scale length, so you will see short scale Series I basses with the default Small Standard shape and some with the Standard Omega shape. The series electronics are all working well and sound great. Mesa-Boogie 412 for guitar monitoring at right. Standard Alembic electronics. 1981 Top of the Pops television performance with the Alembic V bass. [CDATA[ $49.69 shipping. Your purchases also help protect forests, including trees traditionally used to make instruments. Theyre getting together with Moog to work something out. In 1977, Alembic presented the world's first "graphite" neck basses with necks supplied by Geoff Gould (later founder of Modulus Guitars) at a trade show; it was bought by John McVie of Fleetwood Mac. Share pictures of your personal collection with the club. Original 1989 Rudy Sarzo Signature Bass. 110 or 200 wall current stepped down to 18v via the included power supply. Orange/red one sold in Sothebys May 2003 auction. John said it was no problem, they would send a Roadie to buy one. Johns second Alembic, 1974 Alembic Series 1, courtesy Brad Rodgers, whocollection.com. Click to view larger version Alembic 4-string bass, side view. In an interview see details, It is stated in [this article](http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2014/01/30/profiles-in-tone-jack-casady/) that Casady used an Alembic 1 Bass see details, Trusted musician and artist reviews for Alembic Series I Bass Guitar, Help recommend alternative or similar gear to Alembic Series I Bass Guitar, Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray Bass Guitar. The spinal tap guy says, "please don't even look at that guitar." Home-; The Specials-; The Products-; The People-; The Place-; The Support-; Site Index; Text and photos copyright 2015 Alembic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Ca. Mind you, you have to plug the guitar into a power supply. John used at least four additional Alembic Series I basses on stage with The Who, including a dark finish, two heavilty quilted natural finish, and a Series I Omega, some of which are pictured below. [CDATA[ dkelley, blindrabbit, hintz and 3 others like this. We don't think of them as separate entities, the pickups and electronics work together as a system, a complete thought. Notes: Some examples include custom options. Right before we were to leave for a U.S. tour, he brought it to a rehearsal, where I tried it and was, of course, blown away. 1977 Rothchild Musical Instruments / Alembic Guitar and Bass catalog 16 Pages, Very good condition, very rare catalog. The recording studio had been sold, as was a retail store in San Francisco where they had sold high-end audio equipment besides their own electronics and instruments.[5]. All quotes and references are copyright their original owners and are included for reference only. Genuine Alembic parts are available directly from the source. On the Alembic theyre red lights instead L.E.D.s. Look here: Alembic - Stanley Clarke Signature Basses. I am not a luthier, but I cannot identify any actual repair, nor evidence of one. 2011 interview with John Entwistles luthier/guitar maker Peter Cook posted on. @Ty Wiggins, FWIW, Alembic never officially "retires" any models. (See clip of this performance on YouTube. Alembic took two years to make the three basses for me. Model 4-string 5-string 6-string ----- Excel 10975 12975 15975 Epic 10975 12975 15975 Orion 10975 12975 15975 Essence 13500 15500 17500 Rogue 14500 16500 18500 Europa 15975 17975 19975 Signature Standard 16975 18975 20975 Signature Deluxe 18500 20500 22500 Sig Dlx Coco Bolo 21500 23500 25500 Sig Dlx Buckeye 20900 22900 24900 Brown Bass 18000 . Sunn Gelf amp rig #1, courtesy rockstarsguitars.com. document.write('Photo: S. Emberson'); Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. [CDATA[ Alembic Series I bass, courtesy Brad Rodgers, whocollection.com. News (June 2012): Christies to auction Alembic as part of its Popular Culture: Rock & Roll Memorabilia sale, to be held on 12 June 2012. Features a power supply function for Alembic instruments; Mult Box, each of the two stereo channels has four phone jack outputs; Direct Box, a transformer-coupled low-impedance output via the three-pin Cannon balanced outputs, with phase reversal switches; Mode Switch, supporting stereo, reverse stereo, A+B mono A or B mono. Thanks to those who have made this page possible: Whotabs has been updated, 9 October 2022. document.write('Photo: Mark Mander'); Currency: Completed 25 January, 1979. Id work out a series of lines that flowed into each other with the twang of the trebly sound and Id find myself drifting into that every night, unless it was a bit of free form. $35. Courtesy Colin Baker. Its also got this feedback effect when you have all the frequency switches right down in their lowest positions, you get this sort of signing sound. EUR Original brochure will be included with the sale. Fine handcrafted basses and guitars : Browse some of the custom options we offer. Therapist76, lalo_garcia-maynez, Tennesseemick and 5 others . John stated in the catalog that this was used on the U.K. Television show Top of the Pops in the early 1970s . There were at least two of this model made, plus a V-shaped headstock model and an 8-string. // ]]> -->. Full color catalog. Flame-shaped headstock with red plastic truss rod cover. 1975, with Alembic Series 1 bass with flame-figured top. $565.00. tar. The Alembic has both, and its much louder. 1950's National . from Japan. The task is another of Alan Rogans responsibilities. 1976, the Gelf custom amp rack by Kenny Flegg, with two Stramp 4120 preamps, Alembic IN-2 input module, and four Sunn Coliseum Slave 300-watt power amps. View similar gear from other sellers on Reverb. The Essence. (729kb) Johns second Alembic, 1974 Alembic Series 1, courtesy Brad Rodgers, whocollection.com. Click images to view larger versions. 19779 Posts 1336 Topics Last post by pauldo in Re: 73-28 Bass on April 03, 2023, 06:30:32 AM Currently owned by Dave Schools of the band Widespread Panic. Click image to view larger version. The core of the body is Koa, which imparts a warm and wonderful sound. We can help you choose the right woods for your custom bass. Sell on Reverb. Sunn Coliseum Slave, courtesy rockstarsguitars.com. The company was founded by Owsley Stanley as a workshop in Grateful Dead's rehearsal room in Novato, California, near San Francisco, to help improve the band's entire sound chain, from its instruments to its sound reinforcement system. You see, I wasnt really playing what I wanted to play. The photo below is not my bass, but the exact same control layout. Alembic is an American manufacturer of high-end electric basses, guitars and preamps. The current speaker array includes a pair of Sunn W bins, each with an 18 Vega speaker; two standard Sunn enclosures, each with a Vega 18; two Sunn 412s; and two Sunn 312s. Click to view larger version. 1975, Sunn rig (with amplifier rack barely visible at far left): two Sunn 412 speaker cabs (outside top), two Sunn 312 312 speaker cabs (inside top), two Sunn 118 speaker cabs (outside bottom), two Sunn W 118 reflex bins (inside bottom). Alembic Stanley Clarke Sign Del, Cocobolo *LAST ONE AT CURRENT PRICE. Turner referred to this process as "Alembicizing". Click to view larger version. This item is sold As-Described. Pre-Owned. Known for their clear tone and exceptional construction, Alembic instruments feature built-in LED lights and filter combinations that are sure to impress. France, Click to view larger version. Someone had wired it incorrectly, so I gave it to my guitar tech, Pete Cook, to fix. Click to view larger version Alembic 8-string bass. Some are related to scale length, others to tradition, and others to personal taste. The heart of the Series I bass is the pickups and electronics. He brought it along to a Who rehearsal when hed finished I plugged it in and it blew my mind. 714 Posts 240 Topics Last post by garyhead in Re: Quilt coco bolo on January 17, 2023, 02:45:57 PM Showcase. Theres one thing about Alembic it can be hard to vary the controls while youre playing because there are so many, so it would be nice if, when they did the Gibson one, they could give me some floor controls so I can either control it from the guitar or the floor. As an authorized Alembic dealer, we are proud to offer their basses and guitars for sale. I eventually changed to using Sunn 300-watt Coliseum Amps powering four 18 PA bins plus additional 12 cabinets (up to sixteen 12 cabinets at one point). Seller Hub Reverb Payments FAQ. Newer body shapes have been introduced to improve ergonomics and to designate new models. [2]:35ff Production of graphite-necked instruments ceased in 1985. 1977 price list described the five string bass as a "standard" model, available for $50 more than its four string bass. Well, its got a whole frequency sweep on it. In the studio I use a Music Man HD-130 head and a 2 X 12 cabinet for the clean sound, and a Mesa Boogie with an extension cabinet for the distortion and the treble. I just about got it in tune in time for the bass solo. Univox "Lectra Beatle Bass Catalog page / Price List 1970-71. The bass that Yolanda Charles is playing has 9 knobs. Something went wrong. Sunn Gelf recording amp rig, courtesy rockstarsguitars.com. So from there my whole style changed for about five years until recently when Ive had another change onto the Alembics the best change I ever did. I sold the main bass to the Hard Rock Cafe that was its punishment.. Alembic/Sunn Coliseum Slave amplifier rack visible at right. . This is a rare opportunity to acquire an incredible instrument at a very reasonable price! document.write(' Photo: Richard Aaron '); [citation needed], Last edited on 21 September 2022, at 14:30, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Dead Wood: Is This the End for Classic Rock's Greatest Guitar Makers? Ca. They feature active electronics and brass hardware. // ]]> -->. Your IP: And with the discount available through a dealer, the Alembic preamp only wound up costing me an extra $160. Includes museum, schematics and history.