Buy Alembic Bass
Alembic makes standard four-string bass guitars as well as those with five and six strings. It makes left-handed bass guitars as well as the more standard right-handed ones. Beyond these distinctions, bass guitars are also distinguished by their respective body types, the common ones being fretless, short scale, semi-hollow, and solid body. Except for its handedness, these qualities of an Alembic bass guitar influence its sound, performance, and playability.
buy alembic bass
There are several instances when you may choose to buy your Alembic bass guitar on eBay used instead of new. One of the obvious reasons to do so is the considerable cost savings of a used Alembic bass over a new one of equivalent type and condition. There are also many vintage and retired Alembic bass guitars you may no longer be able to buy new, in which case a used version is the only way to buy that model of Alembic bass.
Before buying any Alembic bass guitar on eBay, make sure you know whether you are getting a new or used item. If you are getting a used Alembic bass, make sure it is in acceptable playing condition, is undamaged, and needs no repairs. Whether used or not, be sure you are clear as well about what comes with the Alembic bass guitar you buy, if anything, such as a soft or hard case, strings, electric cables, or a tuner.
Owned and operated by the legendary Beaver Felton, we have been serving the bass player community for over twenty years! We offer the finest selection of boutique bass guitars and amplifiers to our customers. We also host lessons with elite bassist, Dave LaRue on the weekends. Let us unite you with your dream instrument today!
As an authorized Alembic dealer, we are proud to offer their basses and guitars for sale. Alembic has a rich history in the music industry, having developed the Grateful Dead Wall of Sound and revolutionized active electronics through innovative neck construction. The company has also nurtured some of the greatest luthiers of all time, including Rick Turner and Doug Irwin.
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. Known for their clear tone and exceptional construction, Alembic instruments feature built-in LED lights and filter combinations that are sure to impress. The bass tones of John Entwistle of The Who and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin are classic examples of the signature Alembic sound.
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. Eventually Alembic was actively modifying and repairing guitars and basses, recording sound, and designing and building PA systems. Artist Robert Thomas designed and painted the logo of the company in 1969, which included multiple elements that represented mankind and energy as values that Alembic aimed to show to public.[1]
The first production Alembic instruments were less ornate, and incorporated the PF-5 electronics circuit, later replaced by the PF-6. The pickups were single-coil, with an active hum-cancelling coil mounted between the pickups. This configuration gave the player the fidelity of single-coil pickups without their inherent noise, and is used to this day. The basses and guitars built using this configuration would later become known as the Series I and II, and were available in a variety of scale lengths and body shapes.
Through the 1980s, Alembic introduced several new models. These included the Spoiler, Elan, and Europa basses, and the Electrum and California Special guitars. Alembic's model line has continued to expand to the present day, with models such as the Epic, Orion, Excel, and Darling being introduced.
While Alembic has largely eschewed celebrity endorsements, the company has made two exceptions to this rule. Stanley Clarke was given a specially inlaid instrument to celebrate 30 years of working together. Mark King, in 1986, received two 34"-scale Series 2 basses and then ordered two more in identical woods with 32" scale.[citation needed]
Nick Wells was the Editor of Bass Guitar magazine from 2009 to 2011, before making strides into the world of Artist Relations with Sheldon Dingwall and Dingwall Guitars. He's also the producer of bass-centric documentaries, Walking the Changes and Beneath the Bassline, as well as Production Manager and Artist Liaison for ScottsBassLessons. In his free time, you'll find him jumping around his bedroom to Kool & The Gang while hammering the life out of his P-Bass."}; var triggerHydrate = function() window.sliceComponents.authorBio.hydrate(data, componentContainer); var triggerScriptLoadThenHydrate = function() if (window.sliceComponents.authorBio === undefined) var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = ' -9-5/authorBio.js'; script.async = true; script.id = 'vanilla-slice-authorBio-component-script'; script.onload = () => window.sliceComponents.authorBio = authorBio; triggerHydrate(); ; document.head.append(script); else triggerHydrate(); if (window.lazyObserveElement) window.lazyObserveElement(componentContainer, triggerScriptLoadThenHydrate, 1500); else console.log('Could not lazy load slice JS for authorBio') } }).catch(err => console.log('Hydration Script has failed for authorBio Slice', err)); }).catch(err => console.log('Externals script failed to load', err));Nick WellsSocial Links NavigationWriterNick Wells was the Editor of Bass Guitar magazine from 2009 to 2011, before making strides into the world of Artist Relations with Sheldon Dingwall and Dingwall Guitars. He's also the producer of bass-centric documentaries, Walking the Changes and Beneath the Bassline, as well as Production Manager and Artist Liaison for ScottsBassLessons. In his free time, you'll find him jumping around his bedroom to Kool & The Gang while hammering the life out of his P-Bass.
I purchased a 6 string custom made Alembic 2 years agoIt is very nice and sounds very clean. I was lucky to get it for under $4000.This is the type of bass that I wish I had when I was young but the only thing that I could afford at that time was a $276 original fender jazz bass.
Alembic are true pioneers when it comes to modern electric bass, having introduced many features that are today considered standard in the industry. Alembic have a story as a brand that goes back almost 40 years, so we'll just tell you some details about the beginning of this now classic name:
At first Alembic was a consulting firm for some of San Francisco Bay area bands, and started to work on some instruments that needed constant repairs and also had noisy electronics. Ron realized high impedance pickups have a very limited badwidth, so he designed low impedance pickups that had a much broader frequency response, but also lower output, so he also developed the first onboard active electronics to boost the signal. Alembic founders Ron Wickersham, Bob Mathews & Rick Turner used the instruments of Jack Casady (Jefferson Airplane) and Phil Lesh (the Grateful Dead) to analize all the details and come up with improvements in electronics and more. The first Alembic bass was delivered to Jack Casady in 1971. By 1974 Stanley Clarke was sarting to get reckognicion and he needed a better instrument, so when he chose an Alembic, he boosted the company's name significantly and this in part made Alembic a primarly bass company (although they've always produced some guitars too).
Currently Alembic offer 10 electric bass models and one Electric Upright. It can be said they wrote the book on custom options, so these 10 models are just the starting point. Options include 7, 8, 10 & 12 string designs, as well as double basses. Prices go from roughtly 3,000 Euro for a 4 string Epic or Ecxel upt to more than 12,000 Euro for a 6 string Series II instrument.
This bass is a Stanley Clarke Signature Deluxe, and is one of the most sought after basses in the Alembic catalog, due to the great exposure that Mr.Clarke along these years live and in his successful recordings "School Days" (1976), "If this bass could only Talk" (1988), etc.
Just like Stanley, this bass has a thin neck taper and short (30'75") scale. If you've seen Mr. Clarke closely, you'll know he is a tall guy with huge hands. He doesn't need a short scale bass for comfort (although if your hands are small, this bass is a breeze to play). He prefers a shorter bass because of the sound and feel. It behaves admirably well in the lowest notes (even down to open E), and of course sounds warm due to the low string tension.
There's a Master Volume and Master Balance plus 2 Tone Controls (one for each pickup). We assure you won't be missing any extra EQ or Tone controls. This bass shows that when everything is done right, you get excellent tones with just a few controls. The passive Tone controls prove to be really musical and effective, so experimenting with them and the Balance control produce enough sonic variation to cover a lot of styles.
At the same time, this is one of the few basses that have entered the "Classic Bass Sound" club. It is instantly recognizable, and it has been used for decades, so it is a sound you can easily relate to.
You could buy this bass if you are a collector, but it is actually a "studio machine; plug it into a high quality desk and you'll see why Alembics have been used for hundreds and hundreds of recordings.
These are the strings that Alembic ships on their new basses. They love how the elliptical wrap reduces fretting hand noise on sensitive instruments. They also have great tone - not too bright since Alembic basses are very responsive in the upper frequencies.CX-3 strings can be used on any bass where a flexible sounding string is required. Suitable for both fretted and fretless instruments. 041b061a72