Alembic Series II 6 String Electric Bass – USA 1997

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From Alembic –

“We’ve been making Series II basses since 1972, and we are continually improving what we believe is the finest solid body electric bass on earth. With Alembic, there is every reason to have clean, clear, and complete tone. Why would you compromise?

Series II basses are the top of the line Alembic bass. When you order a Series II, you don’t have to add anything to it, as it’s already appointed with all the cool features: side LED position markers, continuous wood backplates and truss rod cover, 24K gold plated hardware, inlaid logo with abalone and mother of pearl.

Remember that you can specify the neck feel and bridge spacing at no additional charge. Each instrument is individually crafted, and so something as important as your interface with the bass must be exactly as you need it.

You’ll see Series II basses with short, medium, and long scale, and in a variety of body shapes and even more custom features. What they all have in common is the Series II pickups and electronics system designed by Alembic founder and Chief Engineer Ron Wickersham, who pioneered the use of active electronics in guitars in 1969. Starting with single coil pickups, the most complete and pure picture of the string movement is passed to the electronics. Between the two pickups is an external “dummy” humcanceller pickup.

Our low-pass filter is the tone control, and it’s what sets us apart from other producers of active electronics. The low-pass filter is the electronic equivalent of a naturally vibrating soundboard, and hence our electronics have a natural tone with none of the harshness or sterile sound sometimes associated with active electronics.

Then there is the CVQ, the continuously variable Q control. The Q is an attribute of the low-pass filter, affecting the frequency you have the low-pass filter tuned to. You can dampen the Q to near zero by turning the control all the way down, or get extreme with a 15dB boost at the maximum, plus all the subtlety in between. The CVQ control is only available on the Series II.”

With an artist roster including The Who, The Grateful Dead and Stanley Clark, Alembic quickly established themselves as one of the pioneering voices in bass guitar artistry in the 1970s, a tradition which continues to the present day. Featuring a 34″ scale, this bass boasts active electronics, neck through body construction, gold hardware, and a truly impressive array of articulate expressive tones. The bass offers tons of attack, balanced with ample midrange presence, near infinite tonal sculpting, and the kind of kick and power that comes with active electronics. A true innovator in active electronics, Alembic created an infinitely tweakable and organic sounding design, eschewing the colder sounds of many active circuits offered by other manufacturers.

With three-way Q switches dedicated to each pickup in addition to the more conventional Volume and Tone knobs, this Alembic can find its place in the mix like few instruments can, offering balanced, hi-fi sound that is always present and fu

From the original spec sheet of this instrument –

Series II 6 String Bass

34” long scale

Flame Maple Top & Back

Mahogany body

Custom JB body shape

11 piece maple and purpleheart neck

Gold plated sterling silver logo

Ebony fingerboard

Mother of Pearl oval inlays

Side LEDFs in red

Bookmatched front peghead veneer

Sapphire Blue polyester finish

Alembic 1 and HX pickups

Series II electronics

Build date 29 August 1997

This bass was custom ordered from Alembic by a pro player back in 1997. The specs above were itemised in a letter from Alembic to the current owner in 2017 – see pics. The letter also states that the replacement value of this Series II was then US$30,050

This instrument is in excellent condition – almost no fret wear, no dings or dents, scratches or imperfections. You can run this bass in analogue mode, or with the included DS-5R power supply to fully unleash all the sonic options. All the electronics work as they should, and this one is as clean as the day it left the Alembic workshop over 20 years ago.

Comes in a purpose built pro flight case, DS-5R power supply, and letter of valuation and authenticity from Alembic.