Alembic Custom Signature Series

This five string bass is a Mark King Signature Deluxe, which means it has the classic large body with a point styling that identifies an Alembic from a hundred yards away. The core wood is mahogany with maple laminates, topped of with Coco Bolo on the top and back. The 24-fret neck is seven piece, including three laminates of purpleheart interspersed with four laminates of maple. Of course it's a neckthrough design. The fingerboard is ebony with gold Mother of Pearl Inlays and amber side mounted LEDs. The tuners are gold plated Alembic Gotoh. The nut and bridge are adjustable brass pieces. The three back plates are brass covered with the same woods as the body. The Series II electronic package has separate volume, tone filter, and Q controls. Where it differs from the Series I electronics is that the Q controls are infinite position dials instead of 3-position switches. Also there's a master volume to bring it all together in one place. The bass also came with a rackmount DS5R external power supply and a 20 foot 5 pin cable. Having played several older used Alembics that I've bought and sold over the years, I was pleasantly surprised to find that both pickups operate with or without the power supply. Now I can use a wireless without having to give up part of my sound range.

I have never played a better sounding bass. The low end is absolutely thunderous! If need be I can dial in some serious growl. Even with the powerful low end tone, I still get crisp clear highs. Popping on the G string in stereo mode produces a tight biting sound with nice ringing secondaries. It's like having a chorus under your fingertips.

Fit and finish of the wood is absolutely spectacular. The Coco Bolo has a deep brownish / orange-ish hue with pronounced black patterned striping that makes it look like a tiger. The wood covered plates on the back give the instrument a smooth uninterrupted look. The only flaw I've experienced with this instrument is that the nut on the ?" jack stripped after about a week. I replaced it and kept on going. The action was set nice and low from the factory. I was getting quite a bit of fret buzz,particularly on the B string, in low registers, so I tweaked the truss rods a bit and now it's perfect. I had the same situation with a Series I four string that I had gotten used just days before this one came in, so I think the buzz has more to do with my attack than the set up. One thing about this bass, at 13.6 lbs it is heavy. I expected it to be heavy, but I was surprised at how much heavier it is than my Series I. But then when I consider that it is wider and longer than the four string, has more hardware to accommodate the 5th string, has two additional body laminates and two additional neck laminates I can understand why that is. There is no doubt that the weight has some impact on the quality and depth of the sound. I can work with it strapped up for well over two hours at a time, so I'm willing to deal with the weight to keep that booming sound.

I expect this bass to be my primary instrument for many years to come.

Customer support has been fantastic. I ordered the bass from Giampietro Guitars in New Haven Connecticut. Fred Giampietro and Chris were really good in working with me the several times I changed my mind on exactly what I wanted. When the instrument was near the completion stage, Mica Wickersham and Mary Nelson at Alembic were both great to work with. They never tired of my phone calls and gave me detailed progress reports. When the bass was ready to ship, Mary packed up what she was doing and drove it to FedEx because it had missed their normal pickup time.Customer support has been fantastic. I ordered the bass from Giampietro Guitars in New Haven Connecticut. Fred Giampietro and Chris were really good in working with me the several times I changed my mind on exactly what I wanted. When the instrument was near the completion stage, Mica Wickersham and Mary Nelson at Alembic were both great to work with. They never tired of my phone calls and gave me detailed progress reports. When the bass was ready to ship, Mary packed up what she was doing and drove it to FedEx because it had missed their normal pickup time.

Do they get any better than this?

This five string bass is a Mark King Signature Deluxe, which means it has the classic large body with a point styling that identifies an Alembic from a hundred yards away. The core wood is mahogany with maple laminates, topped of with Coco Bolo on the top and back. The 24 fret neck is seven piece, including three laminates of purpleheart interspersed with four laminates of maple. Of course it's a neckthrough design. The fingerboard is ebony with gold Mother of Pearl Inlays and amber side mounted LEDs. The tuners are gold plated Alembic Gotoh. The nut and bridge are adjustable brass pieces. The three back plates are brass covered with the same woods as the body. The Series II electronic package has separate volume, tone filter, and Q controls. Where it differs from the Series I electronics is that the Q controls are infinite position dials instead of 3 position switches. Also there's a master volume to bring it all together in one place. The bass also came with a rackmount DS5R external power supply and a 20 foot 5 pin cable. Having played several older used Alembics that I've bought and sold over the years, I was pleasantly surprised to find that both pickups operate with or without the power supply. Now I can use a wireless without having to give up the part of my sound range.

I have never played a better sounding bass. The low end is absolutely thunderous! If need be I can dial in some serious growl. Even with the powerful low end tone, I still get crisp clear highs. Popping on the G string in stereo mode produces a tight biting sound with nice ringing secondaries. It's like having a chorus under your fingertips.

Fit and finish of the wood is absolutely spectacular. The Coco Bolo has a deep brownish / orange-ish hue with pronounced black patterned striping that makes it look like a tiger. The wood covered plates on the back give the instrument a smooth uninterrupted look. The only flaw I've experienced with this instrument is that the nut on the ?" jack stripped after about a week. I replaced it and kept on going. The action was set nice and low from the factory. I was getting quite a bit of fret buzz,particularly on the B string, in low registers, so I tweaked the truss rods a bit and now it's perfect. I had the same situation with a Series I four string that I had gotten used just days before this one came in, so I think the buzz has more to do with my attack than the set up. One thing about this bass, it is heavy. I expected it to be heavy, but I was surprised at how much heavier it is than my Series I. But then when I consider that it is wider and longer than the four string, has more hardware to accommodate the 5th string, has two additional body laminates and two additional neck laminates I can understand why that is. There is no doubt that the weight has some impact on the quality and depth of the sound. I am willing to deal with the weight to keep that booming sound.

I expect this bass to be my primary instrument for many years to come. It is definitely built solidly and made to last. I play a bit of '70s & '80s funk and R&B, as well as some gospel and smooth jazz. Having a 5 string with the versatility of this bass will allow me to gig without needing a backup.

Customer support has been fantastic. I ordered the bass from Giampietro Guitars in New Haven Connecticut. Fred Giampietro and Chris were rely good in working with me the several times I changed my mind on exactly what I wanted. When the instrument was near the completion stage, Mica Wickersham and Mary Nelson at Alembic were both great to work with. They never tired of my phone calls and gave me detailed progress reports. When the bass was ready to ship, Mary packed up what she was doing and drove it to FedEx because it had missed their normal pickup time.

Do they get any better than this?

this bass is crazy. my alembic was custom ordered in febuary and finished in april of 1999 (i got this bass on 4/20)in Snta Rosa Ca. it has a fretless ebony fingerboard with maple fret lines and a custom fingerboard radius (11 inch).four strings. it has a mahogany body core with maple laminates and to top it off, SUPERB flame walnut on BOTH the front and back with a wooden backplate. the electronics on this bass was custom "anniversary electronics" that Alembic had.the pickups are two AXY self-humcanceling pickups with stereo/mono switch,two Q switches,two volume pots,two tone pots,and a pick-up selector switch. the pickups are active and are the best i have ever heard. the neck is made with 3-piece rock maple and 2-piece purpleheart,so five pieces all together.the scale of the bass is 34.the body was finished in a high gloss finish that is maginificant!the body style is the classic alembic shape with a slightly smaller point. i had all the hardware chromeplated,the bridge is the famous alembic bird style with chrome plated brass block for INSANE sustain!the tuners are alembic-made chrome plated tuners, and it has sliver side poition markers on the side of the neck.

this bass is simply amazing. the tones on this bass is very hi-fi sounding.i play rock ,jazz,indie,fusion this bass suits each style. i usually go direct into the mixing board, and it sounds great,but i plug it into a SWR bass amp, the bass has an extremely wide tonal range.this is my end all of all basses,it's like having seven basses in one.from hi-fi to lo-fi and every in between,this bass has it all. this bass works ecceptionally well when in the studio. my only dislike- the weight,this bass is EXTREMELY heavy.but for the sound and quality,it's sure worth the sore shoulders!

the setup was perfect.i have no complants there was a couple of VERY minute finish flaws,(i'm being a knitpick) i sent the bass back to Alembic, and they fixed them for me free of charge!

this is definitely use this bass without a back-up! everything on this bass is rock soild and with last two lifetimes! i am EXTREMELY careful when i handle my bass. it has never failed on me,and i don't plan on it either! this this a bass i depend on night after night after night without anything going wrong

alembic has the most friendliest and caring company ever. Mica is the best.she answered all the questions i had about the bass, their service is flawless just like their basses.when i told Alembic that my bass had some VERY small minute finish flaws, i sent the bass to them, and they repaired it and sent it back to me right away.i brought this bass new so it had a one year warranty.

i have been paying bass for a while, and i have NEVER heard or seen anything that even comes close to Alembic basses. if this bass was stolen, i'd cry for days then i would definietly go out and buy another one.so i'm extremely careful because it's my baby!!i love the sound, the looks, the feel. i just wish the bass was a bit lighter!this bass has everything i ever wanted on a bass.if you want to buy a bass- a serious bass, then consider ALEMBIC.it will be the best decision you'll ever make.ALEMBIC is the BASS OF DOOM!