Alembic Epic Bass

Made in 1997 in the USA. 4 string fretted w/ ebony fingerboard. Controls are Volume, blend, active preamp with bass(boost/cut), treble(boost/cut). 2 Alembic passive MXY4 pickups. Mahogany back w/ Bocate top and a maple veneer. Set Neck is a 3 piece Maple w/ 2 walnut veneers. Satin polyurethane finish. Solid Brass two piece bridge for great sustain. Alembic Gotoh Tuners. 34" scale. It has dual trussrods for tweaking the neck.

This bass has a smooth sound, not too aggressive. It works perfectly for me cuz I play mostly jazz and church music. The electronics are very quiet except when you select the bridge pickup only. If you stand at a certain angle it will pickup a radio station. With the particular wood on this bass, bocate, it has a very "Hi-fi" sound, meaning that it is more focused on the boomy lows and crystalline highs than the midrange. It is a real slapper's delight too. It has the best slap sound I've heard. Overall I love the sound but I wish it had a mid control on the eq.

I bought my bass used last week. It is a 1997 model and for being about four years old it is in excellent condition. The wood is beautiful, the pickups sound perfect and are in just the right place to rest your thumb on, and the fully adjustable nut and 2 piece bridge let you get real low action with no fret buzz AT ALL. My only gripe is that the neck is a little thick from the front to back, but that's just cuz i'm used to a jazz. I'll adapt quickly. This bass is also quite heavy as you might have already heard about Alembics.

This bass is built like a tank. Even if you scratch it you can sand it ou and apply a littl finish and it'll be like new. This bass has a huge two piece bridge that looks very nice. It has gold hardware, which usually wears off, but after 4 years there's not a sign of wear. It comes with nice strap buttons but they are small so I'm going to replace them with flushmounted straplocks. I wouls not gig w/o a backup only b/c it is active and if the battery dies you're screwed.

Never needed it.

I've been playing for about a year and this is my second bass. I may not have the experience, but believe me, I have tried every bass you could think of(Fender, Musicman, Warwick, Spector, Sadowsky, Fodera, G&l) and this one Rocks all of them. My favorite feature on this bass is the bridge. You can adjust it so many different ways and it gives great sustain which is attributable to it's mass. First and foremost I love the sound but I also am swept away by how good it looks. When I show it to my friends they start to drool. The only thing I wish it had is a midrange control on the eq, and Alembic's famous low pass filter.

This is an addendum to the two reviews I posted below. Those original reviews are almost two years old at this point, and I thought I'd offer an update. This bass continues to be a thing of amazement. Whenever I am in a guitar store, I try out basses as well, and I still haven't found one that plays or sounds as good as this Alembic. But you could probably already guess that.

Awesome. From deep Reggae boom to really defined pop and rock, it really delivers.

Turns out the top is actually a custom Tulip-wood top. Beautiful!

It's a tank.

Well, this is the main reason for writing the addendum. I actually stopped by the Alembic office in Marin County CA a while back. I was curious about the history of the bass. They gave me a free setup and polish job and gave me the rundown. Turns out the bass was a custom job with a special tulip-wood top. So, basically, I got the deal of a lifetime on this bad-boy. While I waited they let me play a couple of special far-out basses sitting near the front office. Very enjoyable visit, nice people. I was pretty happy with them. Just thought I'd offer that as a contrast to the user who below who was unhappy with them.

Awesome.

For starters everything is adjustable. The nut, the bridge, and oh yeah thereis the 2 truss rods. Very well constructed with a pretty flame maple top, mahogany back, 3 piece flame maple neck, ebony fret board with a walnut vinear between the fretboard and neck for some reason. It has 2 active soapbar pick-ups that bear the Alembic name. They are controled by 4 knobs. 1 for volume, and independent controls for bass, mids, and highs.

I play use a Hartke 2000 head through a SWR workingmans 410t cab. And between the bass and the cab I dont even need the amp. It can do it all.

I play alot of different styles, and this bass can be adjusted to do anything.

I have kicked the S#*t out of it AND IT LOVES IT.Ihave actually run it over with my car! Ok so it was in the case.

This is where it falters. I was not given any of the tools it was supposed to come with. All attempts to contact them failed until I wrote directly to they manager....Hi Mica. I still havent received the tools, but I at least got a responce. If you ever have a problem with an Alembic dont hold your breath.

I have been playing for 8 years. I also own a G&L 5 string and they play about the same, but the sound is like night and day. Alembic hands down. I dropped the rating in the overall category because the service sucks. But if you want a killer bass for alot of money. There is a guy named Sadowsky who I would recomend.

This is a more precise description of the same bass I described bove. Pickups: stock active Alembic pickups. Controls: 4 knobs. Volume. Bass. Treble. Fader. Body Wood: Mahogany Neck Wood: Maple Top Wood: Tulipwood laminate Fingerboard: Ebony Brass Hardware. Gold Tuners.

As above. The more I play it, the more I love it.

Looked over it again. Talked with other uses. I think the nut is actually fine. Tremendous workmanship.

Battle axe, for sure. Built like a tank.

Never needed it.

$600 including case! What a deal! The place I bought it from isn't an authorized dealer, so I guess it was used or a 2nd. Either way, I love this bass! It really makes me want to play and inspires songwriting.

Two active pickups. Sound great. Simulated oil finish on a tulipwood top (I swear this is what the spec sheet says. I've never heard of tulipwood before..). Natural Wood look. Brass hardware.

This bass rocks. It is the lowest model in the Alembic line, but it still kicks butt. I tried just about every other bass in the store, including Dean, Ibanez, and Fender and this one just had it. The lows are punchy tight without flabbing. It plays like butter. I started writing songs with it in the store.

This guitar was put together really well. No flaws that I could find. Except the brass piece below the nut lifts off the headstock though. You really have to look to find it, and it doesn't affect playability/intonation. I think this is the reason I got it so cheap (although the guy at the store didn't mention it to me :)

This thing is solid. I think this thing could take a solid hit and survive.

I've never had to talk to them, but they include a lot of personalized literature with the bass on how to take care of it, who to contact at their company. They say they keep records on all of their basses.

For $600 including case, I feel like I got an incredible deal. This bass really makes me want to play. I think it works well for a lot of different styles. Pop and rock for sure, and reggae also. I'm not much of a funk player, but the action is really good and the pickups are pretty versatile, so I can't imagine it not working well in most situations.