Alembic Series I

This is a 1974 Series I.
24 fret neck
32" scale
Ebony/maple laminate fretboard
5 piece Walnut/maple neck thru body
Flame Walnut top and back
Maple center core
Semi-hollow body
Active electronics
2 volume controls
Treble control
Bass control
"Q" Shaping control
2 "Q" switches
Rotary Pickup selector switch
2 Alembic pickups
Brass Bridge
Brass Tailpiece
Schaller enclosed tuners
Adjustable brass nut

The bass is finished in a nice gloss polyester/urethane.

This bass has that typical Alembic Piano-like tone. The electronics are quiet and offer a wide range of tone shaping ability.

I play Clasic Rock, Country, Jazz, Blues, and this bass covers them all very well. That might be why people like John Paul Jones, John McVie, and Stanley Clarke use Alembic basses.

I got this used , so I don't know how the factory set up was.

The bass is built like a tank. It's been around since 1974 and still plays beautifully. I would say that is a testament to it's durability. Need I say more?

Man, the people at Alembic are top notch. I had a few questions about this bass when I got it. So, I called up Alembic and talked to Mica (the owners daughter). Alembic keeps detailed records on every single instrument they make. Mica was very friendly and helpful.

I started playing in 1979. Ever since then, I have wanted an Alembic. It was very well worth the wait. If it were stolen, I don't know what I would do. Alembic instruments are expensive. I would probaly save up and buy another one.

The only thing that took a little getting used to was the width of the neck. It is very thin, but I got used to it, and it's a dream to play.

This is a 34" scale four string bass. I believe the woods are mahogany core with a walnut top and back. In some areas the walnut appears to be burl, in others flame. The 24-fret neck is 5 piece maple and purpleheart with the oft copied Alembic pinstripe effect. This is a large bass featuring the omega body style with the cutout below the bridge. The Series I electronics are what you'd expect from Alembic, excellent. Each pickup has its own volume, tone filter control and Q switch. The tuners are chrome Schallers and the bridge is the brass two piece adjustable Alembic bird type. The nut is also adjustable and brass. Three brass backplates protect the pots and electronics and house the two 9-volt batteries that power the electronics. The fingerboard is ebony with Mother of Pearl inlays and LEDs sidemounted on the neck. This bass also has mandolin (very narrow) fretwire. Being a Series I, the bass also comes with the DS5 external power supply and a 20 foot 5 pin cord. In order to use both pickups and the LEDs, the bass must be powered through the external supply.

This bass has a very powerful stereo sound. The lows are clear (not at all muddy) and with really good tone. Not a deep growl, but sort of brassy and horn-like on the low end. The highs are crisp. If you dial in too much treble the highs can sound twangy and very metallic. Solution - don't do that. It is surprisingly easy to dial in good midrange without trading off too much on the high or low end. I've had basses where to get a good midrange you have to put up with G string pops sounding more like "thwack" than "ping". This puppy "pings" all day long.

The action was set very low on this one. I wound up having to make a slight truss rod adjustment to eliminate a very slight low end fret buzz. Oddly enough, I got the exact same type of fret buzz from a 5 string Alembic I purchased new. Leads me to believe it's more me than the basses. The finish is absolutely beautiful. At 13 years old, I would almost mistake it for new. I say almost because I do park it next to a brand new Alembic with an almost blindingly bright finish. I'm also surprised at how light it is, considering how big it is. I don't want to give the impression that it's a featherweight, but it is actually lighter than two small-bodied Alembics I used to own.

I expect that reliability and durability will be typical for Alembics. If it wasn't for the reliability and durability, I wouldn't keep buying them. The only issue with this one is that the LEDs don't work. I did know that before I bought it. The diagnosis is an open circuit somewhere in the neck. At this point it isn't worth it to have a tech tear into the neck to turn my lights on. Maybe whenever I refret.

Customer support is what Alembic owners have come to expect. When I told Mica Wickersham that I was going to buy this bass she replied "Oh yeah, I think that one has mandolin frets." You have to be impressed with a company that keeps track of their product long after it's left their doors.

Truly a top quality instrument. Fit, finish, quality of materials, sound and tone are all far and above most instruments I've ever laid my hands on. Within days of receiving this bass I also took delivery on a five string that I custom ordered from Alembic. After spending about a month getting used to each of them, I did some comparison testing. I set the tone filters and Q controls at the same points for each and played and recorded the same music, back to back with each bass. It's incredible how different they sound. If I had to assign labels to them to differentiate them, the label on this Series I would be "finesse". The five string (a Mark King Deluxe with Series II electronics) would be labeled as "attitude".

This is a 34" scale four string bass. I believe the woods are mahogany core with a walnut top and back. In some areas the walnut appears to be burl, in others flame. The 24 fret neck is 5 piece maple and purpleheart with the oft copied Alembic pinstripe effect. This is a large bass featuring the omega body style with the cutout below the bridge. The Series I electronics are what you'd expect from Alembic, excellent. Each pickup has its own volume, tone filter control and Q switch. The tuners are chrome Schallers and the bridge is the brass two piece adjustable Alembic bird type. The nut is also adjustable and brass. Three brass backplates protect the pots and electronics and house the two 9-volt batteries that power the electronics. The fingerboard is ebony with Mother of Pearl inlays and LEDs sidemounted on the neck. This bass also has mandolin (very narrow) fretwire. Being a Series I, the bass also comes with the DS5 external power supply and a 20 foot 5 pin cord. In order to use both pickups and the LEDs, the bass must be powered through the external supply.

This bass has a very powerful stereo sound. The lows are clear (not at all muddy) and with really good tone. Not a deep growl, but sort of brassy and horn-like on the low end. The highs are crisp. If you dial in too much treble the highs can sound twangy and very metallic. Solution - don't do that. It is surprisingly easy to dial in good midrange without trading off too much on the high or low end. I've had basses where to get a good midrange you have to put up with G string pops sounding more like "thwack" than "ping". This puppy "pings" all day long. I play a bit of '70s and '80s funk and R&B. Anything I can slap sounds great on this bass.

The action was set very low on this one. I wound up having to make a slight truss rod adjustment to eliminate a very slight low end fret buzz. Oddly enough, I got the exact same type of fret buzz from a 5 string Alembic I purchased new. Leads me to believe it's more me than the basses. The finish is absolutely beautiful. At 13 years old, I would almost mistake it for new. I say almost because I do park it next to a brand new Alembic with an almost blindingly bright finish. I'm also surprised at how light it is, considering how big it is. I don't want to give the impression that it's a featherweight, but it is actually lighter than two small-bodied Alembics I used to own.

I expect that reliability and durability will be typical for Alembics. If it wasn't for the reliability and durability, I wouldn't keep buying them. The only issue with this one is that the LEDs don't work. I did know that before I bought it. The diagnosis is an open circuit somewhere in the neck. At this point it isn't worth it to have a tech tear into the neck to turn my lights on. Maybe whenever I refret.

Customer support is what Alembic owners have come to expect. When I told Mica Wickersham that I was going to buy this bass she replied "Oh yeah, I think that one has mandolin frets." You have to be impressed with a company that keeps track of their product long after it's left their doors.

Truly a top quality instrument. Fit, finish, quality of materials, sound and tone are all far and above most instruments I've ever laid my hands on. Within days of receiving this bass I also took delivery on a five string that I custom ordered from Alembic. After spending about a month getting used to each of them, I did some comparison testing. I set the tone filters and Q controls at the same points for each and played and recorded the same music, back to back with each bass. It's incredible how different they sound. If I had to assign labels to them to differentiate them, the label on this Series I would be "finesse". The five string (a Mark King Deluxe with Series II electronics) would be labeled as "attitude".

This instrument is a 1981 medium scale model that houses the standard Series electronics. Two active and one hum-cancelling pickups with two volume and two low pass filters with a three position Q filter for each pickup, a pickup selector mounted in the old style (on the lower bout), flame koa top and back sandwiching a koa core, five piece maple/purpleheart neck. The neck has an adjustable nut. The finish is polyester. In other words, this bass, save for the custom wood selections, is a standard Series I from that particular era.

It is an Alembic, which simply means that all of the other basses are in there if one knows how to use the massive range of EQ variances. As with instruments that can avail themselves to this wide range of possibility, many of the sounds are unusable from a basic standpoint. However, moving from the instrument variances and continuing to adjust the EQ at the amp, it does become a tad overwhelming. I have considered adding a Superfilter to my rig, but have held back in the interest of avoiding complete and total confusion on my part leading to the meltdown of my last two brain cells. I find myself "tuning" the bass to the room or venue I am in at the amp stage, and then doing the same thing at the instrument level. While true that one who has all the possibilities of this bass will still tend to zero in on a few sounds, it is a hoot to stand there and just play around a bit. This bass will cover all styles in any venue or situation and retain it's unique character.

This bass is almost 20 years old and one would be hard pressed to make a call here. I am the third owner, and do my own setup work. However, having been in this arena for 39 years, I can safely say that this is the top of the heap. The same problems that come with the purchase of a factory produced instrument does not apply here. When one purchases instruments of this caliber, flaws are as rare they will get. I have never heard of anyone mentioning anything other than "perfection" when it comes to these instruments.

I would no more take a backup instrument for this bass than I would any other. This bass is still in brand new condition. With the use of gold connections in the electronics, there is no corrosion to speak of. I gig anywhere from 15 to 30 times a month in a myriad of situations. I worry more about my car than I do this bass.

From my first phone call to Mica, I have been treated as if I was the one who ordered this bass. Ron is always available and interested in what his customers have to offer, and everyone there is equally as helpful and friendly. As Mica so aptly put it to me..."you have one of our children."

I have been playing the bass since 1964. I have been a professional musician longer than that. There are very few basses that have escaped me, being a bit of a gear junkie. Back in those days, one played a Fender for the most part. For me, the Jazz bass was the one. Suddenly, along about 1974 or so, I heard this incredible bass player with an unbelievable tone. As you have guessed, it was Stanley Clarke. The decision was made then that an Alembic bass would belong to me. Well, they are expensive, as we all know, so it took a while to get a Series...about 26 years. I have never been happier. This is, hands down, the finest electric bass I have ever played. From the flawless craftsmanship to the flawless tone, this instrument lives and breathes purity. While many will bring up strong points in favor of other boutique instruments, and those points will be valid, the bottom line is that those instruments are nothing more than attempts to do what Ron and Susan Wickersham have been doing from the get go. While some manufacturers do try to expand the range and possibilities of the electric bass, such as Sheldon Dingwall using the Novak system or Phil Kubicki and Ned Steinberger and their systems, what has anyone done to do that is different or, for lack of a better term, better? This is not to take away from the absolutely undeniable class and quality of any of these hand-crafted instruments available to day. Anyone who has not picked up an instrument crafted in the hands of Roger Sadowsky, Keith Roscoe, Rick Turner, Karl Hoyt, or any other of the superior craftsmen out there has simply not lived a full life as a musician or a person. But, an Alembic is an Alembic and there ain't no gettin' around that. They are the first, the best, and they have served as an inspiration to musicians, craftsmen, and just plain people with the quality and ethic of their work. As Roger Sadowsky said to me after I inquired into the purchase one of his instruments and his learning that I owned a Series, he simply said..."why do you want one of mine?"