Product: Alembic Spyder 4
Price Paid: US $5599
Submitted
02/13/2004
at
08:41pm
by
Alan Dover
Features
:
10
Built in 2003, Santa Rosa, CA. 24 Frets, long scale, four strings. Flame maple top and back, walnut core. 2 X volume, 2 X Q, 2 X Q switches, stereo/mono switch, LED on/off switch, four position rotary pickup selector (front, both, rear, off), active Anniversary electronics, "shiny" finish, brass bridge, individual solid brass tail pieces, gold schaller tuners, case, allen wrenches, truss rod wrenches, Schaller strap locks, warranty card and info, adjustment instructions, info on who (by name) built the instrument.
Sound
:
10
This instrument is the finest I've owned, period. With the Q switches and knobs, I can get any sound I want, from classic rock, to jazz, to hip hop, to pop. You name it. No noise, very quiet, and solid. It would be suitable for stage or studio, bar none. It's extremely quiet, and I get sounds from bright to dark at the flick of a switch or knob, or both! The neck is long, but no worse than my '87 Thunderbird, with much better playability and tonal variations. And, it's lighter than I expected.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
No flaws whatsoever. This bass is perfect, and I mean perfect.
Set up could have been better (the strings were nearly sitting on the fretboard), but I took care of that myself, and it worked out fine (there were extremely helpful instructions included with the bass).
Alembic uses the finest quality materials available, regardless of model. Even if you buy their cheapest model, the materials will be ten times better than the best Fender, Gibson, Ernie Ball Musicman, PRS, etc. No joke. The quality here is incredible. As they say, you get what you pay for, and Alembic delivers.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
No comment, but if experience with my Exploiter is any judge, this bass will be with me till the day I die.
Customer Support
:
10
Alembic is the greatest, no joke. Every question I've ever asked, I've gotten a quick response. When calling them to ask about shipping info, Val knew my name - it was the first time I'd called them, and he knew my name when I told him what instrument I'd purchased. You don't get that from Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, Musicman, etc. I'm confident that if I ever have to do repair or maintenance work, Alembic will come through with flying colors.
Overall Rating
:
No Opinion
Been playing 27 years. I have a '73 Fender Jazz, a '94 Fender Jazz, a '74-75 Gibson Ripper, an '87 Gibson Thunderbird, a '79 Musicman, a '76 Rickenbacker 4001, and an '84 Alembic Spoiler-Exploiter. My amps are an Ampeg SVT-IV Pro, an Ampeg BA-115, and BXT-115HLF and BXT 410HLF cabinets. If this bass were stolen or lost, I'd hunt down the robber until I caught him and have him stuffed! There is no comparison to this bass since it is number 7 of only 50 that will be made, and no two Alembics are alike. I chose this bass since it is an Alembic closely resembling that of one of my bass heroes, John Entwistle (RIP). I love the sound ... with the Q-switches, I can get anything I want tone and sound wise. And ... there is just nothing like it on the market, price be damned. Workmanship is superlative ... better than anything I've ever seen, and I'm not joking (better than Warwick, Spector, Roscoe, etc.). These guys put their reputation into every instrument, and it shows.
