Alvarez AEB5000

I dont kmow the year, but i would guess about 98 or 99. 22 fret 5 string. It has a laminated quilt maple top and is a beautiful and deep transparent green. I believe it has 2 volume & 2 tone knobs with 2 active EMG-HZ humbuckers. Body and neck are maple with a rosewood fretboard that has only the Alvarez logo on the twelth fret. The neck has a thin feel with average width and string spacing. The body has a Jazz bass type look, but lighter and more exaggerated. The bridge and tuners are normal and have never given any trouble except Ernie Ball Slinky 5's have a fat end that catches in the hole for the bridge on the B, but you can get it through by pushing a bit. I can't find this bass on the Alvarez website. I just went with the model # on the tag. It came with a free gig bag. The electronics can give you almost any style imaginable with minor adjustment. I play from metal to light surf-type rock with just a little adjustment on the tone knobs. It does pretty good, except I had to get strap locks because I wore down the end of my strap jumping around a bit, so it would sometimes fall, but (luckily!) I always managed to catch it. This is by far the best bass I have ever played.

I play almost anything heavy in my band, but also jam on blues and light rock at home, an this bass delivers in full for all of it. I play it through a Peavey Mark III combo with a Black Widow 15" speaker. The amp has a bit of noise on the preamp, but is managable. The bass is quiet when it needs it, and cranks out cool noises when you want that freak factor in the band to show. It can have any sound that anybody would ever want! It records like a dream, and is tottaly at home on the stage. I have never played a more versatile bass in my 6 years of playing.

I have put a few dents and dings around the edges, but it came from the store perfect. I had to tighten a knob and a couple tuning pegs, but mostly just general matinenance stuff.

This is the only bass I gig with. I replaced the strap buttons, but thats because it was cheaper to do that than replace my strap. I have had to do some minor adjustments, but it is all upkeep. The finish is still glossy, and any scratch on it is buffable. It has a couple of dings from bumping it late at night while working on songs and getting very tired. The hardware is rock solid, and stands up to live gigs verry well.

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I got this bass because the one next to it was purple (not my favorite color). It was the exact same bass otherwise, and there was no contest between any others in the store. The only other basses I think can come close to this one is Schecters (diamond series) and the American deluxe QMT or FMT jazz basses by Fender. Everything else is, in my opinion, lacking something that just doesnt cut my standards. If this bass was stolen, I would personally find the person who stole it and give them what they deserve. I would definately replace it, or buy another for a backup or drop tuning bass. Unfortunately, I have never seen this bass anywhere except for the other one present when I bought this one.