If you could start over from scratch,  knowing what you know now about your Alembic(s) , what would you order/ build different , if at all? Probably not much for some with their own custom build, but those of us with used Alembics might have a few tweeks if we were building, especially if we were ordering multiple instruments......

Really, nothing.  It sounds amazing, and it is capable of so much more than I am able to bring to it.  And it is so playable; it has brought so much out of me.  There are some times late at night when I'm tired and should be in bed, when I sit there leaning over the bass and it seems to be playing itself; the beautiful tones just pour out from the speakers almost effortlessly, as if I'm only holding the bass and it's making all the music.
 
So really, I wouldn't change a thing.  The wood recipe, scale length, neck taper, electronics, all combine to create what is, for me, amazing tone and playability.
 
I am so very grateful to everyone at Alembic for bringing this instrument into my life.

Oh, Dave, It is lovely

Shoot, I'm grateful just to look at that bass!

One of my faves. I guess a better way of saying it is that once you've owned an Alembic, the better you understand what you would want in the next one based on experience. Mine being a used Elan, I have a lot of ceiling : )

I have learnt so much about basses and Alembics in particular in my 10 years of ownership and assuming I was ordering the same instruments I already have but as new builds.  
 
For my SC Signature, I would have Anniversary electronics with additional master volume and 3 position q-switches, slightly slimmer neck profile and standard frets below the 12th fret and smaller frets above the 12th fret. I'd try out a vermillion core with two thick maple body laminates like PierreYves and keep the cocobolo top and back.
 
For the Bocate Europa 5 I would have a cocobolo top instead of the bocate and Elan headstock, again anniversary electronics with additional master volume and 3 pos Q-switches
 
For the Black Europa/Elan, I would have a standard neck width rather than the narrow one I have at the moment, I would stick with mainly maple construction but have African blackwood top and back, blackwood on the headstock front only,  signature electronics with 3 position q-switches, alembic logo and name on the headstock. Possibly all black hardware too.
 
Purple Elan 4, I'd just have a narrower neck profile and signature electronics, with clear finish to show off the body woods. I'd keep the P-style pickups but find a better way of securing them rather than the allen screws which keep unscrewing.
 
Series II 5 I would just have an Elan headstock, and alembic name inlaid under the logo and the logo backlit when used with the DS-5  
 
For all basses I would have the Europa's bass and treble boost and cut switches as they are fantastic for quick mood/tone changes in a live situation. If possible I'd like a trim pot inside the control cavity so that I can choose the frequency that the bass switch operates on as whenever I use it I feel that the boost needs to be at a lower frequency. Also the ability to use the Series cable to power the basses via the DS-5.
 
For the series I guitar. I'd stick with the same body woods but on a a spectrum body, three pickups, 5 position blade switch, filters & 3 position q on all pickups, no individual pickup volumes just an overall master volume.
 
That's about it.

If I knew then what I know now, I would:
 
1) have not waited so long.  I started playing bass shortly after Alembic started making them.  I would have found a way to get one way back then.
 
2) I know this isn't exactly what this thread is about, but a long time ago I would have immersed myself in the music of the Grateful Dead.  Gil (Laytonco) got me into it and I love it.  I missed a few decades of some really fun stuff.
Rich

I've not owned a Series axe, so I can't speak to them.
 
I do know I like FatBoys WAY better than AXY's, which to me sound like studio monitors; FatBoys sound like really hot home speakers.  Maybe the difference in a Neumann and an SM57.  Still mighty clean, but a bit meatier for my ears.
 
I still like tinted axes better.  Despite the unbelievable wood that Alembic scores, at the end of the day they just look . . . brown to me.  Although I really did like the inside-out look in a flat finish if I just had to 'go brown'.  I just like color.  Next time a see-thru blue or a honey amber, but I really like that orange-y shaded finish too.
 
The Series shape is iconic to me.  But in long scale, you have to learn to co-exist with the demands that gravity and the short horns gang up on you with, as they get neck heavy.  Quick.  
 
I'd also go with vol/filter/pan/Q.  The Sig setup on the Elan always finds me lost trying to play both pickups and get both filters right.  I know why Jimmy marks his settings on his axe !  One filter set with a pan for both pickups would DEFINITELY be on the 'next time' list.
 
IF I were day-dreaming, I'm old school all the way:  An S1 in a classic wood recipe in honey tint, but . . . I'd opt to have the body done with both halves made like the top half, for symmetry.  Weird, ain't it?
 
J o e y
 
(Message edited by bigredbass on October 08, 2012)

Is it possible to have the inlaid logo lit from behind? Has anyone done that yet? If so, pictures! :-)

Dave, my Gosh, what a beautiful instrument! And positively the best wallpaper ever on my iPad and MacBook Pro. At 55, I just acquired another Series 1, a '78 model. I don't know how far my playing will go this time around, but I would be blessed to lay hands on a bass of that nature.  
 
Belated congratulations to you and Alembic!
 
Geri O
 
(Message edited by Geri_o on August 11, 2013)

I have learned that I like 32-inch scale. I would also probably want Cocobolo on the front and back. It's hard to pick a favorite between Europa electronics, East Meets West, and Series electronics. They all certainly have their merits! I like a chunkier feel to my necks rather than a slim profile. I would also like to try some ebony in my neck.
 
One thing I often wish is that I had gone Alembic many years ago. I have gone through many basses before arriving where I am now with my gear. The Alembic sound is what I have searched for since first hearing Phil Lesh's playing on American Beauty.
 
I'm thinking a custom build would be my next step...
 
Just some random musings over coffee on a Sunday morning! Hope everyone enjoys their day!

I would like a 34 6 string. Probably along the lines of David's bass. Cocobolo does seem to be a very nice wood, visually and tonally for me. I'd want a flatter neck and higher radius fingerboard. Maybe a touch wider string spacing. Definitely Series II electronics (for me, the presets of the Q switches always seem to fall in between where I really want them.).  
 
OTOH, if I could somehow get a 6 string version of my Starfire with a slightly longer scale, I bet I'd be very very happy indeed.
 
I'm not totally sure, but American Beauty was either the Alembic modified EB3 or the Starfire. My guess is the former since that's what he was playing live at the time and the Starfire was probably under construction at that point. It's a great sound, but a bit more idiosyncratic than the standard Alembic tones.

Yeah, I figured Phil was playing an EB or Starfire then, but I knew Alembic had a hand in crafting the sounds coming out of Phil's basses at the time. And what excellent sounds they were!
 
Grateful Dead Gear is one of my favorite books. I have read through that one many, many times.
 
Edwin, I always enjoy reading your posts discussing your quest for the ultimate bass sound from your Starfire. That must be a lot of fun!

The quest is wonderful fun and I think I've finally reached a plateau. this weekend, I set it up so that each pickup had its own output to a Fender head, a '67 Bandmaster with a lot mods (Mercury Mag. OT, a global feedback adjustment, a separate midrange control and a bunch of cap adjustments) for the treble pickup and a'67 Showman with some mods for the bass pickups. Speakers on top were JBK K120s and on the bottom, the Sunn 200S with K140s.  PA took DIs from each pickup and mic'ed the cabinet. The tone has arrived. Being able to massively fill up the Civic Center park with bass sound was pretty awesome. I don't think other instruments get to experience big PAs in the same way bass players do.

Thanks Geri!