Series I Long Scale

Started by hammer, June 22, 2012, 09:07:18 AM

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hammer

Beautiful bass (especially the inlay) and would appear to be well worth the $$$ you spent to acquire and refurbish it.
 
Just as rare as lefty Series basses appear to be medium scale versions. I've looked for 2-years and when I finally found a nice one this AM on GBase (Guitars unlimited) it turns out they want $7,500 for it leaving little $$$$ for a future refurbish if it is needed.  It looks to be in excellent condition but we are still talking about a 30-plus year old instrument that I would probably want to upgrade. If the price was anywhere near what I've seen some the long scale versions go for I would grab it.

pswanson

Funny, mine is a 1981. The bass you found today almost looks like the wood comes from a similar palette. It is expensive, but beautiful. The good news is that if you did pay the $7k for an instrument in good shape, you could hold off a few years for the refinish/upgrade. i waited three years to do mine.  
 
When I purchased mine in 2006 it was in excellent condition but it was an oil finish, and I wanted the polyurethane. That was a big driver for the upgrade.  Good luck!

gtrguy

Its interesting how an Alembic refinish adds to the value of an Alembic, but how any other vintage instrument it would devalue it. I personally like an older looking finish and hate new looking finishes, but that is just me. Of course, Alembic offers the option of adding some brown/yellow mix to the coating to make it look more old if you so desire.

hammer

You've got a point there. It's all a matter of taste/preference and that might be quite different from instrument to instrument. I have a Gibson EB-3 in addition to my Alembic and would never even consider refinishing it (probably because I don't necessarily think the sound would be improved). On the other hand, from what I've heard the newer Series electronics are far superior to those of 25-30 years ago and as long as one is having that done, why not refinish (and in the case of the bass in question clean up the bridge and tailpiece which look pretty bad right now)?  
 
It will be interesting to see the final auction price of the Series bass on Ebay.  It's up to $3,500 and has made the reserve from what I can tell.  I'll bet the last minute vultures will drive it a lot higher before tomorrow ends.

hammer

It sold for only $3,600.  I wish it was medium scale.  Even with a $4-5,000 do-over, that's a great price for a Series I Bass.  I hope someone in the club got a hold of it.

room037

The winner is join us on the history requests section.
He is a lucky man !
 
Eiji

rcowart

I have 75-133 in my hands now.  The only problem now is how to get rid of this sticker

David Houck

Congrats!  I think I've seen Mica or someone post in the past about what they would use to remove a sticker; however as mentioned above, if it's been on there a while, there will be a noticeable difference in the finish.  My guess is that you're probably going to want to send it to Santa Rosa for a refinish, if it is within your budget to do so.  But perhaps the best thing to do is to talk to Mica about it.

rcowart

Thanks Dave
 
Just finished preliminary exam and workout. All of the electronics work fine and without any noise. The neck is straight and action also pretty good. There are a few dings and some buckle rash on the back. No cracking of the finish at all. The bass also sounds great. The only real issue I have is this god awfull sticker. A piece of it has come off and exposed the wood below as it also took the finish coat off with it. I need to get this sticker off.  
 
Richard

hammer

Glad to here that the essentials are in good shape.  As far as the cosmetics go... If you can afford it, I'd suggest sending it to the mothership for a do over. Although I have no problems with Pink Floyd, the person who applied the sticker should be required to do some hard time.

rcowart

Just updated before and after pics of 75-133 in the History request section.  Just glad to get that sticker off.  
 
http://club.alembicguitars.net/Images/394/134766.html?1342795325

David Houck

It looks great Richard!