i am the proud owner of a shop night fretless bass that is affectionately known for various reasons as the A-Bass.  i got a serial number lookup a while back that i thought told the whole story:
https://club.alembicguitars.net/index.php?topic=27789.0

last night i got an email from a fellow clubber (alembican? alembizen?) who stumbled across the rest of the story:

http://alembicguitars.net/club/messages/411/2056.html?1370671523

so, apparently this bass is more special than i ever knew.  i had no idea.

obtw, thanx, rob!

🗿

Really strong bloodlines in your "A-Bass," especially now with the Val connection bing known.

That's a link to the old Club, best not to use those as the old links will not remain accessible indefinitely.

The current location is https://club.alembicguitars.net/index.php?topic=8604.0

Quoteespecially now with the Val connection bing known.

ok i did a google on Valentino Villevieille with ambiguous results.  please fill me in on who this is/was.

also btw here she is all lit up on a summer day hanging out with her more expensive cousin who has her own tale of transformation to tell.  two very remarkable basses if i say so myself.

Quote from: BeenDown139 on August 02, 2024, 10:30:43 AM

Quoteespecially now with the Val connection bing known.

ok i did a google on Valentino Villevieille with ambiguous results.  please fill me in on who this is/was.

Maybe try the "Search" function at the top of the page?  he was active here once upon a time.

Peter

QuoteMaybe try the "Search" function at the top of the page?  he was active here once upon a time.

tried it.  no soap.  🛀
(apparently that's a boomer expression i shouldn't use anymore because it denigrates the unwashed 🤬 )

btw the A-bass is riding the bench because i have some pretty tuff 5-string fretted songs to learn for an audition tuesday.  looks like the MKDeluxe is going dancing with me again.  yay!
🗿

Valentino was active on the club for many years in the early 2000s. He was a moderator and worked (I believe) at Alembic for a while. Kind of an interface to the club / customers. If you search "valentino" while in a specific topic (such as Showcase, Alembic Basses and Guitars, Owning an Alembic, etc.) you can see his threads, comments, etc. For some reason they don't show up if done while on the home page, at least for me.

Yes, he gave us a tour some years back of the mothership. Very nice person.

I have noticed several of his Alembics for sale recently, including the single-pickup Distillate he had converted to a long-scale. I hope something unfortunate hasn't happened.

Quote from: BeenDown139 on August 02, 2024, 01:54:06 PM

QuoteMaybe try the "Search" function at the top of the page?  he was active here once upon a time.

tried it.  no soap.  🛀
(apparently that's a boomer expression i shouldn't use anymore because it denigrates the unwashed 🤬 )

btw the A-bass is riding the bench because i have some pretty tuff 5-string fretted songs to learn for an audition tuesday.  looks like the MKDeluxe is going dancing with me again.  yay!
🗿

Just searching "Valentino" got me this:  https://club.alembicguitars.net/index.php?action=search2


Peter

Quote from: cozmik_cowboy on August 02, 2024, 09:14:29 PM
Just searching "Valentino" got me this:  https://club.alembicguitars.net/index.php?action=search2


Peter

One quirk of the forum software is that the url of the search results does not include the criteria, so you cannot share the link. It does however take you to the Search page, so that's a (non-)start.

well we're under the heat dome again (and again) in the mile hi today.  gettin too hot to even walk the dog so might as well post up...

QuoteI have noticed several of his Alembics for sale recently, including the single-pickup Distillate he had converted to a long-scale.

i bought the bass from a dealer in san diego.  it came in the crappy dean gig bag complete with broken handle as described in the previous owner's post:

"...Then one day while at an Airport the strap of the gig bag I had it in snapped from its ring because it was a  cheap plastic hook, and the bass, which was on my shoulder a moment before, went down smack on its head."

since i don't plan on gigging this bass unless something exceptional happens, i made a new paracord handle that should do until it shuffles off to its next owner. a bass like this really needs a case.

this bass has tone like no other fretless i've played. it's stereo, which is a requirement in hte house O'BeenDown.  same with LEDs.  very skinny neck, narrow close string spacing like a jazz bass without the taper.  my left hand likes it a lot.  righty, not so much.  here is a fragment from my hand rehab project.  i'm mostly in hte left channel.

Bass sounds great, Tim 😊

Fabulous Sir !!