Can you help me out on the history of this?  SN= 77617...

Hello Tim,
 
welcome to the club.
 
I wonder if that's the correct serial number you have; according to our records 77617 is a long scale 4 string series bass, not a 6 string guitar. It is possible that we may have duplicated the serial number, but if so we have no record of it.
 
Valentino

sorry about that, the correct # is 77619.  What model is this?  Any idea of the original cost or resale value today?

hey tim! keavin here ,welcome to the club alembic! got any photos? we here love to feed back on each others goods.

Hello again Tim,
 
this is what we have on file:
1977 6 string medium scale Series guitar
walnut top & back
birch/beech/purpleheart neck
padauk (vermillion) fingerboard
mahogany/maple core
mother of pearl oval inlays
peghead veneers zebrawood/walnut
That's all we have on it.
 
Pretty unusual combination of woods.
 
Valentino

oh-la-la laaaaaa Brother Tim,
 
seems to be georguous on paper.
So ...lend me your ear that I can yell PICTURES in it.
Trying to keep the looks all for yourself huh ....ahaaaaa ...no brother than you cam to the wrong place. Here you're confronted with about a thousand key-board droolers. So get  a pair of nice shots of this beauty in the appropriate department and let the drooling begin.
Oh ...and welcome by the way
 
Paul the bad one
 
 
PS: I'm always laughing when I imgaine all those situations where senior management yells  HONEY ...you wetted the keyboard again ....where were you lookin at.
Believe me they don't take the Alembic club as an answer LOL

Here's my story.  I'm really just a self-taught beginner when it comes to playing guitar.  I came across this Alembic in a shop in Rhode Island about 10 years ago, and bought it as an investment.  It's only been out of the case about a dozen times since then.  2 weeks ago, I brought it in for a cleanup, and possible consignment sale.  The owner wasn't interested in Alembics, only Strats and Gibsons.  So I brought it home and played it really for the 1st time.  I was blown away by the sound.  Now I'm hooked...  
 
 
Anyway, excuse a couple of ignorant beginner questions.  What does the 'blue box' do.  I plug the 5 pin cable from the guitar into the mono jack on the box, and from the box to my little Amp. Great sound, but how do I take advantage of the stereo capabilities?  What do the 9 volt batteries do?  When I'm done playing, should I unplug the blue-box? How often should the batteries be replaced?
 
(Message edited by tim on April 04, 2004)

dude!!! alembics are the the most potent electric drug on the planet, you caint get no higher!!!

Tim,  did you get that from Butch at R.I. Music??
 
Kenn R.

I dont recall the name...but it was in Pawtucket

Tim,  That's the place. Do you know the story behind your guitar? I know just a bit about it.
Curious?

Hmmm    ...and those pictures Timmy?? Hmmmmm ...
About your question.
The Blue box is a transformator to get the 18() volts to make the electronics on your guitar work. In the same time it transfers the sound info from you playing to the amp.
Indeed two outputs you can switch from mono to stereo, in stereo having the neck PU and the bridge PU each on a channel.  
So to have stereo you can work in a Bi-amping situation or ...work with two identical amps ... or ...
 
Paul the bad one

Kenn - very curious about the history of the guitar... What information can you provide? Thanks!

Tim,  sorry, I have been out all day. Not to get too long, when I first started playing  I was turned on to this small hole in the wall music store in Pawtucket, run by Tony and his wife Jenny called Tony's R.I. Music. Somewhere in '75 or '76 they picked up the Alembic line. Later, in the early '80's Tony passed away and the store was bought by his service tech, Butch. My guess is that the basement was a real dungeon. It seems that not to long before you bought your guitar, while cleaning the basement to get ready for a move a couple of store fronts away, under a pile of what he thought were empty guitar cases, Butch found a case with a new, old stock Alembic 6-string in it. He told me this story after the fact, in case you are wondering. He said it was in funky conditon from being in the basement so long. It had the original strings and the brass and other hardware needed a serious cleaning. He said that it cleaned up very nicely. If yours is that same guitar, I believe you are the first owner. Does that jive with what you know??
 
Kenn R.

That's consistent with the story I was told at the time of purchase.  Am I the 1st owner? Well - the guitar has a  couple of minor nicks (maybe received while on display), and the plates on the back look a little weathered.  Could that be due to 'natural' conditions (being in the basement for so long? If so, I guess I am the original owner.  Thanks for the info.