Saw this come up for sale this morning.  Price seems amazingly reasonable for one of these rare graphite basses, but shipping is only within the EU.      


1980 graphite neck Series 2

Pretty looking bass. I wonder if the innards are still original?

Pretty beat but it looks intact and original.  Except for the incorrect installation of the pickup mounting screws - and the cracked neck pickup.  Looks like there was once a thumb rest screwed on over the hum-canceling coil. 

Rare can also mean interesting to fewer people so it doesn't always translate to a higher sale price.  In my experience these graphite-necked machines have great sustain but at the cost of some dynamic range.  Like running through a compressor.  But that's also a great sound...

Jimmy J

For this side of the pond it certainly is a rare find and also a respectable price. Not all classic large bodied basses appeal to me, but this one does appeal to me (even though i prefer short scale 4 stringers). I don't need another bass, but if I could sell my Elan 4 quickly that might be an good exchange without increasing my bass count.

I do have a self imposed one in one out rule and having recently bought an Orion 5 to replace an Europa 5 that is still up for sale, , doing the same again would leave me trying to sell two Alembics.
Maybe someone else will buy it and remove the temptation.

Got a reply back from the seller. Not interested in a trade.

Sister to my bass, 80-1684. Coincidentally, in the Shop receiving Series II upgrades and new pickups. (because the originals were cracked by incorrect mounting)


80-1681 was a complete rebuild, but also ended up with Series II electronics.


There's a refined quality about the early 1980's Alembics to my eye. I love the old-old ones too, but the evolution really shows how they were figuring out what combinations and designs really worked.

is this long or medium scale?

The ad claims long-scale Matteo. Better have that confirmed if you are interested though; at least two near-neighbor basses are medium-scale, including mine. This one being graphite-necked is quite different.

Pretty cool bass

doesn't look like he'll ship to the US otherwise it might be headed to the house 'o-BeenDown.  at that price it's a no-brainer.


it's raining series II's.  get 'em while they're hot!

Well, I live in Europe and here Series IIs are rare as an hen's teeth

If legit, it's an extremely good price for a Series II whether in Europe or U.S. Does have some wear but if it was medium scale and I had seen this three weeks ago when I was no more that 200 km from Hamburg, I would have been interested enough to make the drive to check it out.

Beautiful Bass and quite rare here in Germany. For me the graphite neck is a no go though. While it might sound really special, there is no way to really fine tune the set up. And graphite has shown to move over the years. You might end up with a bass that has a really big relief and high action...

had a coupla graphite neck (and body) basses.  they're not for everybody.  had to have one leveled and re-fretted once.  cost a small fortune but definitely worth it.   mike lull did the work, the guy was a miracle worker imho..  i miss that guy  :-(

with this record wet spring in the mile high (today was another coastal cool summer morning) my wood neck basses have been going nuts.  since i play them every day, i'm very well attuned (ha!) to the state of their necks.  needless to say, all the truss rod covers came off last month and probably won't go back on until september at this rate.  if i had a graphite neck bass it would be my go-to instrument right now.   been thinking about getting another steinberger.  this would make a nice compromise.   alas....

Very interesting notes from those who have had graphite-neck basses.  I have only had brief opportunities to play them myself (and they were not Alembics).  Sounds like there are definitely pros and cons vs. wood.
Jimmy, good point that rare doesn't always equal higher desirability / sale price!