Steve; most, but not all, of the people on this forum own one or more Alembics.

have had a long standing desire to have an alembic...can anyone tell me the strengths and weaknesses of this model and also what a reasonable amount to pay would be? greatly appreciate the help.

Jon, Welcome to the Alembic Board.  
 
Alembic guitars do not come up for sale nearly as often as do Alembic basses. The California Specials are among the most seldom seen for sale among the guitars.  
 
This looks like a nice one. I will not hazard a guesstimate on price. Perhaps someone who has been following prices on these models closer than I will ring in.
 
Again, welcome aboard.

Yep I have never seen many used Alembic guitars up for sale as basses. I think over the years I've seen 3 or 4 California Specials up for sale but never seen a Spectrum. They seem to be rare indeed. Does anyone here have one?  
I've seen a couple in the Archive with series electronics but not seen a standard one.
 
Jazzyvee