Hey folks, well it seems the first ever graphite Alembic that John purchased in June of 77 at the trade show has popped up on ebay! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Alembic-Series-one-bass-1973-John-McVie-Fleetwood-Mac-/171145471120?pt=Guitar&hash=item27d910a490#ht_253wt_1141

Someone but my accessory organs now!

Someone buymy accessory organs now! Sorry I'm at the bar.

graphite neck in '73? hmmmm

No way its a 73 haha

I have a 1776 Strat played by George Washington at Valley Forge during his Take Back America tour. Interested members contact me off line.

Maybe the body is that old. But to me, that graphite neck looks like it was installed sometime post-production. I've not seen any Alembic graphite neck basses with that huge chunk missing in the top or the hybrid wood-graphite neck towards the end. Seems that they've always done bookmatched to center tops and backs on these instruments but I could be wrong.
 
(Message edited by jalevinemd on October 09, 2013)

From the Alembic History page:
 
1976 We developed with Geoff Gould, founder of Modulous Graphite Instruments, the first graphite neck through body necks. The first two basses made in this fashion were sold to Stanley Clarke and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac in June of 1976. This is the same year that we made a custom bass for John McVie that had a stainless steel fingerboard with no frets. Rather than call it a fretless bass, I preferred the term continuously fretted  bass.

Guess that explains why it ain't too purdy. Like they say...practice makes perfect!

I grew up in Easyville, 5 miles from Purdy. I can assure you we never saw anything like this bass around Purdy.
Jon

Would hate to be a woman living in Easyville.
;-)

Agree. My sisters have heard all the jokes.  
 
 
People usually don't tell them twice...
Jon

Hmm . . . well not to disagree for the sole sake of comporting myself in a contrariwise fashion, but by all visual evidence presented herein, Easyville lies a good six miles from Purdy.  

Or is it 10 miles away? Or...
7.16 miles if isosceles has anything to do with it

Hypotenuse versus the two legs of a right-angled triangle.
 
Hmm, I don't get a chance to use hypotenuse very often these days. Thanks Kevin!
Jon