Series 1 on reverb

Rondog · May 02, 2021, 08:33:26 AM

This is on Reverb, after being listed elsewhere for quite a few months.
Can anyone explain why the laminates of the back of the headstock look "flattened out"?
Is it the result of being repaired or refinished?

https://reverb.com/item/37352260-alembic-series-1-short-scale-bass-1979-koa-top-w-original-blue-alembic-case-price-drop?utm_source=rev-ios-app&utm_medium=ios-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=37352260

rv_bass · May 02, 2021, 09:01:22 AM

It doesn't look like it has been altered to me. Alembics are hand carved, so there can be differences in appearance for the backstrap laminates.

cozmik_cowboy · May 02, 2021, 09:37:31 AM

I don't know what you mean by "flattened out"; if you're talking about the neck-to-headstock carve (the only thing I can think of that might be "flattened") it looks perfectly normal to me.

Peter

Rondog · May 02, 2021, 09:44:44 AM

Thanks for the replies.
It just looked quite different from mine, and there was a change in colour toward the bottom of the headstock that looked like maybe someone had sanded it.

Rondog · May 02, 2021, 10:03:51 AM

I don't have a picture of the back of my bass's headstock for comparison, but it's more like this.

I'm just not familiar with these basses to know what's typical.

gtrguy · May 02, 2021, 11:15:28 AM

One of the fun things you can see if you take an Alembic tour is someone hand shaping the necks with a file on a nearly finished + $20K bass! I imagine that kind of work is not for the beginners.

rv_bass · May 02, 2021, 03:28:15 PM

Here is one from 1978, you can see how all three in this thread vary.

jazzyvee · May 02, 2021, 04:33:44 PM

I think i recall when i did my tour that Mica told me that part of the build varies depending on the style of the individual doing it i may have misunderstood her but that was my take on her explanation