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hiram.k.hackenbacker

⭐Supporting Member⭐
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Posts posted by hiram.k.hackenbacker

  1. 5 hours ago, RedVee said:

    Didn't John file his frets down to the board on his Spyder so that he could get super low action, or was that his Buzzard?. Anyway if you are looking to sell it any time soon let me know, though I think that would be another long shot!

    I have no idea, but given John’s style of playing, I’m not sure whether that’s right. My one is very low anyway. It could probably do with just a hair off the tension it has at the moment.

    I don’t have any plans to sell. It’s been on my bucket list for some time 😀

  2. 2 minutes ago, RedVee said:

    Argh well, I think I will just have to wait for a used one to turn up somewhere, though that is a long shot. I do prefer the pointed headstock compared to the V headstock, or is the V headstock a different model and not a Spyder?

    The headstock shape is an option available to whoever commissions the bass from Alembic. Other options are the colour of the LED’s, whether to have front, front/side or presumably no LED’s, whether to have continuous wood back plates and to choose the number of strings. Most are four, but I believe there is at least one 8 and even a fretless, although quite why you wouldn’t want frets on one of these is beyond me.

  3. 1 minute ago, RedVee said:

    Mmm.......I remember seeing one for sale around 8 years ago and it was priced at $10,000.,that is a bit out of my price range.

    Bass Central in Florida had at least one in stock for quite a while. Just checked them and they don't have any at the moment.

    Neither does Will Gunn who has very close ties with Alembic - in fact, he doesn't sell any other brand. His archive shows two that have been sold.

    • Like 1
  4. 1 minute ago, RedVee said:

    Now that is one beautiful Bass.......I think I need one!

    Good luck trying to find one for sale. It took me long enough 😂

    Although there are couple of new ones left to commission from Alembic as above.

  5. 2 minutes ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

    What do the little switches do next to the tailpiece? 

    Ah, every day a lesson learned.

    Apparently, it does have a stereo output after all. One of those switches toggles the output stereo/mono and the other one is the on/off for the side LED’s.

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    • Like 1
  6. On 22/12/2019 at 10:04, Cosmo Valdemar said:

    Absolutely stunning. Congratulations! Does it run in stereo? THE key to the Alembic sound IMHO - certainly to Entwistle's.

    A Series (or similar) Alembic is without doubt my ultimate dream bass. Probably never gonna happen 😂

    No, it doesn't. Just a standard mono output jack.

  7. 1 hour ago, Chiliwailer said:

    Very cool bass pal, great score. Would love see some pics if you gig it in all it’s glory.

    I suppose you won’t want that horribly light and ordinary looking Wal Mk3 anymore then...? 🤞

    Mmm, let me think about that for a millisecond 😂
    I will gig it. I’ll just have to choose the right venue.

    • Like 1
  8. 20 minutes ago, drTStingray said:

    What a great looking Bass. Looks great - love the body figuring.

    What I'm wondering is how you managed to persuade Mrs H you really do need some more basses again! From your description this has come up used - where did you come across it? 

    Mrs.H is an absolute diamond. I showed her a picture of it last week and she said ‘just buy it’, which is the standard response. I usually don’t like rushing into things, which I think is what bothers her. I like to bounce the pro’s and con’s about until I’m happy. Usually off her 😂. So no persuasion needed. I do have two basses up for sale you know 🤪.

    A couple of times a month I like to have a rummage around eBay for certain brands, Alembic being one. I just happened to search when this was up on a 7 day listing. I don’t think it had been listed before. Luckily I happened to see it on day one. The seller lives in Belfast and he drove it to Essex himself yesterday. Via Stranraer and then Cardiff. In one day. That’s service for you!

  9. 13 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

    I played a Clarke brown bass which was tiny, but 12lbs, so that surprises me.

    Yes, I played a couple of Stanley’s at Bass Central and they were about the same weight, but with a smaller body shape and a lot of neck dive. I was pleasantly surprised by the Spyder, although I did fear the worst when I picked it up in it’s case for the first time. I had flashbacks off carrying my Trace Elliot V8 about 😬.

    • Like 1
  10. 1 hour ago, bassfan said:

    Wow 😍

    That’s a stunner H ! The back/ neck looks sublime. How does it play? 
    I can’t believe how big the case is either!! 

    It's really smooth, almost effortless to play in fact. So perfectly finished IMHO. I do love a nice piece of flamed maple.

    • Like 1
  11. 34 minutes ago, White Cloud said:

    Congratulations... probably the last remaining bass on my bucket list. A truly phenomenal instrument.

    Yes, it’s been on my list a while along with three others. One of them I very much doubt I’ll ever get my hands on. One is easily ordered, funds allowing and the last one, as fate would hate it, has just popped up on FB 🙄

  12. I'm finally back in the Alembic fold after a fairly long absence.

    I have wanted a Spyder for some considerable time and had all but given up on the the chances of getting one after an initial quote ran into five figure territory - and it didn't start with a '1' either!

    It's a limited run of 50, but they have been available for over a decade and Alembic still haven't made all of them yet.

    Also, they have not been made sequentially either. The last time I checked the following were still available, although I think one of them has been commissioned since:

    22 of 50
    27 of 50
    28 of 50
    29 of 50
    35 of 50
    48 of 50 

    It's bit of a beast and I accept it's not for everyone, especially those that have bad backs, but I have to say it doesn't feel that heavy. I think part of that is that it's well balanced.

    It's 10 years old this year and has been a Case Queen for all of its life. It's set up ridiculously low and really is everything I hoped it would be. That said, I haven't put it through my gig rig yet, so I have that to look forward to in 2020.

    The case is an absolute monster (see photo for comparison with a standard size case) and the bass in its case weighs just under 42lbs.

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    • Like 19
  13. 22 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

    The two I remember were Rita and Myra.  I think Rita was there when it opened in 1970.

    When I was at school - mid-70s - the father of a friend of mine was a commercial artist...he had little studio in a mews in Mayfair.  Among his work, he was the creator of the Esso Blue Man, logos for the Open University, C&A and interestingly - keeping it local - the original Hard Rock Cafe logo.  About once a month, I'd get a phone call on a Friday evening, my mate would just just say, 'Dad's working on Saturday, up for lunch at the HRC?'  We'd pile into this little Mini and he'd drop us off at the HRC.  He had some kind of card that got us in to the front of whatever queue there was, we always got a booth and we never paid.  Down Home Doubleburger, Banana Split and even in our mid-teens, there was a beer.  Myra always looked after us, 'You boys eaten enough, or can you squeeze in a second dessert?'

    Full bellied, we'd saunter across the city on foot , go to HMV (I don't believe the Virgin store was open at that point), then go and drool over the guitars in Denmark Street, before sprinting back to the studio for the ride home.

    Happy, happy times.

    Great memories mate 👍

     Yes, I think it was Rita. My wife would remember. She’s great with names. I’m better with faces 😀.

    • Like 1
  14. 2 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

    Basses aside, I remember when the HRC was just at the one location on Piccadilly and it was more about getting a decent burger, banana split and a few bottles of Schlitz, rather than this behemoth of a restaurant chain, hawking horribly bland food.

    Ne'er shall I return.

    The first time I went there, many years ago, there was a lady there who had been working there since it opened. The tales she could tell believe me and a lovely warm genuine person. I actually quite like the food. The wings we had in Tenerife were divine.

  15. Forgot to add this one from HRH Tenerife. On close inspection this Stingray looked completely knackered. The saddles were all at different heights and there were chunks missing out of the fretboard. It is also kept in a glass fronted cabinet which gets a proper full on dose of sunshine throughout every morning. Bit of a shame really.

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    There were no basses of note in the HRC Tenerife (different place altogether). There were a few that had been 'signed by', but had no history with the artists named.

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