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Do you own the most expensive bass on Basschat


steve-soar
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[quote name='Rich' post='427544' date='Mar 6 2009, 08:19 PM']The bloke down the road from me valued my Squier Jazz at £6500. But then again, he also said he was Napoleon.[/quote]
I have a Squier jazz , do you think Mr Bonaparte might have a look? :)
Apart from that i've a 1988 Warwick Streamer which is priceless to me !

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[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='427554' date='Mar 6 2009, 08:42 PM']My most expensive bass would go for £700 or less on here, but I wouldn't sell it for all the tea in China. If it was stolen I'd kill everybody to make sure I got the guy who did it.[/quote]Classic.

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Well the Alembic me and Kiwi owned for a bit ran up a price of $10,000 if ordered today, and that was without a couple of features like the 9 laminate neck, so maybe it would be even more... I am sure there are far more expensive ones out there though! Still, my best bass cost me only £500 and it slays them all!

ped

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[quote name='ped' post='427693' date='Mar 6 2009, 11:47 PM']Well the Alembic me and Kiwi owned for a bit ran up a price of $10,000 if ordered today, and that was without a couple of features like the 9 laminate neck, so maybe it would be even more... I am sure there are far more expensive ones out there though! Still, my best bass cost me only £500 and it slays them all!

ped[/quote]Pics, now, please.

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[quote name='ped' post='427693' date='Mar 6 2009, 11:47 PM']Well the Alembic me and Kiwi owned for a bit ran up a price of $10,000 if ordered today, and that was without a couple of features like the 9 laminate neck, so maybe it would be even more... I am sure there are far more expensive ones out there though! Still, my best bass cost me only £500 and it slays them all!

ped[/quote]
Not bad! i thought you would have paid loads more than that!
my most expensive cost me £430, and it's not going anywhere!

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According to an eBay listing I read once, just the Alembic electronics cost £6000. That gives you a pretty good idea of what a total f***ing rip-off they are.

If you have to pay six grand for two pickup, a hum-bucker and a preamp, you're doing it wrong. How many hit records featured a bog-standard Fender and how many showed off an Alembic? f***ing mugs.

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[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='427802' date='Mar 7 2009, 02:09 AM']According to an eBay listing I read once, just the Alembic electronics cost £6000. That gives you a pretty good idea of what a total f***ing rip-off they are.

If you have to pay six grand for two pickup, a hum-bucker and a preamp, you're doing it wrong. How many hit records featured a bog-standard Fender and how many showed off an Alembic? f***ing mugs.[/quote]

Don't believe everything you read on ebay, the electronics on Alembic series basses are expensive but not that much. All James Taylors multi million selling Albums since 1990 feature an Alembic playing bass player as do Grateful Dead, 70s Frank Zappa, Fleetwood Mac some Genesis, Level 42, countless country tracks.

And clearly by your definition I'm a "f***ing mug" as I own an Alembic but I've compared it to Wals, Fenders, various customs Stinrays etc etc and it is by a big margin the best bass I've ever played, but don't believe me cos I'm a "f***ing Mug" still at least it is tax deductable (WDA) for me as a self employed musician, so really you bought it for me with your massively inflated PAYE tax code so thanks for my bass, you "f***ing Mug" :)

PS
Lest this rages into a forty page flame fest, I am tongue firmly in cheek and don't really mind what anyone thinks of me or my gear.

Edited by jakesbass
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[quote name='jakesbass' post='427805' date='Mar 7 2009, 02:27 AM']Don't believe everything you read on ebay, the electronics on Alembic series basses are expensive but not that much.[/quote]

So two grand for the pickups? Three?

[quote name='jakesbass' post='427805' date='Mar 7 2009, 02:27 AM']All James Taylors multi million selling Albums since 1990 feature an Alembic playing bass player as do Grateful Dead, 70s Frank Zappa, Fleetwood Mac some Genesis, Level 42, countless country tracks.[/quote]

Countless more country tracks feature Fenders, I imagine those records sold better too. Fusion doesn't sell all that well, except to bass anoraks.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='427805' date='Mar 7 2009, 02:27 AM']And clearly by your definition I'm a "f***ing mug"[/quote]

I should've known you'd be the first one with his head over the parapet!

[quote name='jakesbass' post='427805' date='Mar 7 2009, 02:27 AM']I've compared it to Wals, Fenders, various customs Stinrays etc etc and it is by a big margin the best bass I've ever played, but don't believe me cos I'm a "f***ing Mug" still at least it is tax deductable (WDA) for me as a self employed musician, so really you bought it for me with your massively inflated PAYE tax code so thanks for my bass, you "f***ing Mug" :)[/quote]

It's unfortunate that you didn't compare it to Warwicks, because I bought my Warwick for dirt cheap and it pisses all over your Alembic and doesn't look as gay. Incidentally I don't pay any tax through PAYE, most of my tax is collected through corp. tax as I'm a company director and take most of my earnings through dividends. I'm glad you got a silly-priced bass though, even if you did justify it to yourself as tax-deductible. You still could've saved yourself thousands and got a bass that sounded and played just as good and looked a lot less stupid, if you hadn't got suckered by the name and the blingy wood on the front.

f***ing mug.

Edited by thisnameistaken
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I don't know what my Alembic would have cost new in 1979. New Series 1's are something like 10k but mine has a graphite neck and I don't know how much extra that would have originally been. Alembic don't know either.

I'm not going to stick up for Alembic's new prices either, they're massively over inflated for some options. However what you do get is no holds barred service and membership of a very exclusive club. For most players they wouldn't need the Series electronics anyway. And even if they did, there are plenty out there second hand for half the cost and less. The 70's Series basses are ofter VERY reasonably priced secondhand and I know some Alembic players who even prefer the late 70's models.

But I can't see any need to buy a Series bass other than out of a desire to collect unless a player is doing a lot of sessions. The series basses are studio instruments more than anything.

Anyways, there's more out there than just Alembics. What about basses that use 30,000 year old wood? :)

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[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='427808' date='Mar 7 2009, 03:02 AM']So two grand for the pickups? Three?



Countless more country tracks feature Fenders, I imagine those records sold better too. Fusion doesn't sell all that well, except to bass anoraks.



I should've known you'd be the first one with his head over the parapet!



It's unfortunate that you didn't compare it to Warwicks, because I bought my Warwick for dirt cheap and it pisses all over your Alembic and doesn't look as gay. Incidentally I don't pay any tax through PAYE, most of my tax is collected through corp. tax as I'm a company director and take most of my earnings through dividends. I'm glad you got a silly-priced bass though, even if you did justify it to yourself as tax-deductible. You still could've saved yourself thousands and got a bass that sounded and played just as good and looked a lot less stupid, if you hadn't got suckered by the name and the blingy wood on the front.

f***ing mug.[/quote]

I do believe there is a Fender headstock in Jakesbass's avatar.

Considering,there is an 'Alembic' setting in Nashville.....Stanley Clark,Fleetwood Mac,The 'Dead....',no those guys didnt sell that many records.

I reckon the most expensive instrument is an upright that one of us owns....now thats REAL Bass.

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[quote name='YouMa' post='427818' date='Mar 7 2009, 07:08 AM']Alembics do seem a little over priced to me they do look nice i suppose but i couldnt really see the point in getting one unless i was famous. I think id rather spend the money on some vintage effects or a yamaha cs-80 synth.[/quote]Thing is,what you are paying for is both name,and labour time to build,Fender...100s a day,regardless of where they are from,and right now,over here they aint making good ones...

Alembic is Ron and family,and about 10 others in a Garage in California....same with Emmett Chapman,same with Carl Thompson,same with Ken Smith...

See it as this,A Sadowsky LOOKS like a Fender...so why the higher price,its because your buying reliability,and attention to detail.

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