Custom handmade short scale bass - Alembic meets Danelectro!

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Guitarz reader Paul H. writes:

I'm an old Deadhead, so I love me an Alembic-style bass. This one is weird. Love the rosewood tailpiece/bridge, but I'm not too sure about the Dan-O headstock.

The eBay listing tells us that:

This is a custom/proto-type hollow body bass. It is short (30.5") scale and was made as a test platform by a custom luthier to work on ideas for a line of instruments. The body, as stated, is hollow. It's got massive bracing, so there are no issues with feed back, and the tone (when using the recommended "Pyramid" brand strings) is somewhere between a Hofner and a Guild Starfire. (Listen to the bass on Lucy In The Sky or Baby Your A Rich Man and that will give a good idea what this sounds like.)

The body has a Yellow Heart core, with laminations of walnut, quilted maple and the stunning birdseye maple faces. The neck is a Dan Electro that has been modified with peg-head laminations and re-finished in nitro lacquer. The tuning machines are locking Sperzels. The peghead emblem is a slice of English walnut (the actual nut).

The pickups are Duncan BassLine units. The bridge and tailpiece are hand-carved cocobolo, the saddles are hand-cut brass.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $1,400.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Vintage 1970s Strange Buzzard Custom Caveman Bass Guitar Project Alembic ? Prop?

guitarz.blogspot.com:

 A Strange Buzzard (???) Custom Caveman Bass? A two octave tree trunk?
This fits in pretty well with some of the other recent posts and it's always nice to develop a stream of thought (if not consciousness)...

Or, it could be just a failed attempt at a off-the-wall instrument and now a piece of junk.
Anyway, it caught my eye and it's certainly worth a few minutes of our time if only just to contemplate the possibilities.

The seller says:

Wow check out this monster??? No idea what this is. Looks like some abandoned bass guitar project from somebodies nightmare. The neck is not just full scale its XXLL jumbo large scale. Whatever that means. This thing is really strange and weird. Might be some homemade project. No idea if this will actually hold a tune or break when i put strings on it. Selling as project, prop, art piece, as is parts junk pile!

Hello there, getting a lot of emails asking the same questions. Will try to answer here.>>> no other parts with this bass. Nut 1 1/2 Scale 37 1/4 Total Length 48 Body 13 Width 1 3/4 Don't see a truss rod. 12th fret 17 3/4 Neck seems straight but with no truss rod who knows.  Fret board is attached. No indication of why hardware is stripped.  

The potential buyers are asking questions so we'll show them too:

Q:
What's the scale length? Or just the distance from the nut to the 12th fret? And the Nut width. Is the neck clearly straight or twisted? Do you think it maybe has a fixed truss rod or bar in the neck?? is the fretboard securly attached? Is there no indication of why it was stripped of the hardware? Thanks, it's an interesting piece for a project perhaps...
A:
Hello there no other parts with this bass. Nut 1 1/2 Scale 37 1/4 Total Length 48 Body 13 Width 1 3/4 Dont see a truss rod. 12 th fret 17 3/4 Neck seems straight but with no truss rod who knows. Fret board is attached. No indication of why hardware is stripped.
Q:
OK, so this is a pretty weird bass...I am interested & would like to bid...BUT, first, a couple questions: - Does it have an adjustable truss rod? - Has this beast ever been strung-up & used before (what past history can you offer)? - What is the condition of the frets? - What is the measurement from the nut to bridge saddles (scale)? many thanks Chuck South Haven Guitars
A:
Hello there no other parts with this bass. Nut 1 1/2 Scale 37 1/4 Total Length 48 Body 13 Width 1 3/4 Dont see a truss rod. 12 th fret 17 3/4 Neck seems straight but with no truss rod who knows.

One thing it shows is, people don't always read the description so it's worth (if you're selling) spelling it it out clearly. Really clearly. Splitting your copy up into small, easily digestible, chunks is not a bad idea. Otherwise, patience is a virtue.
So, what do we think? Is this a monster bass, an ill fated experiment or an unfinished innovation? There a few amateurish areas - pickup routing obviously - but some others show some skill.
there have been some offers, so others see some potential in this wee beastie.

David, overstretched in Barcelona

  © 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Sanox Sound Creator through-neck Alembic-style guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Long-time readers will know of my mostly fruitless search to find out anything I can about the little remembered Japanese brand from the 1970s (possibly early 80s too?), Sanox Sound Creator. Well, it seems that Stef, the owner of the guitar pictured here, has also been searching for more info. Stef writes:

I was looking for some information on the Sanox guitar I own, and I found your site. Here are some pics from my Sanox, bought second-hand; must be around 30 years old. Payed 100 euro for it (Belgium). I was intrigued by the neck-through construction and I like the wooden look. It still plays well; electronics need a clean-up, one pot needs to be replaced I think.

Unlike the obviously Strat-inspired Sanoxs (or should that be "Sanoxes"?) we have already featured on Guitarz, here we see a departure with a neck-through design that looks to be inspired by Alembic guitars; witness the point at the end of the body upon which the strap button is mounted, and also note the elipse-shaped fingerboard markers.

Whilst the neck-through styling would seem to suggest this guitar was built in the 1980s, I'm reserving judgement on this and think it could be as early as, say, 1976 because it is an Alembic copy and Alembic were the originators of multi-laminate neck-through guitars and basses way before the style became fashionable in the 1980s.

I'm guessing that the mini-toggle switches located in the middle of the block of volume and tone controls are coil taps for each of the two humbuckers, which ought to make for a versatile selection of tones.

I'd say that for €100, Stef, you got yourself a real bargain there. Thanks for showing us your guitar and allowing us to document another guitar from the almost obscure Sanox Sound Creator brand.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Alembic Dragon Wing bass as designed by John Entwistle of The Who

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Alembic surely must be one of the world's first - if not the first - makers of boutique electric basses. Notable players have included Stanley Clarke, John Entwistle and Jerry Garcia (yes, they did make the occasional guitar too).

This Alembic Dragon Wing bass is quite stunning and could be considered an evolved version of the late John Entwistle's Buzzard Bass design which were produced by Warwick basses.

This example from 2010 features Cocobolo top, signature electronics, two Purple Heart neck laminates, Abalone inlays, red side LEDs with amber at 12/24th fret, dragon claw headstock, scalloped and contoured body, dragon wing tailpiece, and a custom case.

Currently being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $6,290.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!