I got to play a '72 alembic signed by Stanley Clarke!

[morgansterne]

pics or it didn't happen, right? sorry there aren't better pics of the bass itself. It belongs to the studio owner who told me that he met Stanley Clarke at a jazz fest. He asked Stanley to sign the front of the bass but he didn't want to "ruin" the look of the bass, so he signed on back of the headstock.
The bass felt absolutely enormous -- it was hard to reach the tuning pegs to tune it! Sounded great with brightness, growl, and zero "mud."
That's my friend the songwriter (who hired me for the session) laughing on the left.

This is a stock photo of what the bass looked like so you all can tell me what exactly I was playing.

 

[pablomago]

Let me show that to my friend who worked for Alembic. Maybe he'd know.

 

[pablomago]

If you can get me the serial number, I can tell you much more. PM me if you don't want to make it public. The stock photo is not a '72, it's later. I've gotten that much so far.

 

[morgansterne]

I was going off what the owner told me, that he was considering getting the "original 72 electronics" replaced, but he decided against it.

 

[pablomago]

Is there anyway you could get the serial number? My friend is Rick Turner, who owns Turner Guitars. He might have had a hand in building that bass when he worked at Alembic back then. I'd think the current owner would like to know more about his bass. And I'm curious as well.

 

[malthumb]

In 1972 it would have just been called a long scale bass. It would be one of the earliest basses made by Alembic. I used to own a 1974 Alembic that was serial number 84, so your friend's bass is definitely within the first 100, quite likely within the first 50. Look on the top edge of the headstock for a stamped serial number. My 1974 had "74 84" stamped there, meaning it was made in 1974 and was the 84th instrument made. Stanley's "School Days" bass was 74 80. If nothing there, look at the pots in the electronics cavity.

Today, with all of the models that have been added to Alembic's lineup, your friend's bass would be called a Series I, with the large standard body and Point configuration (the point being the part beyond the bridge.

I have a 2000 Point bodied Series II and I also have a 1987 Omega bodied Series I that I bought from Stanley.