Alembic Electric Basses — Where It All Began
In 1969, a group of engineers, luthiers, and recording technicians set up a workshop in the Grateful Dead's rehearsal room in Novato, California with a single mission: to improve every link in the chain between a musician's hands and the audience's ears. The company they built was Alembic, named after the alchemical vessel used to transform base metals into gold. The transformation they achieved was arguably more lasting: they invented the modern electric bass.
The first Alembic bass, number 72-01, was built in 1972 for Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane. It cost more than four thousand dollars, resembled nothing that had come before it, and has influenced bass design ever since. The low-impedance pickups and active onboard preamp that Ron Wickersham developed for that instrument introduced a new era in electric bass electronics, one that every active electronics system built since has followed. The neck-through-body construction, the exotic tonewood laminates, the brass hardware, the ebony fingerboards, the meticulous handwork: all of it was Alembic first.
Stanley Clarke acquired his first Alembic in 1972 and became the instrument's most visible ambassador, playing it on recordings that redefined what a bass guitar could do musically. John Entwistle of The Who and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin followed, giving Alembic a presence on some of the biggest stages in rock history. Mark King of Level 42 built his signature slap sound around the Series II. The company has largely resisted formal endorsement deals, letting the instruments speak for themselves, and they always have.
Today, Alembic still builds every instrument by hand in Santa Rosa, California, with a twenty-six person staff and a philosophy unchanged from the one that produced instrument number 72-01. The Series I and II remain the pinnacle of the lineup, described by Alembic themselves as instruments so refined that the standard specification reads like a custom build. Every key design element from the earliest instruments is still present today.
The Electronics
The Alembic active electronics system remains the most sophisticated onboard bass electronics ever put into production. Low-impedance pickups with greater bandwidth than any passive high-impedance system, an active onboard preamp, and a proprietary low-pass filter system with variable frequency control give Alembic players a tonal palette that no passive bass and no conventional active system can approach. The five-pin stereo output jack, a feature of the Series instruments, allows players to run separate signals from each pickup to separate amplifiers or signal chains, a capability that most bassists still consider exotic today and that Alembic introduced more than fifty years ago.
The Models
Series I — The instrument that started it all, and in the judgment of most players and dealers who have experienced it, still the finest production electric bass ever made. Neck-through construction with laminated exotic tonewoods, the full Alembic active electronics suite with individual pickup volume, bass and treble tone controls, and the proprietary Q filter system with three-way selector switches. Available in four, five, and six-string configurations and in 30.75, 32, 34, and 36-inch scale lengths, with an essentially unlimited range of exotic tonewood combinations for the body wings and top laminates. The hippie sandwich construction, as players have affectionately called it for decades, combines zebrawood, cocobolo, purpleheart, buckeye burl, and dozens of other species in layered combinations that make every Series I a genuinely unique visual object.
Series II — The Series I taken to its absolute maximum, with additional tone shaping controls, more complex electronics configuration options, and the most elaborate inlay and appointment possibilities in the entire Alembic catalog. The instrument Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake and Palmer played on stage, and the one Mark King built his entire sonic identity around. When a bassist decides they want the very best instrument money can buy and they want it to reflect their individual personality in every visual and tonal detail, the Series II is the answer.
Brown Bass — A tribute to Stanley Clarke's second Series I bass from 1974, built with mahogany as the primary neck wood for a rounder, warmer tonal character than the maple-based Series instruments. Named for the warm brown tones of the mahogany construction and the legacy of the player who made it famous. One of the most tonally distinctive models in the current lineup.
Stanley Clarke Deluxe — Co-developed with the man who put Alembic on the map, the Stanley Clarke Deluxe brings the full Alembic active electronics system to a short-scale 30.75-inch platform that Clarke has played throughout his career. The SC Deluxe is the instrument of choice for players who want the Alembic sound with a lighter, faster feel and a more comfortable playing experience for smaller hands or players who value reduced string tension and weight above all.
Essence — The most accessible entry point into the Alembic world, with a smaller body profile, set neck construction rather than neck-through, and a simplified version of the Alembic electronics suite that delivers the core of the Alembic sound in a more ergonomic and approachable package. The Essence is the answer for players who have always wanted an Alembic but found the full Series instruments prohibitive in size, weight, or price.
Epic — A step up from the Essence, with neck-through construction and a fuller version of the Alembic electronics, the Epic bridges the gap between the entry-level models and the full Series instruments. Available in four and five-string configurations with the standard range of Alembic exotic tonewood options.
Orion — A refined, slightly more conventional body shape with the full Alembic neck-through construction and electronics, designed for players who want the full Alembic tonal experience in a more stage-practical and ergonomically comfortable format than the classic Standard Point body.
Excel — A double-cutaway design with full upper-register access and the complete Alembic active electronics suite, built for players who need the Alembic sound with the playability of a more conventional bass body shape.
Darling — The newest and most compact model in the regular Alembic lineup, with a short-scale design, simplified electronics, and a playability that makes it the most immediately accessible Alembic for players coming to the brand for the first time.
Crest — Alembic's newest model and their first single-cutaway design, available in flame walnut and other premium tonewood configurations at a 32-inch medium scale. A guitar-influenced body shape with the full Alembic tonal character and a playing feel that bridges the gap between the bass and guitar worlds.
Built in Santa Rosa, Still by Hand
Every Alembic bass is made in the United States. Every one is built by hand. Every one incorporates the proprietary electronics that Ron Wickersham developed in the early 1970s and has been refining ever since. The company has never been sold, never been acquired, and never compromised on the standard that produced instrument number 72-01.
Browse our full selection of Alembic electric basses. Reach out if you'd like guidance on models, configurations, or custom ordering.