Alembic Epic 4

[pjmuck]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-Alembic-1998-L ... 1|294%3A50

Who would use a Sharpie to mark up such a beautiful bass?!

[fivebass52]

That bass has been used/abused with no regard for the quality of craftsmanship it obviously possesses. Just to take the sharpie marks off the bass would require either someone who knows how to remove the marks without marring the original finish ( which I doubt can be done), or having to sand the marks off and refinish the bass (more likely).

The chip that is missing next to the control cover shows more signs of disregard for a custom instrument. And lastly, the case is another sign a former owner either dropped it with considerable force, or to me it looks like the case was was pryed open... I wonder if this bass was once stolen? I can't imagine that the original owner of this bass would pay for an expensive bass, then "cheap-out" and put dots on the neck with a sharpie.

It would take some work to restore it, although it is a good looking bass. Why do people do things like that to expensive things?

[danomite64]

Wow, talk about over-reacting. You can get those marks off with hair spray. It might not work with an oil-finished instrument, but according to the thread in TB about this bass, it's a poly finish made to look like an oil finish, which means the marks will come right off.

[AzWhoFan]

this is at least the 3rd time in the last 5 years I have seen this bass pop up on the bay. Which leads me to wonder if removing the Sharpie stuff might be an issue after all? You'd think at least one of the previous owners would have attempted it.

[fivebass52]

Wow, talk about over-reacting. You can get those marks off with hair spray. It might not work with an oil-finished instrument, but according to the thread in TB about this bass, it's a poly finish made to look like an oil finish, which means the marks will come right off.

I might have over-reacted a bit, but it you've got to wonder about the person who would mark up an expensive bass. It looks like the neck is a poly type finish, and the marks might come off with the right releasing agent, but the body might be more of a challenge. It just depends how far the black ink penetrated the finish.

Considering how low this auction is starting, it could turn in to a good value based on the final bidding. I've put a watch on it to see what happens....

[pjmuck]

The case does not look original to me. My Epic came with a very nice soft case, which I believe is the standard case these come with. But did you also happen to notice how high the action is?! Looks about an inch off the fret board! Considering the complete disregard for maintenance, I'd be worried about the neck/truss rod.

[leftybassman392]

Action does look really high doesn't it? Fretboard looks pretty disgusting too.

If this bass could talk I reckon it would have plenty to say about it's previous owners!

[fivebass52]

the listing ended earlier today for this bass, and the final price was $1314.89....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWAX:IT