The specs above will fill in the blanks of the construction/ electronics, so I'd rather go through a few personal observations after living with this instrument now for 3 or 4 years.

ALEMBICs are the result of a vision. Few companies build their own pickups, or their own bridges, or adjustable nuts. No one else builds their electronics with NASA-spec (mil-spec isn't good enough!?!) parts, and even uses gold plug-ins without solder joints. And the wood craftsmanship is without equal.

I cannot say enough about the customer support. ALEMBIC is a small family business that backs each instrument as if it were one of their children. And their online forum at the Alembic Club (link from the ALEMBIC website, www.Alembic.com) is a terrific resource, with LOTS of input from the company, who sponsors the forum.

When I gig or record, this instrument OWNS the low end of any situation. The sustain is phenomenal. The sound is rich, hearty, and authoritative. On a good rig, I'd use this analogy: My previous basses were like Jack Daniel's, the ALEMBIC is pure Crown Royal. It is a sophisticated sound that complements anything I've encountered.

I have owned various Yamahas, Fenders, etc. When I tried the various Tobias, Spector, Pedulla, etc., while I was impressed with their quality, they all sounded the same. And that was not surprising when I noticed they all used the same pickups (EMG and Barts) and mostly the same hardware (Gotoh bridges, etc.). When I played this bass, it was unlike anything I'd heard previously. And you don't see ALEMBICs that often, so I admit owning a legend appealed to me. The mechanical and electronic features of this bass continually amaze me due to the insights manifested in its construction.

This is really like a Steinway grand, a Selmer Paris horn, or a D'Angelico: a landmark in instrument achievement that is a lifetime instrument. I'll never play anything else.

Construction	100%
(Stunning)
Appearance	95%
(Who else takes 4 weeks to put on twenty coats of hand-rubbed clear coat?)
Playability	98%
(Great neck, frets; dual truss rods, adjustable nut make set-up maintenance a
breeze)
Sound	100%
(How do they get everysound in the book with one knob and a switch?)
Customer Service	100%
(They do everything except adopt you and send a profit-sharing check.)
Value	98%
(Expensive when new because there's nothing cheap about it)
Overall	100%
(It really is everything I ever wanted.)