1983 Alembic Distillate

This 1983 Alembic Distillate is in fantastic condition with no major signs of wear or cosmetic defect.  This is an awesome example of the instruments that gave Alembic their legendary name.  In fantastic playing, working and sounding condition.  Comes with the original certificate, warranty, and HSC.  Below is a note from VintageGuitar.com on the design and history of this instrument:

The Distillate was the first standard Alembic bass offered in mono only. Early examples, made for the Japanese market, were single-pickup models with top-mounted control plates made of brass. The two-pickup version, designated for the United States, came along in ’82.

Standard features on the Distillate included a five-ply laminated maple-and-purpleheart neck-through design, and a Honduras mahogany body topped by a choice of Maple (options included plain, flamed, quilted, burled, and birdseye), Walnut (plain, burled, and figured), Bubinga, Bocate, Coco Bola, Pinstripe Zebrawood, Erratic Zebrawood, Flame Koa, Tulipwood, Lacewood, Rosewood, Maccassar Ebony, or Vemillion.

The Distillate’s electronics included two hum-canceling active pickups controlled by a rotary switch as well as master Volume and master Tone knobs. On early examples, the rotary switch was on the treble cutaway, while on later versions, pickup switches were placed in front of three mini-toggles that controlled bass boost/cut, treble boost/cut, and a “Q” switch that converted the Tone control to an onboard wah.

The active electronics are turned on when a cord is plugged into the jack, and the LED near the jack illuminates red to indicate the battery is on. This LED wasn’t on later Distillates.

Alembic did, of course, offer special-order options on the Distillate. This one has a custom neck width, pickup location, and a deeper treble cutaway. Other options included various scale length, side-position LED markers, fingerboard LED markers, laser LED fret markers, and custom fingerboard inlay. It was available in four-string, five-string, six-string, and eight-string variants, and could also be ordered in a left-handed configuration.