Legendary Bass Guitars (Guide part II). Mithical Brands in the Manufacturing of Electric Bass: Alembic, Wal, Gibson, Epiphone…
While the first part of this page features five legendary electric basses such as Rickenbacker 4003, Höfner 500/1, and the three pioneering Fender designs, this second part will feature other designs and brands that are an important part of the history of the instrument.
Legendary Bass Guitars: Alembic
The Californian brand Alembic is one of those manufacturers that cannot be missing from the list of legendary electric basses. While Fender developed the first mass-produced electric bass with an active circuit, Alembic would be the first brand to create and market electric basses with this quality.
Although they are not mass produced, this brand produces instruments in an artisanal way, with sophisticated electronic circuits, exotic woods and intricate artistic designs. Consequently, these are high-end products, and obviously very expensive.
This brand is considered one of the most influential in the development of the electric bass, and its creations have been used by many great bassists such as John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Louis Johnson, Jason Newsted, and Cliff Burton of Metallica.
The first Alembic Bass was delivered to Jack Casady in 1971, and the manufacturer would begin to become a reference brand, especially since the influential and innovative bassist Stanley Clarke appropriated one of these basses in 1973, and appeared with it on the cover of his first solo album published in 1974.
The bass delivered to Stanley Clarke would later be known as the short-scale “Series I” model. Marketed in 1975 alongside the “Series II” model.
Alembic Exploiter
One of Alembic’s legendary models was the one developed based on the design of bassist John Entwistle of the band The Who. John acquired over the years, up to 15 copies of the model known as the “Exploiter”. The body shape of this bass is blatantly similar to that designed by Gibson for its Explorer models.
Alembic currently offers 10 electric bass models in terms of shape, construction, electronics, medium, short and long scale, and they can be customized to the buyer’s taste.
The different types of Alembic range from approximately $3,000 for the 4-string Excel and Epic models, to more than $12,000 for a 6-string Series II.
Legendary Bass Guitars: Wal
Another manufacturer that is an important part of the history of the electric bass is the English brand Wal Bass. A legendary manufacturer in the development of historic electric basses, thanks to its famous MK series with active circuit.
Basses used by many professionals such as Mike Hogan of The Cranberries, Geddy Lee, or John Illsley of Dire Straits.
Typical of Wal basses is their additional low-impedance balanced output, ideal for connecting to a stage or studio mixer, without the need for an external direct injection box (DI), to avoid an excessive load of interference.
The supply of Bajos Wal is very limited, as its artisanal, detailed production with à la carte options greatly limits its production. Therefore, its manufacture is done exclusively by order, with a long waiting time, and with a price starting at around $6,000.
I know that both the Alembic and Wal are practically inaccessible. But it doesn’t hurt to know them in order to know what you have in front of you, if you ever have the luck to see one up close.
Wal MK Series
Wal MKs come in three different body shapes for four-string basses named MKI, MKII, and MKIII. Five-string models are found in the MKII and MKIII series. Six-string models are found only in the MKIII series.
This brand is also famous for its fretless bass models. This type of bass has a very characteristic sound, which is close to tones similar to those of the classic double bass.
Playing a fretless neck requires greater precision when playing notes. Since there are no frets, we would have to press in the exact spot to make the note sound in tune. Some fretless basses are marked in semitones, with the same arrangement as a fretted neck, to make it easier for us to press in the right place.
Although the fretless bass is generally associated with jazz music. But it is not unusual to find them in genres such as Funk, Rock, Salsa, Flamenco or even Heavy Metal.
This type of bass was popularized mainly by the bassist Jaco Pastorius. Although Pino Palladino also became very famous precisely for playing this type of bass, and for his almost perfect tuning.
In the Squier brand we can find some fretless basses such as the classic Precision and Jazz.
Legendary Gibson Bass Guitars
Obviously Gibson also has a lot to say when it comes to legendary electric basses. The brand moves the designs of the most famous Gibson guitars to its electric bass version.
Gibson SG Bass
Like the model introduced in 1961 with the popular Gibson SG guitar shape. Named at the time as the Gibson EB-3, but now known as the Gibson SG Bass.
Used by Jack Bruce of Cream, Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones, or Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath.
This bass features the slim body characteristic of the SG model, and a short scale length of 30.5 inches. With a long scale length we have the Epiphone EB-3 for an approximate price of around $450.
Gibson Thunderbird
In 1963 Gibson introduced the Thunderbird. Similar in aesthetics and construction to the Gibson Firebird, and with a long 34-inch scale.
Used by countless bassists such as:
- Krist Novoselic (Nirvana)
- Zeta Bosio (Soda Stereo)
- Adam Clayton (U2)
- Cliff Williams (AC/DC)
- Pete Way (UFO)
- Tommy Stinson (Guns N’ Roses)
One of the particular features of this bass is its neck thru construction, just like the Gibson Firebird guitar model. In Gibson’s subsidiary brand we can find the Epiphone Thunderbird Vintage PRO model with this quality for just over $640.