1981 Alembic Distillate Vintage Electric Guitar, Zebrawood w/ Case

Up for sale, a 1981 Alembic Distillate in excellent, 100% original condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original hardshell case. Featuring Alembic’s traditional five-piece maple/purpleheart neck-through construction, with mahogany body wings capped by a zebrawood top; this Distillate has a complex, resonant natural acoustic tone faithfully translated by the stock humbucker. This humbucker is warm and sweet; with clean, singing highs; tight, responsive lows; and ample midrange complexity. The trio of two-way mini toggles include the Filter/Tone switch (aka the “Q” Switch), which works in tandem with the Frequency (Tone) knob, a Mellow Filter switch, which rounds off the top end, and a Bass Cut switch for single coil-style chime and percussive snap. This Alembic weighs 9lbs 4oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and spot-on intonation.The five-piece maple/purpleheart neck has a medium C-shaped profile carve with ample shoulders and faintly rolled fretboard edges, measuring .845” deep at the 1st fret and .900” at the 12th. The 24-fret thick slab ebony fretboard features pearloid oval inlay and stock medium jumbo fretwire. The frets are in great shape, with plenty of meat and well-rounded crowns, only showing a hint of wear beneath the plain strings on frets 1-5. This Alembic plays cleanly up the 24 3/4“ scale with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod. The stock nut measures 1.650” in width, carved from brass for optimal articulation and note attack. The headstock sports zebrawood veneers on both sides, with a raised Alembic badge and stock Schaller tuners which turn smoothly and hold accurate pitch.On the body, all of the electronics work as intended, with the active controls powered by a 9V battery beneath the brass control plate. The pickup is governed by Master Volume and Frequency knobs, with the “Q,” Mellow Filter, and Bass Cut two-way switches for additional tonal sculpting. The brass hardware has a light dusting of surface patina, including the control plate, overbuilt brass bridge with sustain block inset into the body, and brass tailpiece.The gloss finish exhibits extensive finish checking, and cosmetic wear includes some minor nicks along the lower bout body edge, light scuffing on the treble side of the strum path, a limited area of buckle rash on the back central to the lower bout, and a handful of faint finish scratches in the clear coat on the body as a whole. The neck profile retains its smooth gloss.The original Alembic-branded hardshell case is included.