Many have asked how they could get the Alembic sound without the size and weight (and price) of the classic Alembic instruments. Our answer is the Essence.

We took the lead for the right half of the shape from our Small Standard body. We slimmed this down until it was barely big enough to hold the electronics. For the left half, we extended the horn so the bass would balance as a long scale. For 5-string and 6-string versions, the upper horn is longer yet to retain the excellent balance.

The heart of the Essence's tone is the Alembic low-pass filter, the same tone control we pioneered in 1970 when we first introduced active electronics to the musical world. With this tone control, a range of sounds from deep to bright are available with a simple twist of the knob.

The Essence bass gives you all the essentials of Alembic: neck through body construction, Alembic pickups and active electronics, solid brass hardware, all crafted in in Santa Rosa, California, USA, the only place that Alembics are made.