Orion

With its graceful sweeping curves, the Orion calls to be played. Answer it, and your musical life will never be the same. You’ll find a comfortable friend in the Orion’s handcarved body with your choice of seven different woods for the top.

Active electronics bring true Alembic tone to the Orion. You won’t believe how effortlessly the Orion responds to your touch, easily reproducing even the most subtle fingering techniques. A simple but effective 2-band EQ with bass and treble controls that cut and boost provide the flexibilty of tone. By cutting treble and bass, the mids are more present. The electronics cavity is shielded with a silver conductive paint that lasts and lasts without flaking or breakdown.

Even though the Orion is among our more affordable offerings, it still has the same Ebony fingerboard, solid brass machined hardware, and adjustable nut found on our most expensive custom instruments. Like all Alembics, the Orion is completely hand built start to finish in our shop in Santa Rosa, California.

Set neck construction gives the Orion warm, well-defined midrange response. The cross-grained Maple neck is supported by two dual truss rods that adjust at the body. The neck has a comfortable shallow “C” shape and complete access to upper frets. We rub-out our high gloss polyester finish to an impossibly smooth satin touch on the back of the neck – not a chance your fretting hand will stick.

Our design goal for the Orion was to create a set-neck version of our Europa bass. While affordability is a consideration, there are no shortcuts here and the Orion is every bit as overbuilt as the rest of our basses.

Specifications

FEATURE
4 STRING
5‑STRING
6 STRING
Scale length
34 in
34 in
34 in
Neck woods
Set neck, 3‑piece Maple with 2 Walnut pinstripes
Set neck, 5‑piece Maple with 4 Walnut pinstripes
Set neck, 5‑piece Maple with 4 Walnut pinstripes
Fingerboard
Blank Ebony
Blank Ebony
Blank Ebony
Nut width
1.625 in
1.875 in
2.200 in
24th fret width
2.360 in
2.930 in
3.560 in
Peghead
Orion 4
Orion 5 (3+2)
Cone 6
Truss rods
dual, body adjust
dual, body adjust
dual, body adjust
Top wood
Any standard or premium wood
Any standard or premium wood
Any standard or premium wood
Body wood
Mahogany
Mahogany
Mahogany
Sandwich
Top, accent veneer, body wood
Top, accent veneer, body wood
Top, accent veneer, body wood
Body depth
1.65 in
1.65 in
1.65 in
Finish
Polyester gloss with satin neck
Polyester gloss with satin neck
Polyester gloss with satin neck
Pickups
Alembic MXY4
Alembic MXY56
Alembic MXY56
Controls
volume, pan, bass, treble
volume, pan, bass, treble
volume, pan, bass, treble
Backplates
Plastic
Plastic
Plastic
Bridge
Solid polished brass
Solid polished brass
Solid polished brass
Tailpiece
Solid brass, bird shape
Solid brass, bird shape
Solid brass, bird shape
Nut
Solid brass, height adjustable
Solid brass, height adjustable
Solid brass, height adjustable
Machine heads
Gold Alembic‑Gotoh
Gold Alembic‑Gotoh
Gold Alembic‑Gotoh
Average weight
about 9.5 pounds
about 10 pounds
about 10.5 pounds
Overall dimensions
13″ x 46″
13″ x 45.75″
13″ x 47″
Origin
100% Made in Santa Rosa, CA USA
100% Made in Santa Rosa, CA USA
100% Made in Santa Rosa, CA USA

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