RefERENcE pAGeS
Neck Widths
| Bass Fingerboard Tapers | Number of Strings | Width at Nut | Width at 24th Fret |
| Classic Mark King, Stanley Clarke and Brown Basses (until 2006), Series I and II, Spoiler, and Persuader |
4 | 1.75 | 2.25 |
| 5 | 2.00 | 2.50 | |
| 6 | 2.00 | 3.125 | |
| Comfort Signature Standard and Deluxe, Epic, Orion, Excel, Essence, Rogue, Dragon Wing, and Europa |
4 | 1.625 | 2.35 |
| 5 | 1.875 | 2.93 | |
| 6 | 2.20 | 3.56 | |
| Narrow Stanley Clarke Standard, Deluxe, and Brown Basses (since 2006); Crest |
4 | 1.5 | 2.15 |
bass neck lamination stacks
| MODEL | 4-STRING | 5-STRING | 6-STRING |
| Epic and Orion | 3 Maple with 2 Walnut veneers | 5 Maple with 4 Walnut veneers | 5 Maple with 4 Walnut veneers |
| Essence | 3 Maple with 2 Walnut veneers | 5 Maple with 4 Walnut veneers | 5 Maple with 4 Walnut veneers |
| Spoiler and Persuader | 3 Maple with 2 Walnut veneers | 5 Maple with 4 Walnut veneers | 5 Maple with 4 Walnut veneers |
| Rogue | 3 Maple with 2 Walnut veneers | 5 Maple with 4 Walnut veneers | 5 Maple with 4 Walnut veneers |
| Elan | 3 Maple with 2 Walnut veneers | 5 Maple with 4 Walnut veneers | 5 Maple with 4 Walnut veneers |
| Signature Standard | 3 Maple with 2 Walnut veneers | 5 Maple with 4 Walnut veneers | 5 Maple with 4 Walnut veneers | Distillate | 3 Maple with 2 Purpleheart laminates | 4 Maple with 3 Purpleheart laminates | 6 Maple with 5 Purpleheart laminates |
| Europa | 3 Maple with 2 Purpleheart laminates | 4 Maple with 3 Purpleheart laminates | 6 Maple with 5 Purpleheart laminates |
| Crest | 3 Birch with 2 Walnut laminates | 4 Birch with 3 Walnut laminates | -- |
| Signature Deluxe | 3 Maple with 2 Purpleheart laminates | 4 Maple with 3 Purpleheart laminates | 6 Maple with 5 Purpleheart laminates |
| Series I | 3 Maple with 2 Purpleheart laminates | 4 Maple with 3 Purpleheart laminates | 6 Maple with 5 Purpleheart laminates |
| Series II | 4 Maple with 3 Purpleheart laminates | 4 Maple with 3 Purpleheart laminates | 6 Maple with 5 Purpleheart laminates |
guitar neck lamination stacks
| MODEL | 6-STRING |
| Orion | 3 Maple with 2 Walnut veneers |
| Skylark | 3 Maple with 2 Walnut veneers |
| Electrum | 3 Maple with 2 Walnut veneers |
| Spectrum | 2 Maple with 1 wide Vermilion |
| Darling | 2 Maple with Purpleheart and Vermilion laminates plus Maple veneers |
| Tribute | 2 Flame Maple, 2 Purpleheart, Cherry | Further | 2 Flame Maple, 2 Purpleheart, Cherry | Series I | 3 Maple with 2 Purpleheart laminates |
| Series II | 4 Maple with 3 Purpleheart laminates |
bass body lamination stacks
AKA HIPPIE SANDWICH
| MODEL | TOP | ACCENT | BODY | BACK |
| Excel | Flame Maple | Walnut veneer | Ash | no |
| Epic | Walnut | Maple veneer | Mahogany | no |
| Orion | Walnut | Maple veneer | Mahogany | no |
| Essence | Flame Maple | Walnut veneer | Mahogany | no |
| Spoiler and Persuader | Zebrawood | Maple accent laminate | Mahogany | no |
| Rogue | Vermilion | Maple accent laminate | Mahogany | no |
| Elan | Flame Maple | Walnut veneer | Maple | no |
| Signature Standard | Walnut | Maple accent laminate | Mahogany | no |
| Europa | Walnut | Maple and purpleheart veneers | Mahogany | no |
| Stanley Clarke Deluxe | Cocobolo | Maple accent laminate | Mahogany | yes |
| Mark King Deluxe | Quilted Maple | Purpleheart accent laminate | Mahogany | yes |
| Series I | Walnut | Maple accent laminate | Mahogany | yes |
| Series II | Bird's-eye Maple | Walnut accent laminate | Mahogany | yes |
guitar body lamination stacks
AKA HIPPIE SANDWICH
| MODEL | TOP | ACCENT | BODY | BACK |
| Orion | Walnut | Maple veneer | Mahogany | no |
| Skylark | Flame Maple | Walnut veneer | Mahogany | no |
| Electrum | Zebrawood | Maple accent laminate | Mahogany | no |
| Spectrum | Walnut | Maple accent laminate | Mahogany | no |
| Darling | Curly Redwood | Purpleheart accent laminate Maple veneer |
Mahogany | no |
| Further | Quilted Maple | 4 veneers Purpleheart and Maple | Purpleheart | no |
| Tribute | Cocobolo | Maple veneer, Vermilion accent laminate | Mahogany | no |
| Series I | Walnut | Maple accent laminate | Mahogany | yes |
| Series II | Quilted Maple | Purpleheart accent laminate | Mahogany | yes |
Serial Number Guide
The first two dgits of the serial number are the year the instrument was completed. The code letter tells you the model. The next group of numbers must be from two to five digits and is the number of the instrument. Thus 94H8692 is an Elan bass completed in 1994 and is the 8692nd instrument was made. We started with number 1 in 1972 and when an instrument is finished, it received the next number, regardless of model. Any "A" or "B" after number is on the rare occassion that we duplicate a number. Hey, even we make mistakes.
| MODEL | CODE | CURRENT | OFFERED IN |
| 20th Anniversary | AM | no | 1989 |
| Brown Bass | BB | yes | 1998 - |
| Custom | C | yes | 1971 - |
| Crest | KR | yes | 2024 - |
| Darling/Little Darling | J or JL | yes | 2004 - |
| Distillate | D | no | 1978 - 1990 |
| Elan | H | no | 1985 - 1997 |
| Electrum | E | no | 1978 - 1985 |
| Element | TE | yes | 2025 - |
| Epic | W | yes | 1994 - |
| Essence | K | yes | 1991 - |
| Europa | U | yes | 1986 - |
| Excel | X | yes | 1998 - |
| Further | F | yes | 2002 - |
| Mark King Deluxe | MK | yes | 1989 - |
| Mark King Standard | MJ | yes | 1990 - |
| Orion Bass | OW | yes | 1996 - |
| Orion guitar | O | yes | 1997 - |
| Persuader | P or V or F | no | 1983 - 1991 |
| Rogue | Q | yes | 1996 - |
| Series I | blank | yes | 1971 - |
| Series II | blank | yes | 1971 - |
| Skylark | L | yes | 2002 - |
| Spectrum | BG or M | yes | 1992 - |
| Spoiler | S | yes | 1980 - |
| Spoiler-3/4 body | R | no | 1986 - 1994 |
| Stanley Clarke Deluxe | SC | yes | 1986 - |
| Stanley Clarke Standard | SJ | yes | 1990 - |
| Tribute | T | yes | 2001 - |
| Alembic Export General | AE | no | 1972 - 1976 all Series |
| Alembic Export Canada | AC | no | 1972 - 1976 all Series |
Where to find the serial number:
- on new instruments - stamped on the brass truss rod cover and in the electronics cavity.
- on Epics and Orions - stamped in the back of the peghead and in the electronics cavity. Note: oldest Epics have the serial number in the electronics cavity only
- on the Element - stamped on the neck block and written on maker's label
- on older instruments - stampled directly on the ebony fingerboard below the 24th fret.
- on the oldest instruments - stamped on the tippy-top of the peghead.
wood reference
American Woods
| COMMON NAME | LATIN NAME | FAMILY | OTHER NAMES |
| Maple | Acer macrophyllum | Aceraceae | Western Maple, Soft Maple |
| Rock Maple | Acer saccharum | Aceraceae | Hard Maple, White Maple, Eastern Maple |
| Walnut | Juglans hindsii | Juglancaceae | California Walnut, Claro Walnut |
| Madrone | Arbutus menziessi | Ericaceae | --- |
| Sycamore | Acer pseudoplatanus | Aceraceae | --- |
| Maple | Acer macrophyllum | Aceraceae | --- |
South and Central American Woods
| COMMON NAME | LATIN NAME | FAMILY | OTHER NAMES |
| Bocate | Cordia spp. | --- | Mexican Rosewood |
| Cocobolo | Dalbergia retusa | Leguminosae | --- |
| Mahogany | Swietinia macrophylla | Meliaceae | Tropical Mahogany, Honduran Mahogany |
| Purpleheart | Peltogne spp. | Leguminosae | Amaranth, Violetwood |
| Tulipwood | Dalbergia fructescens | Leguminosae | Jacaranda Rosa, Pinkwood, Pau Rosa |
African Woods
| COMMON NAME | LATIN NAME | FAMILY | OTHER NAMES |
| Bubinga | Guibouria demusi | Leguminosae | African Rosewood |
| Ebony | Diospryus crassiflora | Ebenaceae | Gabon Ebony, West African Ebony |
| Wenge | Millettia laurentii | Leguminosae | Panga Panga (similar species) |
| Zebrawood | Microberlinia brazzavillensis | Leguminosae | Zebrano, Zingana |
Indian Woods
| COMMON NAME | LATIN NAME | FAMILY | OTHER NAMES |
| Ebony | Diospryus ebenum | Ebenaceae | --- |
| Macassar ebony | Diospryus celebica | Ebenaceae | Striped Ebony |
| Rosewood | Dalbergia latifoloa | Leguminosae | Bombay Rosewood, Sissoo, Biti, Ervadi, Kalaruk |
| Vermilion | Pterocarpu dalbergoides | Leguminosae | Padauk |
Pacific Rim Woods
| COMMON NAME | LATIN NAME | FAMILY | OTHER NAMES |
| Lacewood | Carwellia sublimis | Protaceae | Australian silky oak |
| Koa | Acacia koa | Fabaceae | --- |