Alembic F-2B?

[Oldtimer]

What makes these preamps sound so good? I mean there is not a lot of control, just Bass, Middle, & Treble. I have one in the classifieds and an interested party had me double checking for noise, scratchy pots, functionality etc. I hooked it into into my Shuttle 9.0 effects receive and immediately had a wonderful tone. It seems to be more of a struggle to find that sound with amps with more tonal functionality, if you can find it at all! I am including the Shuttle and my Walter Woods in that statement. I also plugged into the return on the Walter Woods, same result. I don't know if it's just a sound I like, or am used to, but man it works for me.
I am pulling the For Sale ad and hanging on to it. I just want to make that clear that this post is not Spam. Anybody else have thoughts on this piece of gear?

[KramerBassFan]

Its pretty much just a Fender Dual Showman Pre amp in a box.

Personally, i've always liked simplicity over 2,000 knobs and sliders and other fiddly bits.

[Oldtimer]

Originally Posted by KramerBassFan

Its pretty much just a Fender Dual Showman Pre amp in a box.

Personally, i've always liked simplicity over 2,000 knobs and sliders and other fiddly bits.

Yup!

[BassBod]

I got one a few years ago - they aren't that common over here in the UK. I agree, there is something very very good about them, although everyone says "its just a Fender preamp in a box". I use mine for clean tones only, its got lower gain 5751's - so its not a tube grind thing...its just musical, warm but also clear. Don't know if its the quality of the components, the circuit design or using valves/tubes at high voltage...but it works!

[bongomania]

Bootsy has two of them in his live gear rack.

[Big B.]

I have been using an F1-X (single channel version) for ten years with no problems. Great tone, no repairs. The previous owner used it for 14 years without any issues. All the connections inside mine have hand applied heat shrink coverings. Serious quality. I think it sounds good because somebody gave it love when it was built.

[JimmyM]

fender pre in am alembic box or not, they do kill.

[4Mal]

F2b - has non-intuitive, interactive controls. you can't really logic it. You're left with the choice of thinking out of the box, musically... There is some magic in the box - inspiration.

[SactoBass]

The magic in the Alembic preamp is due to the high voltage design. That's the key. There are lots of low voltage tube preamps floating around, and it's no wonder those just don't have "the tone."

The Kern IP-777 tube preamp is also a high voltage design, which is one of the main reasons it sounds so good. Same with the BBE BMax-T tube preamp. High voltage.

When I say high voltage, I'm talkin ~300v.

Low voltage tube preamps are just wannabes.....waste of money......cheap fizzy sounding.

[RoboChrist]

Originally Posted by SactoBass

The magic in the Alembic preamp is due to the high voltage design. That's the key. There are lots of low voltage tube preamps floating around, and it's no wonder those just don't have "the tone."

The Kern IP-777 tube preamp is also a high voltage design, which is one of the main reasons it sounds so good. Same with the BBE BMax-T tube preamp. High voltage.

When I say high voltage, I'm talkin ~300v.

Low voltage tube preamps are just wannabes.....waste of money......cheap fizzy sounding.

That and the fact that all the guts are MIL spec components, not cheap asian knockoffs. Most amplifier makers use imported caps and resistors and they are made to much sloppier tolerances than the ones in the high end stuff. That has a huge effect on the quality of the sound.

[phatbass]

When I was (relatively speaking) a kid, I was impressed by stuff with lotsa knobs. Now after over 30 years, I tend to go for gear that just sounds intrinsically "good", and if it has a buncha controls that actually do something, it's a bonus.

I know a lotta very experienced guys will disagree, and it's only my opinion, but if I'm having to actually chase a sound/tone then I feel I've made the wrong choice somewhere in my signal chain (Bass > f/x if any > Amp > Cab).

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Oldtimer

Yup!

+1 Not particularly my thing (although like many other gearheads of my age, I gigged one back in the day), but a wonderful unit.

Think of a Fender Showman or Bassman run at very low volume so that they sound clean and fat and warm with no distortion. Now, think about getting 90% of that tone with a solid state power amp that can get as loud as you want without tube power amp break-up. At the time, that was a real eye opener for a lot of guys!

[Oldtimer]

Originally Posted by KJung

+1 Not particularly my thing (although like many other gearheads of my age, I gigged one back in the day), but a wonderful unit.

Think of a Fender Showman or Bassman run at very low volume so that they sound clean and fat and warm with no distortion. Now, think about getting 90% of that tone with a solid state power amp that can get as loud as you want without tube power amp break-up. At the time, that was a real eye opener for a lot of guys!

Ken, I used to run it with a Yamaha P2200 Boat anchor (still have it!) and an Alembic Series 1 in stereo (long gone). Talk about clean & crisp. The thought of using it with the power section of a small head is intriguing. Since my Walter Woods, Avalon U5, and wireless are in a rack anyway, that's where the Alembic is headed.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Oldtimer

Ken, I used to run it with a Yamaha P2200 Boat anchor (still have it!) and an Alembic Series 1 in stereo (long gone). Talk about clean & crisp. The thought of using it with the power section of a small head is intriguing. Since my Walter Woods, Avalon U5, and wireless are in a rack anyway, that's where the Alembic is headed.

I had mine in kind of the 'classic' configuraton back in the late 70's early 80's.... Alembic pre, Furmin Parametric EQ, BGW power amp, and the JBL Cabaret 15's.... pretty nice for the time... things IMO are much better now (smaller, lighter, punchier, louder), but that Alembic pre really is a classic and has held up VERY well through the years for guys looking for that 'real Fender' tube tone.

[BassBod]

I've ended up putting mine into a 3u rack bag, and use an SWR 220 as a low-power power amp. For small gigs it sounds fantastic (with all basses....and guitars...and even a violin) and with a Bag End 15" it produces a lot of sound. A pretty heavy package by current standards, but pure class.

[Oldtimer]

Here's the current set-up! Works great plugged into Channel 2 receive of the Walter Woods.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Oldtimer

Here's the current set-up! Works great plugged into Channel 2 receive of the Walter Woods.Attachment 186754

Man, that is top of the line all the way there!

[pbassnut]

Originally Posted by KJung

I had mine in kind of the 'classic' configuraton back in the late 70's early 80's.... Alembic pre, Furmin Parametric EQ, BGW power amp, and the JBL Cabaret 15's.... pretty nice for the time... things IMO are much better now (smaller, lighter, punchier, louder), but that Alembic pre really is a classic and has held up VERY well through the years for guys looking for that 'real Fender' tube tone.

Old school, first generation boutique rig ... definitely classic. That's the other thing about the Alembic preamps ... they have been proven to hold up over the long haul ... built to last ... there are many F2-Bs from the early 70's that are still out there kickin' butt. I have an F1-X that has served me well. A buddy of mine has an F1-X with an Alembic SuperFilter and that combination is the bomb, IMHO. I also have a Trace Elliot V-Type preamp which is also inspired by the Fender Showman circuit. Some people call it a "poor man's Alembic". I think it's just as good as the Alembic mainly because it has a gain/master volume design that enables you to dial in some overdrive if you want. The F1-X has three settings: clean, cleaner and cleanest. However, the F2-B can be used for overdrive by cascading one channel into the other. Good stuff!

[craig.p]

Hey OT, now you're gonna have a dozen people lined up to give you two grand for the thing! LOL....

[gbarchus]

After using this Alembic F-2B with a 1200 watt solid state Carver PM 1.5, I learned to really like EL34 tubes for bass with THIS rig. I think this is the reason I got a Sadowsky SA200.

Gale

Back in the day: