Preamp for Alembic Pickups/bass

[jpdabass]

Hi there,

I own an Alembic Essence bass, 4 strings, with standard features. It's a super bass, and I'm really satisfied with it, both in studio or live situations. However, I think it could be usefull in this bass an active preamp with 2 or 3 band eq... IMO, the standard Alembic pre (vol,pan [the best feature of this preamp],low pass filter) is not as good as the other stuff in this bass, which are top quality - specially the pickups, they are awesome! The Alembic preamp does allow me to get a large spectrum of sounds, but most of them are useless for me. The presence of an onboard "bass booster" would make this instrument even better than what it actually is.

So, what active preamp would you choose for your own Alembic basses?

Thank you!
JP

[neurotictim]

I dunno, that's a really good question. The pup/pre combo, as far as I can tell, is what sells them. When you buy an Alembic, you're buying the "Alembic tone."

I suppose, were I in your situation, I would try Audere, Pope, Delano, and whatever else catches your eye - I don't think many people are going to have experience changing out their Alembic electronics.

Also, if it were me, I would find preamps that would more or less be drop-ins, so I could put the bass back to stock if need be - no extra holes or anything like that.

[P_bass]

I would use an external pre-amp rather than anything internal, there are way too many options out there from 49 dollar Art Tube unit's to Alembic's own Tube Pre-amps http://alembic.com/prod/rackmount.html

[jpdabass]

Originally Posted by P_bass

I would use an external pre-amp rather than anything internal, there are way too many options out there from 49 dollar Art Tube unit's to Alembic's own Tube Pre-amps http://alembic.com/prod/rackmount.html

thk u for your answers!
but could you tell me a little bit more about the Art preamp? I've never heard bout them... which model is that cheap?... ever tried one? is it reliable?

take care and tk u[]
JP

[P_bass]

Originally Posted by jpdabass

thk u for your answers!
but could you tell me a little bit more about the Art preamp? I've never heard bout them... which model is that cheap?... ever tried one? is it reliable?

take care and tk u[]
JP

I use this one (link below) to go direct for recording. I carry it in my padded bag, have had it a few years and no issues at all. It is a tube pre so you would want to handle it with some care but Art has been around for a few decades at least and make good equipment.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TubeMP/

If you want something with much more flexibility you should look at the higher end stuff which would run you in the few hundreds of dollars. And if you want true Alembic you will pay much more than that but your Alembic bass will not loose any value if you leave it's electronics alone.

Good luck.

[abngourmet]

I own two Essences and agree they're great instruments. What I'd suggest is the following.

Talk to Alembic about having a bass boost switch installed a la the Europa. It shouldn't take much, and the Europa's electronics (I have a Europa as well) are similar in that they have a pan, volume, filter, etc., in addition to a Q switch and bass/treble boost cut switches. If all you're looking for is a bass switch, it shouldn't be difficult to do. I know a lot of guys add a Q switch to their Essences after the fact, and it's not a big deal at all. In fact, you more than likely would be able to do it yourself due to the Alembic's modular electronics. Worth a shot anyway.

Alan

[kesslari]

When you buy an Alembic, you're buying the "Alembic tone."

Big plus one to that. Go outboard.
Gutting an Alembic would be like buying a Ferrarri and putting a different engine in it. Even if it's a Corvette or Porsche engine, it's just... wrong.

Edit: seems like there's an Alembic mod that would work too. That sounds cool.