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Alembic activators: anyone using them?
- Thread starter m.oreilly
- Start date
FWIW:
see Dimento's PJ experiment in FAQ.
I've got the old green PJ's activator set. They sound like nothing else in an appealing way, work to a broad range of styles, but I could easily see a love/hate take on them. You can use the preamp with any pups to my knowlege. The interesting thing is that both the pups by themselves and the by pre by itself (with other pups) put out that same tone. So the pre would heavily color any other pups used with it.
Not something I've gotten rid of but not something I've really make use of either. They're just different.
In short, you'll know when get them and have had them for a while.
see Dimento's PJ experiment in FAQ.
I've got the old green PJ's activator set. They sound like nothing else in an appealing way, work to a broad range of styles, but I could easily see a love/hate take on them. You can use the preamp with any pups to my knowlege. The interesting thing is that both the pups by themselves and the by pre by itself (with other pups) put out that same tone. So the pre would heavily color any other pups used with it.
Not something I've gotten rid of but not something I've really make use of either. They're just different.
In short, you'll know when get them and have had them for a while.
Chef
In Memoriam
- Dec 20, 2004
- 4,267
- 2,481
- Disclosures
- Player-Builder-Founder: Honey Badger Pickups & Regenerate Guitar Works
would have jumped in sooner, but I've been quite swamped the past couple of days ...
I have an old set I purchased in '84, just about the time Alembic was bringing these to market. Mine is a pair of soap bars that were commonly installed in their Spoiler bass model. I had a custom bass built to my specs, and it included a Steinberger tuning system to boot.
The electronics were extremely advanced for the day, and even included a printed circuit board and quick connects for the pickup leads. My control set consists of Vol + Blend + Tone. The tone is a combination of high/low adjustment and some kind of contouring to the mids - kind of like a wah pedal so to speak. To this day, I have not heard another company replicate this kind of tone control in their preamps.
I giged this bass extensively for quite a few years, where it stood as my alternate to a Steinberger XL-2 in the days when bands were judged by their hair and not their chops. It's a great bass when you need 'that sound', but it usually sits in the closet these days
let me know if I can answer anything else for you, and I'll drop a note back
all the best,
R
I have an old set I purchased in '84, just about the time Alembic was bringing these to market. Mine is a pair of soap bars that were commonly installed in their Spoiler bass model. I had a custom bass built to my specs, and it included a Steinberger tuning system to boot.
The electronics were extremely advanced for the day, and even included a printed circuit board and quick connects for the pickup leads. My control set consists of Vol + Blend + Tone. The tone is a combination of high/low adjustment and some kind of contouring to the mids - kind of like a wah pedal so to speak. To this day, I have not heard another company replicate this kind of tone control in their preamps.
I giged this bass extensively for quite a few years, where it stood as my alternate to a Steinberger XL-2 in the days when bands were judged by their hair and not their chops. It's a great bass when you need 'that sound', but it usually sits in the closet these days
let me know if I can answer anything else for you, and I'll drop a note back
all the best,
R
Chef
In Memoriam
Rodent wrote:"The tone is a combination of high/low adjustment and some kind of contouring to the mids - kind of like a wah pedal so to speak. "
I'd be willing to be this approximates the "mutron envelope filter" to some extent...
Neat! That's one I didn't get my grubby mitts on at your place.
I'd be willing to be this approximates the "mutron envelope filter" to some extent...
Neat! That's one I didn't get my grubby mitts on at your place.Rodent, thanks for the response. compaired to newer pre and pup choices, how would you place them? i guess what i am asking is, do they sound like an alembic, have that "alembicness" to them? or are they in response to the seymour/dimarzio/barts of the day, as in an active, better "quality" upgrade to the pups/circuit they are replacing?
- Dec 20, 2004
- 4,267
- 2,481
- Disclosures
- Player-Builder-Founder: Honey Badger Pickups & Regenerate Guitar Works
Alembic all the way (especially when you start rotating the tone control) - they are quite comparable to a similar vintage Alembic Spoiler or Exploiter with similar pickup configuration. The combination of pickups/preamp definitely does not sound like anything else, even when run flat
Now if you're thinking you'll get a Series I/II sound from this configuration, well ... it's not quite that sound either.
all the best,
R
Now if you're thinking you'll get a Series I/II sound from this configuration, well ... it's not quite that sound either.
all the best,
R
Alembic electronics are awesome. The pickups today are a little different from what they did in the early 80s, but the electronics are pretty much the same.
The "Filter" control is really just a low-pass filter, but there's a 6-8 dB boost centered on the filter cutoff frequency. This boost is why it sounds like a wah-wah when you spin the control. Higher level electronics packages provide some control of the size of the boost. The boost really accentuates the attack for fingerstyle play creating a really crisp tone.
I love my Alembic basses. Their ability to work wood is very high, equal to the best of the custom builders. The reason why I choose Alembic is their electronics. I find them to be the most expressive and sensitive package available.
The "Filter" control is really just a low-pass filter, but there's a 6-8 dB boost centered on the filter cutoff frequency. This boost is why it sounds like a wah-wah when you spin the control. Higher level electronics packages provide some control of the size of the boost. The boost really accentuates the attack for fingerstyle play creating a really crisp tone.
I love my Alembic basses. Their ability to work wood is very high, equal to the best of the custom builders. The reason why I choose Alembic is their electronics. I find them to be the most expressive and sensitive package available.
well, i installed them during my lunch break...boy are they live! i will have to spend some time w/ eq on the eden, but as for now, a very dry tone (the tone control is much more subtle than i thought it would be), i could see these as great for slap stuff, erbs, etc. going to take a little getting used to (again, really super live pups/circuit).
woah, i take it back regarding the "subtle" effect of the tone control. very dramatic as the instrument volume increases. very dramatic. i am getting an upright sound, something i though i could never have achieved on a solid body. at this point, i could spend days combing through tone settings, though i can see why some have hinted about these not being for everyone. if i can get my mic away from my daughter, i will try and upload a clip of the acoustic like sound...
Has anyone ever swapped the position of the tone and volume controls, it seems like it woukd be simple to swap? I want to swap them so I can further incorporate it into my playing
