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Alembic Basses
- Thread starter brocco
- Start date
Went to the Legion last night to support local talent
6 piece band. 2 guitars 1 bassist 1 drummer 1 keyboardist 1 singer/flautist/tambourinist
Keyboardist also played trombone and lead singing duties was split between 5 of them depending on the tune.
The bassist was playing a ‘79 model of your bass. I couldn’t believe it...at the Legion. Sounded great including the entire band. Fit right in with cover tunes
+1. They are made to be played. Mine has seen all kinds of local clubs and bars.
The only problem I ever had was some wise guy pool shooter, who, wanting to show how much he knew, made some smart remark that I was Stanley Clarke; and then didn’t bother to stick around to see if I could play or not. I don’t mind being heckled; but, at least stick around to hear what I’ve got to say. Which never was and never will be Stanley.
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
- 23,054
- 45,950
- Disclosures
- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
A friend of mine brought his more or less P-J-ish Alembic to our regular Friday night bluegrass/Americana jam thing last week. It sounds great for that stuff, and I loved the visual aspect.
Sure you are. Trust me, the bass doesn't care and Alembic will gladly cash your check!I would but I'm not worthy yet.
I used to work in a hotel and we regularly had live bands in for wedding parties. It was always a pleasure to see someone turn up with a boutique bass. It did add some expectation that they'd be a good player and I was rarely disappointed. The boutique basses just tended to sound a it better or more exotic than a Fender or Musicman style bass. Plus, one canny player let me try out his Pedulla Pentabuzz and got my hooked on them.
In short, it was always a pleasure to see custom basses being played out.
True. I've owned four or five over the years. I desperately want to like them, but they just don't do anything for me. Certainly not to say they aren't fantastic basses, just not my cup of tea.
I could EASILY see that. I am continually amazed by how they sound. Not so much by how they feel doing the playing.
I’ve owned owned one of the 8 chimera short scale body/long scale neck Series basses for over 20 years. The neck dive is like nothing I’ve experienced, & I’m not particularly sensitive to neck dive. The biggest issue for me is that the body, in playing position, is so far away from the nut, that playing the “money notes” are out of comfortable reach for most members of our genus. The irony is that I am a physical anthropologist by academic background. Nevertheless, I would buy it all over again in a heartbeat.
I fell in love with the Alembic sound after I listened for the first time to an album of Stanley Clarke (School days). 30 years later it is for me still the ultimate bass brand with the best sound, design, quality.
After owning an EVH model for a year I realized that I really like the sound of the series basses and that the lower end models are not quite there and misses the hifi 'sparkle' that the series basses have.
Now I am happy to play on the Fernandes FAB series I copy as I don't have the money for the real thing. I am thinking for a long time now about placing real series I electronics into the FAB copy, but I have no idea how much the complete series I electronics would cost (inc the humbuckers and hum canceler), I'm afraid it will be a lot!
After owning an EVH model for a year I realized that I really like the sound of the series basses and that the lower end models are not quite there and misses the hifi 'sparkle' that the series basses have.
Now I am happy to play on the Fernandes FAB series I copy as I don't have the money for the real thing. I am thinking for a long time now about placing real series I electronics into the FAB copy, but I have no idea how much the complete series I electronics would cost (inc the humbuckers and hum canceler), I'm afraid it will be a lot!
I fell in love with the Alembic sound after I listened for the first time to an album of Stanley Clarke (School days). 30 years later it is for me still the ultimate bass brand with the best sound, design, quality.
After owning an EVH model for a year I realized that I really like the sound of the series basses and that the lower end models are not quite there and misses the hifi 'sparkle' that the series basses have.
Now I am happy to play on the Fernandes FAB series I copy as I don't have the money for the real thing. I am thinking for a long time now about placing real series I electronics into the FAB copy, but I have no idea how much the complete series I electronics would cost (inc the humbuckers and hum canceler), I'm afraid it will be a lot!
For the price you’d pay for having put Series Electronics in a non-Alembic, you could easily buy an amazing used Series 1 or even 2 bass. The electronics are the most costly part of a Series bass. Your FAB is def not worth such a mod. Take your time to save for the real deal. Took me over 20 years, but it was worth the wait.
I fell in love with the Alembic sound after I listened for the first time to an album of Stanley Clarke (School days). 30 years later it is for me still the ultimate bass brand with the best sound, design, quality.
After owning an EVH model for a year I realized that I really like the sound of the series basses and that the lower end models are not quite there and misses the hifi 'sparkle' that the series basses have.
Now I am happy to play on the Fernandes FAB series I copy as I don't have the money for the real thing. I am thinking for a long time now about placing real series I electronics into the FAB copy, but I have no idea how much the complete series I electronics would cost (inc the humbuckers and hum canceler), I'm afraid it will be a lot!
Series electronics added to a custom build show as about a $6,000 additional charge if you look at the custom quote generator on the Alembic site. Alembic will not sell the Series electronics for installation in other brands of instruments so if you want Series electronics in your Fernandes you would have to either buy an Alembic Series bass and remove the electronics or find someone selling the electronics from their Series bass, highly unlikely but I guess not impossible.
Alembic will gladly sell any of the Activator electronics packages and make custom pickup shapes if the Activator packages they sell don't offer a pickup that will fit in an existing bass. The Series electronics are their original, and flagship product, it is easy to see why they will not sell those for installation in basses made by anyone else. I have Activator type electronics (with custom pickups and a non-standard configuration electronics chassis) in my Modulus Quantum 5-string. They sound excellent but don't sound quite the same as the electronics in my two Series basses. I find the Series electronics, and pickups in particular, to have a more open, rounder and deeper tone.
If you own an Alembic Series instrument that is registered with Alembic they will sell you replacement parts, pickups etc. for your Series instrument but I don't think they will sell Series electronics for owners to install themselves in other Alembic models. If you own an existing Alembic bass and wish to upgrade to Series electronics I believe they would have to do the work and the electronics would have to fit in the model you own. Due to the amount of routing involved the cost of refinishing also becomes a factor. At that point it is probably more cost effective to order a custom build with Series electronics or buy a used Series bass.
Yeah, that is a beaut of an Alembic, fer sure; but... sorry. We don't ignore Kramer Lumies in my house...
A quick Google search tells me that is the equivalent of $7,277 in 2019 dollars. I don't think you missed out on a deal.
Bear in mind that Series I Basses currently list somewhere around $18k. So, yeah, they were at a somewhat more accessible price point in times past.
Look, they always have been and continue to be pricey.
In terms of perspective, things have also changed a LOT on the popular music scene. Whereas, we used to play covers with more interpretation and emphasis on individual style, we now tend to be more aligned with reproducing classic (Fender) tones.
Alembics are absolutely marvelous instruments with real deal elements in their design and construction. The Series electronics package remains at the top of the heap. I suppose they always will, even if player interest is shifting to other styles.
So the electronics would cost 6k $? Thats a pretty hefty price for some pods and stuff! And what if I would only replace the humbuckers with real ones, how expensive would that be and would it make a (better) sound difference?
Ah I see, so 6k $ it is then (*jaw drops to floor*). I will just keep dreaming of a better time and the bucks to buy a secondhand Series bass then and play on my copy bass till then (not that my copy is a bad bass!).
