Alembic's

[precarius]

Here's my Alembic Elan. I love it.
Mike

 

[NecroticImbecil]

Here's my Alembic Elan. I love it.
Mike

That is sharp. People who say they hate the way Alembics look have not seen many.

 

[Stifflip]

I
The person who called you a scumbag is simply some noob who hasn't read the rules and should be ignored.

Yes, a noob maybe, but I think you should develop your sense of humor a little. Calling somebody a scumbag for placing an apostrophe in the wrong place should usually be considered hyperbolical.

If I had placed a smilie after that you would have gotten it, right?

 

[JimmyTheSaint]

I hate my Stanley Clarke and my Tribute.

I hate apostrophes.

I hate people who correct other people's hate of people who correct others.

I hate lists.

 

[NecroticImbecil]

I just went back and read the posts I'd missed. Turning into quite the hatefest. You'd think somebody bashed a Sadowsky or a bass with many strings.

My point was - and I did recognize the p bass comment as a joke and perhaps a bit of a dig economically rolled into one - that you might be surprised what Alembic would make for you. It's just wrong to dismiss all their efforts on the basis of a few of the more standard models, when they do so much custom work. Whatever body style, color, neck shape, scale length (up to 35 I think) you like they can do, so unless you think all basses are ugly and have badly shaped necks you can't knock every Alembic for that.

I don't care for the original big bodies Alembic design myself, and the necks on the early Alembics I have played were not to my liking. I played a beat up Series 1 and couldn't get a sound I liked out of it. The electronics were at best partially functioning and the strings were from the Bronze Age.

Back to our regularly scheduled hatefest.


I'll pitch in with "everybody's an idiot, and wrong, and all basses suck."

 

[Munjibunga]

i dont want to catch alot of crap for this, but maybe it is inherent with what im about to say, but does anyone else ( from a purely athesetic standpoint) hate Alembic's?
im sure they play really nicely, but they just dont do it for me

Let's put it this way: An Alembic is not on my GAS list. Also, that apostrophe does not belong in your thread title. The apostrophe makes it possessive. For plural, you just put the S.

 

[A9X]

Yawn.
So you don't like the aesthetics of something, well, that's fine. However if you were referring to a bass madel/brand that was made in large numbers with a cookie cutter I could understand more easily. All Alembics are effectively customs; they're not made until ordered by a customer or a dealer (based no doubt on what they think will sell).

So, which model don't you like the looks of? Std Point? Europa? Balance K? Or the dozens of variations on existing themes or a completely custom shape? Seen this month's Featured Custom by any chance?
If it was something as generic and common as a P or J shape then I could understand your comment, but wrt Alembic aesthetics I see it's similar to saying you hate all art because you don't get cubism.

FTR, I own two Alembics. My SC is about the most beautiful bass I've ever seen (in person). And I seldom give a rat's ___ about what other people think. Ask my boss!

 

[bucephylus]

I just went back and read the posts I'd missed. Turning into quite the hatefest. You'd think somebody bashed a Sadowsky or a bass with many strings.

The only reason that I bothered to post was that I honestly feel that there is a significant difference between aesthetics and first impression visual appearance. My posts were only trying to determine what the thread author was thinking about. It became pretty clear he was referring to some pictures he had seen. There isn't much to say about that. He apparently just wanted a mosh pit of criticizing the appearance of Alembic basses with no one else allowed to post any other opinion.

Aesthetics, IMO, are all the little things that the player senses while playing that the casual, and uninformed, observer does NOT see. Things like headstock laminations, Series electronics tone shaping, ergonomics (or non), etc. etc. Those topics can make for some interesting discussions. An unrelated example is that a Sadowsky looks like a Fender. OK, but the aesthetics really start for me when you pick up and handle the instrument. Whole different topic. Those with Sadowsky basses know exactly what I mean. Those are the aesthetics; at least to me.

IMO, seeing a couple of pictures has almost nothing to do with aesthetics. In fact, if first impression visual appearance is all there is to aesthetics, then things are going in the wrong direction.

 

[wheresmyric]

So many choices, so little time and money.



Tama Star Classics are pretty nice too, but I digress...

 

[echo008]

Ive owned 3 in the past and Just bought my 4th (An Essence 5 string)
Everything about them speaks of an obsessive qualtiy not really found in too many other builders. Personally I love the Tone and Love the Body styles. As long as Im able to afford it I will continue to buy Alembic.
- Tom