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Dream Bass Let-Down

#62
I had a similar experience years ago when I procured (online) an Alembic Series I. Meh. Lovely to look at, but the sound and feel did nothing for me. Fortunately I had gotten a killer deal and was able to turn it around and come out ahead. Recently, I bought a brand new Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray Special from Sweetwater and I wanted to love it and really tried but, again, meh. It was beautiful but just didn't do it for me. I could never get it to sound like my '78 Stingray that I sold many years ago, and it also had the worst dead spots of any bass I've ever owned. I went back to my Precisions and swapped the Stingray for an NS electric upright (which I'm having a blast playing). Different strokes...
 
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#63
Yes, I've been there. In my case with a Rob Allen MB2. It quite simply had the best neck I have ever seen on a bass guitar in nearly 45 years. It was a joy, a thing of true beauty and quality. But it did not fit in with any of the music I wanted to play. It left me, as you say, cold. Then it left me for good. My current main squeeze is a Squier Precision with a fretless MIM jazz neck and Original '62 pup.

The important question, I believe, is not what the bass is, but what you want it for. What it's supposed to do.
 
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#64
With one bass in particular I didn't really bond for a while. That passed however when I really got to know it and the way I get the best out of it.
Took more than a month to get there.
 
#66
Kevin Teed said:
(First-off I want to state that this has nothing to do with the instrument. It's strictly a personal "feeling".)

Ever since I was a kid seeing pictures of Jones or Entwistle with their Alembics, I considered their basses the absolute tops. Then when they came out with the Distillate, I'd thought that would be the perfect dream bass. They seemed smaller and simpler. I remember my brother bringing the new guitar player mags home with the ads in there and just drooling over them. Unfortunately, the local guitar shops have always been pretty lacking in quality inventory and I'd never been able to actually try one out. Fast-forward 35 years and I finally had the opportunity to take the plunge. The one with the right wood, scale and nut width came up at a time I actually could afford to buy it. It looks, plays and sounds really good ... But ... It doesn't do a thing for me. I've been a Fender and Rickenbacker guy all my life and this just feels too different. I've been playing it every day for a month and I just can't get used to it. I've really tried, but I'm coming to the realization that it's probably just not for me.
Has anyone else gone through something like this?

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What exactly is it not doing for you? Something to do with the sound/feel?

If you haven't done so head over to the Alembic forums with a better description of what you don't like to get more feedback.

Alembics look great and aren't for everyone, and they require a fair amount of physical effort/stamina to play as well as some time spent fooling around on the electronics to get used to them.
 
#67
Jeff Scott said:
Nice that you have chrome plated hardware - no monthly ritual of disassembly and polishing of brass parts. :thumbsup: I did just that for several years with the two Alembics I owned in the '90s. Glad I no longer have that pleasure. :D
Flim is who got me into Alembic basses! :hyper: Love the tones he gets with his.

Kevin, we should get together before you decide to off the Alemblc.
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Zoinks. I can't imagine polishing brass hardware every month
 
#68
Kevin Teed said:
. . . . The one with the right wood, scale and nut width came up at a time I actually could afford to buy it. It looks, plays and sounds really good ... But ... It doesn't do a thing for me. I've been a Fender and Rickenbacker guy all my life and this just feels too different. I've been playing it every day for a month and I just can't get used to it. I've really tried, but I'm coming to the realization that it's probably just not for me.
Has anyone else gone through something like this?
Click to expand...

If you really can't learn to love it and appreciate the differences, sell it. Fender basses are fine. Just buy the next bass with your head, not your heart.
 
#70
I have a 1973 4001 Ric. I loved everything about it except the sharp edges on the body. Due to the positioning and the height I played it , it cut into me on my arms. Then I saw a photo of Macca playing either a shop (or privately) remodeled 4001 Ric with rounded out edges.So, I took a great deal of time and effort at home and did the same.The resale value is zilch probably but I still have it and it's still my fav. today. It was my dream bass and still is..It just took some work.I have others I really like but I always end up playing the "old Dawg".I had an Ampeg Dan Armstrong that I chased and thought I was going to like but that was a big mistake , I played it one day and it was out the door,but it might be someone else's dream bass.
 
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#72
Got a Series One Point in '85 in a deal that included a Chapman Stick. I loved the look of the Alembic in its case but to try playing it? Naah. Hitting low F on the E string was at the limit of my reach and I do not think I could have played the F scale down there. It was unwieldy, needed that daft phantom power box, and most of all it was heavy. It lasted three months and I traded it against a new Status Series II.
 
#73
Beautiful bass, but sometimes it's just not "the one". Never give up! Ever since I started getting heavily into Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead back in high school, my dream was a vintage Guild Starfire. I went through a '66, a '67, and a '68 before I fell in love with my '70. Undeniably they were all great basses, but every piece of wood is unique. Each of the first three had me super excited at first, but after a while I just felt something was missing. After the 3rd I was starting to lose faith that the perfect one might be out there... but then I played this 1970 a few years ago and found exactly what I'd been hoping for. Happy to say, I will be playing this one for the rest of my days. Here's a recent living room candid (same as my avatar). Couldn't hide my love for this bass if I tried.

mZgVIvS.jpg
 
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#74
Gunga Din said:
Got a Series One Point in '85 in a deal that included a Chapman Stick. I loved the look of the Alembic in its case but to try playing it? Naah. Hitting low F on the E string was at the limit of my reach and I do not think I could have played the F scale down there. It was unwieldy, needed that daft phantom power box, and most of all it was heavy. It lasted three months and I traded it against a new Status Series II.
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Long Scale? Been there, done that. Too long of a stretch for me. Medium Scale is where it's at and I have a S1 MS here I picked up a few months ago.

It doesn't get played often as I don't want to see it get beat up, but it gets played.

It's heavy...it's got some neck dive issues, but it sounds amazing in a mix and is what I imagine driving a Ferrari or Lamborghini would be like.
 
#80
I don’t know that any decent bass has really disappointed me after it has been set-up properly. I can’t remember if it was a 6 string Bongo but one bass hurt my wrist so it went very quickly. Ergonomics is the only thing that could really make me send one packing quickly.

It’s funny, Alembic was not my dream bass...until I saw my maple burl top Series 1 point. I have a use for individual output from each pickup and really like the pre. Also, it has never sounded cold to me, just really really clear and the ringing sustain is out of this world. My Series 1 is from 2001 and it doesn’t neck dive but yes it is heavy and I am lucky to be able to handle the reach to first position.
 

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