I have a really good pawn shop find going on what could be a fernendes with Alembic electronics. My question is, do the electronics take a special power supply or is it phantom power like a phantom powered mic?
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I Need Alembic help?
- Thread starter Rooster009
- Start date
Thanks I did a search and came up with whats called the DS5 power supply. I'll do more research before I buy it. It looks like a P-bass with Alembic electronics. Does this sound like the Stanley Clarke copy?
Try to plug it in first and see what you get. Here's the way early (pre-1995?) Alembic Series I & II basses work.
If the bass you are talking about has the input for a 5-pin cable, then you would certainly want to try this to see what you really have there.
In or around 1995 Alembic started giving the buyer the choice of having the bass wired for mono or stereo. My 1987 is wired stereo, my 2000 is wired mono. One cool thing about wiring stereo is you can plug a stereo headset directly into the bass. Maybe you should also take a stereo headset with you when you try out the Fernandes. I do not know if they copied that bit when they copied the bass.
Good luck with that!
James
- If you plug in through the 1/4" instrument jack, only one of the pickups works. This is because the bass is wired for stereo and has a stereo jack input.
- If you plug in using the 5-pin cable, you get full power to both pickups.
If the bass you are talking about has the input for a 5-pin cable, then you would certainly want to try this to see what you really have there.
In or around 1995 Alembic started giving the buyer the choice of having the bass wired for mono or stereo. My 1987 is wired stereo, my 2000 is wired mono. One cool thing about wiring stereo is you can plug a stereo headset directly into the bass. Maybe you should also take a stereo headset with you when you try out the Fernandes. I do not know if they copied that bit when they copied the bass.
Good luck with that!
James
Good luck with trying to find a DS5 or a DS5R (rackmounted version of the DS5). Very few Alembic owners are willing to part with them. If you find one willing to part with one, be ready to shell out several Ben Franklins.
You could try to order one from Alembic, but I think they require you to provide them an Alembic serial number fo rthe bass that it will be used with. Then it will cost you a bunch of Ben Franklins (5 or more).
Or you could browse the threads at the Alembic Club. There are a couple electrically astute members who have constructed their own DS5 boxes and cables.
Thanks Malthumb. I've been able to do very little research today but what I did find talked about the ds5 being a 27 volt power supply for the electronics. They used this to achieve more headroom. From what I've read you are correct on the stereo output. I'll have to check it out in the morning when I go pick it up. Just a thought on the power supply, wouldn't it be possible to use a 24 volt power supply to power the electronics. When the power supply is not used it runs off of two 9 volt batteries I believe, but it eats batteries pretty quick.
I have more info in this thread. http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=474449
But I'd like to stick with this thread in order to consolidate space.
But I'd like to stick with this thread in order to consolidate space.
Go to this thread at the Alembic Club. There's a discussion on Alembics and Fernandes.
Since the bass you are getting is obviously a Fernandes, probably with Fernandes electronics, I wonder if an Alembic DS5 would even work with it or if Fernandes has their own version.
How many pins does the connector have, 3 or 5?
Since the bass you are getting is obviously a Fernandes, probably with Fernandes electronics, I wonder if an Alembic DS5 would even work with it or if Fernandes has their own version.
How many pins does the connector have, 3 or 5?
Like this?
The image is hosted Invalid Link Removed, they just call it a Fernandes PB Model and the rest of the text doesn't come up on my computer, probably because it's in Japanese. It definitely appears to have both 1/4" 5-pin jacks.
PS - Google is your friend.
The image is hosted Invalid Link Removed, they just call it a Fernandes PB Model and the rest of the text doesn't come up on my computer, probably because it's in Japanese. It definitely appears to have both 1/4" 5-pin jacks.
PS - Google is your friend.
I believe it has five but I'm not sure. I'm going to pick it up in the morning. If nothing else I can probably build my own power supply and cable. Thanks, I'll try and post more as I go.
