Hey! That's my bass!! I had just received it the night before, hence the ugly green tape to help me identify the knobs. It's still a work in progress, but it's almost done. It's a tribute to Phil Lesh's early 70's Alembic modded Guild Starfire. Fun that you were at that party!
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
My bass has more knobs than your bass!
- Thread starter Axtman
- Start date
It took them 2 years, and not as much as you would think. Of course it started as a complete Guild Starfire, so it's not like they had to build a whole new bass…. That said, it was a torturous 2 years!
Drool! drool
Want so much!
A real bass should look like a spaceship control room from a 70's sci-fi movie, and preferably have the possibility of sounding like the soundtrack to the movie too!
I just love basses with a lot of knobs and switches.
Mostly switches though.
I loved the pickup switch so much on my old Aria Pro II that I broke the metal pin.
Switches are perfect for when making noise, especially for changing the character and tonality of the feedback.
Preferably I would have: a feedback switch, octave up switch with a knob to control volume, octave down switch with a knob to control volume, a boost switch with a knob to control volume boost, a 3 positioned pickup switch, a tone filter maybe with 2 3 position switches for different frequency boosts, also I would like a build in graphic equalizer with sliders, toggled on and off with a switch, a delay, again with a on/off toggle switch and 3 knobs for the basic control functions, maybe even a 4th knob for different kind of delays and finally a knob for controlling master volume.
I wonder how much that would cost me and how big a hole I would have to carve in my Ibanez Mikro for it all to fit in
Want so much!
A real bass should look like a spaceship control room from a 70's sci-fi movie, and preferably have the possibility of sounding like the soundtrack to the movie too!
I just love basses with a lot of knobs and switches.
Mostly switches though.
I loved the pickup switch so much on my old Aria Pro II that I broke the metal pin.
Switches are perfect for when making noise, especially for changing the character and tonality of the feedback.
Preferably I would have: a feedback switch, octave up switch with a knob to control volume, octave down switch with a knob to control volume, a boost switch with a knob to control volume boost, a 3 positioned pickup switch, a tone filter maybe with 2 3 position switches for different frequency boosts, also I would like a build in graphic equalizer with sliders, toggled on and off with a switch, a delay, again with a on/off toggle switch and 3 knobs for the basic control functions, maybe even a 4th knob for different kind of delays and finally a knob for controlling master volume.
I wonder how much that would cost me and how big a hole I would have to carve in my Ibanez Mikro for it all to fit in
It's all in the fingers!
I love knobosity! My main axes are two (fretted and fretless) G&L L2500. They've been modded with the single coil option as well as the OMG option as push-pull on the tone control. My tribute was modded at one point with an additional switch that let you choose inside or outside coils in the single coil position. But I never used it much (left it in outside) so I replaced that switch with an LED pilot light.
Knobosity isn't enough. You also need phantom power so you can power all those knobs and have LEDs all over the bass so it looks like something from the cantina scene in Star Wars. To that end I'm planning a further mod to my Tribute which adds a full 3 band preamp instead of the current high boost one, and also adds a third pickup. I think I'm gonna like that.
I think I may have one of the only 2 knob Alembics in the world. Still sounds awesome.
Alembic with no knobs:
Controls are in the electronics cavity:
" The electronics are standard Signature mounted on perfboard that's fastened to the bass with threaded standoffs.
Toggle switches were replaced with push buttons, and the pots have had a slot carved in each to accommodate screwdriver adjustment.
The brass backplate has holes drilled aligned with the controls and attaches to the bass in the usual Alembic fashion with small machine screws into threaded metal inserts.
To change the tone, David has a filter and Q switch for each pickup, and a blend control for the pickups. There's also a master volume control and an on/off switch for the side LEDs."
Link to the featured custom page: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Controls are in the electronics cavity:
" The electronics are standard Signature mounted on perfboard that's fastened to the bass with threaded standoffs.
Toggle switches were replaced with push buttons, and the pots have had a slot carved in each to accommodate screwdriver adjustment.
The brass backplate has holes drilled aligned with the controls and attaches to the bass in the usual Alembic fashion with small machine screws into threaded metal inserts.
To change the tone, David has a filter and Q switch for each pickup, and a blend control for the pickups. There's also a master volume control and an on/off switch for the side LEDs."
Link to the featured custom page: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
