That looks like a twin of the Persuader 5 I owned.
Amazing bass!
Sadly it weighed as much as a coffee table, string spacing was too tight, and that 32" B was required serious tippy toe touch.
Still played some of my nastiest riffs of my life on her
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NBD - Alembic Spoiler
- Thread starter blacktocomm
- Start date
Amazing bass!
Sadly it weighed as much as a coffee table, string spacing was too tight, and that 32" B was required serious tippy toe touch.
Still played some of my nastiest riffs of my life on her
Congrats!
The Spoiler is, bar none, the nicest bass I have ever played. I have always wished I could afford one.
The Spoiler is, bar none, the nicest bass I have ever played. I have always wished I could afford one.
Congratulations, sweet bass, should give you years of sonic bliss! The Alembic basses with a filter really benefit from having a Q-switch installed, you might consider having that done at some point. Without the Q-switch there is always about an 8dB boost at the selected frequency on the filter. The Q-switches come in two different configurations both allow you to select no boost which can be used to mellow out the attack and give a rounder tone, generally the three-position switch is the way to go and the most versatile... following info from the Alembic site.
"For Essence basses or any Alembic Activator system with a low-pass filter.
This prewired switch replaces a single box capacitor on the AE-1 preamp board. Once installed, it allows you to have the familiar 8 dB boost the filter always offered PLUS the option to dampen that boost to near zero for the flat filter response. In a nutshell, if you want to have access to tones with less attack than you have now, you need this simple modification.
After adding the switch to the board, you'll need to drill a hole in the bass, and possibly recess it. It's best if you are able to shield the newly recessed area.
Mounting hardware and instructions are included.
Also available as a 3-position switch with settings of approximately 0/6/9 dB. Select option for number of positions and bass or guitar below."
One thing I was curious about with your new bass, though. The build sheet indicates it has purpleheart in the neck but I am not seeing any in the pictures you posted. Usually that refers to the laminates that run the length of the neck, you can see them clearly in the picture of the five-string Spoiler in post #15, your neck seems to be all maple.
"For Essence basses or any Alembic Activator system with a low-pass filter.
This prewired switch replaces a single box capacitor on the AE-1 preamp board. Once installed, it allows you to have the familiar 8 dB boost the filter always offered PLUS the option to dampen that boost to near zero for the flat filter response. In a nutshell, if you want to have access to tones with less attack than you have now, you need this simple modification.
After adding the switch to the board, you'll need to drill a hole in the bass, and possibly recess it. It's best if you are able to shield the newly recessed area.
Mounting hardware and instructions are included.
Also available as a 3-position switch with settings of approximately 0/6/9 dB. Select option for number of positions and bass or guitar below."
One thing I was curious about with your new bass, though. The build sheet indicates it has purpleheart in the neck but I am not seeing any in the pictures you posted. Usually that refers to the laminates that run the length of the neck, you can see them clearly in the picture of the five-string Spoiler in post #15, your neck seems to be all maple.
I was not gigging so weight did not matter, and I thought it was easy to play. It just fell victim to GAS for a Steinberger (1990s all the way!)
I was considering the possibility of adding a Q switch. Thanks for the info! There is a bit of purpleheart in the headstock.
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I had an Alembic Rogue 5 string for 2 years and found I wasn't 5 string player. I traded it (plus cash) for an Alembic Persuader 4 string and absolutely loved it until my son grew up and moved to Idaho. He plays bass and always had his eye on mine. I gave it to him to fuel his passion and a bassist....he still owns and plays it!
+1 exact! I really wanted one of these in the early 80s. Then I saw Jimmy Johnson with his 5...and those were (and still are) pretty pricey - and heavy!
I have doubts those are the original strings. My brain cannot accept that Alembic would have strung it that way. 
Seriously beautiful quilt top, btw.
Seriously beautiful quilt top, btw.
Congrats on the Alembic addition to your stable.
One option before you make modifications to your bass is to try the Alembic SF-2 superfilter. It has two separate filters in a rack-mount unit. I loved mine. You can read all about it on the Alembic.com website. You can maybe find good used ones for $600 - $650.
One option before you make modifications to your bass is to try the Alembic SF-2 superfilter. It has two separate filters in a rack-mount unit. I loved mine. You can read all about it on the Alembic.com website. You can maybe find good used ones for $600 - $650.
I do not know the technical specs of the SF-2 filter. I just plugged in and played. Maybe the Alembic website will fill you in. I do know that I could shape my sound to get exactly what I wanted. I didn't mention earlier that it was an Alembic (non-series) bass that I played through it.
