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the Alembic "sound"?

#21
I've read lots of threads about the Alembic sound. I've sent/received a lot of mails about it with Alembic devotees, but trust me, NOTHING can explain how a Series I sounds like.
I've just received mine and I've already found a lot of useful tones. From the "string flavored" punchy sound to the "liquid sounding" mids, the Alembic can just help you to find "your" sound like no other bass can do.
You can't imagine the quality of these basses, I'm amazed. You can't imagine the clarity of the tone, it's hard to explane. It just sound like your hands, strings and head want to. Yes, it does...

:D

P.S. I'm definitely NOT an Alembic dealer ;)
 
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#23
Originally posted by The Mock Turtle Regulator
John Entwistle's tone on the Who's "you better you bet" sounds like an Alembic to me- probably one of his custom Explorer-shaped models.
piano-like active tone- good for his "typewriter" percussive playing.

another user- Pete Agnew with Nazareth, using a pick- I haven't heard any recordings though.
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You better you bet it is. Check out the Who DVD "30 Years of Maximum R&B" for their in studio version of it.
 
#24
Originally posted by alembicbones
I think malthumb, seeing as though he plays the creme de la creme of Alembics, has a real knowledge of the Alembic soul. Here's my take, for whatever it's worth:

Clearly the woods used and construction of such goes a lot to the character of an Alembic. The Series I actually is a semi hollow body bass (not sure about the Series II). When I play my Essence 5 srting acoustically, it sounds really good.

There are two main components of the electronics that I believe are unique to Alembics, the "Low Pass Filter" and the "Q switch/CVQ knob".

The filter allows you to assign a certain frequency, then everything below that frequency is unaltered and everything above is attenuated at -12dB per octave. On my Essence, I achieve a very growly sound by panning to the bridge pickup, and setting the filter around 400 - 600 hz.

On the higher end models, the Q switch or CVQ knob is added. This feature allows you to boost the frequency set by the low pass filter. The Q switch has three settings where the CVQ allows a spectrum of settings.

On the basses malthumb plays, you have independent controls of the above electronics for each pickup. Lots of factors to deal with, but in the hands of a bassist with a master ear, the possibilities are endless.

My hope is to someday own a Series II and discover it's nuances. For now, my Essence run through the superfilter works quite well.

Bones
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Would you say that the Damping factor knob on the SF2 is the same or similar (if only a little ) to the CVQ? If not, How do you describe it?
 
#25
Originally posted by Mario Lewis


Would you say that the Damping factor knob on the SF2 is the same or similar (if only a little ) to the CVQ? If not, How do you describe it?
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It's the same thing. The ranges might be different, but it serves the same purpose. (I'm pretty sure it's same - but I wonder why they call it by a different name - Ron should know what he's talking about so maybe there's some difference?)
 
#26
Originally posted by Flat Bass
Listen to Armand Sabel Lecco on Paul Simon CD, the one he did in Central Park for free in the early 1990s I think. That is some bad ass bass playing and it is on either a series I or series II small body short scale. Man he is got some tone on that live recording. It will trip you out.:D
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I need to get some more of his stuff. The first time i ever heard of him is when i saw him play with stanley clarke last year. He was playing a jazz bass on crack for that (or some high-end jazz bass.) Great bassist.
 
#27
One of the definitive Alembic bassists hasn't even been mentioned. Alembic #1 was made for Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna. Prior to that, Jack played a Guild Starfire that was totally modified by Alembic. I'm not sure exactly where the Alembic Casady years start (but I'm pretty sure it was a Fender on After Bathing at Baxters, 1968), - I would guess that Crown of Creation to Volunteers would be Starfire/Alembic maybe 70 - 77 would be Alembic.
Jack's first Alembic was the prototype of the Series 1.
These basses could be heard on any number of Airplane, Hot Tuna & the 3 Kantner/Slick albums from this period. A fantastic range of sounds and virtuoso but tasteful playing.
 
#30
Sustain as much or as little as your technique can produce.
Tone any thing is possible, really.
Quality, YES
Your technique better be good cause the Alembic is responsive to a fault.
Its hard to make an Alembic thud, it always wants to sing, again technique. I love my cheap Persuader an 87. The tone range on even the cheap ones is fantastic.
Yes the wood combinations can cover any possible tone/sustain scenario you can imagine. Its hard to make one sound bad. I am not employed by Alembic and if I win the lottery I would by a few more.
 
#31
Q switches and low pass filters aside, I do believe there is a trademark Alembic sound even in their budget basses like the Epic, which I own.

If I had to make a generalization about Alembics, it's this: they're clear as a bell. Notes are clear and defined, and I've NEVER heard a speck of muddy tone out of any of them.
 
#32
Ben_P said:
Would one of those custom Alembics have a tone resembling other Alembics? The pickups are the same but alot of them with the choices of woods seem pretty different.
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The Alembic electronics are IMHO, the biggest divergence from other hand made basses. Not only the really cool low pass filters, and Q, but....

All the pickups are low impedance, that imparts a unique quality to the sound. For one thing, that allows them to employ less powerful magnets, less damping on the string vibration. Because of this I have been able to experiment with pickup height variations in ways that wouldn't work so well with a Hi impedance pup.

When the low impedance pup gets really close to the strings, it sounds very different.

The pickups are different. The series instruments have single coil pups, with separate hum canceling enclosure. The "lower" end models have humcanceling pickups. I don't fully understand all the implications, but I've read that's part of the Series instruments unique sound, is the single coils.

I have an Epic, set neck with the traditional B/T cut and boost, and a Europa, neck through with B/T and LPF with Q. While verbal/written descriptions of tone are somewhat useless, I will say this:
Compared to my other passive and active basses, the Alembics sound POWERFUL. No matter how you have the tone set, bright and full of harmonic content, scooped and gouging, or reggae sternum thumping, they just feel powerful.

As if I was Drew Brees playing my other basses, but freaking Superman playing my Alembics. I'd rather be Superman........
 
#33
malthumb said:
Alembicbones pretty much nailed it with his description of the Q switch & CVQ set ups. Tonal possibilities are way beyond what most people will ever use on either a Series I or Series II, so to identify "a particular Alembic sound", it's pretty much whatever you want it to be. I've been fiddlin' around for about a year & I'm still finding sounds.
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+1. Never owned one, but I've played one(series1)and I know the build/materials quality is way, WAY up there. Truly astonishing, really. The overall ergonomics don't work for me though- I'm a 'bury-me-with-it' Fender guy.
The tone thing is very much, but not entirely, about the electronics, specifically the filters. Wal did something very similar for years, and now we have our own member Alan Cringean with his amazing ACG filter preamps, and complete, very nice basses. Google for more info, or check out the ACG Filter Preamp thread here. Highly recommended if that's the sort of thing you might be after.
No affiliation, just a friendly plug.
 
#36
I own two of the higher end ones - a Distillate and a Rogue 5 - and have played a bunch of others. Also - having an array of the "Other Guys" stuff I might be able the give a short answer.

First - as a wood working company they are all but perfect, Yes - they forgot to put the brass dot on the 5th fret on the side of the neck when the rebuilt my Distillate for the truss rod that went bad, And replaced the bad pickup that was shorting and also did the good one so they would match. But they also footed most of the bill for fixing it. So - we are even.

Over all - you need to first see what the electronics package is. Some are just a high pass filter for tone (like a passive) with a volume and pickup pan. The Epic adds a treble and bass knob. This is a HUGE leap. The next range is the famous Q switch but sadly is obsolete. It works like a wah-wah but you cannot choose to cut - it is only boost. Finally they add the treble and bass cut/flat/boost switches but you do not have the granular control. You cannot boost all the bas but a percentage of the treble. I often find that I must max the bass but sacrifice a bit of treble as the treble boost will bury the bass. It needs knobs and not an on/off thing.

Alembics are very clean and high end clear. But they lack some in the lower "Whoomph" - however the Epic electrics (2 band) do better.
They vary greatly – play the one you are going to buy. Many say that the electrics are old. Keep in mind that the industry has gone with a panable mid frequency control and variable boost cut are not realy happenig yet at Alembic.
 
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#37
Two *great* examples of Alembic sound - Holdsworth's "Live -Then!" and "All Night Wrong". Recorded 12 years apart (to the day I believe). Jimmy Johnson is a monster on these dates, and his tone is equally monstrous.

If I had to describe, the Alembic sounds "big" in a way that other basses don't. Not necessarily louder, or more in your face - just bigger, fuller, wider. It's like everybody else's big brother.


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/rick
 
#39
Is there an "Alembic sound"? In my opinion, yes. And no…

"Yes" in the sense that there are SOME tones that SOME Alembic basses can achieve that are so unique to the marque that I would have to call them "Alembic sounds". But they can also get a range of sounds that one might not so easily discern as coming from an Alembic instrument. Also, not only do Alembic make a number of different models (with differing electronics and neck designs), but each example of the various models can be constructed of a wide range of materials. Then there are the radically custom instruments (since Alembic will pretty much make your instrument however you want it), and let's not forget amplification, string selection, and personal playing style or "touch".

I own two Alembics; 1) an LSB-4 Series I with a "standard" Alembic neck of maple w/three purpleheart laminates and an ebony fretboard and; 2) a custom LSB-5 Series II with a graphite neck and a phenolic fretboard. There is no mistaking Ron Wickersham's Series electronics, but the significantly different neck designs result in remarkable sonic differences between them. (I think the effect of body construction on neck-through instruments is overstated, btw.)

Someone asked if Jaco Pastorius owned/played an Alembic. I don't know for certain, but I seem to recall reading that he "tried" one for a second. I know that he DID sit and play my graphite LSB-5 (in Santa Cruz, California, circa early 1987 I believe). After playing it with intensity for a minute or so, he paused to say, "I'm not ready for five strings yet. I'm still trying to figure my four-string out." Talk about humbling…
(Someone also said that companies were always giving instruments and stuff to Jaco, implying that Alembic may have done so as well. For the record, Alembic did not give a bass to Jaco.)

In closing, I'd like to toss in the names of some other recordings featuring Alembic basses; 1) Lenny White's ADVENTURES OF ASTRAL PIRATES, which had the phenomenal acoustic/electric bassist Alex Blake, on his zebrawood LSB-4 Series I; 2) the '70s recordings ---especially the "live" disc--- of MOTHER'S FINEST, featuring the take-no-prisoners funk stylings of Wyzard [also seen as "Wizard", "Wizzard", or "Wyzzard"], and; 3) the '70s recordings of ROSE ROYCE, with the very funky Lequeint Jobe.

:bassist:
 
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#40
A couple earlier posts in this (zombie) thread mentioned that Series II instruments were semi-hollow. Can anyone confirm that? I'd always heard that those were solid body instruments, albeit with a lot of different wood layers in the body sandwich, and a lot of that wood subsequently routed out just to make room for the Series II electronics.
 

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