I realized that my post basically repeated Jazzy's content, so I removed it. Sorry...

No need to apologise, i'm sure many of us have done the same thing. Just consider it an affirmation :-) 👍🏽

Quote from: jazzyvee on July 15, 2026, 11:56:10 PMI vagely recall a conversation on the forum that mentioned the Q switches on Stanley's basses have a higher boost setting. Which would make sense since my long scale series II can get more of that honk/hollow tone with the q knob set at a high settings

Interesting. Anyone from Alembic who can confirm that? Would be nice to know what higher boost settings are.

Stanley's Q-switches are not custom. 

Quote from: mica on July 16, 2026, 09:43:53 AMStanley's Q-switches are not custom.

Thanks Mica! So just the standard series 1 filters en Q switches? Any insights in his settings for that aforementioned hollow solo sound?

Quote from: mica on July 16, 2026, 09:43:53 AMStanley's Q-switches are not custom.

His fingers are "beyond custom" though... :-)🤔😂

My dear Barend pal,

None of us will ever sound like Stanley because we don't have his hands.   We will never strike the string exactly the same way that he does.  His hands are the biggest factor in the sound that he gets out of his basses.  I apologize to everybody here but I have to say it ... it's NOT the gear!    Even if you could see where his pickup volume knobs are set we would not know his preferred balance because that is set by the trimpots on the preamp board.  And if he's running in stereo it is further tweaked after the bass.

But what we can and do celebrate here is that this monster of a musician has landed on Alembic as his instrument of choice.  That is mighty cool!

For that "hollow" tone you're talking about, I encourage you to experiment with the filter controls and find something that YOU like.  A large boost at a relatively low frequency will likely produce a hollow sound - like having a wah-wah pedal part way open.  But again, just experiment and see if your instrument can inspire you.  That's what it's all about!

Jimmy J

Quote from: JimmyJ on July 16, 2026, 03:15:27 PMMy dear Barend pal,

None of us will ever sound like Stanley because we don't have his hands.   We will never strike the string exactly the same way that he does.  His hands are the biggest factor in the sound that he gets out of his basses.  I apologize to everybody here but I have to say it ... it's NOT the gear!    Even if you could see where his pickup volume knobs are set we would not know his preferred balance because that is set by the trimpots on the preamp board.  And if he's running in stereo it is further tweaked after the bass.

But what we can and do celebrate here is that this monster of a musician has landed on Alembic as his instrument of choice.  That is mighty cool!

For that "hollow" tone you're talking about, I encourage you to experiment with the filter controls and find something that YOU like.  A large boost at a relatively low frequency will likely produce a hollow sound - like having a wah-wah pedal part way open.  But again, just experiment and see if your instrument can inspire you.  That's what it's all about!

Jimmy J

Thanks Jimmy. Good to hear from you again!

I agree for 100% with you. It is not my intention to copy Stanley Clarke, cause there is only one Stanley. I hope I have my own thing going. At least I am trying. Just was curious about that specific hollow solo sound, because you don't hear that a lot from other Alembic players. I agree that maybe 90% of his sound is in his fingers Only that special hollow sound has not much to do with his fingers I think, it's just a specific setting. I really like that sound and I can't quite get it out of my Alembics. I experiment a lot with different filter/Q-switch pickup balance settings because I record a lot of my solo work. I just fiddle with the knobs until I find the sound that I have in my head for the bass part that I want to record.

Just posted a video here of my recently acquired EvH Signature Alembic which explores a lot of different sound.
Here is the link: https://club.alembicguitars.com/alembic-basses-guitars/new-alembic-evh-bass-with-video/

Well there ya go!  Nice track!  I didn't mean to give you a hard time about this but you did seem to be obsessing over Stanley's "exact" settings.   But you've got plenty of cool sounds happening already.  I guess the next step would be to get yourself a Series bass if you're seeking even more variations.  Or maybe at least get on the list for a SuperFilter pedal?  But again, you're already making a wide variety of sounds so don't drive yourself crazy - or broke - in the pursuit of more.  Keep doing what you're doing, you're on a roll!

I, on the other hand, make exactly 2 kinds of noise - with frets or without.  But the funny thing is, sometimes even my bass players friends can't tell if I'm playing fretted or fretless on a specific track.  Not sure what that means.  I guess I just sound like me all the time?  But I have a lot of respect for bassists who can offer up a wide palette of tones.  That's a fine thing.

Carry on!

Jimmy J

Quote from: JimmyJ on July 17, 2026, 02:08:04 PMWell there ya go!  Nice track!  I didn't mean to give you a hard time about this but you did seem to be obsessing over Stanley's "exact" settings.   But you've got plenty of cool sounds happening already.  I guess the next step would be to get yourself a Series bass if you're seeking even more variations.  Or maybe at least get on the list for a SuperFilter pedal?  But again, you're already making a wide variety of sounds so don't drive yourself crazy - or broke - in the pursuit of more.  Keep doing what you're doing, you're on a roll!

I, on the other hand, make exactly 2 kinds of noise - with frets or without.  But the funny thing is, sometimes even my bass players friends can't tell if I'm playing fretted or fretless on a specific track.  Not sure what that means.  I guess I just sound like me all the time?  But I have a lot of respect for bassists who can offer up a wide palette of tones.  That's a fine thing.

Carry on!

Jimmy J

Thanks Jimmy. Great hearing that from you! You and Stanley were the reasons and got interested in Alembic in the first place many years ago. It is only since two years that I actually joined the club by owning one (now two). 

Yes. Eventually I want a series 1 because of the slightly (?) different sound and also because I want to explore the stereo options. But I am not in a hurry and just wait until the right one comes along for the right price. Until then I will enjoy what I have of course.

So you are saying you always use the same settings on your Alembics? For recordings and gigs? Also the same settings for fretted and fretless?

Hey, I didn't mean to high jack Stanley's Birthday Party! Maybe we should start another thread?  In the meantime, thanks for the kind words and again, welcome to the club. 

Jimmy J

Quote from: Barend on July 04, 2026, 01:02:44 PM

Quote from: NolTaylorBassplayer on July 04, 2026, 08:18:46 AM

Quote from: Barend on July 01, 2026, 01:11:44 AMYes he is still the man. He has an unique sound that I never heard anyone else capture on an Alembic, even with the same series 1 bass. I wonder how he did that (besides his playing technique of course)? Anyone an idea how he got that special signature sound? What is it exactly?

I believe from Romantic Warrior onward, Stanley was tuning his bass to tenor. He would have one in standard tuning and another in tenor. You can hear it on the record. So one bass EADG and another ADGC. Over the years he's also run his bass through an F-2b and an F-1X before hitting his amp. There's an old rig rundown on Youtube if you're fascinated. Its pretty outdated though, but still cool to see.

Yes I know he is tuning in tenor about 50% of the time. I do that myself also for many yearts.

But that's not really what makes his sound. It's a certain honkyness and hollowness (for lack of better words) that I hear in his sound that I haven't heard from another (Alembic) player. I just wonder what settings he is using on his series 1 basses. How he sets the Q switches and filter knobs and the pickup balance and how he is using the stereo option? I think that has more to do with that and his technique/hands than the F-2b and F-1X. The F-1X only started in 1990 so that can't be it cause he always had that sound, way before that. Or maybe the short scale also has something to do with it?

His Stanley/Duke Project days aren't too dissimilar to his current set up. His sound is a combination of his hands and his gear. His live sound is very different from his studio sound. Based upon what you posted you're more interested in his live sound? That would have comprised of his Alembics and a few other special instruments that he had at the time. He was also playing through F-2B and F-1X, a Music Man HD130 head, EV B215M cabs, and a Fender guitar combo for the HPF and crunch. He also had Lexicon reverb and delay units at the time as well. Strings for the tenor bass would have been 30/405/65/85 stainless steel. If you need to verify any of this there are 16 pages of images to scrutinize on Getty images to get a solid idea. Another thing worth noting, it helps to take screen shots of some of the live performances. That way you can get an idea of where his bass controls are dialed to to understand how he's getting the sound he's getting.
If you're interested in his current modern studio sound, it's his Alembic F-1X mini going direct into the board. Live its the F-1X Mini, into the SVT-4 PRO, HLF410, HLF115, Roland JC220 or Fender combo, into his pedal board. One of the major components on his board is the Rodenberg GAS77B LDP. These are rare (I have one), and his is always on with the deep switch always engaged. He's also got Octave, Filter, Reverb, Delay and Compression. All of those things, plus his hands. Hope that helps.