Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Alembic Basses & Guitars => Topic started by: terryc on May 21, 2009, 12:11:46 PM
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Okay everyone, here are the pics and here are a few answers I got when I asked the right questions Q Can I still oil the board or take precautions in case the oil gets into the led's. A treat it as it was before Q will I notice a difference in the action/neck A No..I I haven't The LED's are powered by the same battery so the led's act as an indicator..before you all say well this is going to drain the pre amp and use more batteries, Martin Sims states that modern led's(especially the red ones) are extremely low current drain, BUT if you want a seperate battery then he can do that for you but to date he has had no complaints using the existing battery. Georgie - yes he does side LED's. The cost..a lot less than Alembic charges AND if any of them fail Sims will replace them as they have been designed that way. So her goes the pics
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/65419.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/65420.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/65421.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/65422.jpg)
I opted for the magnifier lense(see pic) There is a resistor as you can see obviously to protect the leds as 9V must be a bit too much direct. They are operated by a smart black toggle just near the output jack. The wire goes through the truss cavity and is glued securely to the side wall(see pic) He arranges the guitar to be picked up and returned by FedEx which must cost a bit in it's own right. I am totally blown away by the effect, it looks great and the band don't even know I have had it done, at the last gig I gave an excuse that I broke a couple of strings and didn't have time to get replacements. I am gigging this weekend..are they going to get a surprise. Enjoy! (Message edited by TerryC on May 21, 2009) (Message edited by TerryC on May 21, 2009)
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Bollocks..didn't put lines spaces between upload code
davehouck..do your bit please and edit it so it looks readable..many thanks
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Terry you should be able to edit it yourself. Just click on the little pen and paper logo at the top left,
looks like this.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/65425.jpg)
OO
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OOps I mean top RIGHT of your post.
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THe LED's look great by the way!
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olieoliver..thanks for that..I must have drank too much beer.
And thanks again
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Calling David Fung, maybe? Why is it that SIMS can run the LEDs off of the same single 9v that runs the pre-amp, while my Further needs four 9v batteries to run the LEDs, separate from the 9v that powers the preamp?
Bill, tgo
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I was thinking the same thing Bill. My splated maple uses 4 9v batteries and they don't last a long time.
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well I can only re iterate what I said at the beginning, that the ones he uses are extremely low current drain.
Four 9V cells seems a lot to me..you must have an account with your battery supplier ibpesq
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Here i go again, just like a Parrot with a limited vocabulary !
PHANTOM POWER_________PHANTOM POWER ______LOL
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I have red side LEDs, certainly much less bright than the above picture. My batteries do last a long time. Of course, the LEDs probably are on about an average of 3 hours a week. The batteries seem to last 6 months-1 year, as I recall. Still, one battery weighs less than Five.
Bill, tgo
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sonicus..let's leave phantom power to the PA desks as it just is not practical on a guitar unless you have an S1/S2 with a DS2 power supply.
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Hi terryc how are you ? Speaking as a audio engineer since the mid 1970's I can tell you that you might find more phantom power use in a recording studio then in public address . I am very pleased to inform you that phantom power CAN be practical on a guitar . I LOVE every thing Alembic ;how ever go check out http:www.bass.se (http://www.bass.se) A company called EBS is already offering Phantom power features in their amps and pre amps/ adapters. They claim that any active bass that use's a quarter inch output jack can be phantom
powered . To use phantom power you would merely use a TRS plug rather then a TS plug.I am interested to hear from the mother ship if our non-series instruments would be compatible.If not I will shut up about this exciting possibility. Stanley Clark is listed as a EBS ARTIST. They told Columbus that the world was flat back around 1490 or so_______ lol, ___ and I write this with love in my heart for all of you ! No Bass sounds better to me then an ALEMBIC.
(Message edited by sonicus on May 21, 2009)
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I'm always wondering how the Sims are done. Probably trained wood worms?
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Hi terryc, I just thought that I should note that I think that your SIMMS LED's are simply amazing ! I love new ideas and technology.
(Message edited by sonicus on May 21, 2009)
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I stand corrected Sonicus and take on your opinion, in fact somewhere on this board I suggested adapting a regulated power supply to feed non series instruments.
I suppose it could be done, a good quality regulated PS, tie wrap a cord with a 3.5 or smaller power plug and put a socket on your bass somewhere.
Trouble is it is another item to plug in, my gear is relatively small compared some members who have racks,power amps, effects units etc.
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harald..I know what you mean, when I got my bass home I tried to see how it was done, the end of the finger board has not been touched, neither has the truss rod spreader, however Martin has done it is a mystery and he will not divulge how he does it and rightly so 'cos if the far east manufacturers get hold of it then they would be fitting them as well.
Anyway, if you are thinking of having it done then I can tell you you have no worries at all about the workmanship.
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Hi terryc
I am pleased that we can collaborate our collective concepts. I think that it would be grand if our mother-ship might consider such a feature into perhaps either the f1x / f2b/sf2 or even better a 9 volt mod to the 5 pin power supplies or a new product that is designed specifically for non S1/S2 designs that only require a 9 volt source, this would only require you to substitute a 3 conductor quarter inch plug for the 2 conductor plug (TRS instead of TS) EBS already is doing this. The important question is has this feature been protected by international patents? Would Alembic be able make use of this feature ? Most important does Alembic think it wants to do this ? Perhaps it would not be practical from Alembics view point . I read about the need for 4/ 9 volt batteries in Bill's Further, could such a mod or device also work for his needs if he so desired? How are those 4 /9 volt batteries wired? series or parallel circuit? OR ??? that matters !
(Message edited by sonicus on May 23, 2009)
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Sonicus..I know what you mean about 4x 9V..in series it is a whopping 36V, seems a lot for modern LED's
The only problem is if you use a wireless system, then it is back to batteries.
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Love the job Terry!!
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Yes terryc, that's correct. It would be interesting to have a glimpse at the schematic.
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Okay here is MK 93 with new strings, polished brass hardware and wood with leds on
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/65498.jpg)
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With a bass like that, you could moonlight as an air traffic controller! hehehehe
Bill, tgo
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Yup..burn your retinas to ash ibpesq.
when I flick the switch further phasers shoot and kill the audience if they don't applaude.
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But probably effective on a DARK stage whilst performing a 2 octave 32nd note arpeggio !
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Hi Terry, love the LEDs, I have SIMs on my Rogue in blue, much the same as yours (magnifiers). I too was amazed at the fact that they run the power from the same 9v battery. I haven't experienced any problems due to this in 6 years, mind you i do make sure the battery is always fresh befor any shows i know will require the light show!
As to how Martin fits them,without giving too much away, look at the fretboard edge on the underside of the neck ;o)
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bassman68..well I looked at it before you told me but I have looked again and I cannot see any sign of fretboard disturbance. The only visual sign is a small 2-3mm hole where the wire exits underneath the fretboard in the trussrod cavity.
I have looked at the fretboard with a high powered magnifying glass and I still cannot see any refinish..just some 'shine' marks where my hands have played the bass.
It is still a mystery and I very much doubt Martin is not going to give his technique away..and rightly so 'cos if the far east get hold of it it will be on every guitar.
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regarding phanom power, my LIne 6 bass, which runs on 9 volts, comes with a combo DI/power supply. When you plug the bass into the DI/power supply with a stereo 1/4 cable, it gets it's power from the cable.
Nice LEDs BTW..
JBY
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Thanks for all the comments..the band didn't know about them, I gave them a story of broken strings and used another bass..they were surprised and since it is a party 70's band I guess it goes down a treat
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SIMs look great Terry. Will consider for my Essence, but just side not front. Just to add to the debate about phantom power, I made an enquiry to the board about 3 years ago here (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=5157), but I've not done anything abpout it yet. Looks straightforward, though.
Rob
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essenceman..go for it, the work Martin does is greater than first class.
The only problem with phantom power is that I use a wireless set up so it has to be batteries.
I am now using rechargable 9v, before anyone says I bought the best there is from BatteryForce, a german make called An Mann and they have not let me down yet and of course I think it is better for the enviroment
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I wonder if the lights could be self generated by the movement of the strings.
Could you imagine the lights brightens or dims based on how strong or lightly the strings are touched.
Wow, I think I just gave away another million dollar novelty idea!
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You mean something like this?
http://www.simscustom.com/video/sensilights.wmv (http://www.simscustom.com/video/sensilights.wmv)
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Yes... that's what I had in mind.
It adds a very nice element to music when active.
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I guess that is the ultimate showmanship if you are doing a outstanding slap solo, I think you can switch it in and out for that effect.
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Anyone remember the Rickenbacker Lightshow 331?...twilight zone meets guitar.
I'm impressed by Martins work....it's got to take balls to have someones Alembic under a drill press
jig knowing it'll come out flawless.
(Message edited by elwoodblue on July 05, 2009)
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It's eye candy. This would only work for certain kinds up music.
In a way, it almost forces you to work on tunes that dictates the functionality of the lights and effects. I hope other members have some lights on their instruments too, or the bass player will upstaging the members. I suspect some jealousy with such bing-bing...
I think perhaps... Disney's light parade would be a better fit
(Message edited by hendixclarke on July 04, 2009)
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The Ricky Lightshow goes for $13,000-18,000!!!! I've never seen one in real life.
Bill, tgo
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Quote: I hope other members have some lights on their instruments too, or the bass player will upstaging the members.
I must be blessed. The guitarists in one of my bands play Epi's and inexpensive no names (good musicians, too), but they like to play costumes to fit the mood on stage and favor lots of lights. My Alembic and side LEDS fit right in. Front laser LEDS wouldn't faze them either... (LOL)
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Yeah, I like the lights a lot. I have side lights going on my Toma_Hawk (My new Alembic bass, in development).
If I seen someone with lights like yours, I would probably assume, the bass player with the bright lights, is leader of the band....
The first person I known in my musical listening circles who had a bass with lights was Bootsy with his Space Bass, and when I seen Stanley Clarke, back in the late 80's with them... And of course, both of those guys are leaders of their own bands too.
I love them, at first sight; I feel the same way about your's too.
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Leaders of the band..oh maybe that is why I got sacked from that cheesy 70's band, maybe the audience thought I was taking over..not!!
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ibpesq..found this in my old 'The Ultimate Guitar Book'
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/67296.jpg)