Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Alembic Basses & Guitars => Topic started by: worldfamousandy on September 05, 2008, 01:31:52 PM
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I picked up a used Elan a little over a year ago. A previous owner pulled the frets out of this bass, and it plays beautifully.
Unfortunately, I am not crazy about the sound. The tone is ok, but the whole thing is a little weak.
My other bass is a '76 Series 1, which sounds terrific, by the way.
I am thinking of putting a Glockenklang (or some other) onboard preamp in the Elan. I realize this may be regarded as sacrilege in this group, but I need a bass with a sound I can use.
Anyone have experience with this?
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Two questions:
What are the pick-ups on the Elan?
What kind of rig do you use?
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Pickups are Alembic, P-J configured.
I use and F-1X, QSC power, Schroeder 4 X 10 cab.
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So, what's the difference between the tone being ok and the sound being something you're not crazy about?
Most Elans are made with Maple bodies, and are on the bright end of tone spectrum. A 1976 Series I is not likely to be a solid Maple body, and will pretty much always sound better than a non-Series I/II instrument. Seriously, once you hear a Series I/II, everything else, including other Alembics will tend to pale to some degree by comparison.
So, I recommend that you favor the neck pickup, experiment with different strings (even flatwound - keep steels off it) and make sure you don't try to tune the filters the same way you do on your Series I.
If it's just not loud enough (weak), you can turn up the gain pots on the inside to match your Series I.
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Gain pots are all cranked, and it's still thin.
I don't necessarily expect this bass to sound like my Series 1 (although that would be great). I actually like a bright fretless sound, so maple should be perfect. This Elan is maple, by the way.
I have experimented with strings, and so far my favorites for this bass are stainless rounds.
Generally, it's overall volume that I am missing. I am pulling too hard to get this bass to give me my sound, and my playing is suffering. I can mess around with pickup balance and filter and get a sound that's pretty good, but I am wishing for more punch.
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Maybe you could set the gain on your Series bass a bit lower and set the input gain (if available) on your preamp higher?
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Generally, it's overall volume that I am missing. I am pulling too hard to get this bass to give me my sound, and my playing is suffering. I can mess around with pickup balance and filter and get a sound that's pretty good, but I am wishing for more punch.
Is your sound the series I sound? If so you wont find it on the elan. While still a fine instrument, it just isnt going to be anywhere close to what your used to hearing on a series instrument.
I have a series I, and a SCSD. The series definitely has the sound I am after, clean, clear, and full with alot of punch, but I play the SCSD more because its easier to carry around. It really does not have the same sound as the series I, but I am still able to find my happy place with it.
Try getting a small preamp (sanamp or whatever they are called).
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It's not an issue of matching the gains on my basses. I have several ways to do that in my signal chain. It's the origin of my sound that I am trying to correct.
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Sounds like a flat-battery situation of some ilk. Am I correct in recalling a 9- to 18-volt mod to these basses that might give it that extra something you're looking for?
John
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I just think the combination of the Maple and stainless strings give you the most narrow sector of tone for the Elan. I might even to venture calling it thin myself.
But it sounds like the gain is the real issue for you. I can direct you on how to modify the Elan circuit to increase the available amount of gain. Incidentally, if you send in the electronics for an RF upgrade, changing the gain is included with the price.
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I sent in my Distillate electronics for the upgrade and it made a world of difference!
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How much is the RF upgrade for an Elan? How can I modify the circuit myself?
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I had a Spoiler Exploiter with a similar issue. It sounded thin and weak even side-by-side with a similar Spoiler. When was your bass made?
Remove the electronics and send them to Alembic before you take any further steps, and certainly don't sell your bass like I did.
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My bass was made in '89
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Mine was made in '84. Did the bass sound funny when you bought it? Maybe a component used in both instruments went kablooey.
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Hey Andy,
Did you try raising the pick ups closer to the strings on the Elan? The closer you get the hotter they sound.
Kris
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Yeah, the pickups are as high as I can get 'em. I did mess with that when I got it. The previous owner also appeared to know how to get the most of this bass's signal, as those pickups were maxed. The output screws were cranked, too.
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Soooo...Mica?
How do I go about modifying that circuit to get more gain?
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You need to change out two 1/4 watt resistors on the circuit board. Right now, they could be any number of values as there are several versions. The resistors are connected to the center terminal on the gain trimpots. We use a teeny surface mount package, but you can use a 1/4 watt 3.3K since they are much easier to install by hand. Here's a photo illustration:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/56578.jpg)
This will work for both Elan and Europa circuits.