Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: hb3 on February 26, 2012, 03:21:19 PM
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Finally, I did a solo piece w/ my Alembic...strung as a tenor. It's just nuts:
http://soundcloud.com/hb3/mysterious-stranger (http://soundcloud.com/hb3/mysterious-stranger)
Cosmic...intergalactic...not exactly bar band material...sort of a theatrical piece, actually.
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Very nice!
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It's a great sound, but tenor tuning has some good and bad aspects...I don't know if I'll use it this way all the time, but the good thing is that I didn't really need to make any adjustments. That was really cool. So this is pretty much the first thing I played when I had it strung up and turned the delay on.
I also found a bunch of new sounds w/ the piccolo. After I finished the 'Poseidon' album I was going to put it down for awhile, but then, bam...these were total accidental discoveries that sounded amazing.
Like, check this out:
http://soundcloud.com/hb3/a-fish-in-a-bowl-of-gold (http://soundcloud.com/hb3/a-fish-in-a-bowl-of-gold)
Achieved by accident....
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That was beautiful!
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Interesting, right? Almost like a hammered string sound....
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I just listened to it again. I like the sound a lot, and I like what you do with it.
The first seventeen seconds would make a really nice repeating pattern. As I was thinking about that, it brought to mind the beginning of The Pilgrim by Wishbone Ash on the Pilgrimage album.
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Yeah, that part you're referring to is actually a recurring motif. It's all part of a big thing.
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If you're interested, here's a nice recent version of The Pilgrim (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zrJ6HflSiU).
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This is cool. I like that the guy is playing a flying V.
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The album was released in 1971.
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That was pretty hot.
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Amazing sound Hugh! What kind of effects are you using?
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At 2.17 it reminds of Phaedra by Tangerine Dream
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You guys are both AWESOME ! It would be fun to hear you playing an ALEMBIC duet at an Alembic gathering ________IN the moment ; just create it on the spot for the occasion.
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Great sound on the Pilgrim video. Are those Tweed Bandmasters the guy with the Les Paul is playing through?
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Mr HB3,
Really stellar composition, playing, and sound on the Goldfish. Alembics are truly a huge step forward in the evolution of the electro-acoustic instrument.
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The main effect that you're hearing is the EHX Hog -- I found these new sounds without exactly being aware of what I was doing, but especially on the Goldfish piece, it had to do with utilizing the envelope section of the effect. Later I was able to reverse engineer the settings pretty closely, but not exactly. Fortunately, I did save the preset -- which I had forgotten doing -- though now I have a neurotic fear of deleting it. So I wanted to get some recordings down pretty quick. The delay is the new great Strymon Timeline.
Also, that's the Fender on the Goldfish piece, believe it or not. But the whole signal is being processed through the Hog on that one, including the original voice. It's a complex pedal.
I've been sort of locked in the studio for awhile so Im going to go down and play at the local pub this weekend...I'd love to get together for an improvisational performance...any time.
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Thanks for the info Hugh! Have fun jamming this weekend!
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Thanks ;)
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I've always enjoyed your compositions, thanks for sharing.
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Thanks. You know -- perhaps unexpectedly -- the tenor tuning is not easy to play. It sounds really nice, though. I'm missing the E string, but I can also see why Stanley Clarke didn't switch to a 5-string instrument. Does anyone have a 5 string Alembic strung with a high C? Curious....
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Dave -- you play a six, don't you?
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Yes, straight tuning, B to C.
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Could you recommend a good cheap one?
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Alembic.
Look for a used one. In my view, a primary consideration will be neck taper; and for most Alembics that will be either classic or comfort taper. My preference is classic taper. I couldn't do the things I'm doing with either my right or left hands on a comfort taper. But that's me and my style of playing; others of course couldn't do what they're doing on a classic taper. I'm very happy with my 34 classic taper six string.
After that, the electronics package will also be key. But when cost is a significant factor, just getting an Alembic with the taper and scale length you want, and getting that Alembic tone from those pickups into your rig or recording console, is a great starting point.
Also, your idea of a five string E to C is a good one, especially in light of what you are doing with chords. In the songs that I play I use my B string a lot, but it is capo'd at the third fret and I am primarily using it as an open low D. Of course it does come in handy when playing regular bass lines or doing extended runs across the neck. And I do practice incorporating the B string into chords; but those are still a bit difficult for me to hit, and they haven't yet become part of any of the songs I'm playing. So a five string would be a good option.
But I can't recommend anything except Alembic. They are the only instruments I know anything about. I played a G&L L-2000 from around 1980 until January 1996 when I got my first Alembic. It was night and day. I haven't played anything but Alembic since. Sixteen years.
So perhaps not the answer you were looking for. But for someone like you, and I really like a lot of your tonal ideas, I think it worth considering getting the best quality tone as your starting point. And Alembic pickups are the perfect canvas for the tone shaping you are so good at.
But of course budget realities are important too. And lots of great music has been made on things that weren't Alembics; or at least that what someone I met in jail told me. Or maybe it was great books written on cheap paper. Hmmm, can't really remember; it was a long time ago.
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Dave,
also great bands recorded live on Radio Shack audio cassettes?
funny, and true
Mike
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Yeah, you know, I'm not sure I'd even like a six, but at least I get what they are now. Probably playing an Alembic would make me like it right off the bat, though.
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Mike; perhaps even more remarkable, J S Bach was born in 1685, before even Radio Shack. Makes you wonder where he went for batteries.
Hugh; I wouldn't limit what they are just based on my usage. Lots of great bass players play six string basses in ways that vary greatly from my approach, and with far more ability and greater results.
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I know...I just meant I was always sort of baffled by them, but. For whatever reason, I get them now.
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Sorry, I was typing that last post in broad daylight on an iPad. ;0
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Lots of great bass players play six string basses in ways that vary greatly from my approach,...
No argument.
...and with far more ability and greater results.
Dude, I've seen the vids you've posted - you are mistaken on this point, sir. You kick ass.
Peter
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Agreed.
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Thanks for the kind words guys.