Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Alembic Basses & Guitars => Topic started by: lothartu on September 14, 2004, 02:49:35 PM
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I love the feel of the neck on my '88 Series I. I'm getting ready to put an order in for a new Mark King Standard Balance K but I've never played one before. The Alembic site lists the neck width as being the same at the nut/body for both the MK and the Series I. What I'ld like to know is this...
(1) Is the actual cut of the neck the same? My Series I wasn't a custom neck so it should be whatever cut/shape is normal for a Series I.
I've played a couple of other Alembics (Essence, Epic) and their necks were more of a C cut where I consider my Series I neck to be more of a very flat D cut.
I just want to make sure that I don't order a custom bass and not have the neck feeling the way I want it to.
Also, for those folks with a Balance K body; I see that there is an option for a 3/4 Balance K.
(2) Is this just a 3/4 size body? If you've got a regular non-3/4 Balance K body and you've played a Series I before, how wide is the regular Balance K body compared to a Series body?
I also see that you can get a Balance K body with/without contours.
(3) Exactly what are the contours? Does a regular Series I have these contours normally since they aren't listed as a Series option?
The Balance K looks to be an extended upper horn version of a regular Series body so I'ld like to make sure that the new bass I order has it's body cut the same way as my Series I is. Be that contoured or non-contoured whatever the case may be.
ty in advance.
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Hello,
to answer your questions: 1) the neck on MK is generally a 'standard taper' neck which is what we use on series instruments. Just mention it at the time you place your order. If you let us have the serial number of your 88 series I we can make sure we follow the same specifications.
The Balance k is an adaptation of the balance point shape scaled down to roughly 3/4 size; it isn't like we have a regular Balance K AND a 3/4 Balance K. There is just the Balance K, which is sometimes referred to as the 3/4 balance K.
The contours are elbow and tummy cuts that are available for an extra 200$ each. They make playing more comfortable for some people and also make the instrument a bit lighter. A traditional Series bass does not have those contours.
Valentino
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Thanks Valentino, That clears it up for me.
btw, I noticed the option for a K Crown peghead which is apparently just a smaller version of the regular Crown.
Have you guys make a bass yet with the K Crown? If so, are there any pictures anywhere? If no pictures are available then how does it compare to the regular Crown peghead? 75% the size of the regular?
thanks
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i have a mark king special k on order- it does come with the k crown to keep things in perpective size wise. one thing my friend val left out is that you can order the neck shaved at no charge. this is take about an eighth of an inch off the back of the neck. makes it similar to the ibanez in feel- imho
i strongly recommend using superbass for your order- steve has the excellent prices AND he knows his stuff- i actually paid a tad higher choosing steve but trust me-i was real comfy with him- he's worth it
my neck is totally custom btw
32 scale
1.75 nut
.180 edges- space from outer string to edge of neck
.500 spacing
2.50 at the 24th fret
1 ebony lam and 2 purple hearts
there is rumor of a post to FTC soon.
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I second that about Superbass Steve Frank!
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Great, I'll be keeping an eye out for the FTC thread.
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Hey Flax: Thanks for mentioning Alembic's ability to customize neck feel (and it's a no charge option on many models!).
Mica and I spent a fair amount of time talking about dimensions of different bass's necks before we settled on mine. We compromised between the feel of the Ibanez SGR 4s and some of the dimensions of my Spoiler's neck and used Stanley Clark's preferred neck dimensions as a reference point (kind of a reality check with something we both knew worked). Mica has a nifty little spreadsheet program that solves for missing mesurements and dimensions once you decide what you want. We managed to combine what I like about the 34 Ibanez necks and get the parts I do like and avoid those I don't about the old style straight (non-tapered) neck on my Spoiler. Plus translating all into a 32 scale! No small feat - and it only took about 10 minutes to work up the numbers. It worked like a charm!!! I love the feel of my new bass's neck. It truly combines all the things I was driving for.
I think this is (yet another) something very special about what Alembic does for its customers when they order a bass to their specs.
Bill
(Message edited by bassman10096 on September 25, 2004)
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Bill-
That sounds like exactly what I am looking for. Can you post what you know of the dimensions?
Thanks!
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Sure. I'll try to find them. In any event the Alembicians have a record. Either way, we'll get em for you.
Bill
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Duh. I just measured (I'll try and find them - Sounds like a blond joke!).
The neck width on my bass at the nut is 1 1/2. At the 24th, it's 2 3/16. So, that makes it 1/4 narrower than the Standard taper neck at the nut and just about the same width as the Standard taper at the 24th.
Hope that helps.
Bill
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A blonde joke! Now you're talking!
What do you call two blondes in a Volkswagen?
Farfromthinkin!
How about a guitar player joke? Yeah!
How many guitar players does it take to cover a Stevie Ray Vaughn song?
Apparently, ALL of them!
Sorry for the outburst, I'll return to my normal lurking, now! ;-)
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Uhm, I'm unlurking again, just long enough to post these bass player jokes, lest anyone think I'm insensitive! :-0
How do you make a bass player turn down?
Put sheet music in front of him!
How do you put an insomniac to sleep?
Play a bass solo!
Back to lurking, have fun all!
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That, my friends, was a drive-by unlurking!
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He lurks....he strikes.... he lurks again.
It's Reid...the known comic...er...poster.
OK, a guitarist, a bass player and a drummer are sitting in a bar....
Mike
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Hoi-hoi ...jokes!!
Wasn't there a thread around here were we can tell jokes?
OK my turn!
How one can one see that the stage is not perfectly horizontal??
When the drool dribbles out of only 1 corner of the drummers' mouth.
hehehe!
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrufl
And now over to Brother Mike ladies and gentle people!!!
Paul TBO
rats ...I don't
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I have to jump in on this one.
What do you call someone who's tone deaf and likes to hang out with musicians?
A drummer
What do you call a guitar player who breaks up with his girlfriend?
homeless
Bill, the guitar one
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Not in keeping with the musical theme but here goes:
What do you get when you cross an insomniac, an agnostic and a dyslexic?
Someone who stays up all night wondering if there's a Dog.
Wow - serious thread derailment.
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Guys
For various reasons (so much to do, so little time)I haven't posted here in a while and have only visited briefly; now I remember why I love this place. It is SOOOOOO good to be back!!!!!
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HURRRAH!!!!
Bro's and sis's ..come over here and give him a big hand.
Bigbadbill is back and is Sweet William now... (yeah ....I know ....it's an old one).
So good to have you back Bill.
Beware ...the place is now LOADED with Bill's! Bills from the bar, from the refurnisher, from Susan's new staircase, Bills from the pizzeria, Bills from Bob's boat overhoal, we only missing the Bill of Rami's new fretless who is still not finished (but nobody wants to see that bill anyway ...OTOH we are all anxiously waiting to see the bass), we have lots of bills from different bars from all over the world ...but ...well ...the Bigbadbill ...we missed!!!!
Paul the bad one
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Ummm....Paul, you did know that bigbadbill's name is actually Shaun, right? Ok, I'm just checking. You knew that.
Welcome back, Shaun, and how is your walnut Triple-O sounding now that you've plugged it in?
:-)
Ken (TEO)
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O-o
I've never been good at billing ....
well ...we knew THAT already.
PTBO
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Paul,
That's ok...I just wind up PAYING them.
:-)
Ken (TEO)
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Hey Brother Ken ...where's your elfish gone.
Lack practicing?
I can wabble elfishlike but an insult for those who REALLY get into that laguage.
So ...feel free ... the scene is all yours!!
Darn ...am I off topic again????
PTBO
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Well I'm up to my old tricks again;fashionably late as usual (even later than ever in fact)!
Hi Paul and Ken and thanks for the kind words! BTW Paul, I've certainly missed your sense of humour! And how are you Ken? How's the lovely Erin-Oromion now you've had her for a while? The Triple O is staggering. You should see people's faces when I pull it out of the case; and that's before I plug it in. I wish you could see the wood in the flesh, so to speak, as the pictures don't begin to do it justice. As soon as I can beg, borrow or buy a digital camera I'll post some more pictures. It truly is the best bass I've ever owned by far(best I've played in fact), and sounds incredible.
BTW Hi to club members old and new (of which there seem to be quite a few), and hi to those wonderful people who make it all happen (they should be renamed Elflembic...ok maybe not ); when I inevitably win the lottery you're going to have more orders than you can shake a stick at.....can anyone hear the Everly Brothers or is it just me?
BTW Ken, decided to call the bass Eagle Wing, and then couldn't find the whole phrase in Quenya! Talk about irritating...so if you can help, I'd be grateful (my powers are weak; soon you will be the master. Oops, sorry, wrong film...and back to front!!)
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Shaun
Try http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/tolkien.html (http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/tolkien.html)
Maybe you can find what you're looking for there.
Sam
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Hi Sam
How are you??? And thanks!!! You are a star! I've obviously been looking in all the wrong places! Well it seems that the bass is called...*drum roll*...Sorne-Raama. Now I just have to perfect the pronunciation! Looks like it's out with the books again...
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We should probably move this to another thread guys
:-)
I believe it would be Sornay Rahmah, rolling the R, accenting the second syllable in the first, first in the second (due to the vowels)
Ken (TEO)
P.S. Check the Factory to customer section, we can continue there.