Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Showcase => Distillate Basses and Guitars => Topic started by: edwardofhuncote on November 20, 2017, 07:07:40 PM
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Well, I went and did it again folks... but I swear, this is it until retirement! ;D
Actually, I'd been putting aside a little bundle for a while now, working toward a vintage Series I, but this Custom Distillate won my affections. I just bought it from the original owner, who had it built back in 1985, but played it very little... said it was just too beautiful to take on gigs. The remarkable condition came at a bit more of a premium than current market prices, but it is essentially a new-old-stock bass.
So, here are the particulars... it's a medium-scale fretless Distillate, but has a custom body shape that melds features from both the Standard Point, and the later model Distillate with the extended upper horn. The top laminate is figured bubinga, over a mahogany core, and of course has the standard maple/purpleheart neck layup. Most importantly, it has all the same critical dimensions of my '81 Distillate, so the transition from these two should be as seamless as switching between the two fretted and fretless 5-strings. ;)
I'll take some more pictures after it arrives, and I've had time to swap out strings and do some basic setup. Meantime, these shots are courtesy of the original owner.
Without further ado, here's Distillate 85 D 3696 USA
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Wow...that fretless finally gets to see the world.
(at least a little corner of it).
Can't wait to see it with your others, that's going to be an awesome family shot.
Congrats Greg,
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Nice! Love that shape.
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Cool looking bass, shape and wood grain, fretless too. Enjoy! :)
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Beauty! Congrats!
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Very nice, congrats! :-)
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Looks great! Enjoy it!
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Is that a standard, non adjustable nut? Last image it looks almost like a bone nut.
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Is that a standard, non adjustable nut? Last image it looks almost like a bone nut.
I noticed that too Toby... not sure, but I agree it looks like either bone or micarta. One of Jimmy J's basses has a similar 'mystery' nut. If memory serves, it's on one of his fretless basses too. Since this bass was a Custom order, maybe it was a request.
*Found it. Check post #15 on this thread, second bass down: http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=22589.15
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I'd never noticed that before on Jimmy's bass. Good eye!
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I can't say too much more about this bass except that it is a *brand-new* fretless Distillate that just happens to be 32 years old. There's not a scratch or ding to be found on the entire bass. Even the hardshell case is like-new, with scarcely a mark on it. The darn thing still even had the protective paper over the control cavity cover, so once I peeled that off (wasn't easy either!) the brass plate underneath was, well... good as new. Everything inside is all nice and orderly.
So, I spent most of the afternoon and evening oiling the fingerboard, changing strings, setting up the action and intonation, followed by a good wipe-down, and finally- plugged up and playing it! It's every bit as responsive as my custom fretless "Chain-Links" is... remarkably similar. (which I guess kinda' makes sense...) The controls all work flawlessly, and she's dead quiet, even in front of the television.
I'll get some better pictures in days to come, but here's a few from the music room.
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Beautiful looking bass. Looks to be in a lot better condition than the frteless I'm currently in the process of purchasing (a 1976 road worn Series I)
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Congratulations!! That's definitely a beautiful bass. (I'm thinking perhaps at some point I should hire you to find me a fretless...!!!!)
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Thanks Fellas. :)
I've been playing on a set of D'Addario Chromes... still a little bit too bright for my taste, but the setup is spot-on. I may switch to Pyramids later.
Can't say I didn't think of this before- but I didn't fully realize how dependent I am on side markers. This bass has bronze dots where the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th frets (and so on) would be. "Chain-Links" has white holly fret sidelines all the way down and bronze dots between them at those same places. It's a bit of a head-game.
I may eventually have some more bronze dot side markers installed at each 'fret' in addition to the intervals, but for now, I'm just going to practice more. ;D
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Give the Chromes a chance to mellow out...
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To illustrate, here's what I'm seeing from a player's perspective, at both ends of the scale:
Give the Chromes a chance to mellow out...
Oh yeah, Growly... plenty of time. Besides, that's what they put that treble boost-flat-cut switch there for! ;D
*at risk of over-analyzing this side-marker issue... I think what would help the most is if there were just one more bronze dot at the first 'fret' position. Just that alone would sure help 'spot the landing' on 8 notes that I use a LOT. Hmmm...
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Can't say I didn't think of this before- but I didn't fully realize how dependent I am on side markers. This bass has bronze dots where the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th frets (and so on) would be. "Chain-Links" has white holly fret sidelines all the way down and bronze dots between them at those same places. It's a bit of a head-game.
I may eventually have some more bronze dot side markers installed at each 'fret' in addition to the intervals, but for now, I'm just going to practice more. ;D
Congrats on the new bass! (I know I said it at Talkbass but wanted to say it here too)
My Guild M-85 has dots that sound similar to your new one - I like it - the doubleneck sounds like Chains, except instead of lines for each fret there are tiny dots, plus the "regular" dots. I've never played out with it, but I think it would be hard to see since lighting is often less than ideal. My first-ever fretless was a Fender Japan '62 Jazz Bass reissue that had an unlined fretboard, and only dots where they would be on a fretted bass!!! It was so hard (plus I didn't practice anywhere near enough) and turned me off to fretless until I got the doubleneck.
I bet you will get used to the dots-only-on-certain-frets!
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I have dots only marking fret locations on my fretless and have no problem playing it.
I have a fretted bass with LEDs at the frets, no dots in between, and it scrambled my brain. I couldn’t play it until I added dots in between the frets. Odd the way the brain works.
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The key to unlined fretless is practise ...and willpower!
I try to practise my fretless every day just like I bow my upright every day.
Some prefer unlined fretless. It works rather well for uprights, cellos & violins etc!
You may need to make a decision which of your awesome basses to take to a gig depends on the gig requirements. A sight reading gig on unlined fretless could be terrifying if you are not comfortable with intonation. The same bass on an easy jazz casual or acoustic country gig with no charts might be perfect.
Always good to have bass choices for your gigs. Super nice bass by the way. :)
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I almost don't want to post this, 'cause I don't want you guys to think I'm crazy, but here goes. After some experimentation with a little sticker where the 1st fret would be, I realized that was all I needed. Maybe because I am hard-headed, but I needed some reference point other than the nut to land those notes correctly. Even I can't believe how much easier it got. So what to do for a permanent fix? Turned out I had some tiny brass tacks in shop that were precisely the right diameter. I ground the head off a couple, and tried them in some scrap wood... perfect match.
Here's where it gets scary... :P
I measured from the front of the nut to the top/center of the 1st fret on both of my other 32" scale Alembics, then compared that to the 1st fret sideline on my Custom fretless, also a 32" scale. Finding less than 1/64" difference, I figured that was close enough. Using a set of calipers, I marked where the marker needed to be, and... well... I put an extra bronze side dot in this bass. Trust me, you don't want to know the details of how. It involved a tiny drill bit, an equally tiny tack-hammer, a block of wood, a dab of super-glue, and nerves of freakin' steel. ::)
I'm home... at least where playing in the first position is concerned! I'm off to do some more bonding. Like Casey says- "PRACTICE". ;)
Before I go, here's a couple quick-n-dirty pics of the finished job. Can you tell the difference? :)
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Could be worse - I was afraid you might have hammered the whole tack into the neck!
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Oh, MAN! (Time for some Jack...[Daniels, that is!])
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I spent the rest of the evening at play. That one little thing solved the issue... can't believe something so simple could make that much difference but playing this one is effortless now. :D
I seem to remember one time Mica said something about the advantage of having that first dot there, just because it was such a lot of blank space there without it - I sure see why now. :)
Yeah guys, I definitely wouldn't recommend that DIY job to the faint-of-heart, but to make full disclosure, I mark the notes on upright basses all the time using this very same procedure. It's one of the more common options people ask for when I set up a bass. Mostly I was concerned with having the right size dot. 8)
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... :D ...... :) ...... :) ...... ;)
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Yummers! That's a really nice axe! But I'm biased!! Hee! Hee!
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It was a nice day for Distillates on a gig this afternoon... caught this picture of Custom fretless "Doc" while HGB was on set break. ;)
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What a sweetie ! ;D
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Two Birthdays... Barbara Eden is 87 years old today, and my Custom fretless Distillate is 33. Perhaps it's fate they share August 23rd. When I found out, I thought about naming the bass "Barbara-Jean" after her, but instead settled on keeping a connection to the original owner, Doc. (y'all know that was incredibly hard for me to pass up, right?) But Doc took really good care of this one all those years, so "Doc" it is. Since I got this one last Fall, it's gone into regular rotation, and I really enjoy keeping the 4-string model in my head. Distillate controls to me at least, are very easy to dial-up what I use at gigs... (I suppose the modern-day equivalent would be Rogue/Europa) but a single Master Volume, Filter, Q-switch, plus the Bass and Treble eq toggles... it's just hard to go wrong. I do find myself using the 4-position pickup selector switch more often than I thought... oddly, this is my only Alembic bass with one... all three of the others have a Pan function.
Took a few pictures last night trying to capture the beauty of the bubinga in this one... you have to get the light just right for the figuring to 'pop', but what really strikes you is the colors... oranges, browns, even brick-reds suddenly show up. Even the maple and purpleheart in the neck layup is spectacular. Somebody smiled when the first coats of finish hit this one, for sure. Though the body pattern on this one is a variation on the Standard Point, with an extended upper horn, it is surprisingly light (and because of the upper horn) balances very well too. I love how the bubinga melds right into the mahogany body core too... very old-school cool. I've thought a couple times about sending the bridge, bird tailpiece, logo, and brass plates out to have them chrome-plated to match the tuning machines, but shoot... they're still like new. Still might do that some day... I think it would look sharp.
I haven't decided yet how best to celebrate the occasion this evening... I'm leaning towards binge-watching the entire first couple seasons of "I Dream of Jeannie", then attempting playback on all of of McVie's bass parts from the 1975 Fleetwood Mac "White" Album through "Tusk" on fretless. Then calling in sick tomorrow. (legitimately)
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Beautiful. Just beautiful. A couple quick questions, though - One: Are those individual bridge pieces turned around backwards? I'm sure it doesn't matter one bit if they are, just curious. And Two: How did you ever find such an immaculate condition 33 year old ANYthing?!!!
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The bridge saddles look right to me. You want the slope to be pointing at the tailpiece so that the sharp drop off provides the cleanest witness point to the part of the string you play. It also provides the most accurate intonation.
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Beautiful. Just beautiful. A couple quick questions, though - One: Are those individual bridge pieces turned around backwards? I'm sure it doesn't matter one bit if they are, just curious. And Two: How did you ever find such an immaculate condition 33 year old ANYthing?!!!
Yep, as far as I know they are [oriented correctly] Growly. One thing that does look odd... to intonate properly on the bronze side-dots, the G saddle had to be pulled way back... and I'm not quite sure why. Different strings didn't seem to matter. Possibly the nut slot depth could be affecting it, but I wouldn't have thought that much. Could be my left hand technique too. It just looks weird.
Initially, it was for sale on Reverb, but then the seller had second thoughts and a pile of low-ball offers, some he said, pretty silly. I had communicated with him earlier in the year about the bass, but promised not to bother him until I was serious. When the time came, I took a chance he might be interested in a private sale. He was, and we came to an equitable agreement both of us could live with. We've stayed in touch. (matter of fact, I emailed him today... :) )
The bass when it came, was as perfect as he'd described it to me. I still don't know how one could have such an amazing bass and not play it. Doc tells me he had other Alembics, and just couldn't bear to see this one scuffed up at a gig. I'll accept that! ;D
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Thanks, Greg. And Edwin: After looking at my own bridge set up, I quickly realized I was wrong about the orientation of those individual bridge pieces. I should have looked first! Thanks again for the clarification. DOH!
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... the G saddle had to be pulled way back... and I'm not quite sure why. Different strings didn't seem to matter. Possibly the nut slot depth could be affecting it, but I wouldn't have thought that much. Could be my left hand technique too. It just looks weird.
Next time you change strings, it might be interesting to put the G string in the D string
slots to see if it behaves different with a different nut slot, or maybe just the stiffness of
some G strings isn't in line with the others....I've seen that before with G strings
(I'm sure you have too) ;)
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That's worth a try, for curiosities' sake, Elwood. ;)
I just didn't see that coming on a fretless... I mean... why?! I tried Pyramids, Chromes, and finally settled on T-I JF's and all three pretty much intonate the same. That G absolutely will not note true unless the saddle is moved well behind the D. Which is fine... that's why they make them adjustable, but still... man, that's just odd!
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Showcase Thread update for 85D 3696...
34 years ago today, this Custom fretless Distillate began the journey. After a good going-over for annual maintenance, it was time for some new pictures. Some quality plugged-in time is coming this weekend. :D
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Very nice bass! :)
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Jeepers!
That bass looks like it is brand new.
The extended upper horn and point are extra special touches.
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This is such a beautiful instrument ! I love this shape with the point .
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"Doc" is 35 years old today. Hoping very much to play a few tunes this evening with my fretless Distillate Custom. Later this year, this bass is getting a pair of AXY FatBoys installed for an experiment... "Doc" has a really special midrange growl and this indescribable timbre in the mid-lows, but I've always felt the extreme low end needed a push. Maybe it's the Bubinga on Mahogany, or more likely I think, the pickup placement... which is somewhat different from my older fretted Distillate. Anyway, we're going to have some fun finding out what happens when those tubbies go in! ;D
With deference to Mica, here's the maroon sheet shot for 2020. It's the best I can do with my limited resources and know-how. ::)
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I was thinking about this bass the other day, it’s a nice one! Once you install the Fatboy, I’ll be interested to hear what you think about a Fatboy in the neck position.
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This bass speaks " PLAY ME " . I love it :)
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36. Wow, I remember the Summer of '85 like it was last week... I had yet to take up playing bass, but it was in me that I wanted to by the time 85D 3696 rolled out. We didn't get to play much this past year, but "Doc" did make it to a couple stages this gig season. The AXY Fatboys that had been surrogate pickups for my Series bass for a while are permanent equipment here... no turning back now, you just can't un-hear that sound.
Unfortunately, just too tired to play tonight, but I did get to spend some quality plugged-in time this past weekend.
*also pictured, the Persuader 5-string, my first Alembic... we don't really know for sure what the actual 'Birthday' is, just sometime in late-August; close enough!
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Cool bass, love the wood grain! :)
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Weird how things time out sometimes... 5 years to the day after 85D-3696 came to me, its headed to a new home. I'll be playing a few last tunes on this bass over the weekend before packing it up tight for a trip up North.
I've had a series of conversations with the new custodian about the bass and what their expectations were. I was relieved to learn they are an avid fretless player, unconcerned about the sparse side markers, and excited because this one will be their first Alembic. I went into a lot of detail about how the electronics worked, and how they compared to other models too. Learned they've been a Stanley Clarke fan for life also. It really couldn't have worked out better. Hopefully they'll register and join us here.
But I guess it's So Long for now.
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Hearing that makes me smile! The new owner will be thrilled with what that instrument is capable of!