Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Fun Stories => Topic started by: goran on March 15, 2019, 08:26:04 AM
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I have old Series 1 and I want you thoughts on installing mono/stereo switch on it? I don't know if it's even possible,but right now just need you thoughts on that.
thanks
Goran
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Hey Goran,
Or ... you could just decide. Ha! The choice between mono and stereo output is already available at the power supply and that is the "normal" way to run our basses. I always thought of the 1/4" output as a "backup" of sorts, to be used either when the power supply was un-available or just to sit in for a few songs at a jam session. Although I do use it for tuning in some situations, I never liked the idea of depending on battery power on the job.
When I first got into Alembics I did run stereo amp rigs. It's a joy to hear that huge clean sound using separate amps for each pickup. But only a joy for you and a few nearby listeners... I have only on very rare occasions recorded in stereo. And in those cases I would only split the channels slightly left and right of center. The result sounded like a mono bass signal but with slightly more open overtones - in a nice way. But again, only on rare occasions.
So modifying the bass itself with a mono/stereo switch wouldn't be for me but it's your axe so you can do whatever you want with it! Everybody has their own special tweaks and that's the way we personalize our instruments.
Jimmy J
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Old #10, like some other early Alembics, has a little stereo/mono switch for the 1/4" output, so it is possible. However, I agree with Jimmy that the usefulness of such a switch is questionable. On #10, I leave it on mono all the time.
Bill, tgo
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When I was up at Alembic last week Mica told me they no longer install the mono/stereo switches in Series instruments unless specifically requested since it is redundant. But, redundant for some may not mean for others, if you think a switch would be useful to you it is certainly possible to put one in.
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Thank you all for your vies on that, well I just use it as mono (always) and I'll order a stereo to mono cable, because I'm not good with soldering and scared of doing it to mono output.
Yea, as Jimmy said, I just need it for few songs sometimes (specially when it's a concert with rented backline and a lot of bands are playing), don't want to bring the power supply and then leave it on sage until my show starts.
Ok, I'm off the idea of installing the mono/stereo switch... thanks guys :)
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The stereo/mono switch is not exactly redundant, but that there are already lots of controls to handle, and very few people actually use it. But if you need it, of course we're happy to put one in.
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Goran, you might find having 2 cables to your advantage. You could have
a true stereo cord, TRS to 2-1/4" ends for either 2 amps or 2 channels and
a TRS to a single 1/4" with summing resistors. I have both, but, since getting
the second example, that has been my go to for rehearsals and opening act/multi
act shows. Just remember to keep your batteries current. I keep an extra pair
of 9 volts in my gig bag.
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Thanks all, Mica I would love to install it in my bass, but situated in Europe that's a bit of problem, I'm not sure if I'll ever use my bass stereo with batteries and if I really need stereo I could just use it with power supply. So, I'm gonna transfer jack to mono, that's the best thing for me!
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Goran, i use stereo to mono cables from this source, works great and I don’t have to modify the jack. But as mentioned above, use fresh batteries and keep spares in your case,
https://bayoucables.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=35&products_id=92&zenid=80baf4e2a5fc9b3c87b03ad9cd0c4539
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Hey, yea just yesterday I wanted to order cables from them, but no international shipping... Spare batteries are always a good choice :). Thanks
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Just wondering if you guys know this (you probably do).
If I have on through 5 pin cable and I can hear myself on amp, is it possible to put also headphones into jack and hear myself through headphones and amp at the same time?
thanks
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Good question Goran but I think the answer is no. I wouldn't recommend trying it because it would be like plugging your headphones into the input of your amp. (By the way, if you did that and spoke into the left earpiece it would probably work like a funky microphone). The 1/4" jack also turns on the bass's battery power so if you did that while your DS-5 and amp was on and turned up it would likely send a large transient down the audio line.
I say this all without ever trying these combinations, even by accident. But I'll take the opportunity to mention that as long as the bass pickup selector is in the "off" position you can plug and unplug the 5-pin cable - at the bass - without a problem. But if the bass is "on" and you do that you will send a large "THUMP" down the line. That one I have accidentally done numerous times, followed by be shouting "sorry"!
Jimmy J
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Ah yes, I know that "Sorry" well, Jimmy! For me it usually follows me screwing up the lyrics and throwing the arrangement off. The bottom line is that we human-types just aren't as close to perfection as are our Alembics!
Bill, tgo
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Great, I didn't try it, was kind of weird to do that, but yea, took my bass today to a guys that will convert it to mono.... :)
Thanks Jimmy
I let you how it goes :)
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You got the instructions on the FAQ page? Make sure your guy adds the mixing resistors.
For your question about using the 5-pin and and the 1/4" stereo output at the same time, you can! Plug them in when you have the amp down of course, but it will work. You will be using exclusively battery power though, but you can use the outputs on the DS-5 the same as usual. Once you convert to mono, you can't use the headphone function anymore, but you ca still use the 1/4" mono out to something like a tuner, but again, if anything is pluged in the 1/4" output, the power source switches to battery only.
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Thanks Mica, yea I downloaded the PDF from FAQ page, and also told him about resistors.
The usually repairs guitars electronics, but this was first time he saw an Alembic, he was intimidated. He's was like: "Man who ever build this bass, that guy is special..." and the like a kid told me what's in in language that I don't understand( electronics language).
He also opened the DS-5 and said that it needs to change some stuff that were not changed for years, and will try to work on that hum that I had when I unplug the bass from DS-5.
Anyway, I'll see how it will be... everybody says guy is great in those things.
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Wow, I've learned yet another thing from Mica. Who knew these basses came with a built in "more me" feature? Ha!
Goran, you say "...will try to work on that hum that I had when I unplug the bass from DS-5." Despite what I said above about being able to silently unplug the 5-pin cable at the bass (with the pickup selector set to "off") it's possible that will result in some hum from the amp because it leaves a long "un-terminated" cable connected to the input. In an effort to keep extra noise at a minimum I've built a mute switch into my studio DI which shorts the input before I unplug anything. I've also modified one DS5 to run two mono outputs with a mute switch on one of them. :)
Glad you found a guy to help with the soldering. And we love it that he got excited by the internal artwork. That should inspire him to do a good job.
Jimmy J
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Hey guys...
So he did it, bass works with batteries, but since someone left batteries inside (long time ago), I need to change those little battery plugs, so it works but contact is breaking up.
The guy did amazing work, I'll let you know everything that he did on my bass!
Just going tomorrow to him to change those small plugs, he even did something to DS-5.
But all that tomorrow.
g
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Hey guys sorry it took so long, but here is an update:
Bass works on batteries and has a mono switch, which is great if I have to just take a bass for jamm session or small gigs. But, I'll still use the DS5 for big venues.
So guy did the amazing work, he even changed the capacitors (I think that's the name, those two blue things inside DS-5), tested and cleaned it.
So what he did also was this, he changed those, I think preamp modules, there is five of them, so inside are new ones, and outside are old ones.
He measured them and said that I will get 3 times more battery life than on old ones, and that sound shouldn't change, so I tested that and man he's right, longer battery life and no change in sound.
I posted pictures of inisde of the cavity, so you can see mono switch, and two pics of new and old modules.
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Hey Goran,
It's great that you've found a good tech for when you need some work done. I see he added the summing resistors so that your 1/4" jack is mono. (When you said "switch" at the beginning of this thread I thought you meant adding a switch as in - drilling a hole and mounting a new toggle switch near the knobs... Maybe you just meant to "switch" the 1/4" jack to mono output. English is a messed up language!)
Updating the DS-5's capacitors makes some sense I suppose, just because of their age. I don't think that would have a noticeable effect on noise levels or audio output, but it is a component which has a lifespan and putting in new ones should extend the life of your power supply.
And swapping the IC chips or opamps ("preamp modules") is an interesting idea. I think there are a few "plug and play" options for our board's opamps but I've never experimented with swapping them. I've stuck with the 5534s as I figured Alembic made that choice on purpose. I'm presuming they chose that chip because of #1 sound quality in the circuit, #2 reliability, and perhaps #3 ubiquitous availability. We know that the cost of components is not an issue so... Anyway, as long as the tone and output level of your bass sound right to you then having an extended battery life is a nice result.
Good stuff!
Jimmy J
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Hey Jimmy, yea sorry for my english, but yes I meant swapping from stereo to mono...
I'll play now with these modules and then swap them again just to see/hear if there is any difference. Those modules are from 80's so thinking that maybe technology went here in a good way to swap them... we'll see... hope Mica can chip in about this!
Thanks!
Goran
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The 5534 has a lower noise rating than the TL071. The 5534 also has a wider bandwidth. Whether these differences are noticeable anyplace other than on the bench I can't say. The TL071 has lower power requirements.
I want to start with that I have never seen a schematic of the Series electronics so this is just a general observation. I haven't done any op amp circuit design in 40 years but I did work with dual op amp The 5534 requires an external buffer if used as the first stage from something like a guitar so will have have a Jfet in front of it. The TL071 has the Jfet built in. I don't know the effect if any on the circuit just swapping one for the other. I would just go with how it sounds to you.
Way back when I was designing the preamp that is in my Jazz Bass. I settled on the NE5532 but also played around with easy to obtain LM1458's. While it could just be me I noticed a difference between different LM1458's I plugged into the circuit which is one reason I settled on the NE5532, dual version of 5534, as it was more consistent.
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Thanks Keith, I'l do more swapping in future, but for now I can't hear the difference and I like having extra juice on batteries. Wondering how it will sound 1 month from now playing on this modules and then swapping them back...