Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Fun Stories => Topic started by: gtrguy on April 24, 2020, 03:35:30 PM
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I am finally getting around to working on 77-829 again, what with the lockdown affording me the time. I just finished crafting some aluminum standoffs on my TAIG micro lathe for the PF6 card (it didn't have any) and took this shot just before crimping one onto the board, using my Unimat milling machine as a press. I custom turned a bit of steel to fit into the standoff end and do the pressing with.
I enjoy this kind of stuff. Now on to more wiring work.
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It's on!
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David, you mentioned the Unimat in a different thread. Is it like a tabletop mill?
The standoffs look nice.
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Nice work!!
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Yes, the original Unimat is a vintage small lathe and mill made in Austria from the mid 1950's up to the mid 1970s and sold here in the US by EMCO. There are still many for sale and also on EBay. Newer versions were made up to 1990.
There are tons of uses for them and lots of attachments. I use my Taig and Unimat to make small precision parts. I also have a JET (China) 9X20 lathe and a vintage Atlas (USA) 10X42 lathe and I use them for bigger machining. Here is a pic of my small setup.
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:) 8)
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Wow that's so great what you did and put it to use again.
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I was working some more on the bass yesterday when I picked up this Mexicanos $20 circa 2000 coin I happened to have sitting on my desk, and discovered that it is an almost exact fit for the pickup selector opening. A coin like this would make a good cover plate for those who had moved their PUP selector knobs.
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I put some strings on it after polishing the nut, just to see how it still plays. The action and playability are great. The electronics will take some more time, though.
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When I worked at Alembic Tom Fowler's Series came through the shop--it had a coin filling the original PU selector hole. Don't remember what kind of coin, though.
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I love that Zappa's band with Tom, his work in that "era" is trully amazing. That coin looks great on the Bass, David.
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I started wiring up a new pickup selector switch today. This is one of those jobs where 99.9% of those who need one should just get one from Alembic (I think they sell pre-wired ones?) but I have the time and like the challenge of working on small parts. I also have 3 sets of visors with LED lights and in various magnifications!
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I recognize the level of dexterity and skill required to do that and applaud you.
I would end up with a giant soldered ball-o-mess.
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I'm also enjoying your thread. I'll add, that 'fan' headstock is very cool. I didn't know about this one... I was thinking of your Zebrawood Series. Was #77-829 a Custom build?
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Yep, it's pictured on Alembic's history page. Believed to have been ordered by Iron Butterfly's bass player, but for some reason never picked up when it was finally done.
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Ahhh, that one! Fretless, with the unusual horns. I had never seen the headstock end before. Very cool bass.
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I found a little time to start working on the main wiring today. This is my jig!
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8)
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Well, I am starting to install the electronics into the body today. I only work on it when it's raining and the weather up until today has been nice.
Will it all work? I won't know until I get more done!
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That's a whole lot of lams !!
Hopin' you got it right the first time, I have my fingers crossed.
Are there pics of #829 around? She looks special :D
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I fired it up today with a PF6 card from another series one (the card I will use had its pickup wires cut at some point and will need new connectors). The neck pickup works fine and sounds great. The bridge pickup setting at first was very quiet but worked and then squealed like a banshee and then stopped working at all. Switching the Q switch also seemed to have something to do with it. Next I will switch the PUP wires on the card and see what happens. However, the card came out of a bass that worked fine. I am very happy that I hear no hum or radio interference at all on the neck pickup setting!
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Before installing the pickups I checked that they worked OK in another bass.
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I fired it up today with a PF6 card from another series one (the card I will use had its pickup wires cut at some point and will need new connectors). The neck pickup works fine and sounds great. The bridge pickup setting at first was very quiet but worked and then squealed like a banshee and then stopped working at all. Switching the Q switch also seemed to have something to do with it. Next I will switch the PUP wires on the card and see what happens. However, the card came out of a bass that worked fine. I am very happy that I hear no hum or radio interference at all on the neck pickup setting!
Could be a pot. I've had the frequency pot do that in the past.
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After exercising the pots 50 times the bridge pickup now works. However, if I twist the frequency pot a little, then the sound goes away or the squeal comes back. I'll try exercising it a couple hundred times more. I think my wiring job might be OK.
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Well, my Fluke RMS VOM says all the pots have a similar sweep. Something else must be off.
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Ah ha, I see where cap C1 (I think it's C1) is not connected to anything at all! I think I am getting close to the answer!
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Great news: I soldered the cap back onto the lug and now she works!!! Best to carefully check whatever wiring you get for your project to see if it is all connected!
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Does that connect to the Q switch? I had one that squealed when I turned the filter all the way clockwise and it ended up having to do with the Q switch wiring. Great that you figured it out for yours!
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Great news: I soldered the cap back onto the lug and now she works!!!
Woohoo! :D
.. congrats.
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Good to hear you tracked it down!
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I am using my vintage tube powered Conn Strobo Tuner to set the intonation today. The Conn is still one of the finest guitar and bass setup tools out there, even after all these years!
Now if the playing is out of tune, I know what the source is: me.
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I did my first recording test with the bass today. To say it sounds huge is an understatement. I did a DI in using my BBE direct box. Massive amounts of low end, like a Rick on steroids.
It calls so much attention to itself that I will have to dumb it down some to get it to sit in the mix. That's not hard to do, and in fact going to other way is much harder.
I wish I could post a sound file here. I am thinking of doing a cover of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida with a twist, maybe letting folks add their own drum solo bits onto it for the stay-at-home crowd, if I can figure out how!
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Great you got it working again, it’s such a unique looking Alembic. I’ve done a couple distance collaborations with my nephew during the past couple of months. He records a guitar track and sends it to me as an mp3. I convert it to wav and import it into Audacity. Add a bass line and send it back to him. It’s fun!