Alembic Guitars Club

Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Troubleshooting => Topic started by: Matches on July 07, 2020, 05:43:28 PM

Title: Adapter for an SF-2
Post by: Matches on July 07, 2020, 05:43:28 PM

I recently bought an SF-2 from a member on this board and it is one of my favorite pieces of equipment. Right now, I am using a
a cheap adapter but it is center positive. What brand of adapters do other people use for their gear? Most that I have seen are center negative.

Thanks

Title: Re: Adapter for an SF-2
Post by: StephenR on July 07, 2020, 06:20:55 PM

Welcome to the club!
Is there anything wrong with your current adapter? If not, as long as the one you use is within the correct voltage range and is center-positive you should be good to go. When I bought one for my SF-2 I just went to a local electronics parts store (last of a dying breed) and bought what they gave me after telling them the voltage specs and polarity I needed.


In case you haven't seen it here is Mica's FAQ page about the adapters...
[size=78%]http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=264.0 (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=264.0)[/size]

Title: Re: Adapter for an SF-2
Post by: mica on July 07, 2020, 06:45:29 PM

Center positive is correct! If you use the wrong polarity you will burn out a choke, which will protect the circuitry, but your unit won't work until it's repaired.

Title: Re: Adapter for an SF-2
Post by: Matches on July 11, 2020, 08:45:49 PM

Thanks Stephen and Mika,

I'm figuring this super filter but I have one question. When I'm playing through it and I hit the open A string it sounds like a piano which is a good thing. That's the sound I want but if I play an A on the E string on the fifth fret, it sounds distorted. I'm just wondering why a fretted note would have a distorted sound and an open string would be clear.

Thanks,
Matt

Title: Re: Adapter for an SF-2
Post by: JimmyJ on July 11, 2020, 09:19:35 PM

Hey Matt,

Well, there could be a few causes but it's hard to guess without knowing your entire setup.  What bass are you playing?  Does it do what you are describing with other amps?  Are you sure you don't have a fret buzz or even a loose winding on your E string?  It's hard to imagine the SF2 being the culprit unless something is right at the edge of breaking up (the A on the E-string can be a slightly hotter level because of the thickness of the winding). 


Do some experimenting and tell us more about what you've got going on there.

Jimmy J