Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere => Topic started by: BeenDown139 on May 04, 2021, 04:36:09 AM
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Ahhh...springtime! when a young man's thoughts turn to doubling the price in the hopes that some sucker will bite. In this case we have a very nicely dressed, well maintained specimen from the 80's (i actually owned one of these basses at one time - it was a freaking screamer).
https://reverb.com/item/40413556-alembic-exploiter-1983-gloss
I'd be surprised if it's really a 34" scale. it's hard to tell from the pictures but if it's really koa over mahogany that probably adds a little to it. But $7k USD? WhooOO00OOoo!
i could be wrong. wouldn't be the first time....
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I'm pretty sure a former owner is a member here, or at least was. I remember a Distillate Exploiter that someone had refinished and recessed strap locks added at the Mother ship not too long ago. I also don't think it's a 34'' scale. Beautiful bass, but pretty well over-priced in my opinion.
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Perhaps an attempt to use the Spyder price list on the Alembic website to imply this Exploiter is comparable.
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Yeah,
the prices for used Alembics are going nuts nowadays.
And this one has the correct Spyder shape, not the thin lower
cutaway that some Exploiters have.
And if you think about an exact replica of JE‘s Spyder:
you have to be prepared to have some 50K lying around.
Greetz
Oliver (Spyderman)
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I don't remember the scale length on this bass, but it does look like the one we recently did a complete refinish and electronics upgrade on.
I'm certainly no expert on the price of used Alembics, but I don't see anything weird in this listing trying to compare it to a Spyder bass, maybe I missed something.
Yes, Oliver - super customized handmade basses are expensive.
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I think they don't realize there's a difference between Series pickups and these, which I assume are AXY's. So they oughta' fix that part. It's a beautiful bass, and definitely unusual. That isn't the cone headstock often seen on Exploiters. Flame Koa top - get on. Distillate 'tronics... ain't but one thing better. Restored at the Mothership... who better? It's as good as new. I'm not interested, (even a little) but if I was, I'd make a respectable offer.
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Beautiful bass :)
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well 2 offers so far, be interesting to see how this plays out, so to speak.
if i was jonesing for smokin' 4-stringer I'd run something up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it. as it is i've got my hands full with the instruments i already own . 😎
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From the photo in the case it appears to sit the same as my "plain 'ole" Exploiter so I'd bet that's a 32". If it wasn't tax time I'd make a reasonable offer but my guess is he's not in a reasonable mindset...yet.
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I'm just seeing this as the description, maybe you guys are seeing something else:
"1983 Alembic exploiter refurbished
34” scale
Alembic series pickups w/ toggle switches
Maple neck with purpleheart strips
Ebony fingerboard
Mahogany core
Koa sides
Just amazing. Completely clean and with its original case + custom wood nobs the previous owner who had this refurbished, had made.
Only shipping to the U.S "
I mean the description is scant, and would be best served by calling it a Distillate Exploiter, but many people think that Exploiter is a model name. I don't see any reference to pickups, Spyders, or almost anything at all. Maybe you can help me see where all the extra details are, Greg.
That's an early Spoiler bass/Electrum guitar peghead shape, known around here as "the bishop"
And it's most certainly a Koa top with a Mahogany body.
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That's an early Spoiler bass/Electrum guitar peghead shape, known around here as "the bishop"
Thanks for clarifying. I've always liked that headstock on the few Distillate Exploiters I've seen over the years.
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Well, it is back for sale again... Wonder what happened.
https://reverb.com/item/40413556-alembic-exploiter-1983-gloss
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got the email. relisted at the same price. rinse, lather, repeat. or - to paraphrase something from the profession that i practiced in my previous life:
put pretty bass up for sale;
ask outrageous price for it;
do {
reject all reasonable offers;
take down listing to make everyone guess wtf;
relist again at outrageous price;
} while(1);
or sometink like that :-)
yay!
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One can complain all one wants about overpricing but as long as sites accept the listing of any gear at any price, we will continue to see this occur. It would seem that if people really want to sell their gear a site that provides quidance with respect to the current value of what people want to sell would be sought after and have a lot of traffic.
On the other hand, there is a time and research honored construct in behavioral psychology (my field) that states that variable schedules of reinforcement are the most powerful way to maintain behavior. All it takes is for a person listing gear to find one individual willing to pay an extremely high price and they will continue to list at said prices even if their gear goes for a long periods of time without being sold. One doesn't even have to directly experience the reinforcement for this powerful aspect of learning theory to kick in. Merely observing others being reinforced for the behavior (vicarious reinforcement) will maintain that behavior among others.
From a buyers standpoint, the whole process tests our capacity to use our executive functions to delay reinforcement and not make that impulsive purchase that is overpriced in spite of suffering from G.A.S. As the majority of us who frequent this board identify as males whose executive functions develop later and are often not developed as our female counterparts (I just have to have that bass...even though I already have three, or four, or more) over the long haul there is going to be plenty of reinforcement for sellers that pushes for them to maintain their behavior. (It therefore shouldn't come as a surprise that Susan and Mica are the business brains behind Alembic).
Think of it this way...It could be worse. The NY Times and Wall Street Journal just published articles about the real estate market with people paying thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars above listed (and actual value) prices for homes as a result of bidding wars.
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got a big batch of plastic going through the engraver so i got a few minutes to
bloviate kill. don't tell my boss..
...All it takes is for a person listing gear to find one individual willing to pay an extremely high price...
well as P.T. Barnum purportedly said "There's a sucker born every minute". or conversely if ya want it in the worst way then that's how yer gonna get it. no doubt it's awesome bass but you'd have to be outta your freaking mind to pay that kind of money for it (imho, ymmv, etc. & so forth). but from the seller's standpoint, all ya gotta do is find that magic sucker buyer and it's payday, baby! provided, of course that you're not in a hurry for your money. case in point:
https://www.station-musicshop.de/epages/64398533.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/64398533/Products/10514
negotiated with them over a year ago on this instrument, they won't budge an inch in price, so i moved on, apparently the bass hasn't. good luck with that, fellas.
...behavioral psychology (my field)...
no offense, but OMG!
over the long haul there is going to be plenty of reinforcement for sellers that pushes for them to maintain their behavior
This is a dead horse that i resurrect to beat again and again from time to time. it used to be if you wanted a good idea of what the actual market value of an instrument was, you'd put it on ebay with a low opening bid, run the auction, and the final selling price was your answer. now the model seems to be, put it up for sale, ask a crazy price and see who bites. the final selling price is never revealed so you (the buyer) never know what it really sold for. if you're a seller, i guess it's the bomb. but i have dozens of basses in my reverb watchlist that have been there for over a year. so my question is, are ya really interested in selling it or is it some kinda narcissism thing where ya like seeing your listing up there for months and months for everyone to admire hoping for that special sucker buyer to come along?
...real estate market with people paying thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars above listed...
i live in east denver (by colfax and monaco for those of you familar with the area), over on the next block, they tore down a 2-bedroom, 900 square foot tarpaper shack, built 3 2000-square foot condos side-by-side on the lot. the one the middle is basically a tunnel with windows on the ends, they're so narrow that they're 3 stories high. $775k. each. and this isn't really that great a part of town. get closer to downtown and it would be $2.2M. crazy, daddy-o!
plastic's done, boss is on the prowl, gotta go...
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I'm curious as to why it's listed as "Excellent" condition after it's been refurbished - wouldn't that mean they could list it as "Mint", unless something outside of the "refurbishing" process isn't being highlighted that would mean it wasn't mint even after the mothership did her thing?
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I actually think this customer didn't want the backplates replaced, so there may be some wear on them. And you can scratch a bass after its restored and it's not pristine anymore. Buyers (myself included) are sometimes suspect of lofty claims of mint condition. Perhaps mint should be reserved for things that remain mint and are not later restored? Even loving and undetectable restorations are not original condition.
In the end a thing is worth what someone will pay for it. There are people who are willing to sell only for a high price, and are perfectly content the keep their items if they don't realize that sum. It's a personal choice, much like a personal opinion, and it's hard to understand it as an issue of debate for me. But everyone else is entitled to their own choice to not buy at that price, and to have an opinion on the motivations.
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Makes sense Mica, thanks!
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come to poppa😎
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come to poppa😎
did you grab this one?
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seems i'm on a bass buying binge. not done yet. somebody stop me!
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seems i'm on a bass buying binge. not done yet. somebody stop me!
That is a sweet Exploiter - distillate electronics as well - congrats 👍
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thanks. i was smarting a little from losing out on the spyder and and then a listing update for this one from reverb suddenly fell outta the sky, landed in my lap and started wiggling.
what else could i do? 🤔
not done yet. stay tuned... 🧑🎄
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well it just got here and as i suspected from the start, it's a medium scale. i'm a little miffed about that but i'm gonna throw some fresh rotosounds on it, let it acclimate to the mile high air, dial it in and see what's what after that.
however, it's very pretty and in really good shape for a 37-year-old instrument, the finish on it is flawless, hardware nice and shiny, plus it's a freaking alembic exploiter fer cryin out loud. weighed in at a relatively svelte 10.5 lbs. been thinking about gigging again in my advanced old age, so that helps. sits in my lap ok, which was a surprise. i haven't played a 4-string in about 12 years, and so the neck feels nice and fast. my left hand is saying "lets just keep and open mind here, boss!"
so stay tuned, this adventure isn't over yet.
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Congrats! Just be careful wandering around the house with it strapped on - I bumped into doorjambs so many times with mine - part of why I sold it, I just couldn't justify having it when I wasn't playing out. (mine was a Spoiler)
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Good lookin' bass. I'm well adjusted to my medium scale basses, now. New Swing Bass steels on your bass will sound great.
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PSA: 90% of Distillate and Spoiler basses are medium scale, even in the Exploiter body shape.
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More medium scale!!!!
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took it home, put a fresh set of rotosounds on it, lemon oiled the fingerboard, tweaked the setup (intonation was dead-on, right out of the gate) gave it a good workout last night, that shorter scale really becomes apparent above the 15th fret. don't have to stretch as far to reach the 1st fret like i do on my long scales. very comfortable strapped on, balances much differently than my MK-5 and definitely more comfortable to wear than my essence 5. the neck feels like a broom-stick compared to my 5 strings. i could definitely do a 90-minute set with this one. dunno about a 4 hour show, though.
much rawer sound than my other alembics, gonna take a little adjustment of the knobs and switches to get the sound out of it that i'm hearing in my head. the bass boost will pretty much rattle the fillings outta yer teeth on this bass. all of the photons seem to have leaked outta the LED on the front, may have to deal with that at some point down the road. or not.
so we're gonna shack up for a while, see what develops. i've got an old Who set that i wanna use this bass on, we'll see how much we like each other after that. this makes Alembic #11 for me, #12 is in the works. kinda like to stop there. that's what i said after #10.
it does hang kinda well on me...
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On many Distillates, (the circuit you have there) the LED was disconnected, as they tended to be a battery drain. Might be an easy fix for someone with your skill set.
Congratulations & Compliments.
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Love it. A Distillate Exploiter is kind of a dream Alembic for me. I have a "regular" Distillate that is actually a rare long scale. I never turn off the bass boost. Treble stays flat and Q switch generally off, but sometimes on.
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yeah it took me a minute to figure out the controls. i like a lot of bite to my tone which is why i favor rotosounds. i usually set the tone(s) wide open and let my fingers do the rest. one thing that throws me a little about this setup is that the volume control is by the bridge where it's a little harder to reach while i'm playing. i might think about swapping its position with the tone control if it doesn't involve a lot of brain damage in the process.
I actually think this customer didn't want the backplates replaced, so there may be some wear on them....
yeah the backplates are pretty rough on this instrument. gotta wonder what the rest of the bass looked like before the refin. it's pristine now, which was one of its selling points. truss rod nuts are a little beat up, but the neck has just a skosh of relief, action's nice and low, frets are good, the fingerboard spiffed right up after some lemon oil. what's not to like about that?
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I actually purchased it prior to you and am the reason it went off Reverb for a few weeks, the seller took 5 days to ship it out and I reconsidered prior to him shipping it and he was quick to refund my purchase (just not to put it back on line for sale again). I saw the Spectrum get listed and jumped on it versus buying another bass (I have a few already, so this was more an impulse buy). I'm betting Alembic would be happy to sell you a new back plate :)
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Very nice, congratulations! :)
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So we spent the weekend together. Had some issues. I noticed that the tone of this bass isn't as snappy as I expected it to be, even with a fresh set of rotosounds on it. Did some fiddling with the pickup selector (got a selector switch but no pan control so it's pretty much all or nothing) and noticed the bridge pickup output was a lot weaker than the neck. Not a problem, because I know the outputs are adjustable inside the control cavity. I should've known something was up because after I adjusted the pickup level, all of a sudden the LED started working. Plugged it into the amp, turned the tone knob a little and it started oscillating at about 8 khz. That's normally in the ultrasonic region for me but it was so loud I could feel pressure in my ears. All the dogs in the next county probably heard it too. It's intermittent and microphonic but the epicenter seems to be the jack. Not too surprising since it's a 40 year old bass and probably been operated thousands of times. So it looks like a little electronic surgery is indicated, probably a worn/dirty jack or cold joint or some such, no big deal. I’ll replace it if it doesn’t clean up. Not surprisingly, this bass is completely sonically different than her stablemates and the best way I can describe the difference is that other two sound “modern” and this one sounds straight outta the Reagan era. I gotta say that ive never been around a koa instrument before. The woodwork on this one is outstanding and it’s hypnotic to look at. Apart from some minor fret wear, pickup scuffing and a beat-up backplate she looks just like she did fresh outta the mothership in 1983.
So in the meantime she can hang out with the rest of the crew while we work through our issues and I wrap my head around this whole medium-scale-4-string-80's-sound thing.
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just an addendum to the current chapter in this adventure - the seller kind of soft-pedaled the fact that this bass has a factory re-finish. i've owned a lot of pretty alembics, this one just about is at the top of the list. if i can get her other issues straightened out, might just have to take her out on a date!
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Koa does kinda take the bite out of the attack. Def keep your Q switch on and use bright strings to get the most out of it.
I think that LED is on a modular connector now - check that all the connections are still intact after all the shipping that it has been thru.
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ok hopefully final episode in this adventure... it was a stormy night in denver last night, didn't feel like dodging lightning bolts on the bicycle so rather than put surgery off on this bass until a later date i decided to get 'er done now. turns out there was a buildup of schmutz on the power switching contacts on the jack. a little alcohol, TLC and patience got it cleaned up without further disassembly. i really hate taking stuff apart if i don't need to, especially something like this. buttoned her back up and the weird electronic artifacts disappeared. the tone is much improved now as well, leading me to believe the impedance of the schmutz was letting just enough battery current through to sort-of power the pre-amp (but curiously not the LED).
so now we definitely have that alembic tone which was the whole point of this exercise. yay!
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Good to hear it is now up to snuff. If the bass had not been played for a while or on a regular basis the switch contacts would not be able to clean themselves. In this situation it is not uncommon for oxidation to build up on the contacts.
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it's getting there. still had some muddy sound/booming/weak output issues. i raised the pickups ~2mm and that seemed to really clear things up.
this bass plays a whole lot better standing up than sitting down. gonna make an interesting winter music project.
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Congrats on the beautiful bass! I purchased, last week, the quilted maple Exploiter that was on Reverb, and love it!
I was wondering, could you post a close up photo of the pickups height with the "sweet spot" you found?
I would like to give the setting you arrived at a try on mine.
Thanks so much!
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neck: ~2mm from bottom of string, bridge: ~3mm.
it's pretty high, but it really made a difference. if you're a slapper, it might be too close. i'm fingerstyle, works for me. make sure you know how the pickup height adjustment works or you'll break the ears off..
<edit> i may have mis spoken on this, after thinking about it for a minute. i'm at work now, i'll check it again when i get home.
also - make sure you write down your before measurements in case you want to get back there again...
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Thank you!
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ok just checked it, it came out 3mm at the center of the pickups for both.
this is noticibly higher than my other basses and im sure there's some technical boundary im encroaching upon, but it sure fixed up the sound.
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Both the maple and koa, very nice :)
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Fretting at the 20th fret, my neck pickup is set at 3.5mm on the E string side, with bridge pickup set at 3mm on the E string side. The G string side of both pickups are set a little bit closer to balance it out.
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yeah, i'm not sure of the protocol for this, i just winged it. i guess i shoulda looked it up, looking back on it. i did my measurements open string (unfretted), bass lying on kitchen table, neck supported with napkin holder. YMMV
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I find that 3mm is also a good action height at the 12th fret, and 3mm works well as a pickup height when fretted at the 20th fret. I have all my basses set this way.
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yeah, i'm not sure of the protocol for this, i just winged it. i guess i shoulda looked it up, looking back on it. i did my measurements open string (unfretted), bass lying on kitchen table, neck supported with napkin holder. YMMV
Protocol is that you do all measurements in playing position, to take gravity out of the equation.
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I agree.
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The rule of three, I will have to check it out :)
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ok one last footnote on this subject. seriously. i swear.
i had pretty much fixed all the glitches and dialed the sound of this bass in, and then with all the excitement of a '76 series I arriving at the BeenDown estate, it kind of got put off to the side while i dealt with other issues.
so this sunday morning i got good and baked, pulled the exploiter off the wall and did this clip in one take after a quick finger warm-up. it's a little bassy because of how it was recorded (tablet in selfie mode set up next to the amp) but i think i've got the pointy bass sound out of it that i was hearing in my head. got a Who music project shaping up for the winter, i think this will work out. i was still wrestling with the 4-string-medium-scale issue with this bass and was thinking of maybe using it for trade bait but after listening to how it played, i think i'm over that now. plus it's a freaking knock-out to look at. did i mention that?
so at the risk of ridicule from the masses, here's "this is the way we greet teh dawn", pointy bass version:
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Sounds as good as it looks.
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Sounds great! :)
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It's worth what someone is willing to step up and put down green money for. That . . . . . always sets the value, as it will for this. But then I often find that often a mis-informed buyer may indeed meet up with a mis-informed seller. So it will get reset next time.
I will say it's a lot of coin and the logo is still crusty !
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ok one last footnote on this subject. seriously. i swear.
i had pretty much fixed all the glitches and dialed the sound of this bass in, and then with all the excitement of a '76 series I arriving at the BeenDown estate, it kind of got put off to the side while i dealt with other issues.
so this sunday morning i got good and baked, pulled the exploiter off the wall and did this clip in one take after a quick finger warm-up. it's a little bassy because of how it was recorded (tablet in selfie mode set up next to the amp) but i think i've got the pointy bass sound out of it that i was hearing in my head. got a Who music project shaping up for the winter, i think this will work out. i was still wrestling with the 4-string-medium-scale issue with this bass and was thinking of maybe using it for trade bait but after listening to how it played, i think i'm over that now. plus it's a freaking knock-out to look at. did i mention that?
so at the risk of ridicule from the masses, here's "this is the way we greet teh dawn", pointy bass version:
Real nice! I enjoy watching your finger s flip around the strings, great technique!
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ok i'm gonna hafta resurrect this one from the dead one more last time.
apparently the input jack has more problems than i initially thought and so it's gotta go. before i order a replacement, i wanna run this idea up the flagpole:
i'm getting ready to set my amp rig up for stereo to accommodate my series I. i've got a switchover / patch box designed to pass separated stereo signals from the DS-5 into both amps and mono to both when i'm using the mono output basses.
my question is this: is it possible to easily extract a stereo signal from this bass? it has a blend and volume control. Does the signal from both pickups go into a buffer before they get to the volume control? Is there a relatively easy way to tie onto them, put a stereo TRS 1/4" jack on the bass and use a stereo cable to send the separated signals to the amps? I'm pretty handy with a scope, soldering iron and analog circuits, and so i suppose i could make a science project outta this by reverse engineering the breadboard pre-amp board but i'd rather not do that if someone has a ready solution.
i realize it may be impossible or impractical, but since i've already got the instrument opened up and i'm gonna hafta do some cutting and hacking to replace the input jack anyway, might as well see if i can't take this to the next level.
any thoughts/comments are appreciated.
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I’m not sure how all the wiring and buffering works, but how about a mono-stereo 1/4” jack with a toggle switch to choose the mono or stereo output? These are common with the anniversary electronics. Maybe Alembic can provide just the jack and switch with wiring instructions. That way you have the option of mono or stereo output.
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I'm gonna take a wild guess that Distillate electronics can't simply be made stereo by changing the output jack. I don't know the circuit ... but I presume there is only one output opamp onboard. That said, I'm sure Mica and crew have a way of modding it to do that - because they can do anything!
But before you get into totally rebuilding this fine looking bass you should probably see how much you like running your Series bass in stereo and think about whether it would be worth perusing on this axe. Know what I mean?
Jimmy J
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i do
i've run all my other series basses in stereo and it's teh bomb. i've just finally gotten around to it with this bass. the exploiter jack crapping out at the same time was just happy ( i hope) circumstance. so i'm gonna poke around while ive got the electronics lab set up. ive got 3 other killer basses to play and my winter music project to get started in the meantime. still gotta deal with the jack anyway. we'll see where it goes from there.
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Jimmy makes an excellent point here. I know personally that I rarely use my Series basses in stereo mode when I play out. When I do use this configuration, its typically only when I recording something. The other thing to consider is that while the crew at Alembic can do almost anything, there needs to be room within a bass to put the electronics needed for a stereo presentation. I don't know if your bass would have sufficient room for this without major modifications. My two cents worth is that the beauty of the Series basses is much more due to the incredible array of tonal options than the stereo availability and you can get those with SF-2 and just about any Alembic bass.
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There are 2 preamps in a Distillate circuit, but the rest is all global controls. So while it's _possible_ to do it, so much would have to be changed it wouldn't be fair to call it a Distillate anymore and would be MUCH cheaper to start from scratch to make a stereo bass out of it.
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An upgrade to anniversary electronics would get you stereo out.
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thanx for the input everybody.
the exploiter appears to have deeper electronic problems that go beyond the input jack. i suspect a loose/broken wire/cold solder joint/missing ground type of issue as it comes and goes when i wiggle the wiring harness and poke around in the guts. The LED plays some strange role in this as when it's lit the pitch and timber of the noise changes. I dis-assembled the output jack from the bass, wired past the power connectors on it and wired the sleeve of the jack to circuit ground to eliminate any foolishness from that end while i track this issue down. i'll probably work on it some more this weekend, may have to really go all out and break out the scope ( *gasp* ) to chase this down.
i get the feeling that this bass has been rode hard and put up wet in its lifetime, so i'm not especially surprised that something hasn't worked loose or broken along the way. i got plenty of time and patience to work it out. At least it's something electronic (my forte) so i can deal with it rather than something structural with the frets or neck or headstock in which case i would be completely outta my element.
we'll revisit the stereo issue once we're feeling all better again in glorious mono. or not.
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Since I recently got the pleasure of experiencing what a stereo bass offers, I'll just say it's really cool - but it means a bunch of new little things to consider and based on what you're going for it may be more headache than value.
I use the PBJ bass cab, has two inputs - this set up allowed me to have each pickup have it's own settings on the bass cabinet - which are ironically at 12 o'clock on Bass/Mid/Treb because I can shape my tone with the filters and Q-switch dials. I have my effects going through my bridge pickup and basically it allows me to pan to hear more or less of the effects. Other than that, unless you plan on having two different heads/amps I'm not really sure of the value it can give me in the live arena, maybe two different effect loops which would be really cool but not too useful in most cases unless I was trying to be Victor Wooten :)
Now when I press my tuner to mute, one of the channels is not muted - so I have to consider turning the knob when I tune or purchase another tuner pedal to mute both pickups.
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the pleasure of experiencing what a stereo bass offers, I'll just say it's really cool - but it means a bunch of new little things to consider and based on what you're going for it may be more headache than value.
in my past life i ran my series basses in full stereo through side-by-side cabinets - bridge cab stage right, neck stage left so as i faced the audience the cabinets were positioned as the pickups were. Once it was dialed in, the sound was unbelievable, especially with the fretless series I.
these days i have only the one stereo bass (number 76-270 to be precise) and it only gets played (so far) in my living room through an Ampeg 15" wedge with a PJB 2x4 on top as pictured. i parallel the inputs to both amps and it has a really nice full range sound. I dial the bass back on the PJB so it mostly handles mids and highs. The other day i ran the bridge pickup to the PJB, the neck to the Ampeg and the difference in the sound was remarkable. So i've got a stomp box type of switch designed that lets me put the rig in stereo when i play the Series I, mono when i play the other basses.
That way i can swap basses between songs and not have to jack (pardon the pun) with cords and plugs to get the rig configured.
<edit> IMHO it looks like they went through a lot of trouble to make series basses stereo so why not use that?
did i mention that i have a lot of spare time on my hands?
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the weather was kinda iffy this weekend, so i set the kitchen table up for bass surgery. did a detailed exam of the solder joints on the input jack, some of them looked kinda sketchy, so when in doubt, sweat it out as we used to say. fired her up, played and sounded great, seemed pretty solid. put everything back together, buttoner her up, plugged her in and..... failure. i think it's probably in the wire harness or a connection to the vector board.
arrgh! if the weather's crappy next weekend, we'll take this up again.
here's a before shot of the jack. i don't have a real camera, so it's the best i could do with a cell phone camera...
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ok - one more last post on this subject. really. i swear. honestly.
so winter finally arrived in the mile high last week, forcing me off of december bike rides in shorts in the weak winter sun and back into the workshop where i can focus my attention on this wayward exploiter once and for all. Since i live an a small townhome and i don't like doing this kind of work in an unheated garage, the kitchen table was prepped for bass surgery and a intensive hunt for the source of the oscillation was mounted. i pretty much had to disassemble the entire electronics cavity to find it, it was a cracked solder joint on the vector board on the solder side.
Buttoned her back up, now she's solid as a rock. Maybe explore the stereo issue later. or not. i'm just glad that she's not riding the bench anymore.
I've been doing back and shoulder exercises, and experimenting with a back support with the goal of seeing if i can do a 90-minute set standing up. I have to say, this is not a lap-friendly bass but it hangs very nicely on a strap and is one of the most comfortable playing basses (standing up) that i've owned, plus it's lighter than my other basses. Kinda glad it's a medium scale because i'm just about at full extension on my left arm to finger the first fret position while strapped up.
still got some work to do dialing in the sound, more on that later. maybe.
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ok. one more last post on this bass. really. i swear this time. cross my heart.
so i'm hobbling to the finish line after 6 months of 7-day weeks of exterior house work hoping i can make it before the weather changes or something else on my body craps out. i'm looking at at least 2-weeks of bass (and bicycle) abstenence while my hand surgery heals. just at that juncture, a club member reaches out to me about this bass. my body sez to me "i'll make ya feel a lot better if ya sells that bass that makes ya crazy and buys me a hot tub". so - yadda, yadda, yadda this beautiful pointy bass is in the hands of someone who's gonna play hte dickens out of it and i just got done bending pipe and pulling wire for my spa that gets here in 2 weeks. it pretty much came out even money. i'd call that a win-win.
this is my 3rd crash-landing with a medium-scale. i loved this bass but i coudn't keep it in the rotation with the long scales without losing what's left of my mind. so i bid yet another fine bass a fond farewell this year. arrgh! there's no end to it, mate!
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It is happy in its new home, where it will be played and loved (and stared at a lot). It sounds great, plays great, looks great, and hangs on a strap great. Win-win indeed! It's great to have a Distillate back in the house. I'll start my own post about this bass in the next week or so...
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😎
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Koa does kinda take the bite out of the attack. Def keep your Q switch on and use bright strings to get the most out of it.
I think that LED is on a modular connector now - check that all the connections are still intact after all the shipping that it has been thru.
I've been quite confused about the sound of the short scale series II Koa bass i bought earlier this year as it's sounds markedly different to my other series basses less crisp/bright but still the classic big thick heavy and twangy sound. In fact there is more difference between that and any of my others than those others have between each other. But your description here Mica seems right on the money, even with the Q fully on it is not as crisp as my others. Although i've never been able to categorically identify the effect the top woods have on the sound before, this difference is so large that I can't attribute it to anything else given the pickup and electronics are basically the same. Is it a softwood compared to my redwood, or maple topped series basses.
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it's sounds markedly different to my other series basses less crisp/bright but still the classic big thick heavy and twangy sound. I
OMG this thread's back from the dead! :D
i could never get the ZING! outta this bass that i live for. i owned the bird's eye maple version of this instrument a few years back and it freaking roared. this one was more...refined? darker? i dunno. same electronics, same core, same strings, different top. totally different sound.
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Every bass is different, and even two basses made from the exact same woods can sound subtly different. But there is no doubt that the woods the instrument is constructed from impact the way the strings vibrate. There are generalizations by species of what tone you can predict, and then there are individual pieces that defy the norms.
Do you play every bass the same way? Coming from the land of pianos and flutes, I had to learn early that my approach had to be unique to each individual instrument. I think the whole point of making instruments out of different materials, different scale lengths, different electronics, then you use different strings, amps, etc, is to make unique experiences. If they all sound the same, why make more than one?
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I guess it's okay to clutter up this thread at this point... for the purpose of this discussion, I'll confine it just to my Alembics, or Alembics I've had...
They are are all unique, but with some defining characteristics.
My Persuader 5-string and Custom 5-string are structurally very similar; mahogany core, maple tops, maple necks with 3 purpleheart laminates. Both are medium-scale. Similar electronics. Obviously those two are going to respond a little bit differently under the left hand due to the lack of frets. But the attack and zing of the notes as played, with same-same strings... it's remarkable. Now, the question is, how much of that is me, trying to express myself the way my brain thinks this passage or that should sound?
I had two Distillates. An early fretted one with mahogany body core and walnut top, and an '85 fretless that had a custom Point body and Bubinga top and back. The pickups were located a little bit different too. Those two basses were day and night different to me. I sold them both, but not because of the sound... the older of the two was incredibly responsive. The fretless just couldn't do anything my Custom 5-string couldn't already do at the end of the day.
My two Series basses are also very similar in construction... mahogany body core, walnut top and back, maple and purpleheart necks. The older one of them has a beech center laminate in its neck beam. My recollection of the newer one is that it's much more clear, bright-sounding. My older one is Woody, and warmer. Also considerably lighter. I'm anxious to A/B them again someday.
I think it doesn't matter much which bass I'm playing. I always try to fit into this sonic space that exists in my mind's ears, that just sounds and feels 'right'. Some basses are just easier to get there with.
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Every bass is different, and even two basses made from the exact same woods can sound subtly different. But there is no doubt that the woods the instrument is constructed from impact the way the strings vibrate. There are generalizations by species of what tone you can predict, and then there are individual pieces that defy the norms.
Do you play every bass the same way? Coming from the land of pianos and flutes, I had to learn early that my approach had to be unique to each individual instrument. I think the whole point of making instruments out of different materials, different scale lengths, different electronics, then you use different strings, amps, etc, is to make unique experiences. If they all sound the same, why make more than one?
Now there is a question I didn't ask myself before posting my comment. "Do you play every bass the same way?". Kind of stumped me on how to respond to that one. I will give that some thought because if I do play each differently then i need to understand why that is. I know there are some physical aspects the design of my basses such as neck pickup location, string spacing, string tension and how the bass hangs on the strap that means my playing technique has to adjust to those things. I don't really know if i consciously or sub consciously play any of my basses differently to maximise their unique sound.