Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Alembic Basses & Guitars => Topic started by: Mlazarus on July 07, 2022, 10:46:26 PM
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:) :)I Just Bought the 82' Alembic Series 1 Bass this Month! I always wanted this bass since 1983. This is the Mark Adams, Marvin Isley Bass! HA HA.
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Pic or didn't happen ;D ;D ;D
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Lamp behind it gives it a powerful effect. LOL.
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A fine looking machine, thanks for posting the pic.
I'm not sure if you are new to the Series I but I'll mention a couple things:
As long as the p/u selector switch is in the "off" position, you are able to freely plug and unplug the 5-pin cable with no issues. But if the pickup selector is left on for either or both pickups, plugging in will send a large audio transient down the line which your amp won't like.
Also, in the pic it looks like you have the treble roll-off controls turned all the way down with the Q switches in the middle position. Here's the guide for the controls:
https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=271.0 (https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=271.0)
And if this is your 18th Series instrument then please ignore all of the above. :D
Jimmy J
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Thanks for the advice! i will read up and learn about it. I also noticed i have to slap and pop farther back over the neck pickup, because the truss rod plate sits high, so
i can't get my finger underneath the string. That pickup selector tends to be in the way for hand slapping as well. Maybe that's why some Series 1 players have moved the selector to the controls area and sealed the original area with a plate.
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Very nice, enjoy! :)
Take some time to explore the controls, lots of sounds available in there!
And yes, some slippers move the pickup selector for that reason…I on the other hand am too uncoordinated to slap :)
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Congratulations & Compliments, and Welcome.
No slapping here either. Actually, I might be the only dude here whose Alembic slapped him. Oh well, I had it coming. ;D
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Thanks for the advice! i will read up and learn about it. I also noticed i have to slap and pop farther back over the neck pickup, because the truss rod plate sits high, so
i can't get my finger underneath the string. That pickup selector tends to be in the way for hand slapping as well. Maybe that's why some Series 1 players have moved the selector to the controls area and sealed the original area with a plate.
I have the same slapping conditions as you on my 1980 series bass with the neck pickup so close to the truss rod cover. On that bass i slap over the truss rod cover and pop between the pickups. I also changed the pickup selector to a round one and that works for me.
You could remove the truss rod cover to get a bit more plucking space.
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Welcome and congrats!
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That's right. Removing the truss rod cover does help. But as far as the full hand percussion slap, the pickup selector is in the way. Who will do the work to move the
pickup selector down to the other controls and cap off the hole?
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Michael,
As suggested, if you truly believe you can't get used to the pickup selector switch's original location it is possible to relocate it to be closer to the other controls. I'll tell you a couple important things about doing that.
First, the switch does NOT need to be unsoldered. Once you have removed it from its mounting plate it can be fished through the channel into the main compartment without disconnecting the wiring harness.
Second, that switch's threaded mounting shaft is "keyed" meaning it has two flat sides. If you examine the small brass plate it is currently mounted in you will see it's not a round hole. The reason for this is so the switch itself will not rotate no matter how much torque you put on the knob. I'm not sure how the factory deals with that "keyed" hole when mounting the switch directly into the wood near the other controls but it would be worth finding out. I think there was a recent thread by Jazzeevee talking about this very thing but I can't recall the conclusion.
Enjoy that bass!
Jimmy J
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I don't think any conclusion was reached, but this might be the recent related thread Jimmy J recalls-
https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=27053.0
Either way, you might try what is suggested here before the more permanent solution. ;)
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Also, a very important note to remember: Many bass players such as me, like to pull the strings for popping just under the 24th fret. That area, however, is shallow, meaning the action is low to the point that your index finger can't slip under the strings to pull. Why? Because the truss rod plate sits on top of the wood. The round top screws make more of a problem. If the plate was flush with the body, it would help. Better than taking the truss rod plate off for slapping at gigs. Has anyone ever experienced this problem?
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Interesting. My truss rod cover plate (on my '87) is countersunk and is held in place with countersunk flat-headed screws. Also I know that many basses don't have 24 frets so I'm sorry if that's part of what's literally cramping your style. Just curious, is that a medium scale bass? When you have a chance could you use a tape measure to see what the distance is from the nut to the 12th fret? 17" or 16"?
There's no real harm in leaving that truss rod cover off if it makes playing the bass easier. But I might be more of a function over form guy. ;)
Jimmy J
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Is there a way to play BOTH pickups on my 82 Series 1 with only the 9V batteries? I read it can be done, but so far the neck pickup only works.
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Hi there,
Here you can get the 1/4" stereo to mono cable you need. You will get both pickups on the mono end:
http://bayoucables.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4
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By 1982 truss rod covers were generally recessed. Would have to see close up and under the plate to know if this is the original plate or not. You can of course remove the truss rod cover entirely as Jimmy suggests.
Later, the neck pickup migrated towards the bridge to favor playing techniques as you describe. However there is a tradeoff in tone - the close the neck (bass) pickup is to the end of the fingerboard the bassier the tone.
In the FAQ you can also find a post (https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=270.0) that describes how to rewire the 1/4" for mono. Now we supply with mono 1/4" wiring as the default.
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One idea for the truss rod plate: If the sitting area were shaved down to make the plate flush with the body, then use flat head screws. That would make clearance for the index finger to pop, but the plate holes for the screws should be beveled as well. that way the screws can be flush with the plate. Has anyone ever done this?
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Also, I've noticed the 70's series 1s have no plate over the truss rods. It's open. Like the 77 and 78' pics i've seen online. Was that the standard in the 70's?
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My '76 Series MSG has no truss rod cover, while my '77 Series LSG 12 String has a cover.
Bill, tgo
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My '78 Series bass has the "old style" truss rod cover.
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I feel a little better that the older Alembics did not have the truss rod covers. So, i have no problem taking it off. I'M STILL THINKING OF MOVING MY SELECTOR SWITCH THOUGH! LOL.
I just have to get recommendations who could do it to the Alembic Specs. And will it Drop the value of the bass?
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The value of an Alembic is subjective… it is worth what a buyer wants to pay for it. Someone here relocated their PU selector switch and filled the void with an old coin. It is unique. Some may poo-poo such a modification, some would applaud it and find it unique and consider it an upgrade (relocated switch for slappers and extra bling for the lookers). ;D
If a buyer wants an Alembic because they nearly play themselves and their tonal palette is vast then everything else is moot.
Some buyers want a shiny and mar free appearance with original location of switches and no belt-buckle rash. For others, a ding here, a checked finish, a hole from a relocated strap button, etc. does nothing to deter them from wanting a particular bass. As long as there is no structural damage and the electronics are functioning proper, who is to say a cosmetic feature decreases the “value”?
Let us know what major city you are near, someone may know a trusted luthier who could do the work if you are not comfortable doing it yourself.
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I'm with you Pauldo on that, i think that when you buy an alembic, it needs to work for you and the way you play and provide the performance you expect. So if things need to be modified to make that a better fit for the player, then do it, no point putting up with things and saving it for the next person. It's a bit like buying a car and worrying about putting too many miles on it for fear of losing a future sale. I think one caviat I would exclude from would be don't make non reversible changes to the electronics with non-alembic parts as most knowledgeable buyers will want that bit original. Unless of course you never want to sell it.
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Pauldo, Thank you for your advice. I live in Springfield, MA. Boston is 90 miles east of me and NYC is about 135 mile south.
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Has anyone ever connected the Tech 21 Sans Amp from the DS5 box? I guess DS-5 bass/mono to Sans amp , then sans amp to MarkBass Amp (For neck pickup). I will also use
DS-5 Treble out to my Peavy MAX 100 10 inch amp (For Bridge pickup).
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I see no reason why that shouldn't work. I presume you are driving the power amp only on the markbass an not through it's preamp as well?.
I have tried (at home), DS-5 Mono out to my rack preamp through to power amp and DS-5 bridge out to my Roland JC120 sounds great. There are certainly options to experiment with using the two outputs. Some players use one DS-5 out clean and the other with effects. I'm hoping to get a gig where I can experiment with two different signal paths.
Good times.
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The DS-5 does not do any signal processing. All it contains is the power supply for the bass and summing resistors for when the bass is used in mono mode. Anything you would hook a bass up to directly can be hooked up to the DS-5.
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I'm trying to keep it as simple and practical as possible:
1. DS-5 Mono out to Tech21 to Markbass 15-inch(I want Compressor pedal to this Amp)
2. DS-5 Treble to Peavy Max 10-inch combo amp( I want ALL effects pedals to this Amp)
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Hey Michael,
There are no rules. Running these basses in stereo can lead to all kinds of amazing sound combinations so just keep experimenting.
I'm guessing your DS-5 does NOT have a mono switch, is that correct? If so, plugging a cable into the Treble output will put you in stereo and send signal from the two pickups to the two separate outputs. The Bass output jack only works in mono if there is nothing plugged into the Treble output jack.
So if you set things up as in your last post, you would only be compressing only the neck or bass pickup with the Tech21 and your other effects loop will only effect the sound from the bridge or treble pickup.
If you want to have the tech21 compressor plus your other pedals working on the entire signal you may want to run mono out (only), through your effects, into the tech21 and maybe out the "parallel out" into the Peavy.
But there are a million variations so just keep experimenting and see what inspires you.
Jimmy J
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Well as you now, the DS-5 has mono/out. You know the typical blue box. I don't know if the mono switch is on a new one. There is no switch on mine.
But you are saying:
1.Put ALL the pedals, as well as the compressor and Tech 21 into the Mono out for the MarkBass 15 inch.(The mono out is only for the neck pickup correct?).
2. connect the treble only into the Peavy 10 inch(The treble out is only for the Bridge pickup correct?).
That's how i understand it. I wil experiment
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Sorry my explanation wasn't very clear... Let me try again.
If you ONLY plug one cable into the Bass / Mono output then both pickups will be blended together - you will be in mono. If you plug a cable into the Treble output that will make only the bass pickup appear on the Bass output and only the treble pickup appear in the Treble output - you will be in "stereo".
I use quotes because in this application "stereo" does not really mean left and right, it means each pickup has its own separate output channel. Running the bass this way makes for a very clean and full sound, as you will discover. But if you like to use effects in the audio chain, running in stereo gets complicated. (Yes, at one time I did own a Mu-Tron Bi-Phase fully stereo effect. ;D )
Jimmy J
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I once brought the series 1 to Guitar center. We connected the DS-5 bass/mono into one the Markbass 15 Amp and another cable from the treble jack to a 2 10 Markbass amp.
1. The front pickup only played in the Bass/mono jack(markbass 15)
2. The rear pickup only played in the treble jack(smaller Markbass 2 10s) nothing but clean highs.
together, sounded clean and powerful.
Do you usually only plug into one jack on the DS-5?
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I have to say I think i have only used the two outputs to two separate cabs on my series bass on a gig about 2 or 3 times. I don't use effects so i can't say i noticed a huge benefit. For playing reggae which is what most of my gigs are, using separate outs do not give me any benefit over mono. It works better to send the mono signal to both cabs.
What i have noticed is that if I switch my DS-5 to stereo and put both outputs into the two inputs on my alembic F1-x preamp, i get a bigger signal from my bass.
I would suggest experimenting till you find what works for you. One gig where I wanted to use using individual pickups to separate cabs, the venue sound engineer is a personal friend and at soundcheck we experimented with standard mono and stereo options and he said the bi-amped mode sounded much better in the FOH so for that gig I had two DI's from the bass and both cabs mic'd up and that sounded superb. It was a jazz-funk gig so i was able to use more of the frequency range of the bass.
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Like Jazzyvee, I've only used the separate stereo outputs on rare occasions in my 40+ years (!!) of playing Series instruments. As you've discovered Michael, it is a wonderful huge and open sound to have separate amps for each pickup, but it's not always practical. Jazzyvee mentions a gig where the PA mixer was willing to experiment and used 4 input channels just for bass. That's a rare situation for sure. Plus, you are then counting on that engineer to balance your sound for you and they may have a different idea about it...
When I had a stereo amp rig about 100 years ago :o it included a stereo chorus whose input came from the bridge pickup only but whose stereo (100% effect only) output was then blended into both amp inputs. When kicked in the overall tone got brighter and started rotating around while the fundimental from the neck pickup was unaffected. It was a wonderful sound! The rig also had a summing network which would corral all of those signals back to mono, through a DI to be sent to the PA.
I also used stereo mode on a few rare recordings, panning the two channels only slightly left and right. This was enough to open and enlarge the sound slightly but still appear to be centered mono bass.
Again, there are no rules about this stuff so keep experimenting. But to answer your question directly; I now always run my basses in mono.
Jimmy J
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I agree with Jimmy about experimenting to find a setup you like.
Two of my basses are capable of stereo, my Series 1 and my Brown Bass, though I rarely use it. Running in stereo does open up the sound quite a bit and I like it but I've found mono mode in a bi-amp setup to be more practical when playing live or running through a PA system. I also feel in a typical gig situation the only person to hear the difference would be me unless it was a very low volume situation then the other musicians might notice (back to that practical thing). For the little bit of recording I've done I give the desk a mono signal and have never considered offering a stereo one. For the type of stuff I'm asked to play on I get enough weird looks for not walking in with a P Bass or Jazz Bass to know better than to push the envelope.
It appears to me that you are looking to have a wet/dry signal chain with the pickups and their volume controls acting as the mixer. I've never tried that as the only effect I occasionally use is a stereo chorus. I do sometimes use compression but it is built into my preamps. I do see a potential problem with using the volume controls to blend a wet and dry signal and that is the tone will change as one or the other's pickup volume is changed. If it is wet/dry signal mixing you are looking to accomplish I think and external mixer with mono signal would be more effective. This is because the pickup balance won't change when you change the wet/dry mix volumes. However don't let my biases stop you from trying to find a setup that works for you.
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The only time I used the stereo mode in my Series basses was to run effects only on the treble pickup. As has been already noted this allow a good strong fundamental to remain and you can mix in the effected pickup to taste. It was a fun experiment but since I don't like to use pedals or any effects I run my Series basses in mono. Keep us posted as you experiment.
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OK, I setup two versions of DS-5 configurations(I haven't tested yet). Versions 1 and 2. Take a look. It's just a matter of swapping the DS-5 cables.
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FWIW here's how we do stereo at the house 'o BeenDown:
this particular bass is stereo only (which i happen to like about it. amongst its other interesting quirks. but i digress). bridge pickup to the PJB, tone voiced for the pickup, neck pickup to the ampeg wedge tone voiced accordingly. so the overall sound is basically mono at this point but each pickup has its own amp, which i can control fully from the bass. Having a master volume lets me set total blastage from the rig without changing the pickup balance.
my other 3 basses are mono, so i built a footswitch driven patch panel that drives both amp inputs in parallel in mono mode. that way i use the same rig for both types of instruments, i just leave everything plugged and so i don't have to fiddle with cords and jacks when i change basses between songs or whatever. Because of the way ive configured it (sort of a separately driven bi-amp thing? something homer simpson would think up after getting baked?) the mono basses benefit from it as well. i'd love to try this rig at a gig but at my advanced age it's really too big. if i was serious about it, i think i'd go with a small rack amp, DS-5R and some cabinets by marcus miller, but the i think price would be a killer.
i used to run a larger setup similar to this side-by-side on stage but i think over the years i've found i like the stacked sound better.
Jsut my $0.02USD. YMMV and all that rot.
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Having a master volume lets me set total blastage from the rig without changing the pickup balance.
This is why I had a master volume added to my Series I five-string. Unless you use a volume pedal it is difficult to change gain mid-song on a Series I bass without messing up pickup balance. I don't like having clutter at my feet or having to run more cords so no volume pedals for me.
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The sans Amp has an XLR out for a sound board. That way the sound person and control MASTER volum.
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BeenDown139, That is a beautiful Series 1 Omega! What year is it?
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BeenDown139, That is a beautiful Series 1 Omega! What year is it?
well i don't mean to hijack your post by talking about my bass, after all this is about your new bass. congratulations and i hope it plays well for you. this instrument looks familiar, it wouldn't happen to be a medium scale would it? i had a series I MSB pass through my hands about 20 years ago that looks very similar to yours. between the medium scale and lack of a master volume, i was never able to really bond with it and so it became trade fodder for an 8-string spyder. ahh...those were the days! i don't have any records or pictures of it, that all dissapeared from my possession years ago.
and to answer your question about mine, it's got a long history that's detailed on this board, here is a link to a thread about it that also contains a link to the thread detailing its build history.
https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=26973.0
cheers!
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The sans Amp has an XLR out for a sound board. That way the sound person and control MASTER volum.
With that setup the PA console will not have the same sound you will have on stage since you are only sending one pickup to it via the Sans Amp. As long as you are going to run each pickup into separate amplifiers you should send both to the board so the engineer can have access to the full sound to mix. Setup 1, since most Markbass amps I've seen have their own DI I would send that one to the console too. For setup 2 if the Peavy has a DI I would send it to the console. If it doesn't then I would get a high quality DI and put it between the DS-5 and Peavy input. I would also recommend a high quality DI if the Markbass does not have its own DI or the DI is post eq only. By sending both signals the result is the dry pickup and the effects pickup are going to the board for the engineer to mix out front.
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My Mark bass amp and the peavy BOTH have Di/xlr out for a board.
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You could get an F-2B, send each pickup to it’s own channel, then combine the output as mono and send through a DI box to the board. Or send each channel separately to a two channel DI box, or something like that.
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I'll look into that.
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I have radial Pro-DI box passive DI box for that use or when travelling light with just my series bass. The pad switches cope with the output from the F-2B if you wanted to send that sound to the PA rather than direct off the bass.