Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere => Topic started by: Eric1616 on October 24, 2022, 01:48:53 PM
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What a beautiful guitar! But why on earth would anyone order this from the factory with EMG pickups?!?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/125576846748?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=AA1kKXcDQL-&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=WWb34s6lSiK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
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Seller just responded to my inquiry:
Hi,
It's all EMG electronics - 2x89's (basically an 85 w/coil-taps), 1xvolume, 2xtones with pull-split(I put 'tap' in the ad by habit, but its technically a split). I sold a lot more Alembic basses than their guitars - consensus for the few electrics that I sold was that the Alembic electronics were great for clean(very dynamic), but not too friendly(useable) with distortion. This set-up appealed to a lot more guitar players at the time.
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I have to say that my experience with alembic guitars is quite similar to what the seller points out if using distortion via a solid state pedal or from a digital multi effects unit. Though with a valve setup, amp or pedals i have found things to be fine with careful EQ and i tend to go for the warmer distortion. Lovely looking guitar though.
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I have never heard of Alembic building a new guitar with EMG or any other non-Alembic pickups and electronics except for adding a midi pickup like the Roland, or RMC bridge saddle piezos. If truly factory installed, this is a rare one indeed!
Bill, tgo
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This guitar did not come from us with EMG pickups.
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That's what I was thinking, too. I don't know why someone would do that, considering what the stock pickups are capable of.
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However, I guess, once you buy any musical instrument it's yours to do what you want with it.
Confession, posts like this make me feel guilty as i changed the electronics in my Europa once with some non-alembic filter based electronics trying to get a poor man's series II.
I think i gigged with it about 2 or 3 times and though it sounded fine, there was something missing in the sound plus it had quite a bit of background noise, so i put the original electronics back in the bass confessed my sins here and vowed never to do that again.
Some years later, i managed to acquire a real series II. :-)
Over the years I have been on this forum we have seen a number of alembic instruments with non stock pickups and/or electronics, even a series guitar.
In fact there is a black spoiler on ebay as we speak with "upgrade" to Bartonini pickups.
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I have no problem with someone swapping out the pickups on their Alembic if they want to. I might question their judgment, but it’s their instrument to do with as they please. I do, however, have a problem with the same person putting it up for sale and claiming they were originally factory installed … especially when they claim to be an Alembic dealer who ordered it from Alembic with EMGs, as the seller does in this listing.
Bill, tgo
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I have no problem with someone swapping out the pickups on their Alembic. I do, however, have a problem with the same person putting it up for sale and claiming they were originally factory installed.
Bill, tgo
That's how I got here. I got a Persuader 5-string with some "factory-installed upgrades" Bartolini pickups. Flip advised me to try calling Alembic for help, Mary put me on the phone with Mica, and almost 9 years and 7 Alembics later... I'm waiting for a Series II upgrade to come back. ;D
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Once the guitar is yours you can do whatever you want to it. I'm not going to judge anyone's personal tone journey. There are a handful of Alembics that had non-Alembic pickups installed originally. My policy now is all Alembic on new orders.
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I may be way off, but I always considered EMG's to be an attempt at following the path created by Alembic. I have a couple of beater basses with EMG's in them.
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Well they certainly came to the active game after us, and my dad did show them a thing or two back when they were starting in Santa Rosa. While they did made low impedance pickups with a preamp, that's pretty much where the similarity stops.
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That makes sense. Alembic pickups are pure sounding, without any added glassy artifacts that I have to dial out of my beaters with EMG's.
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jsut my $0.02 USD:
EMGs have their place where they do very well. years ago i had a mid-80's steinberger XL-2 with EMGs and a haz-lab preamp (i think that's what it was called). the sound that came outta that bass was off the chain. the only bass that i ever owned that rotosound rounds were too bright on. it was really tough to dial it back. wound up putting maxima golds on it - tamed the sound enough that i could get just about any bass tone out of it. it was my go-to bass for bar-hopping. fit in the trunk. or overhead on a plane. called that bass "black betty". lost her in a divorce. i miss that bass :-(
but - if that's the tone ya like, then why destroy a premium instrument by putting them in one? some things ya just can't improve. such as alembic electronics in an alembic bass.
so sayeth the cranky old geezer just back from his bike ride. where's the tylenol? sheesh!
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Having experience with quite a few Alembics and quite a few basses and guitars with EMG's I enjoy them all. Though I would never switch around my Alembics ( I always ordered them just how I wanted), I do very often put EMG's in other guitars, be they projects or simple swaps. My set of choice is 89 and 81. I just got a used Flaxwood guitar that the previous owner switched out the EMG's for SD Pearly Gates. I don't care for them. Might have to switch to my set of choice. I can't abide noise in a geetar.
I'm currently hoping that someone will make an active set for my Ric 4003S 5string. Those Dorito shaped pick ups are noisy! Alembic spoiled me rotten with pure clean sound.
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My usual gigging MIJ 62ri Strat has EMGs and I like them a lot. Also very easy on the batteries. A Modulus Black knife guitar I used to own also had them and they sounded great. However, I would not swap out the PUPs on an Alembic for them.
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I use overdrive or distortion on 90% of the songs my band plays. I can say, unequivocally, that they sound amazing clean or dirty.
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Hi Jonathan, always nice to see you check in. I assume you are referring to Alembic PUs and not to EMGs? Both are being discussed on this thread.
Bill, tgo
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Thanks Bill. I know it’s been awhile. Yes, I was referring to the Alembics not the EMG’s.
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In fact there is a black spoiler on ebay as we speak with "upgrade" to Bartonini pickups.
Not to mention the very tasteful control knob upgrades... ;D
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I stand by my original response. However, I definitely can understand someone wanting to swap the original pickups out for somethings else. Years and years ago, I wasn't at all happy with the tone of my Alembics when using OD/Distortion pedals. That's because I always have the tone and volume knobs on my non-Alembic guitars all the way up. So, I did the same with my Alembics, except the "tone" control is actually the filter. They sounded like shit. Very tinny and harsh. I had inquired about a build with PAF style pickups and was politely told that was not going to happen. So I went back to the drawing board with the Alembics and rolled the filter down a lot until I found the sweet spot. Haven't looked back since. So, if you treat your Alembic like a non-Alembic and aren't willing to fiddle about, you're likely to pull out the pickups (as in this case).
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Let us not forget that one J.John Garcia had the Alembic guts taken out of 72-25 (or was it 73-25?) and replaced with Dirt'Marzios, and Wolf seemed to work OK for him. But I myself lean to the philosophy that the cleaner the p/up's natural sound, the better, as one can always add grit & distortion, but one can never take it out.
As to EMGs, doesn't the "M" stand for "metal"? I don't think I've seen anyone but metal folks use them. (In fact, a large part of why I dropped my subscription to Premier Guitar was their penchant for focusing on guys who tour carrying 7 ESPs, identical except for color, all loaded with the same EMGs, and talk about which song they use which one on.........)
Want to put EMGs in your Alembic? It's yours, go ahead. But don't delude yourself into thinking I'd buy it from you.
Peter (who does love Barts, as well)
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Peter makes a point that I've always wondered about myself...why Jerry used DiMarzios in the first place, given the type of clean tone he's known for. And not just any DiMarzios...but the Super Distortions. I have always loved those pickups. But I play mostly Classic Rock. Obviously they worked well for him, though. I had no idea that EMG was in Santa Rosa as well.
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I once called DiMarzio for advice when I was doing a pickup swap on a DBZ Imperial. (interesting guitar - sort of a double-cutaway Les Paul that got flattened by a steamroller). I got into a conversation about Jerry with the DiMarzio rep. Surprisingly, he said that Jerry got his tone in spite of the DiMarzios, not because of them!
Bill, tgo
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Yes, when I called0 DiMarzio to get pickups for the one Tribute we made with them, the rep said, "You makin' a Jerry guitar?" and he also told me the only reason they make those pickups still is because of Jerry - they are not their favorite pickups :)
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Many years ago, before figuring how how to make my Alembics play nicely with my OD/Distortion pedals, I had asked Susan about the possibility of having my next custom made with Super II's. If memory serves, she told me in the most polite way possible, to go pound sand. Hahahahahahaha!