Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Serial Number / History Requests => Topic started by: Sparky on April 07, 2023, 11:48:16 AM
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Thank you for investigation, research and info! ;D
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If possible and available, I would like to know what and how the side dots are made off. Many thanks!
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Regular side dots would be bronze.
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They could be aluminum or brass too, can you post a photo?
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Persuader 5-string 89P5559, a near-neighbor to your Elan, has bronze side markers. I don't know if this detail would be included in the build record or not back then, (never seen mine) but if you post a picture we can probably ID positively.
We like pictures of Alembics anyway! ;D
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Thanks for your answers. Attached the pics.
Really hard for me to sort right...
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Looks like bronze markers to me, Sparky. You can brighten them up with a little polish and they'll show up nicely.
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THX Edward! Hard to polish the tiny dots only w/o scratching the wood.... maybe some more gaffa needed... ;-)
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Try a little Flitz or Brasso on a cotton swab, or a small wad of this product called NevrDull. They'll shine right up, no harm to the fingerboard.
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You took away my fear of damaging something else, thank you!
Had some Gibson metal cleaner and a razor blade (really needed on spots) on hand and spend some time.
Below the result. :-) I can see the dots now! :-)
(Big sorry for getting off topic!!!)
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;D 8)
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Maybe they are silver, which tarnishes and requires periodic cleaning. That look pretty light colored.
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They look like the ones I have on 75-A013, which are silver. I use a pink eraser to clean up the tarnish, works great. :)
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Interesting "dotting" you have on this FL! Never seen in that way before. :)
My dots are sort if yellow colored, so bright bronce or brass.
Looks like, I just removed the old dirt. Have to polish them when I receive the "Flitz" and try to take care of the tail piece.
(I see, my Elan had less love in the past, what it definately deserves. It's on me now...)
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Hey there!
I searched the forum but I can't find an answer.
What is the metal tube for inside the electronics compartment?
Only one PU-cable goes through it in a slope...
Why not the second PU too?
Thank you in advance!
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This is a ferrite bead... it chokes stray RF interference. https://club.alembicguitars.com/index.php?topic=219.0
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And I think both pickup wires should wrap in a loop through the ferrite bead, at least that is how it is on one of my basses.
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It can be tricky getting both pickup leads through the bead; it's sometimes easier to remove the connector first, slip the lead through, adjust the length, then reattach the connector. Here's a thread on how to properly remove and reconnect these plugs- https://club.alembicguitars.com/index.php?topic=209.0
If you are not experiencing any high frequency noise, I'd just leave it as-is.
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Holy wording and dictionary... My low level Genglish (German-English) leads me to the dead end... ::)
Edward, RV, really thank you for your info and helping posts!!!
I guess, one lead of one PU seems to be some sort of too short.
What is your recommendation?:
Should I try to have the leads of both PU going through the pipe in a slope?
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You're doing fine! We can understand your posts easily.
Again, unless you are having some noise issues, just don't worry about it the bead. Many basses do just fine without one at all.
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Sometimes, there are super high frequencies to hear as metalic click, even if the filter is reduced an very small amount.
Maybe caused by the RF chip, where I am discussing with Mica to get an upgrade - new chip.
Thinkable?
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Are the pickup leads different lengths. If they are, you may find that swapping the pickups round allow the right amount of slack on both leads to get through the bead.
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One lead seems to be too short, to do a slope through the bead, just ine time going through is possible.
Eventually, if I can route the leads a different way, there COULD be a chance for a slope of the second lead. I'll check at the weekend. :)
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Here's what I can tell you from the instrument file:
model name: Elan
model number: HLB5
serial number: 89H5611
top: Walnut
accent: none
body: not recorded but usually Maple
neck: 7-piece Maple and Purpleheart
scale: 34" long
fingerboard: Ebony
inlays: Pearloid (plastic) ovals
side markers: bronze dots
Pickups: PJ
controls: volume, pan, filter, q-switch, mono output
originally made for: New Kary, Italy
birthday: not recorded, but likly early November 1989
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Many many thanks for the research Mica! ;D