Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: BeenDown139 on October 22, 2023, 04:52:43 PM
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went in looking for a stand. got distracted. it's cute. it's stereo. it's my year ('76 - don't ask)
helluva lot cheeper than that dragon wing. must. keep. eyes. on. prize.
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LOVE the T-shirt!
Bill, tgo
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Lovely choice! Much nicer than just a stand.
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LOVE the T-shirt!
well it was sunday and i'd skipped out on church (dyed in the wool catholic, i am, dontcha know, laddie) 'cause i got special dispensation on account of the auditions we were holding that afternoon. haven't worn that one to the pancake breakfast. yet.
pretty good day. got to play a pretty bass and listen to a pretty young thing do her best with brown eyed girl and gimme 3 steps. guess i did ok.
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10% off right now.
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10% off right now.
stop. just. stop. please.
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well i hadda go to the dentist this morning and GC is just up the road so i stopped in for a friendly GC showroom floor lookout-i'm-a-bass-boy-wonder workout. talked with the dude and came away with this:
$3499 USD.
no case.
no negotiation (it's vintage, dontcha know, laddie!)
nice bass. pretty good shape for a '76, not much belt-buckle rash, coupla dings no big deal. i guess it's gotta be on the showroom floor 90 days before they'll entertain offers. obtw, there's 3 of her sisters hanging on the wall, 2 blonds and a fire-engine red one. i'm not a ric maven, but i think one had whatcha call toaster pickups. they all came from a 27-piece collection.
coulda pulled the trigger but i walked. it's about half the weight of the MKdeluxe. gonna be giggin soon, definitely something to think about. but i think with those terms, maybe GC pounds sand for a while and i dream of a dragonwing. again. and again.
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It looks like it's in really good shape for a '76 - I have a '76 and love it, but it's also a temperamental beast that has required a fair amount of maintenance over the years. $3500 sounds high to me.
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I think they'll get that price for it eventually, if they don't mind having it hanging there for a good while. Collectors gonna collect.
By '76, RIC had phased out some desirable features on the 4001: no more checker binding, no more full-width crushed pearl inlays, no toaster pickup or older "transitional" bridge pickup, neck pickup moved closer to the bridge, tailpiece was prone to bending up under string tension. Of course, they still had the "skunk stripe" neck (three piece with a center schedua strip) which was incredibly stable.
If that's really what a '76 is going for, I wonder what I could get for my '72... that plus my "music" savings account might add up to the short scale Series I I'm dreaming of... but nah, I have too much history with that bass, ain't letting it go. Then again, I'd probably play the Series I a lot more than the Rick is getting out these days.
Dang you, see what you got me doing? ;D
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coulda pulled the trigger but i walked. it's about half the weight of the MKdeluxe. gonna be giggin soon, definitely something to think about. but i think with those terms, maybe GC pounds sand for a while and i dream of a dragonwing. again. and again.
Half the weight and none of the Alembic tone you love... think you need to stay out of GC, especially if baked. Better off practicing and putting time into finding a singer so your newest project doesn't implode... my rather worthless 2 cents.
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It looks like it's in really good shape for a '76 - I have a '76 and love it, but it's also a temperamental beast that has required a fair amount of maintenance over the years. $3500 sounds high to me.
yeah i dunno ric pricing which is another reason i backed out.
i gigged a mid-70's ric in the mid 80's and it was the most tempramental instrument i've ever owned. much more than my hygrometer option essence fretless 5.
it was a sweet bass. kinda like running into an old friend after decades apart, i'll say that.
Better off practicing and putting time into finding a singer so your newest project doesn't implode... my rather worthless 2 cents.
don't sell yerself short. that's kinda the mantra i've been chanting but there's all these distractions lately.
dunno if it's old age or these modern times but getting a band put together these days is a star-spangled....botheration. don't remember it being this tuff in the old days. got the core together. another round of singer auditions this weekend.
kinda interesting the looks i get when the prospects stumble into into the basement dungeon and there's this old gargoyle holding a drop-dead knockout georgous bass. not sure i'd get the same response with a ric. besides, no neck LEDs. that's what killed the last deal.
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A Ric without checkerboard? Why would that be a temptation?
Leave it with the Evil Empire.
Peter ( who does, yeah. does lean toward classic details. Unless they're, like, maple 'boards & TR nuts at the heel & non-adjustable TRs & such)
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My less than perfect 2.5 cents worth:
Checkerboard went away in 74. Some 74's built in the summer had red neck side dots (rare) as the company ran out of black plastic ones. Sometime in early 75 the neck pickup moved back a bit, making for slightly less lows but a more solid neck. Always look for the notorious bridge lift on those old Ricks. Make sure you get the original case. 74 and older are more expensive, and they seem to go up more by each year as they get older than 75. I (and others) think 74 and older ones sound better. These old 4001s have a 3rd tone cap in the bridge pickup circuit that cuts out some low end. I don't like it, but if you have a really nice condition bass and care about how original it is, you might leave it in. The newer 4003s have a push/pull tone pot that tries to replicate the sound of the older ones (I don't think that they do). And yes, I think $3500 is high for that bass.
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Oh, and some of those old Ricks had Grover tuners, which look way cool but seem to be less reliable. (pics from my workbench a couple years back)
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used hte S2 last night for an hour or so while i worked on my new
ball and chain set list. there's some days that thing just freaking howls when i gets frisky with it. last night was one of them. kinda gave me a little perspective as to what i have and made me snap out of it as in wtf was i thinking?
think you need to stay out of GC, especially if baked.
that's my rule for grocery shopping, actually. i save a lotta $ that way.
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My last bit of boring advice on Ricks:
These are a lot of fakes out there. I always at least check for the dual trussrods as most fakes don't have that. Some copies are very high quality, as seen in this pic of a 70's Greco 4001 copy I worked on last year, featuring neckthru construction, checkerboard binding, old style neck inlays, etc. Always the pickups are not anywhere as good as the real thing on these (Maxon on this one, if I remember right). There are many new fakes that don't even deserve the term copy as well.
Let the buyer beware.
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used hte S2 last night for an hour or so while i worked on my new ball and chain set list. there's some days that thing just freaking howls when i gets frisky with it. last night was one of them. kinda gave me a little perspective as to what i have and made me snap out of it as in wtf was i thinking?
I have said before - Fenders thump, Rics clang, Alembics sing - and Gibsons sound like farting into a pillow.
think you need to stay out of GC, especially if baked.
that's my rule for grocery shopping, actually. i save a lotta $ that way.
Just stay out of GC altogether; I used to work there, and they're evil, I tell you - evil!
Peter
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Well, since you all got me going on Rickenbackers... ;D
I've been playing them on and off since 1979. I've had '74 (red dots), '78, and '79 4001 models pass through the herd, and I currently own a '89 4003S (my #1 since 2000), a '92 4001CS (Chris Squire Ltd. Ed.), and a '93 4003S/8 (8 string). I love this era more than any that I have experience with. The necks are absolute magic, the pickups are wound hotter, and there's no bass cut cap. I know, and totally get why, a lot of people like the older pickups/cap, but I like more low end, along with the traditional clank. Around 1999, they got a new CNC machine, and the necks haven't been the same since.
Coz - You should try a Thunderbird. They don't sound anything like a fart! ;)
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Coz - You should try a Thunderbird. They don't sound anything like a fart! ;)
Nor, I will admit, does the Les Paul Triumph (perhaps my favorite non-Alembic bass model). But naming the exceptions sort of ruins the wiseassery, and we can't have that, now can we? And the EBs are really what what most folks think of when you say "Gibson bass", no?
Peter
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I agree about the famous 'Mudbucker' Gibsons. I always thought you pretty much had to run one into an Ampeg SVT to get one to sound OK.
The Gibson SB 450 bass with the little humbuckers and stained maple body from the 70's is a fantastic unknown bass though, and it lead the way into the Ripper and Grabber series. It did have that poorly designed two post bridge.
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My grumpy old man comment is that I can't think of anything I would rather play less than a Gibson bass and an SVT would only make it worse, probably my least favorite amp... that is why we it is great that we have so many have choices for gear, there is no one-size fits all approach.
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I sure liked hearing Rick Danko play his Gibson bass with The Band.
Bill, tgo
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Jack Bruce had an EB bass.
I had a Victory Artist by Gibson. It ‘twas not a winner nor very artsy. I thought it was cool because it had “active electronics”… young and foolish was I.
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I sure liked hearing Rick Danko play his Gibson bass with The Band.
Bill, tgo
Yeah, he was good. But that sort of (for me) falls under the same umbrella as the bassist for Vanessa Davis Band asking me after a gig how he sounded.
"Man, you always play great!"
"No, I meant my tone."
"Oh - I'm probably the wrong one to ask that question."
"Why?"
"I don't think you can get good tone with your gear...."
"Oh."
Turns and walks away - me thinking "Well, crap - you done went and did it again; getting fired 'cause when someone asks your opinion, you insist on acting like they want to hear it." (Not to worry, kids; there's a happy ending that I've told before, but it's not germane to this thread.)
Oh, BTW - if you were wondering, he was playing a '76 fretless maple-board P-Bass with a Dirt'Marzio through an SVT with 2 8X10s. Heck, he was even playing that if you weren't wondering.
Peter
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My only experience with a Ric was that I bought one for my first bass. It was a 1977 4001. It was new and shiny, but I NEVER warmed up to it. It was dreadful actually. I sold it and immediately bought a spanking new Alembic Series 1. I was ruined. It was 78-1058. I remember it well. I then picked up 78-1168 shortly after. That is when the disease really started!
Michael
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I miss Rick Danko... he could make anything sound good.
I missed out/took a pass on a RIC 4004L a while back. I've never cared for any of the other models Rickenbacker offered but the 4004 models, and this particular one was in AzureGlo, one of my favorite finishes. It was too much cash for a bass that I wasn't even going to play that much. But, my, my... it was fetching.
Beg to differ on the Gibsons... but with the caveat, some are woofy. The older EB-SG types, yeah they could get lost down there in the fuzz if you weren't careful. The later issues of EB though, (2013-18 ?) were a totally different story. A huge improvement in my opinion, that never really got a fair shake. I have a couple in my library that defy all Gibsonian stereotypes. The '87 Thunder Series V is essentially a studio Thunderbird, in 5-string. All mahogany, set-neck, lightweight, TB+ pickups and wired V-V-T, just like a T-bird. The string spacing is great for playing with a pick; very tight. The '87 Q-80 is a weird one too... it's a mahogany body in Victory style, with a maple Explorer type neck, and Grabber pickups, V-V-T controls. I swear they just made a run of basses from spare parts, shot 'em in black or red, and stuck Custom Shop logos on them. Irregardless of that, you can't make that thing sound tubby. I've actually got mine loaned out to a cat in a Dead band, along with a matching black Starfire. (I probably need to ask about that...)
I've just gotten very selective about what I want to play anymore.
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"But naming the exceptions sort of ruins the wiseassery, and we can't have that, now can we? And the EBs are really what what most folks think of when you say "Gibson bass", no?"
Haha! Yeah, I get it. I'm not one to come in the way of wiseassery. ;D I just have to come to the defense of Gibson basses because I like (some of) them. And honestly, if you say "Gibson bass" to anyone born after like 1975, they're likely going to think of a Thunderbird. It's been by far their biggest seller since they re-issued them in the mid 80s.
The EB basses/mudbuckers have they're place. Flatwound strings and a pick would be my choice.
Speaking of SVTs - there's really no other amp for me. I've recently kind of realized that my amp is probably more important to my sound than the basses I play. And Tech 21 makes a DI that sounds remarkably similar to a miked SVT, so that's become an essential part of my rig. As a guy who insisted on a mic on my amp for decades, I was genuinely shocked at how good the VT Bass DI sounds.
Greg - That 4004L was probably midnight blue. AzureGlo went away before that model existed. Cool basses. I had those HB-1 pickups on my 4003S for a while, but eventually came back to single coils.
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I like SVTs and they are a standard backline amp. I will never own one though, as I don't think I could lift one anymore!
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Funny, my main instrument around 1972-74 was a Gibson Triumph Les Paul like the one in the pic below (which I came across in a Florida shop a few years back). I modified mine with an internal Jenson transformer and a 3-pin XLR jack so I could step into the studio and literally plug the mic cable directly into the bass. Guess I was already a function-over-form guy at that point. :o
Then I asked my local music store pal if he knew of any company making basses with these cool kinds of electronics - but in a long scale? He said "there's this company out in northern California you might want to check out..." And that was that! A 4-string Series-I in 1975, then the 5-string in 1976 and I've never looked back. 8)
I was never a fan of the SVT but amp tone was never my thing so I shouldn't opine about it.
Jimmy J
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I can safely say that I love and admire your tone Mr. J. May you continue for many years in health and happiness sharing it with us.
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I have always wanted to find one of those Les Paul Triumph basses. They just never show up in this corner of the world. That one looks pretty nice... good to see there are still a few in circulation. Wow that looks strange though... if we didn't know it was you posting Jimmy, it'd be easy to think that was an ai-gen deep-fake. Maybe that LP needed an Omega-cut. ;D
You could be right on the color, Tom. That's what it came into the store on a trade though. Could be they didn't know different or check, but that blue really popped on maple. I just didn't need it at the time.
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The LP Triumph bass in the pic with Jimmy looks a lot like the Les Paul Recording Model guitar. I’ve always found the LP Recording very interesting. Like our Alembics, it sported low impedance pickups. Was there anything unique about the Triumph electronics?
Bill, tgo
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i'll hafta check that out after hte morning workout:
corned beef hash and eggs
2 x vaporizers loaded with high-grade bud while in hot tub watching the snow
shower
shave
it's the workout of champions, i tell ya. been doing it for a year now. i feel great. in the meantime, this kinda tickled me. i'm into numberology, dontcha know, laddie:
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The LP Triumph bass in the pic with Jimmy looks a lot like the Les Paul Recording Model guitar. I’ve always found the LP Recording very interesting. Like our Alembics, it sported low impedance pickups. Was there anything unique about the Triumph electronics?
Bill, tgo
Closely related Lo-Z p-ups & a bunch of switches; I disremember what they all were now, the last time I held one being 1977.
Peter (who also loves the Recording Model)
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The LP Triumph bass in the pic with Jimmy looks a lot like the Les Paul Recording Model guitar. I’ve always found the LP Recording very interesting. Like our Alembics, it sported low impedance pickups. Was there anything unique about the Triumph electronics?
Bill, tgo
Closely related Lo-Z p-ups & a bunch of switches; I disremember what they all were now, the last time I held one being 1977.
Peter (who also loves the Recording Model)
Here's a description of the knobs and switches that I just found online. No powered circuitry so I have no idea how it did all that tone shaping. It may have had a relatively low output level. I have no memory (I could stop the sentence there) of how I set the controls but likely wide open and as flat as I could make it. I clearly enjoyed the bass and really appreciate that it led me to Alembic.
Jimmy J
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I had a 1974 Les Paul Recording guitar back in the 70's. I just never warmed up to it though and sold it. Of course, I didn't really know what it was designed for back then.
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So the Triumph could switch between lo and hi impedance on the fly? Cool! Not sure how useful or practical, but definitely cool!
Bill, tgo (who, though reluctant, feels compelled to ask: if one is playing this bass while singing, and gets the feared blue spark between mic and mouth, would it be the “arc de Triumph? … rimshot).
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IIRC, Bill, both the Triumph & the Recording came with a cord that had a tram\nsformer at the amp end to step up the impedance; if you had to use another cord, you switched to Hi-Z.
But don't bet the farm on that.....
Peter
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I have a Les Paul Triumph bass - sorry to post so late!
This is from my "Glamour Shots" photo shoot:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51396098090_016df1bb10_z.jpg)
And here with my '76 4001:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49432368612_95a364de3e_z.jpg)
It's a strange little instrument but I love it! Mine is from early in the production, maybe even first year (1971) - this one has the built in transformer, the earlier model needed the special cable.
And here is a link to the best page I know of about the various Les Paul basses (and Gibson basses in general):
https://www.flyguitars.com/gibson/bass/LesPaulBassGuitar.php (https://www.flyguitars.com/gibson/bass/LesPaulBassGuitar.php)
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well i was at practice and had a high-$ neutrik cord crap out on me, so it was off to GC for a maybe cheeper and more durable replacement. since our singer can't seem to find her own way there, i said i'd pick up some maracas while i was there. figggered i'd drift into the showroom and lo & behold that rick is still there. $3499.
thinkin of a stienie myself these days. good enuf for bill wyman, good enuff for me.
found out the dog has an aversion to maracas. who knew?
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I still have a Gibson Less Paul bass - pre-Triumph, ‘69 or early ‘70. I was just using it the other day to record. It’s got a lot of game. But it is sooo heavy! Which I think is part of its sound mojo.
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I meant Les Paul. Any disrespect was entirely accidental.