Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Alembic Basses & Guitars => Topic started by: mica on November 21, 2024, 03:48:03 PM
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Remember that new product I hinted at when I shared the classic F-2B style knobs? Well here it is! Engineering was put on a temporary hold this summer when my mom had to undergo emergency spine surgery with a long recovery. With her safely home, dad was able to resume this project with our other engineer, Tom Anderson (not that Tom Anderson :) ). We've been testing this puppy out for a few months now and we're entering the production phase. I just placed the last order for parts this morning, and if everything comes in as planned we will be shipping these starting in mid-January 2025.
The FL-105's roots are in the original Superfilter boxes Ron Wickersham made for our recording studio. He made one each of the FL-101, FL-102, and FL-103 models. He made 2 FL-104 Superfilters, and these were the ones we used the most in our recording studio, and also rented them to other bay area recording studios. They touched a LOT of music.
With the FL-105, it's in a convenient pedal. Decoratively we've drawn from the swirls on one of the Bob Thomas paintings in our showroom. If you're familiar with the SF-2, you already know how to use the FL-105, except there are 2 additional filter modes. The foot switch allows you to include or exclude the effect. 9V 500mA power supply (center terminal negative). Box is about 4.75" x 5.5"
The first production is in three stages. There's 3 test units getting built over the next 2-3 weeks (Thanksgiving and vacations are variables), and these will be available to test in our showroom and will be getting a few field trips to some trusted players. Then an initial run of 10 where we will iron out any kinks in the actual manufacturing process. We've been making electronics since 1969, so we aren't expecting many surprises there. Then the first run of fifty units for January shipping.
Retail price is set for $1199. Let me know if you want to come by to try the prototype FL-105, and drop me an email if you would like to arrange for a pre-order and reserve one for yourself.
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This looks like a great product! Not sure how Band+ differs from Band but I know I find the notch filter in my Acoustic Image Coda to be really useful so excited that filter is included. Look forward to more details!
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Well done, that looks like a great little unit.
I guess the two options that are not on the SF-2 Superfilter are the notch and Band +. What does the band + do?
I can imagine someone asking for that built into a custom bass.
Any chance of producing a video with it being demonstrated?
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Band-pass + is like adding a bright switch to the band-pass mode - very musically useful!
There likely will be an official video. I have an unofficial video, but I have to check with the player to see if it's ok to share first :)
Stephen - let me know if you are in the area and want to check it out.
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Will do, thanks Mica!
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Like! :D
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Very nice ! 😊
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Well done, and uhhh... well-timed too! ;)
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Woo hoo! I can vouch for the value of the notch filter - Alembic added that to my '77 custom a few years ago when I sent it back for updating and refin. I already had high/low/band in there for one of my channels (the other is trad series 2/cvq) and Ron was able to magic in a notch as well. Handy in rooms that have strange resonances, and much more flex when recording.
Really excited about this pedal!
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If the 2 channel Alembic Super Filter is $3800, and this pedal form is only one channel with a couple added filters, what corners were cut to justify the $1200 retail price of the pedal form? Or is the rackmount unit overpriced?
https://alembic.store.turbify.net/sf2superfilter.html
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Really Like!!
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Hi Mike. One of the HUGE expenses on the rackmount gear is the custom sheetmetal work, which is easily ten time the price of a standard pedal enclosure. The FL-105 uses surface mounted parts, which makes a large savings in labor, and space as well, and still made right in our shop. Some things are just expensive and shared in both units, like the custom filter frequency control pot - it's crazy expensive. Do you still have your Distillate bass? Filter frequency pot is the same there too. there's no skimping on the quality. You may notice that the SF-2 has a preamp section and a stereo/mono mode and the internal circuitry to make the two filters and a direct gain act as a three channel mixer. So, there's no corners cut, and the SF-2 is not overpriced. They are different animals. We were very happy we could offer the FL-105 at a lower price.
And Mark, I agree about the notch filter! It's my favorite mode with an Alembic bass that already has a low-pass filter onboard.
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No compromise top quality, what you can expect from Alembic. Can be a bit expensive, but never overpriced :-)
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Interesting, however I will stay with SF-2.
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Love notch filters, especially for amplified acoustic guitar. I'd be interested if I didn't already have an SF-2. Even half an SF-2 will be an amazingly versatile tone tweaker.
Bill, tgo
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Hello Mica ,
I am elated in regards to the release of this new product . Please put me in the list to purchase it . I love the fact that it is enclosed in a sturdy all metal enclosure . Quite certainly !
Best Wishes ,
Wolf
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Mica , please send my sincerest wishes and manifestations for recovery and healing to your Mother as well !
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What Wolf said! I’d like to purchase one too AND best wishes to Mom. Coming up on 6 months now on my spine surgery. Still can’t play the Classico but I have high hopes.
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Got my purchase confirmation from Will Gunn today….the first run of 50 are almost sold out. Merry Christmas to me!
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Just a thread bump. It’s almost February and I’m wondering where the first run of FL-105’s are in production? With all the holiday decorations (tree) down, the bass rig has been reassembled in its rightful place in the living room. (Yes, the living room….there isn’t a significant other here.) ……. Oh, and shop towels are washed in the washer…..the garage is swept out with the vacuum….and I have washed out reusable Harley air filters in the kitchen sink! :P :o ;D
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Washing Harley air filters in the kitchen sink? Yup, you're single!
hehehehe
Bill, tgo (who doesn't even want to imagine what his wife would do if he ever tried washing auto parts in the kitchen sink!)
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Haha….i never really thought about it until a neighbor approached me once on hearing the vacuum cleaner in the garage! He said he’d be dead if he tried that…..ah, lifelong bachelor's maybe can’t be “trained.”
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Looks like about a month out. Whole shop was sick for a rotating month, so everything is a tad behind schedule. Soldering on the pedals started on Friday, so we're just getting things going there.
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The shop I am currently at has had several instances of Respitory Roulette. 😞
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[sigh] I swear, if the Holidays came twice a year, I'd be an orphan... my Parental Units have traded the 'whatever imported funk they got from the grandchildren' back-n-forth for a month. The Ol' Man ended up in the cardiac ward, Mom in the ER. I remain inexplicably impervious. Sure ain't from livin' right.
The FL-105 is such a cool piece of gear. I'm fascinated most by the notch filter capability. I first started using filters with just this; notch filters. I didn't even know what they were, except they were a tool I used to cut out really nasty, troublesome mids of my upright bass, and its piezoelectric/mic pickup set many years ago. The mic presented feedback problems at higher gain, but at least helped 'warm' things up a bit, but the bridge piezo element was (and still is) quacky as... well... I don't actually have a better punchline that doesn't involve waterfowl. It sounds like hell raw. But I found if you notched out those offensive upper-mid sounds, it was pretty good. And if I used a high pass filter, I could trim off some of the really fluffy sub-60hZ low end, and get more stage volume... always a struggle with places we were. Back in those days, all I had to work with was the controls on my amp, two knobs; FREQ/CUT. Later, my Acoustic Image amp had some more options. And I'm still kicking myself for selling that Rane AP-13 preamp... dumb, dumb, dumb...
So anyway, that's my interest. I'm so 'set-it-and-forget-it' that an SF-2 is basically technology wasted on me... I have the one in my home rack dialed-in where I like it, and I rarely mess with it. I know what all it does, but I'm good.
An Alembic stompbox that makes my upright bass rig work better... now I might be able to justify that. I'm not clamoring to get in on this first run, but it's definitely in my wish list of upgrades. I'm anxious to hear the reviews come in on how other folks are using them. Pretty sure my whole premise will be in a tiny minority. I may even be alone.
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I am looking forward to my FL-105's :) Most certainly shall be on my pedal board .
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Ok so while I've played alembics since 1980, I've never played through any of the rack gear. I think I've seen one super filter in person! How will this new pedal impact the sound of my old series l's (fretted 77 and fretless 82) I figure its Alembic so it can't be merely ok, but having never used s super filter, I don't really know what to expect or listen for. Are there any Stanley recordings where the Super filter is in notable use? Or is it more that it makes "that Alembic tone" more Alembic-y?? Thanks!
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It would pair well with a Starfire bass 😎🎶🎶
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Just a thread bump. It's been 3 months now since the last update.
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The schedule got delayed because I messed up on the enclosure order. No fun having a hole in the middle of the Filter Selection switch legend. I felt like such a dolt! Anyway, received the first few enclosures and confirmed I got all the holes in the right place. We will receive the rest of the enclosures in about a month, and we've been busy making all the boards and harnesses ready to install anticipating their arrival.
The first one shipped to the first customer, and we'll continue to ship in the order received.
Stay on target... almost there!
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Hello Mica, not to worry, but I look forward to my 2 units. :) Most certainly I shall have one on my standard pedal board that goes to all my gigs and rehearsals. When it is my turn please let me know, and I shall pick them up in person and bring my 1991 maple Essence for the brass block installation as we had discussed, if that works for you.
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Fine Filters shalt enhance mine sound on an existential level, very soon I perceive . :)
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Hopefully that’s the case for me too 😊
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A sample just appeared on you tube.
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Just a thread-bump. Time flies, but it’s been 3 months since the last update.