Alembic Guitars Club

Alembic products => Alembic Basses & Guitars => Topic started by: Bradley Young on December 17, 2006, 03:52:06 PM

Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: Bradley Young on December 17, 2006, 03:52:06 PM: Okay, so I'm jonesing for my Series II to be completed, and in lieu of calling Valentino and Mica and Susan every day and saying, "are we there yet?", I bought myself an Epic. It's a really nice little instrument (apologies for the diminutive term; I'm switching from a heavy fretted 6-string, and it just feels like a toy). Anyhow, I feel like I'm getting cheated, since it doesn't have a filter (just bass and treble controls). I'd like to have a filter. So, I says to myself, "Self-- you could put a filter in the Epic." What really remains is the how. I know that Alembic offers a package that replaces the bass and treble controls with a filter and Q switch, but I'm thinking that it might be possible to fit a filter and Q switch in addition to the bass and treble. So, anyone think it's do-able? I've attached some pictures for further perusal.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/34468.jpg)

(http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/34469.jpg)
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: jbybj on December 17, 2006, 06:31:46 PM: I have been conisdering the same thing for my Epic, I think this would be an awesome upgrade. I am certain that I could squeeze in the components, the real stumbling block is integrating the filter and cue into the exisiting wiring scheme. This is where we would need some guidance/detailed instructions from the mothership. I second the call for help. Peace, James

BTW: Bradley, you should look into a close focus function on your camera, most consumer digital cameras have one, you just have to find it :-)
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: Bradley Young on December 17, 2006, 06:35:53 PM: I'm just the bass player. Don't know anything about photography .
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: 5stringho on December 17, 2006, 06:53:02 PM: I've been talking to Valentino about the same upgrade on my Excel. It may have do-it yourself possibility, but I think it would be worth it to return it to the Mothership for the work...
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: jbybj on December 18, 2006, 08:01:16 AM: Dear Bradley, it's not, I'm JUST the bass player, it's, now repeat after me, I'm the BASS player damnit!
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: foth on December 18, 2006, 01:46:23 PM: Along this line, I'm taking my Orion guitar to the mothership this Thurs to change from (vol-treb-bass-3w pu select) to (vol-pan-filt + q).
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: Bradley Young on January 18, 2007, 11:25:09 AM: My drill motor is all warmed up. Has anyone tried this upgrade as a do-it-yourselfer?
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: keith_h on January 18, 2007, 12:21:45 PM: I'll try to get a shot of my Orion with EMW cavity and post it. Might not get it done for a day or so. It should give you an idea of what the factory setup looks like.

Keith
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: mica on January 18, 2007, 06:08:02 PM: I asked dad about this, Bradley. Tomorrow he's going to show Tony how to make a nifty little Y-adapter so you won't have to do any soldering. Tony will whip up a batch of these, and heck, it will make our job a touch easier here too!
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: Bradley Young on January 19, 2007, 07:11:35 AM: So, Mica, what's the damage for a filter+3-way q+y-adapter?
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: bumhucker on January 19, 2007, 07:21:51 AM: dang! i sold my bass/treble module when i got my filter/q module.
i still might want to try this though at some point.
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: keith_h on January 20, 2007, 08:15:04 AM: Bradley, Here are a couple of shots of the electronics cavity on my EMW fretless.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/35521.jpg)

(http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/35522.jpg)
Keith
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: jubeas3eyes on January 20, 2007, 10:08:10 AM: Man I'm really interested in doing this, I hope it's possible to do it at home!
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: roberto on January 21, 2007, 06:49:21 AM: Hi Keith!
May I know,how long hv you had this EMW electronics on your bass?Does it give you any trouble,like hum,hiss,unclear tone etc?
Cause my experience with the more sophisticated Alembic elect.(Europa,Epic,Spoiler) is that they start to crackle.hiss or hum after 6 or 7 years.
The only Alembic that stays awesome after 15 yrs are my Persuaders.Their simple electronics are very ,very reliable.
Please let me know cause Im thinking of installing an EMW on one of my Persuader.
Thank you
Regards.
Robert
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: roberto on January 21, 2007, 06:51:59 AM: Also,do you think it will fit into the Persuader's
cavity?
Does it require soldering work?
Thanks.
Robert
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: keith_h on January 21, 2007, 08:48:49 AM: Roberto,
I received the bass in November, 2005. Full details on it can be found here (http://www.alembic.com/info/fc_orionnebula.html)

I have not had any problems with noise or interference. I have been very happy with the tone
and flexibility.

I have never owned a Persuader so I cannot answer whether EMW would fit a Persuader cavity. From the photographs above you can approximate the space. I do apologize that the measurement isn't very international being in inches nor are they to scale. For a definite answer you should really contact Alembic.

Keith
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: roberto on January 23, 2007, 07:19:16 AM: Thanks Keith.Enjoy the bass!
Robert
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: mica on January 23, 2007, 11:09:30 AM: Robert, there is an RF upgrade available for Spoiler, Distillate, and Europa electronics. It's not the age of the electronics, but the changes in the radio and high frequency noise sources since your electronics were made. You do need to send the electronics in to us for the upgrade service, which takes only a few days to perform and test.

You'll need to share a photo of the electronics cavity in your Persuader for us to try and determine if the additional electronics will fit. The new Y-adapter should make it possible to do without soldering, though you will need to do some drilling for the additional controls.

I don't have pricing details on the Y adapter yet, Bradley, but I will post them here as soon as they are available
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: bumhucker on January 24, 2007, 02:56:59 PM: would it be possible to just install the bass knob only? say if space is limited?

or a bass boost switch?

(Message edited by bumhucker on January 24, 2007)
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: Bradley Young on March 05, 2007, 10:36:25 AM: Mica,

My drill motor is all warmed up, and I've been drinking decaf so my hands are steady.

Any updates?

Bradley
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: kmh364 on March 06, 2007, 06:33:14 AM: As an owner of two EMW-equipped Orions, as well as a Series I, I can tell you the added cost to upgrade is definitely worth the expense. You get infinitely more tonal flexibility over the stock package. In some ways, having the bass/treble cut/boost circuitry with a filter/q is better than just the Series filter-only scheme.

Cheers,

Kevin
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: tbrannon on March 06, 2007, 11:33:56 AM: I've never played a series instrument, but my Rogue has the standard Rogue/Europa electronics that were later upgraded to Signature. I have Volume, Pan, Filter, Filter + 2 Q's and bass/Treble cut/boost. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can second what Kevin stated in his post. It's an incredibly versatile setup.

I'm keeping my eye out for a set neck 5 in the next 12 months or so. I wouldn't mind trying to land an Orion or Excel. If I do, this upgrade will be in the works.

Toby
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: mint_bass on March 07, 2007, 07:09:49 AM: this is very interesting

If the upgrade will be financially viable and DIY possible as im i England i will definatley be interested.

thanks Mica and posters
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: mint_bass on March 19, 2007, 12:17:39 PM: Hi

Any update on this yet Mica?

sorry if you have already answered somewhere else.

thanks
Andrew
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: keurosix on March 20, 2007, 07:05:38 PM: Hey Keith,
Your EMW pictures above are different than the Epic cavity in that you have a seperate battery door, right? It looks like you have 5 knobs and one switch? (Vol, Pan, Treble, Bass, Filter, Q switch), which is the standard circuit plus the filter & Q? I wonder if a standard Epic cavity is large enough for all that AND the battery?
Mica, has this been done before? I currently have both circuits now, and would love to put them all in at one time with the Y connector mentioned above. Would some routing need to be done directly below the battery compartment to fit all the controls? What drill procedure would you recommend? Start from the outside with a small diameter drill then follow with a forstner type drill to size to minimize damage to the top wood and finish? I would consider this option for the best sonic flexibility.
Kris
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: keith_h on March 21, 2007, 04:20:35 PM: Kris,
Yes this Orion has a separate battery compartment. The EMW electronics are the standard Vol, Pan, Treble and Bass with the addition of a filter and Q-switch. I also have a side mounted jack as opposed to front mounted.

Looking at Bradley's Epic pictures it seems to be a very tight fit at best but Mica should be able to give a definite answer.

Keith
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: jbybj on March 21, 2007, 09:52:13 PM: A few weeks back I spoke to someone at Alembic with regards to do it yourself EMW to an Epic. They said the standard Epic control cavity needs to be enlarged to handle the added electronics and that I would have to send in my bass for the work to be done. So those of us hoping to do it on our own for the cost of parts will have to save a little more..........
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: Bradley Young on March 22, 2007, 11:12:46 AM: I'm actually pretty certain that everything can be made to fit. If not, Mike Lull is 10 minutes away.

Mica, how much for just a filter + 3-way Q switch?

There was a discussion about a Y-adapter, which I'm pretty confident I can make or have made. I just need to know where it goes.

Bradley
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: kmh364 on March 22, 2007, 11:50:58 AM: I'm betting it'll fit without modification (albeit a tight fit). That side-mount jack takes up a serious amount of space that the Epic doesn't have to worry about.
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: the_mule on May 09, 2007, 12:12:25 PM: Any news on this subject?

I'd be very interested in adding the filter + q-switch with the Y-adapter to my Orion.

Wilfred
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: 2400wattman on May 10, 2007, 06:14:01 AM: I opened up my Orion last night to check how much space there would be and I don't see how it could fit. Besides the fact I have an l.e.d. switch in there I don't see how it could fit as it's very tight.
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: Bradley Young on May 10, 2007, 06:36:01 AM: At the northern California get together I had Ron look at the cavity on my Epic to determine feasibility. It looked doable, but might require a little cutting.

The knobs would almost definitely need to be re-arranged, with the filter going where the pan is, the pan going in the volume spot, and a new hole for the volume.

The filter module would get daisy chained in between the pan and the bass/treble controls.

Bradley
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: the_mule on May 10, 2007, 08:59:47 AM: Hmmm, sounds like more of an operation than I'm willing to perform on my Orion. I guess there's much to say for a bass/treble > filter/q swap with the possibility of swapping it back to original specs.

Wilfred
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: FC Bass on May 10, 2007, 09:09:57 AM: Build a little box for the treble & bass control, jack in/jack out and put on top of your amp
(probably won't work unless you find a way to provide power to the units...?)
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: 2400wattman on May 10, 2007, 10:02:23 AM: not entirely a bad idea Flip!
Title: Ghetto East meets West?
Post by: jahnahisti on May 11, 2007, 10:21:33 AM: I'd definitely recommend a drill press. These things need to be perfectly level. You wouldn't want whoever get the alembic after you to go, oh nice...they added this later. Or have Mike do it.