Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Fun Stories => Topic started by: jazzyvee on March 27, 2013, 12:07:02 PM
-
We have had quite a flurry of new members to the forum over the past couple of years or so and in the past we have had Alembics on the sofa type pictures from us long term members. So I thought it would be a good idea to invite these new members to share with us some photo's of their Alembic in that style.
So....Newbies please grace us with your weapons of sonic seduction.
Jazzyvee
-
Give me another month (hopefully).
-
What he said...
;-)
Unfortunately, in this case, my sofa will not be of the same caliber as its occupants...so I may have to opt for another method of display.
Unless Alembic builds sofas!!!
-
I din't know if Alembic build sofa's but there is on in their lobby.
Choose whatever method of display you desire.
Jazzyvee
-
Too many for a sofa.
-
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/159548.jpg)
-
Thanks for posting, it's an excellent first example of a new bass on the sofa.
I hope you both make wonderful music together.
Jazzyvee
-
I'm not a new member but this pic is just too good not to share:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/161633.jpg)
My bass got to meet Stanley's bass at the mothership while it was in for new nut & saddles for tenor tuning!
-
Interesting that he has those little markers on his bass for getting to his sound. Do you know if that is his soloing tone or his main groove sound represented by those white markings. I may have a go at doing that with my series bass as sometimes I feel like I'm going round in sonic circles to find a specific tone. :-)
-
This is one of my all time favorite pics. Mica took this this one. It's just soooooooo hot!
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/176556.jpg)
-
Bump, there have been some new alembic ownership of late. Any more sofa pictures to share?
I have a recent series I and here it is with it's close relatives.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/223082.jpg)
(Message edited by jazzyvee on December 22, 2015)
-
Not exactly a sofa and very poor pic:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/223085.jpg)
-
three sisters...
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/223092.jpg)
-
You just had to do it didn't you......hmmmm
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/223095.jpg)
-
You just had to do it didn't you......hmmmm
-
Jazzy: The ceiling's fan reflection almost got me tricked on your guitar's finish!
-
Had this one a while, but never posed on the sofa. =)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/223114.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/223115.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/223116.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/223117.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/223118.jpg)
I just love this bass, and very much looking forward to the arrival of it's fretless companion this (coming) year. (Message edited by edwardofhuncote on December 23, 2015)
-
Hhhhmmmmmm yummy Jazzy !!!
-
Hhhhmmmmmm yummy Jazzy !!!
-
Love that maple Series I Jazzy... I remember the day that one popped up on Aus. ebay.
-
no sofa but close(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/223146.jpg)
-
Edward, i love that bass too. It grows more on me everytime i pick it up to play. Ive ordered some new knobs and bridge rehab kit including new saddles from mica so when that arrives the bass is gonna get some tlc.
-
Merry Christmas!!!
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/223179.jpg)
Peace,
Pete
-
The view from my sofa!
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/223416.jpg)
-
OK, I'll play:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/224793.jpg)
Up to this point, I've never had these three together, since the Series was back at the mothership for some TLC.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/224794.jpg)
-
Here's my Harem.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/227109.jpg)
-
Nice Rusty!!!
-
Thanks Brian! Sorry about the double post, moderators, feel free to delete one of them.
-
Rusty - your black Ric has what appears to be a Joe Barden PU in the bridge position and a replacement bridge - ?
What did you do?
I ask because a few years ago (predating getting an Alembic) I upgraded both PU's and the bridge on my blonde Ric. The PU's are prototype Barden Ric replacements (I was told I was the first in AZ to have them) and the bridge is a Hipshot.
Both were drastic improvements over the stock versions.
-
Good eye David! I replaced both Rick pickups with Seymour Duncans. I got them as a set from Bass Strings Online, & they vastly improved the bottom end! The neck pickup looks cream in this picture but it is chrome. My bridge is one of the original Leo Quan Badass bridges. I bought the bass new in 1979 & changed the bridge & nut after about a year. Since getting my Alembics, none of my other basses see any action unless I do an outdoor gig with bad weather or at a venue I've never played & don't want to chance bringing the Alembics.
-
Rusty - sounds like it might be time to hunt down some Activators for your Ric! ;)
-
Harry, if I put Activators in anything it would be my homemade fretless next to the Rick. I built it in woodshop in high school & put DiMarzio's in it, but I would love to have a P/J set of Activators for it! I love my Rick, but it is no match for my Alembics in the way it feels & plays, so no sense in trying to make it sound like an Alembic when I have the real thing.
-
I have a couple of Rics, none of them with Alembic guts - I like the way they sound stock. But I have a couple of Fenders with Activators and love them! I don't use them to make them sound like Alembics, to me it brings out the best in them and makes them much more flexible.
But I totally get what you are saying - with those two Alembics I can see the Ric resting quietly in its case a lot.
-
+1
I have two Rics, the modded 4001 described above and a stock V63, neither have seen any action since my conversion to Alembic. They are pretty cool looking back-ups, though.
And I agree with you Rusty, despite the tonal enhancements via the mods, the 4001 still can't match an Alembic.
-
I bought my Ric because that's what Geddy played, then shortly after I got it he switched to Wahl then Steinburger, then Jazz Bass much to my dismay! I still like pulling my Ric out for nostalgic reasons, but it is has been demoted to the practice squad!
-
Pardon the mess...
[check out the resized picture below]
(Message edited by adriaan on April 05, 2016)
-
Magnificent! How does it sound?
-
Beautiful basses Adriaan, here's a better view! :-)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/227485.jpg)
-
@Rob - this is my contribution to the Alembics on the sofa thread, so I won't be going into the sound of things. (Early days, too. Getting my bearings first!)
@Rusty - thanks for the resize!
-
You're welcome!
-
Does a pic on a recliner chair count?!
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/227732.jpg)
-
Works for me! The finish on that is awesome - have we seen it here at the Club before?
And Rusty, I never got back to you about the Ric - I was mostly kidding, but at the same time - in my experience, Activators don't necessarily make an instrument sound like an Alembic, they unlock the potential of the instrument. Never had any in my Rics - I like the way they sound stock, though if I had a ton of money I would get extras to Alembicize! - but I have two Alembicized Fenders and love them - Alembicized Guild in the works too - hopefully that one will be my next contribution to this thread!
-
Thanks! Yes, sir. This bass was previously owned by fellow club member rraymond. Here's a link to the original for sale thread (along with another link which includes a full history of the bass): http://club.alembic.com/Images/395/208717.html?1435029814 (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=13250)
-
No worries Harry! I would love to get a set of P/J Activators for my fretless I built in woodshop in high school!
-
Two Alembics and an old friend...
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/227925.jpg)
-
I'm still in the game, here's my two on a red love seat:
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/394/228506.jpg)
Thom, take good care of that Elan, I miss the heck out of it!
-
That sunburst is stunning!!
-
Sunburst indeed. Featured Custom Pinot makes an appearance! I had forgotten about it, but this one almost swayed me to the old-school fan headstock.
Love ^that^ zebrawood Series with tree-of-life inlay too.
-
The left spoiler is ALEMBIC which I ordered for the first time.
When Mica and Ron and Susan came to Japan 28 years ago, I ordered it.
Mica was in its teens, and I was 20 years old in those days.
The sequence of unique pickup is an idea of Susan.
This spoiler is a hollow body.
The electric circuit of series 1 of the vintage enjoys a vacation in Santa Rosa of the hometown.
-
Very nice collection, Shoji!
-
Thank you, rv_bass.
Anything is favorite BASS.
I enjoy Jazz, Rock, Funk, Blues, any music in ALEMBIC.
-
Very nice, Shoji; and that Series II is especially nice!
-
First time trying to post a photo. Hope this works. Two Spyders and a 6-string Classico in the background. Got yer attention?
-
6 string Classico.....i had no idea such a beast existed. More pictures please!!
-
Thank you Davit,
But the first favorite is next SSB series 1.
Electric circuit I of series 1 is a repairing now in a factory of Santa Rosa.
-
Thank you Rusty, the sunburst is indeed stunning. It is after all, Alembic. As a fan of "painted" Alembics, I'm sure your Orca is a work to behold also.
We are a lucky bunch in that we recognize and get to own and play such quality.
To Alembicians everywhere, salute!
-
Wow, I'd like to see the 6 string Classico and Shoji's unique Spoiler on close ups...
-
My trio:
(https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/image-jpeg.881449/)
-
Another trio of sleeping beauties ( ... and a beast 8) )
-
Here they are again ... well, I sat on the sofa taking the picture :)
-
Nice McIntosh gear in the background!
Oh yeah, cool basses, too. I love the 5 string Series in particular.
-
Nice McIntosh gear in the background!
I was thinking the exact same thing!!
-
And a Lava Lamp too! Cool!
Bill, tgo
-
6 string Classico.....i had no idea such a beast existed. More pictures please!!
Baddass!!!
-
;D
-
one more.
-
6 string Classico.....i had no idea such a beast existed. More pictures please!!
Baddass!!!
You ought to hear it through the Bag End ELF Processor and an 18"ELF Cabinet....... ;)
-
Here ya go!
-
Glorious Rogue/Orion colection (the buckeye is a killer), but I'm in love with that fretless Persuader!
-
The current trio...they each have their own unique voice...my Starfire is at Santa Rosa being Alembicized, I'll update the photo when it's finished. :)
-
That's quite a trio Rob. ;) Don't think I've seen that Series II 5-string before. How'd I miss that?! :o
Wait... was that Thomas' bass?
-
I haven't posted a sofa shot lately, so here's the current pair. Note that I left just enough room between them for the (embryonic) Custom Fretless. Speaking of...
[spoiler alert]
Making it's debut on the leather sofa - Mica sent me this picture last week of the new bass. (no, I still haven't slept all night) ;D
-
Hey Greg,
Yes, that is Thomas' bass. I thinned out the herd and Thomas was kind enough to sell it to me. It's a magnificent instrument, I can't stop playing it and the guys in the band are blown away by it.
That's a nice trio you have going as well. I love your custom build! The wood grain looks almost like a combination quilted/birds eye, that will be beautiful when finished (and a nice compliment to your existing quilted maple bass)!
I like the shape of your custom, looks like a combination of classsic series with anniversary. I really like the old-style omega tips without the extension. If I ever do a custom I may borrow your shape :) Look foward to seeing it when finished!
-
You don't miss much! Lots of vintage DNA in it for sure. The body shape is a combination of several Alembic patterns, including an Anniversary Model 5-string, (that may well be the only one) and a pair of early Standard Omega bodies. (Smitty, and McVie's fretless) It also features elements inspired by Jimmy Johnson's long-lost #76-418, Wolf's butterscotch birdseye #73-32, and my own Persuader 5-string, along with some other wacky ideas of my own that make it somewhat unique. Sort of an Ed of H Signature Model. :D
I didn't pick the wood... Mrs. W. herself did, and has been oft-repeated, she's utterly psychic about wood and what looks good. I only said make it birdseye maple, but until last week I had no idea what she had cooked up... the figure just exploded when the clear hit it. Can't wait to see the rest of it. 8)
-
My latest relaxing in the sunshine on my sofa.
Series I Redwood with Europa body, maple & Ebony neck, chrome plated hardware. Sounds....... :-) ;D ;) 8) :-X
-
Jazzy that Series 1 redwood is beautiful! Gregory, Congrats on your new build! It is looking fantastic!
-
Not on a sofa, but still pretty formidable. 8)
-
Here are some pics I took today after my practice session with my three degrees. Everytime I play them side by side I hear different things from previous occasions so it's hard to be absolute about the differences between their sound. Playability wise the Maple series II on the left has the slimmest neck back to front but only by a slim margin but it makes quite a difference when playing. It also has the lowest action that I can play without buzzing. I have not managed to get the others to the same setup yet but I'm gonna have another go at that soon.
-
Man, what a beautiful trio of basses. Enjoy those, Delano.
-
Fine-looking triplets there Jazzy. 8)
I like the contrast of Pete's trio as well... three different body shapes, yet all three clearly related. Now if the Distillate were situated between the Standard Point and Small Standard, there would be cosmic symmetry. ;D
-
Beautiful basses, a lucky man you are! :)
-
Pete, nice looking trio as well, good variety!
-
Wow it looks like Jazzy is on the verge of giving Pierre a run for his money on the couch shots! Beautiful!
Greg, I call the Distillate my "Working Man Bass" it's so easy to quickly get to where I need to be and the places we have been gigging it pretty close to perfect.
The Point is new to me and is pretty close to as a perfect Bass for me I could ask for. Funny how easy it was to bond with this gal. There is barely a scratch on her so for now she's relegated to "safe" gigs and noodling. Subject to change. ;)
The small body has been a pleasant surprise. She's so different in tone and playability. I have TI Flats on and with a super slim neck she's very jazzy and super fast. I did have a hard time at first bonding with her but with the advent of the new Point Series playing this bass is sooooooo cool now!
Each has their own personality, simply the best Basses made!
Really digging your basses progress. Can't wait to see her done!
Peace
Pete
-
I had a hard job binding with my series II when I first got it home. It was more bass and controls than I knew what to do with and for me anyway visually it was far to flashy looking. So i felt self consicous when using it live for quite a while actually. Moving forward a few years I'm less worried about those aspects of it but just aware of them. I gig them all but I am selective in which places I use them and those are usually in venues where I expect or know in advance that it has a great sound on and off stage. It's a real downer when you play an alembic onstage and you don't hear it properly.
-
Sweeeeett! Jazzy!
-
Thought I'd show off my new favorite thing with my old faithful girl
-
Now that my friend is a perfect example of why I love Europas!
-
Does a piano bench count? The sofa was taken! Hard to believe there's 40 years between these two, but I had them both at a bluegrass jam yesterday, and snapped this pic while everyone was taking a beans-n-cornbread break. :)
-
Love it!
-
It looks like an intimate encounter is about to take place between those two. ;-)
-
Here are some pics I took today after my practice session with my three degrees. Everytime I play them side by side I hear different things from previous occasions so it's hard to be absolute about the differences between their sound. Playability wise the Maple series II on the left has the slimmest neck back to front but only by a slim margin but it makes quite a difference when playing. It also has the lowest action that I can play without buzzing. I have not managed to get the others to the same setup yet but I'm gonna have another go at that soon.
I have a large festival gig on tonight and decided that these three would have to audition for the gig. Since it's a reggae gig I had the controls set the same on each bass. Filters closed, no Q and neck pickup selected I made sure that the trim pots were as near as possible set the same. I also used them through my F-2B with no input from the SF-2. All the strings are at least 18 months old and they have been played about the same amount of time during that period.
I haven't got all three out at the same time in a long while so it gave me an opportunity to try to hear the differences. I do use all these to practice at home regularly and my preferred bass for any gig usually ends up being the one I was practicing with the closest to the gig date. Though my black Europa usually gets all the reggae gigs except on large festivals or if the gigs are being filmed.
Anyway interestingly with the same settings in this context what i find is this.
Series II - the most hifi sounding of the three and the clearest/tightest and punchy bottom end.
Series I Burl Redwood - has more warmth on the bottom end than the SII and still has a tight punch bottom end.
Series I Burl Maple - PHATTEST bottom end, slightly less punchy than the other two but with a warmer less of the higher frequencies.
Whilst these basses have a great deep sound and any would do a great job on this or any gig, after a lot of deliberation I have decided on the redwood bass something about it drew me in last night. My fingers are telling me the setup on that one is better than the other two so the neck feels better. I hope we are all out gigging again soon. People need to get back to hearing live music again.
-
What types of strings do you have on all these basses other than old ones.
-
D'addario Pro Steels 45- 130 roundwounds.