Alembic Guitars Club

Alembic products => Showcase => Artists and Their Alembics => Topic started by: mica on May 21, 2015, 11:11:29 PM

Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: mica on May 21, 2015, 11:11:29 PM: (http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/209610.jpg)

Phil is so happy about the muscle memory for this short scale length. Balerion was hatched on May 8.
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: jazzyvee on May 22, 2015, 12:30:05 AM: So has Phil had two new basses from you Mica, a medium and a short scale 6 string bass?
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: mtjam on May 22, 2015, 01:42:16 AM: Another masterpiece!

Congratulations, Phil!
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: sonicus on May 22, 2015, 02:15:47 AM: Congratulations Phil !

Surely in your hands Balerion will be in top form for a Mighty Dragon of a performance ! In the moment spontaneous counterpoint, blazing and roaring ! Perhaps we will experience some impressive sounding bass chords with this scale length at your performances as well .

Sonic Regards,

Wolf

http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Balerion (http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Balerion) ( I love that show as well )
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: jalevinemd on May 22, 2015, 06:42:12 AM: Certainly making up for lost time.
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: moongerm on May 22, 2015, 08:08:40 AM: Wow! What is the Guage of the lowest string?
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: StephenR on May 22, 2015, 09:21:12 AM: Nice... figured Phil would be springing for a second Alembic.
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: 5a_quilt_top on May 22, 2015, 11:15:58 AM: Hey, how cool is that - !

Just in time for the GD mini tour this summer.
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: StephenR on May 22, 2015, 11:26:10 AM: He played this bass at the Dear Jerry show in Maryland last week. Some great shots of Phil and the bass in this gallery as well as all the other performers. There are a ton of pictures, suggest using arrow keys to scroll through instead of waiting for the slideshow. If you go backwards you will get to some shots of Balerion more quickly.

http://www.erikkabik.com/dear-jerry-concert (http://www.erikkabik.com/dear-jerry-concert)
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: mica on May 22, 2015, 01:51:38 PM: Yup, Vince, he's got both short and medium scale basses.

Brian, DR pulled through and made Phil custom gauges of Sunbeams like we used on Khaleesi: .040 .055 .070 .085 .100 .115 PLUS they made him some Pure Blues and Flatwound Legends in the same gauges.

(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/209636.jpg)
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: jalevinemd on May 22, 2015, 04:53:57 PM: So is a six string bass like this tuned like a guitar?

EADGBE (low to high)?
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: moonliner on May 22, 2015, 04:57:41 PM: Sweet!!
That really is a beauty. Well done!
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: sonicus on May 22, 2015, 05:08:09 PM: Jonathan , there can be variations but many 6 string bass players tune ; BEADGC (low to high).
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: jalevinemd on May 22, 2015, 05:20:02 PM: Thanks Wolf.
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: rv_bass on May 22, 2015, 06:26:11 PM: A beautiful work of art, it must sound fantastic!
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: jseitang on May 23, 2015, 08:43:47 PM: so sick
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: mica on June 16, 2015, 03:50:47 PM: Balerion sighting from June 12, 2015 at Terrapin Crossroads:

(http://alembic.com/club/messages/411/210244.jpg)

Photo by Jay Blakesburg (http://www.blakesberg.com/index2.php?thispage=photography)
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: mica on July 06, 2015, 02:37:37 PM: From the soundcheck at Fare Thee Well / Soldier Field 07-04-15

(http://alembic.com/club/messages/411/210838.jpg)

One of the camera men for this show was the owner of the Heart in Sonoma (http://www.alembic.com/info/fc_heartinsonoma.html) bass. Patrick did a great job getting nice shots of Phil and his bass through the shows.
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: sonicus on July 06, 2015, 03:43:43 PM: Kool ! It was a great show ! I got to see the 7/5/14 show on a swell big screen TV thanks to Bill ,tgo! Thanks Bill ! Thanks Mica for posting this .
These shows were part of a hugely emotional process for many , many folks . We all process this stuff differently in our minds .
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: David Houck on July 06, 2015, 06:58:57 PM: That's a nice shot!

And yes, Wolf, I agree; an emotional process.
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: hieronymous on February 17, 2016, 11:00:51 PM: I got to see and hear Balerion in person Monday night - managed to score tickets to Phil & Friends with Stanley Jordan at Terrapin Crossing - my first time to see a show in the Grate Room. Bass sounded great - could have been a teeny bit louder to me but overall the mix was very good. Guitars could be a little loud, but it's a relatively small room.

One thing I noticed - I don't think Phil is using the Eden any more - there was an empty space in the rack. He did have a similar EQ curve though - this time it was showing on a computer screen - you could see that the high end was all rolled off!

(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/225686.jpg)

The show was great ? they played mostly Dead tunes but with a nice selection of other songs ? ?While My Guitar Gently Weeps,? ?Proud Mary,? an instrumental version of ?What?s Going On.? During Proud Mary I was kind of surprised ? on the second chorus, Phil played way up high instead of in a lower register where a ?normal? bassist would play to beef things up ? it sounded thin instead ? then I remembered that this is Phil! I?m in the Phil Zone! At least 75% of the time he doesn?t play what you expect a ?bassist? to play. But when he does, it hits that much harder. Near the end of ?Shakedown Street? he started pumping 8th notes ? never heard him do that! I found an interview with him from around 1994 where he says, ?I just try to do something different all the time.? It was nice, I felt like I got a picture of him as a player the other night.
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: elwoodblue on February 17, 2016, 11:16:18 PM: What Fun!
I gotta go south for the summer this year and hang out as long as I can Thanks Harry
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: jazzyvee on February 18, 2016, 02:07:10 AM: I'd be curious to see him play but I doubt if the band will get to this side of the pond anytime soon.
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: edwin on February 18, 2016, 04:10:02 PM: Rob Eaton gave me a low down on Phil's EQ philosophy, from when he did a few shows with him. Unfortunately, we were setting up to soundcheck for a gig, so I wasn't paying all that much attention. I'll ask him next time I see him and try to remember.
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: hieronymous on February 18, 2016, 04:12:54 PM: Yeah, you would probably be more likely to see The Dead - that's the other three surviving members of the Grateful Dead, currently with John Mayer on guitar and Oteil Burbridge on bass. Oteil is awesome - he was one of my favorite players in the '90s when I was still playing - but there is something about Phil. Lesh is More as the say!

Considering that he was diagnosed with cancer last year and took time off, it's wonderful that he is back and looks so good!

Here's my favorite picture from that night - low-res iPhone photo through an Instagram filter and it turned into something else!
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: hieronymous on February 18, 2016, 04:18:44 PM: Dang Edwin, we posted at the same time! Definitely looking forward to hearing about it!

As an update, here's the setlist from the show I saw:

Set 1: Shakedown Street, Jack Straw, Feelin' Alright, Proud Mary, Caution Jam, Revolution

Set 2: Playing in the Band, What?s Goin? On, Dear Mr. Fantasy > How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) > The Wheel > Terrapin Station > While My Guitar Gently Weeps > Playing in the Band

Encore: Little Wing

I got this off of setlist.com and made a few corrections. I was hoping it would be available to purchase - they put out some of the shows on thumbdrives - but looks like maybe not
Title: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: hieronymous on February 19, 2016, 10:02:31 AM: jazzyvee, I messed up - the current non-Phil incarnation is called Dead & Company - they were just on TV for the first time last night on Jimmy Fallon (Oteil Burbridge on bass):

http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/dead-companyshakedown-street/2988369 (http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/dead-companyshakedown-street/2988369 target=_blank)
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: hieronymous on June 30, 2016, 09:57:33 PM: Here's a pic of Phil's rig in the Grate Room at Terrapin Station on June 28, 2016:

(https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7378/27398176163_534427d7e9_o.jpg)

It's a great place to see him play up close and personal - the room is only 250 capacity! Balerion sounded great as usual - I even managed to get some pretty good sounding audio/video during Dark Star which I will try to post later - he is such a unique bassist, rarely plays things the same way twice.
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: gearhed289 on July 01, 2016, 08:28:57 AM: LOVE the balance K heart omega body. My favorite Alembic shape...
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: elwoodblue on July 01, 2016, 10:34:58 AM: Quote from: gearhed289 on July 01, 2016, 08:28:57 AM
LOVE the balance K heart omega body. My favorite Alembic shape...
...and it sounds real healthy !! :-*
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: hieronymous on July 01, 2016, 12:56:01 PM: OK, here's some video:

Dark Star excerpt (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBQRWgerrm0)

You definitely want to listen on good speakers or headphones for full Philzone effect! It's not the most dynamic bit but it's all I got! (well, I have a shorter clip from Uncle John's Band that I will post later) I wanted to try and capture his jamming style - he's not the type of player to play an ostinato under the other instruments - he usually modifies his part, presumably within the larger shape of the entire piece.

(Please note - this video isn't publicly listed - please don't publicly share on Facebook, etc.)
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: rv_bass on July 01, 2016, 05:15:51 PM: Very nice! :)
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: edwin on July 02, 2016, 10:21:59 PM: Thanks for the video! Early on (from about 15 seconds) he plays a line that sounds sort of like a quote from Terrapin.
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: hieronymous on July 03, 2016, 02:09:08 PM: Quote from: edwin on July 02, 2016, 10:21:59 PM
Thanks for the video! Early on (from about 15 seconds) he plays a line that sounds sort of like a quote from Terrapin.
Nice catch Edwin! I thought I heard a bit of The Other One in there myself, before they went back to a more major, Dark Star tonality.

Here's another one - beware, dancing hippies in this one too!

Uncle John's Band (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMyOi8pDT0Q)

Jams like this one are one reason why I love the Dead - even in a happy song like Uncle John's Band they could insert a minor-sounding instrumental passage in 7/4 to build tension. I was into progressive rock (Rush, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, etc.) long before I got into the Dead and it was the proggy stuff that got me hooked!
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: hieronymous on July 04, 2016, 11:32:59 AM: By the way, I forgot to mention that Brian Rashap, a fellow Alembic user, told us on the "Alembic musical instruments" group on Facebook what the laptop in Phil's rig does:

The laptop monitors the humidity in room and changes the eq respectively.

Now that's cutting edge technology!

Here's a closeup of the rack:

(https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7573/28052791586_d558a6b0c0_o.jpg)

And a list of my friend's best guess at what's in there:

[/size]1.Furman PWR rack
2. Wireless half space?
3. Not sure almost looks like a RockTron not sure…
4. Korg DTR-1 Tuner
5. Meyer Sound CP-10 Parametric EQ
6. Meyer Sound Galileo loudspeaker management system
7. Meyer Sound Galileo loudspeaker management system
8. Power amp?
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: StephenR on July 04, 2016, 01:35:12 PM: Monitors humidity from beer spilled in the Grate Room?

You probably noticed that when Phil plays the EQ graph displays all the high frequencies as rolled off. Thanks for the image and list of probable gear in Phil's rack, always been curious. As far as a power amp I am almost sure his cabinets have built in power amps, very common with the Meyer gear. The only time I have had the pleasure of playing through a Meyer rig was a handful of UBC benefits the Broken Angels did with Phil at Maritime Hall back in late 97 and one at the Fillmore in January of 98. I played the first 40 minutes or so of the set one then we would bring out Phil to finish set one and play set two. Meyer lent us powered cabinets for those gigs and we used my SWR/Groove Tubes pre to drive them. The low end on the Meyer gear was truly joyful to experience, effortless smooth reproduction of all lows and subsonic frequencies.
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: rv_bass on July 05, 2016, 05:18:15 PM: Comment for Hieronymous post 1675: Dave's Picks Vol.5 (UCLA '73) Uncle John's reprise is a good example of where they could go with an Uncle John's jam.
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: hieronymous on July 05, 2016, 10:09:28 PM: I ended up going to the free July 4th show - I was really surprised how few people were there - I guess because it wasn't billed as Phil Lesh (though he sat in with the various bands) people weren't interested? Or maybe they had family obligations - I know that was the case for at least two people. Anyway, the back outside area is really nice! They have a stage area you'll see in the video with what looks like a small PA (as in "speakers on sticks") - Phil used his Eden rig - Eden head, CP-10 Parametric EQ (I think) and two Eden cabs (both 4X10?). I shot U.S. Blues because it was the 4th of July!

U S Blues (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scA1_zad-Us)

And here's a photo - lighting wasn't ideal but I like this one!

(https://c8.staticflickr.com/8/7658/27505553063_908d00ff8a_o.jpg)

Quote from: StephenR on July 04, 2016, 01:35:12 PM
Monitors humidity from beer spilled in the Grate Room?

You probably noticed that when Phil plays the EQ graph displays all the high frequencies as rolled off. Thanks for the image and list of probable gear in Phil's rack, always been curious. As far as a power amp I am almost sure his cabinets have built in power amps, very common with the Meyer gear. The only time I have had the pleasure of playing through a Meyer rig was a handful of UBC benefits the Broken Angels did with Phil at Maritime Hall back in late 97 and one at the Fillmore in January of 98. I played the first 40 minutes or so of the set one then we would bring out Phil to finish set one and play set two. Meyer lent us powered cabinets for those gigs and we used my SWR/Groove Tubes pre to drive them. The low end on the Meyer gear was truly joyful to experience, effortless smooth reproduction of all lows and subsonic frequencies.

Stephen, thanks for the story and insights! Good call on the Meyer stuff being self-powered, and so cool you got to be on the same bill!

Quote from: rv_bass on July 05, 2016, 05:18:15 PM
Comment for Hieronymous post 1675: Dave's Picks Vol.5 (UCLA '73) Uncle John's reprise is a good example of where they could go with an Uncle John's jam.

I'll keep an eye out for that one - those come up used sometimes at Amoeba.
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: jazzyvee on October 11, 2017, 03:38:52 PM: This came up on facebook and sounds really good. https://www.facebook.com/deadvideos/videos/570040266508511/
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: jazzyvee on March 17, 2020, 05:22:50 PM: Just spotted this video of Phil playing his alembic with Carlos Santana on guitar.
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: jazzyvee on May 19, 2020, 05:09:14 PM: I can't seen enough to know if it's his short or medium scale bass.
But just spotted it on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/phil.lesh/videos/1112101902504448/
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: mario_farufyno on May 20, 2020, 12:07:37 PM: This bass really looks amazing and thanks for the video, great stuff.
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: jazzyvee on September 18, 2021, 02:43:08 PM: Bumped into this on facebook and thought the deadheads would enjoy it. :-0)
https://www.jambase.com/videos/?query=phil%2520lesh
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: StephenR on September 18, 2021, 03:59:26 PM: Thanks for the heads-up Jazzy (pun intended)! The sneak peak previews are up on youtube, too, we watched the previews for the first set the last two nights and both were quite good. Still weird to see Phil with a Hartke rig. He runs a really drastic and strange EQ curve these days, too. But, as always he still plays his butt off!
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: jazzyvee on September 19, 2021, 02:41:21 AM: From what i could see it looks like he is using the bass with the new bridge design.
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: adriaan on September 19, 2021, 06:43:17 AM: From what I understand, all three basses now have the new bridge design.
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: jazzyvee on September 19, 2021, 11:26:15 AM: Three, have i missed one? i thought he had short and medium scale 6 stringers.
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: adriaan on September 19, 2021, 12:00:21 PM: Quote from: jazzyvee on September 19, 2021, 11:26:15 AM
Three, have i missed one? i thought he had short and medium scale 6 stringers.
Khaleesi (https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=8074) was the first one, medium scale.
Next was the subject of the current thread, Balerion.
The third one was another shortscale, Dreamfyre (https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=23463.msg234994#msg234994)
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: David Houck on September 19, 2021, 04:05:39 PM: Just watched the first preview; thanks!
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: rv_bass on March 15, 2023, 08:55:36 AM: Happy Birthday, Phil! “…thank you for a real good time…” :)
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: StephenR on March 15, 2023, 09:45:25 AM: Completely spaced on Phil's birthday. Happy birthday Phil! Anyone going to the show at the Capitol Theater tonight?
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: lbpesq on March 15, 2023, 11:07:37 AM: As I get older, (68 next month), I am more and more amazed watching Phil keep it going for multi-night gigs, (current one is four shows in five nights) at the age of 83! Happy Birthday, Phil. Kick out the jams tonight!

Bill, tgo
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: studiorecluse on July 17, 2023, 08:19:26 PM: Beautiful bass that looks delightful to play. I’d love to know the nut width and bridge string spacing…
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: rv_bass on July 27, 2023, 10:16:18 AM: —
Title: Re: Phil Lesh and his short scale Series II 6-string bass
Post by: mica on July 27, 2023, 10:41:19 AM: I think we settled on 1.9 for the nut with .55 spacing at the bridge.