Alembic Guitars Club

Alembic products => Showcase => Artists and Their Alembics => Topic started by: lembic76450 on March 13, 2010, 07:07:45 AM

Title: Rick Danko
Post by: lembic76450 on March 13, 2010, 07:07:45 AM

Ok, I was just reading on a site dedicated to Rick Danko,
here (http://sipthewine.blogspot.com/search/label/Rick%27s%20amps%2Fequipment/here) where it is mentioned that one of his favorite basses was a custom hollow body with Olympic pickups made by Mark Dann of NYC. A little more research, here (http://theband.hiof.no/articles/rd_bass_player_94_mb.html/here) shows that, yes, they were Active Alembic JJ pickups and that he also had another bass with PJ combo. Rick was always one of my favorites and main influences. He used both of thses basses on his Jerico album.

Title: Rick Danko
Post by: shae on March 16, 2010, 07:48:49 AM

Found some pictures of those basses.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/77743.jpg)

(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/77744.gif)

Title: Rick Danko
Post by: mark_dann on June 24, 2015, 10:21:54 PM

Mark Dann here!  Yes I built a bass for Rick.  I was playing at a bar in Woodstock (which I have long since moved to) in 1991, and Rick was there.  He was in the market for a light-weigh bass because of his back issues.  I had one of my basses with me that probably weighed about six lbs.  He held it for between 2 to 3 seconds and said, build me one!.  Which I did.  He first used it at the Berlin Wall with Roger Waters.  I asked him what kind of strings here wanted, and he said whatever you are using.  Details: Chambered mahogany body with maple in the center, and book matched koa on the top and back, very much influenced by Alembic of course.  The pickups/electronics were Alembic J-size.  Maple neck with ebony board.  Gotoh bridge and tuners.  No more Ripper bass after this!

Title: Rick Danko
Post by: mtjam on June 25, 2015, 11:34:00 AM

Welcome, Mark, and thanks for the info! I'm a huge Danko fan, so I appreciate reading more about his Alembic connection. I'm sure if you have any pictures or additional thoughts about Rick Danko or basses in general, I'm sure others would enjoy them.

Title: Rick Danko
Post by: lbpesq on July 04, 2015, 10:24:47 AM

Also a huge Band and Rick Danko fan.  I never knew he used Alembic electronics. The scene in Festical Ewpress where he drunkenly sings Ain't No More Cane with an equally inebriated Janis Joplin and Jerry Garcia is a classic.
 
Bill, tgo