Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Showcase => Artists and Their Alembics => Topic started by: basstard on December 18, 2008, 05:27:02 AM
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James LoMenzo (Megadeth, ex-David Lee Roth, ex-Black Label Society) used to play the best too ;-)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/59396.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/59397.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/59398.jpg)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/59399.jpg)
I wonder why he doesn't use them (at least live) anymore, and I can only come up with one explanation: endorsement :-/
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As far as I know, he's using Warwick basses now, and they're (at least they were) pretty good basses too.
I guess he switched to Warwick in the early '90s, just after the White Lion era.
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Yes, he has an endorsement deal with Warwick...
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I was going to start a James loMenzo thread too. he appears in an Ashdown amps advert in bass Player and is using what appears to be an Exploiter in a dark top wood. However, Closer examination and a bit of surfing shows that it's the Warwick Stryker rip off.
graeme
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Warwick and Alembic made some similar basses:
Alembic Dragon Wing -> Warwick Buzzard
Alembic Spyder -> Warwick Stryker
I guess it's just becouse of John Entwistle.
Anyway, even if I consider Warwick one of the best bass manufacturer in the world, Alembic is always on top.
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Eugene,
sorry to say but you cannot compare Alembic with W.....k.
In no way.
It is like you would compare a Lamborghini with a truck.
As for the designs, the S.....r is only the try of them to make money with JE. As for the B.....d, they now say that they made the design but it was clearly Johns own design.
Problem is that Chris Entwistle has sold the rights on his fathers name for musical instruments to W.....k.
That was also the reason why Status got a nice statement from they lawyers of W.....k to stop the Buzzard production.
Cheers
Oliver (Spyderman)
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(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/67912.jpg)
Sorry...
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/67913.jpg)
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...you got me there...
You know what I mean......
Oliver (Spyderman)
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Wow; I had no idea. Nice tractor!
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I don't want to start a thread about Warwick versus Alembic, and as I said before I think Alembic basses are the best basses on Earth, but when Warwick started making instruments they had the same Alembic philosophy: over the top instruments for people looking for something special that can't be found anywhere else.
Then they started with endorsements, switched to cheapest material (woods, electronics, hardware, ecc.) and introduced very cheap models made in Korea and China.
I think the best basses from Warwick comes from 80's and early 90's.
Alembic is still crafting unique istruments.
Anyway, even a track can be useful (just joking).
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Dave - Lamborghini started with tractors. When Ferrucio Lamborghini got thrown out of Enzo Ferrari's office after being brave enough to state several suggestions (Ferrari said that no tractor manufacturer would ever tell him how to make sports cars) he decided to beat Ferrari with their own weapon and set himself a goal of making even better sports cars. He even hired engineers fired by Ferrari (fired in a nasty way, may I add - Enzo Ferrari left a great legacy but as a person he was a total d**k). Has he succeeded - you decide.
As for Warwicks - well, to be honest, I've played several and most of them sounded dead. There was only one I really liked. I don't hold that brand in high regard - one, for actually stealing Stuart Spector's and Ned Steinberger's famous design (Warwick call it a Streamer but it's actually a Spector NS-series ripoff), two, for what Oliver has just written, and three, for the overall average tonal quality of their basses (the built quality is actually very good). 'Nuff said.
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If you go to bass player tv they have a clip of James where he mentions Alembic. I wasn't a fan of Warwick but I like the styling of the Dolphin Pro. I bought a used 8 w/leds in deep purple flake. It sounds great, the action stays even and it plays really well.
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I know better than to dive into this, but I have no respect for the Warwick company. Not because of the quality of their basses, but because of what I perceive to be the dishonesty underlying some of their product development.
For instance, look at their Streamer bass - and then look at the classic Spector body design. The rip-off is not only obvious, but it led to a threat of legal action by Stuart Spector against Warwick. As a result, Warwick agreed to paid a licensing fee to Spector, but never actually paid what they agreed to pay. Another example: in their Bass Player ads a few years ago, Warwick used to brag about inventing the adjustable nut, which they called the Adjust-a-nut. As any Alembic lover knows, Alembic was using adjustable nuts on their Series basses at least 10 years before Warwick began doing so. If you are really bored someday, ask Susan Wickersham about the whole Buzzard design
Warwick basses may or may not be great. As for myself, I choose not to play instruments made by a company that appears to be willing to steal someone else's ideas and then claim them as their own. It kills the buzz.
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Mr Wood, with ya there...in my bicycle days, I got ripped off for the whole 'bar end' idea for MTN bikes by friends of mine, then the whole industry started making copies...if I'd patented, I'd be rich...oh well, at least I can say I had an impact on something, but little reward...there's always other ideas...avoid the thieves and reward the innovators!!!
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Hi Guys, James LoMenzo here. I always check in with as many bass sites as I can. Alembic lovers? This one's killer! O.K., so to let you all know, I still have and cherish those basses that were posted. The Distillate and Series 1. The reason I don't use 'em live any more is for fear of losing 'em. The Series 1 has been with me since '80 (it's a '77) and the the distillate I picked up around '84. I've recorded quite a few albums with my Series 1 and I'd be crushed not to have it. in fact, I actually lost it in transit several years ago. A carrier had a theft ring working in there midst and they snatched it. Thought I'd lost it for good. 4 years later I get a call from a detective who later found it and returned it to me. I very rarely let it out of my sight when I take it out to recording sessions. Regarding my other basses (not of the Alembic persuasion, It's of course about endorsements, which is a nice thing about being involved with well known bands. But fear not my Alembic loving friends, I am with you on most of your assertions and I am always a devoted Alembic Player at heart...
Cheers,
James
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Hey james. great to see you joining the club and it's also great to know you're still one of us at heart. I'm looking forward to your contributions - how about posting some pics of your instruments.
Graeme.
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Love the Pride and Glory Record,Man.
Greetz from Austria,
Markus
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Greets from Venezuela, James!! Been a follower since the White Lion days. Excellent work!. Back then I thought an Alembic would be an Impossible dream and now that I own one, it feels GREAT to be surrounded by fantastic players and heroes, and you are definitely one!.
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Welcome to the club, great nickname! :-)
You made a huge impression on me @ Dynamo in '94 (Pride and Glory, with Buzzard) and kept me on the right (low) side. :-) Thanx!
Must have some pics somewhere...
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besides, isn't it a great history of the lost and found Series 1? Thankfully it went back home!
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My words of praise to you Sir James. You are a man who has covered the wide spectrum of playing and continues to make great music. There are but a few who have had long careers and remain vibrant despite the critiques of Beavis and Butthead. Great to see you here and sharing with us. Perhaps playing the East Coast, tri state scene helped? (Birch Hill, LAmours etc) Greeting from North Jersey and Bergen County.
P&G
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTRXMeNAKWQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTRXMeNAKWQ)
DiMarzio clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq_ir0vjGXk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq_ir0vjGXk)
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Hey James, great to see you joining us here!
Tell us - where have you bought the Distillate? It's a Japanese version (meaning it was only made for Japanese market, as far as I know) and it's very hard to find one outside Japan.
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Hi Folks, beautiful to hear from you all. Let me catch my breath from NAMM weekend and I'll get back on in a while and answer some of your questions, share some tales and even post some pics... BTW, had a terrific conversation with the great Jan-Olof Strandberg at the EBS booth on Saturday. Lot's of Alembic speak, He's a real affection-ado and he can really make them sing...
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Jan-Olof is a really great guy. I spent a very entertaining afternoon in Manchester with him some years ago and we've stayed in touch since. He really is one of the most enthusiastic Alembic players I've come across and his music is wonderful. He contributes on this forum quite regularly. His sound was one of the contributing factors to my decision to use EBS cabinets.
Graeme