Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Alembic Basses & Guitars => Topic started by: lyla53 on January 08, 2013, 01:03:18 AM
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I want to treat myself to a nice used Alembic 4 string. Scale can be long, medium or short. Light to Medium weight. My main concern is excessive neck dive (I hate it - even with a quality 4 suede/leather strap) and comfort in the standing position. I don't like constantly adjusting for neck dive. I hold my bass medium high. Opportunity/Access to play Alembic's is practically non existent in this area. What Alembic model(s) should I be considering or steering away from? (My main bass now is a Ric 4003 which seems to have only slight (acceptable) dive and an older USA Fender Jbass that is worse) Any recommendations would be helpful. Thank You
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You need a Rogue then.
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The Essence 4 string I had balanced almost perfectly when standing..or sitting. You could sit with it on either leg and not have to aid the balance. No hands needed.
Other than that, most lightheaded basses lack fundamental.
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Avoid the classic body shapes (Standard Point, Small Body, and their variations). The Balance K worked-out PERFECTLY for me after an initial bad experience with the Standard Point. I have 2 Small bodies that I have adapted to, but the neck dive issue is there. The Orion feels and plays like a Fender P bass.
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An Elan or Europa is a a great choice if you are looking for a well balanced alembic both in sound and comfort.
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I love em all (Alembics)! However ___ I would highly recommend an Essence to you to accommodate your specs desired. You can get an Essence with the extra goodies such as a sustain block and an extra switch in the filter circuit to give you even wider tonal variations . I have a long scale Essence and the balance is perfecto . This bass is very light ! The Elan and Europa model also might be what you might like .
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Spoiler
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Hey Ralph,
Anything with a long upper horn will do the trick. What you need to consider next are weight, features and price. I think that an Essence would probably be the best choice. Tiny body, super light weight, balances great, nice features, and reasonably priced (used).
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I have a Rogue and an Elan - both are very balanced. The Rogue is almost perfectly balanced with the long upper horn. I also have a Rick 4001, and I think it feels pretty neck heavy. My MIM Jazz is slightly neck heavy, but it's the lightest of the bunch. Especially when compared to the Alembics. And mine are all 4 strings.
Stephen
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My '72 Ric 4001 is ridiculously neck-heavy...take your paw off it for a moment and the headstock heads for the floor. I have both an Elan and a Europa 6. Both are very well balanced, but the Elan is exceptionally heavy at a shade over 14 lbs.
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Thank you very much to all - this is exactly what I needed. Now the fun part - the hunt!
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There's a nice Orion 5 on ebay right now. I would go for that one if it doesn't turn out too pricey in the auction.
Rogue's don't come along that often, unfortunately..
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I unfortunately missed out on a Rogue a month or so ago...(settled on price but couldn't work out delivery) Saw the same bass show up on ebay a few weeks later with a 4 figure price increase, still not a bad deal. - it was then withdrawn without completing the auction - may have sold locally.
Unfortunately for me (good for others) when I want to treat myself , my patience becomes rather difficult to manage. There are a few MK signature balanced K models that may be available new. Based on the great advice this model might be the way to go. How are these generally on balance and weight?
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My long scale Balance K has a relatively small body, but a long upper horn; therefore, it balances nicely and it's lighter than my Brown Bass (a short scale). The horn doesn't quite go the the 12th fret (like most production basses) so you still have easy access to the 12th -24th frets (if that's even an issue for you). The first position on most (all???) Alembics can be more of a reach than you might be expecting because the bridges are not attached as far toward the butt as they are on most basses. I pulled out on of my Stingrays for a gig the other night and was constantly hitting the wrong notes as I worked my way toward the 12th position. On the MM the 12th position is several inches further in than on my Alembics. All that is a function of the horn length and the positioning of the bridge. I had considered going back to a SR as my go to bass, but I've found myself much more comfortable with the feel of the Balance K. If you can find one used (they don't come-up very often), you really can't go wrong since you can nearly always sell it for breakeven (or maybe even a small profit).
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I'll jump on the Essence bandwagon. Of my current Alembics the Essence is the lightest (by a number of pounds) and it balances wonderfully. My Rogue also has excellent balance but it is a heavy beast.
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My best Alembic is the one I have in my hands and am playing at any given moment.
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I have had my Essence since buying it new direct from alembic in 93. Play other basses but always want to get back to my alembic as soon as possible. The neck in paticular is just so good to play on. Has almost an inbetween feel of a P and a J bass both. Too narrow to be an actual P bass but a little wider than an Jazz. Just a smooth taper that works with no matter what I am playing, and the balance is perfect.
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I didn't see anyone mentioning the Excel body shape, I don't feel the neck dives on it and they are generally less expensive than other models.