Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Introductions => Topic started by: mack_sanders on December 25, 2011, 11:55:35 AM
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I purchased #1045 new in 1978, after reading an article in Rolling Stone in the early 70s. My dream came true. I had originally placed an order for a series 2 guitar in walnut/maple. When this one was offered due to an order cancellation, I accepted without question. I had no way to imagine how good an instrument could be. It is resonant and responsive like nothing else. To this day, this instrument is the only one that surprises me with every note. It is truly a lightning rod for passion.(http://club.alembic.com/Images/397/119422.jpg)
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Welcome to the Club Mark! You have a beautiful guitar! It looks like my Stanley Clarke Signature Deluxe!
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Thanks Rustyg61. As fate would have it, this guitar has been a constant companion through all these years. My connection to it borders on a peaceful kind of madness. I have always struggled to describe what it actually does in a musical mix...until i broke a D string on this gig and picked up the red Strat behind me. My brother David with the LP, said he wondered if the Alembic had been too low in the mix all night...till I put it down and a huge wall of sound fell down out of the mix. Best description I've heard. The Strat with all due respect, felt like a toy in my hands.(http://club.alembic.com/Images/397/119426.jpg)
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There is a definite difference in the sound & clarity of Alembics VS mortal guitars & basses! The 1st gig I did with my Alembic, my drummer commented that he heard notes from me that he had never heard before even though I was playing the same exact parts I always play! The Alembic just cuts through the mix like nothing else!
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Agreed Rusty, it seems to me that all other instruments revolve around the lone Alembic in a mix.
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Nice shot of the sideways Alembic Buckle! I wear my belt like that too!
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Yes Rusty, i also cut the rivets out of my jeans on the right side.. Disciplines become rituals for the sake of playing of this guitar.
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You've taken amazing care of your instrument, it still looks brand new!
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Thank you Rusty. Great pride in the keeping of this instrument. The frets are like jewelry. Besides for an early issue with back bow, which was solved, it has had no failures of any kind. (http://club.alembic.com/Images/397/119440.jpg)
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Uncle Bob's Rock Shop, left to right. Steve Reel, Mark Rewis, Bob Dibble, David & Mack Sanders
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Mack, Welcome to the forum. Absolutely beautiful guitar! The Band (http://www.unclebobsrockshop.com/ target=_blank) looks like a lot of fun. Let me know if you get up to the Asheville, NC area (seems to be a popular stop here with folks from Charleston, vica-versa too). Play it Healthy! Art
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Thanks Arts,
Living every note.
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Welcome ,
Great instrument and pics!
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The band sounds great, Mack. Welcome to the club.
Mike
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Sonicus, Mike, thank you,
It's a pleasure to meet you.
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Mack:
Welcome to the club! Always nice to have another 6-stringer around these parts. Most of the people around here seem to like 4 or 5 bridge cables and giant speakers, but they're a cool bunch anyway.. Would love to see some more and closer pics of your guitar.
Bill, the guitar one
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(http://club.alembic.com/Images/397/119501.jpg)
Hi Bill,
My close up files are too large to fit here. I'll work on that.
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Form follows function is an appropriate term when attempting to describe the many positive attributes of this instrument. The lines of reasoning on response and resonation are well founded IMHO. One attribute i have only recently come to grasp is the sense of a complete absence of latency when compared to the softly mounted components of the instrument in the foreground. The Alembic simply produces chords and notes with a bang as well as subtle notes in which the lines on the finger tips can be heard and integrated into a passage. The over all result being a feeling of confidence because of the ability to eliminate the constant and habitual adjustments for maybe 1 or 2 milliseconds of latency, which make it easier to lock into a groove with the band. Small increments of time are hard to measure, though they can often be evaluated by a slight feeling of an annoyance. In this day and age ,1-2 milliseconds is an entire universe, though I'm guessing Ron was probably on to that, more than 35 years ago.
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Any chance of some close up photo of the guitar Mack?
Jazzyvee
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Hi Jazzyvee,
Will have to convert some files so they fit. Got some down time coming, off line for a relocation.
Hope to be back soon.
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(http://club.alembic.com/Images/397/120542.jpg)
Mack with #1045
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Great shot Mack! And my apologies for calling you Mark in my 1st post!
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Mortal Basses and Guitars.....Ha! Ha! I really like that description!! Kudos Mack! That's a slammin' axe you got there dude!....The guitar of the..the Gods! Not for Mortals!
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(http://club.alembic.com/Images/397/120556.jpg)
Mack with 1045
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Glad you like my description Charles! To put a twist on a friend's Harley shirt, If God made anything better than an Alembic, He kept it for Himself!
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Well said Rusty! Hi Charles!
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It has been said of modern formula one racing cars ,that they are designed in such close keeping with the fundamental laws of nature that they tend to behave almost as living things. The same can be said of the Connection between the Queen(1045) and I, the depth of which cannot be over stated, nor can the joy be over stated.(http://club.alembic.com/Images/397/120619.jpg)
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Love the strap!
Peter
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Photos by Cathie Bowes Reel and Amber Rewis.
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Thanks cozmik_cowboy
The strap was made by Ralph Rivera in 1978. It has been with the guitar since that time.
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(http://club.alembic.com/Images/397/120669.jpg)
Mack with 1045
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Beautiful guitar!!!
Welcome to the club!
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davehouck, thank you!
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Is that a triple walnut stringers in the neck recipe?
Welcome to the club
slawie
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I checked out the videos on your website. Great job! As a bass player I have to say that I really appreciate your drummer. Mad skillz, but also knows when to just lay that backbeat in just the right place. The Alembic sounds great, too!
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The vids are really cool - great mixing and playing. Everyone in the band is good - a rare sight.
Stephen
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Slawie, 1045 is a purple heart, maple neck with rosewood fret board. Front & back are cocobolo, maple and mahogany. Edwin, Tncaveman, thank you.
I re-fretted recently and it has be come a test bed for experimentation with fret crown profiles (Fibonacci)micro tuning and work hardening.
It stays on the bench until all notes are dead on.
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PS, does anyone have suggestions on how to cure a noisy f2-b? Changed out the power supply caps and tubes. lots of hiss.
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If it's an older unit, I would suggest looking at the plate resistors. That's the classic place where the Fender preamp designs get noisy after a number of years. It's an opportunity to try different resistor types.
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If it's an older unit, I would suggest looking at the plate resistors. That's the classic place where the Fender preamp designs get noisy after a number of years. It's an opportunity to try different resistor types.
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Edwin,thank you. The F2-b is #857, somewhere around 1980. I have difficulty understanding tubes, but I have noticed that a recent installation of Fender/Russian/12AX7/7025's sounded good but had fry noise and a pair of Russian/ Mullard 12AX7/ECC83's seemed softer with richer even order harmonics, but with a lot of hiss. Any guidance is appreciated.
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Great Photo's Mack,
I have a close cousin of #1045, a series one guitar-serial #1100,
....joy
It's good to see 1045 ( and You ) in action.
Keep it up !!
Elwood
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Hey elwoodblue, thank you . Do you have photos posted of 1100?
Edwin, I recently found TAD 7025 W/A RT080 tubes from The Amp Dr. The F2B improved dramatically.