Author Topic: How Many Have Found "The One?" (Read 308 times)

jalevinemd · « **on:** July 26, 2015, 12:45:20 PM »

I never really subscribed to the notion that there was only one guitar out there for me. I've got 25 right now and have bought and sold well over that in the past 15 years. I was always on the lookout for the next one. Once I had it, the high would last for a bit and then I'd need another to feed the addiction. Not really sure what I was looking for. Even the first three custom builds I did with Alembic didn't satisfy the craving. As I've mentioned in another thread, because I had them built to celebrate the birth of each of my children and to give to them one day, I never really bonded with them (the guitars...not the children).

A couple of months ago, I received my fourth Alembic guitar...one that I had designed and built just for me. I never saw a single picture of it during the build process, but as soon as I opened the case for the first time, I knew it was the one.

I play it everyday and haven't picked up one of my other guitars since it arrived...nor do I have any desire to. In the past, the honeymoon has long been over by now. So this is new territory for me. I don't cruise eBay looking for my next acquisition, nor do I spend any time looking at guitars when I'm in music shops. These are things I used to really enjoy doing. I just don't know what I'd be searching for. My new Alembic has the precise look, feel and sound I've always wanted. I do plan on getting another made in the very near future as a backup just in case this one needed to go back to the Mothership for a little TLC. But, aside from that, I don't know why I'd look elsewhere. Even guitars that have been on my wish list for years no longer interest for me whatsoever.

Maybe this feeling will pass. Maybe it won't. Part of me honestly hopes that it does. Until that time comes, I guess I'll be forced to live happily ever after with the one I spent so long waiting for.

David Houck · « **Reply #1 on:** July 26, 2015, 02:11:27 PM »

This one appears to be the one. From time to time I do think of things that might be interesting (like a skyway trem for six string bass, but can be adjusted to choose which strings move)(or a really super deluxe sustainer that hasn't been invented yet)(or an ultra deluxe adjustable capo that also hasn't been invented yet), but I haven't wanted to play anything else since I received this instrument. And I am very grateful that it is a part of my life.

rv_bass · « **Reply #2 on:** July 26, 2015, 02:19:04 PM »

Hi jalevinemd,

Congratulations on finding your guitar pinnacle! Sounds like it must be a fantastic instrument!

I bought a Gibson ES335TD brand new in 1978 and I have never had a need for any other guitar. Basses, on the other hand, are a different story, but I seem to have settled in on Alembics!
Rob

(Message edited by RV_BASS on July 26, 2015)

rustyg61 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 26, 2015, 03:30:56 PM »

Congratulations on finally finding The One for you! Many people search their entire lives & never find the one. One thing is for sure though, if you know exactly what it is that you want, the fine folks at Alembic can most assuredly build it for you & it will be The One!

For me, this is my One - http://www.alembic.com/info/fc_blueorca.html
It is perfection realized! It feels like a part of me when I play it & the sound is beyond words! I played a gig last night & the whole night I was marveling at my sound & thinking This is exactly the tone I had in mind when I first discussed wood combinations with Susan!

I have to admit though, even though my Europa is my One, I do still love swapping to my SCSD 4 string on some songs. It's so small yet powerful in sound. It's like driving a go cart with a Lamborghini engine!

hieronymous · « **Reply #4 on:** July 26, 2015, 04:55:21 PM »

I personally don't think there is just one for me - I love short scale basses, I love Rickenbackers, I love the Alembic electronics, I love a good P-Bass with flats, I love 8-string bass, I enjoy fretless but prefer fretted most of the time. So if possible I will always have a few around and play whichever one the music calls for or strikes my fancy at the moment.

One thing I will say, though - lack of funds is the best antidote for GAS! I have had to cut way back on my spending, so I've been going back and either selling stuff off that I don't use, or reacquainting myself with gear that I have but didn't yet investigate to its fullest potential.

But if you have found the one then that's awesome!

edwardofhuncote · « **Reply #5 on:** July 26, 2015, 05:28:58 PM »

I've been thinking about it all afternoon... I have found many of The Ones. =)

I love guitars... or more accurately - I love well-made hand-made musical instruments. I love their similarities and their differences, both the subtle and stark. And I've been fortunate enough with the gigs and the side work the past few years to buy a few I really like but could only dream of years ago. With that out, I can't pick favorites between them, and thankful I don't have to.

Now if we're talking the house is on fire and you gotta' grab one and run... they'll probably find me after running back in for another armload on the second trip, but my Alembic is the first out the door to safety.

Wait, I have two arms... the Martin Custom Shop 00-18 goes too!

jazzyvee · « **Reply #6 on:** July 27, 2015, 12:48:45 AM »

Like Hieronymous, I find it hard to think there is just one for me, although at some point in the future depending I feel that I will down scale my arsenal to the One electric guitar, the One 5 string and One 4 string bass. At the moment that would be my 5 string series II, 4 string signature and my Fender Strat Ultra. I can imagine some of you guys thinking why I would choose that over my series guitar? Well the reason has as much to do with sentimentality as it does sound and playability. I've grown up wanting a strat and got this one in 92 whilst I was on tour in the states, It's been played by Carlos Santana (one of my guitar hero's), and been on many other tours since then. Everything about it feels second nature and It's the guitar I feel most comfortable with. In fact this weekend gone I took it out on a gig for the first time in years and it was like we'd never been a part and it's wearing it's war wounds with pride.

5a_quilt_top · « **Reply #7 on:** July 27, 2015, 11:50:52 AM »

For me, the one is the one that is perfect for a specific purpose or mood.

I have 49 instruments, including electric basses and electric and acoustic 6 and 12-string guitars. FWIW: my unofficial goal is to stop at 50.

Each one is special to me and all I have to do is pick any one of them up and play it for a bit to remind me why I acquired it.

That having been said, the last instruments I'd consider parting with would be my Alembics. They are truly in a class by themselves.

If I could only keep one bass, it would be my 5-string Series II and if I could only keep one guitar, it would be my Skylark - at least until I get my Further (which is currently under construction).

And - it goes without saying that I hope it will be a long time before I have to make that choice.

wideload · « **Reply #8 on:** July 28, 2015, 11:07:22 AM »

I have found The One because my wife told me! I'm not sure if she's talking about the bass or her, but she's probably right on both accounts

Congrats on your new guitar. I know you will be the final piece of the music puzzle that Alembic can't provide.

Larry

wayne · « **Reply #9 on:** July 28, 2015, 06:13:27 PM »

You can say that I've found The Two.

I've had my upright for almost 40 years now. It's a late 1940's era American Standard Cleveland. I've never played another bass of any age in any price range that I would ever consider. Mine has The Tone for me.

As for electrics, I pretty much moved heaven and earth to get The Dark and The Light back after it's ordeal (conversion to fretless - UPS cracked the neck on return trip - insurance payout - 3 eBay auctions - I got it back - new headstock spliced on). Although I currently have 4 top notch Alembics, The Dark and The Light is the go-to and gets 99% of the playing time.

These are the two that I will never sell. These are the ones, as Gregory put it, I would grab running through fire.

C-Ya..........wayne

David Houck · « **Reply #10 on:** July 28, 2015, 06:53:24 PM »

A picture of Wayne's The Dark and the Light is .

edwin · « **Reply #11 on:** July 28, 2015, 09:12:57 PM »

My Starfire with SII pickups and electronics is the one for me. I play lots of other basses, but they always feel like a compromise until I come back to that one. I would love to get a SII 6 string, either medium or short scale, but I still haven't formed enough of an idea of exactly what I want it to be to actively pursue it. A medium scale 6 string Starfire SII seems like an awesome thing, but at this point, that's a pipe dream.