Jan-Olof Strandberg

[funkyjazzjunky]

This club member owns one of the most desirable basses I have ever seen.
 
A custom Series II 6-string with a wonderful superbly figured walnut top. (It was featured in an old Alembic catalog).
 
(He also seems to be a very nice person with a great deal of talent)

[jazzyvee]

I've not theard of him before but I guess you mean this one?
http://www.janolofstrandberg.com/tools.htm
Interestingly he says the series I & II basses are 36v is that correct?
I thought they were 18v?
 
Jazzyvee

[jacko]

Vann;  Jan-olof is an amazingly nice guy. He played a superb set at Bass Day Uk several years ago then got sidetracked by the three Alembic players that went along. Needless to say, instead of heading off to the performers private area, he spent the next couple of hours chatting and drinking with us. We also managed to lure Trip Walmsley into the conversation with promises of Beer. Jan-Olof allowed me to play his custom bass with Alembic electronics (albeit not plugged in) and it was an excellent feeling instrument.  
We did have a chat around his electronics and he did state at the time that they were 36 volt which we thought was strange. He wasn't using a power supply as he felt there was the potential for a catastrophic failure which wouldn't happen using batteries.
 
Graeme

[JimmyJ]

Hey Friends,
 
Jan-Olaf does indeed have a nice collection there!
 
The voltage supplied by the Series I & II DS-5 or DS-5R power supplies is approximately +18v and -18v DC or a 36v swing.  The preamp board power requirements are flexible and can operate at half that voltage using the two onboard batteries (+9v and -9v for an 18v swing).  
 
I've never seen a professionally made wireless pack or battery-only supply but I would think a line of maybe eight 9v batteries mounted on the strap and wired to provide +18v and -18v through the 5-pin connector would work great.
 
Jimmy J

[hg30904]

Perhaps moder Dave can jump in here, but there was a link to a Japanese page that had a design for a beltpack to provide the full +/- 18V to a series bass. It had four 9V batteries wired to a short cable with a XL-5 female. I believe that it was claimed that this was similar to a setup that Mark King used to go wireless with his series basses.

[jos]

Thanks guys for the kind words! I use most of the time my Alembics with the DS-5R. I did use the mono-jack (batteries) for a few reasons;  
The first time I went to Japan I had to use the mono-jack because they did not have the adapter available for my DS-5 (220) and I did not think about it until it was too late. I have also experience some serious hum/noise when using the DS-5 in some places, this is quite rare but it has happened a few times in some clubs. I was told it’s because of the lights and so on…. and Alembic has strong pickups…but it disappeared when I did used the mono-jack?  
I do travel more with the Alembic today than before that’s because I finally realized that I bought the basses in the first place because I did like the sound so much. It’s always a risk when using airplanes and so on but I guess that risk has to be taken. Sound is everything!
I like to keep things simple so most of the time I plug the bass and play (with DS-5R) Alembic sounds great with almost anything. But if there is the time and possibility…. there is sooo many ways to use the bass live and on recordings.
 
What I am looking for right now is a strong lightweight flight case……any ideas?

[jazzyvee]

Hi Jos, I'm also looking for a lightweight strong flightcase and there is a company in the UK called Scott Dixon Cases, they make lightweight aluminium flight cases.
I emailed  recently and got this response so you may want to check them out. I plan to call the numbers today and see what they can do and at what cost. Basically I want a good case for my series guitar and PSU
 
 
http://www.myspace.com/dixoncasesltd
http://www.scottdixoninc.com/
***
Thanks for the request My Phone number is in the UK and the Tel Number is +44 1482 648331 or my Cell +44 7964 948 476
***
 
Jazzyvee