I know that Entwistle was never happy with his sound as he was seeking more treble without losing the low end. And he could not find it in the popular instruments of the day. Interesting that he stumbled upon Alembic after having a discussion with Rick Turner, but never followed through on one earlier. He actually stumbled upon a used Alembic and bought it on a whim, but never used it. Until one day he brought it to a rehearsal and played it at which time he was blown away. Soon thereafter he visited Alembic and ordered several customs. This is the first time I've read this article:
From May 1977 Guitar Player
I’ve started using the Alembic where the extra treble and the facility to get up high means that I can take more solos. I’ve finally fulfilled my role in the Who. You see, I wasn’t really playing what I wanted to play. I was using a Thunderbird bass which was very difficult to get any top from. To do this I had to run one amp into the back of another and they were so loud that I could only play with that sound for maybe two songs. With the Alembic I can play like it all the way through, varying the volumes.
Actually, I’ve had two major changes. Before I had the Thunderbird I used to use an extremely trebly sound and play lead figures, and I was OK with a Precision bass. Then we started playing stadiums and huge places that held up to 70000 people and the sound just didn’t carry — it sounded like a little click at the back of the audience. So I changed the whole equipment and the basses to the Thunderbird. In a way it was an advance for me because I’ve been in a rut ever since Tommy which was the last album where I used a Precision. I’d work out a series of lines that flowed into each other with the twang of the trebly sound and I’d find myself drifting into that every night, unless it was a bit of free form. So from there my whole style changed for about five years until recently when I’ve had another change onto the Alembics — the best change I ever did.
