Alembic pups v.s. emg's

[gregory locke (glocke)]

Currently I have a '72 fender jazz bass equipped with EMG's.  However, after playing my new (to me) alembic elan fretless, and listening to countless hours of Alembic Phil Lesh, I have grown spoiled by the fuller, rounder, and clearer tone that alembic gives.
 
If I switch to alembic pickups will I get more of the alembic tone on my jazz bass?  Is there more than one model to chose from for a jazz bass?

[Keith Wilson (darkbassist)]

correct me if i'm wrong mica, but my understanding is that almebic pickups more than anything recreate the natural sound of the tone woods without adding excess outside coloration.  with that given, then you would actually be getting more of the tone of your bass that what you are calling an alembic tone.  an alembic tone would be the combination of their pickups, woods, construction methods, and everything else that goes into them.  but if you place the word alembic synonomous with the words direct translations of your bass then yeah, i guess you could call that getting the alembic tone.

[Joey Wilson (bigredbass)]

Glocke:
Going to Activators from your EMG's will produce a shift in your tone.  While I have great respect for EMG (build quality, virtual silence in terms of noise, no need to ground to the bridge plate), after having owned several basses with them, my overall impression is they are really sterile sounding.  For my ears, they need a relatively dirty sounding preamp or amp to warm them up.  A SansAmp box does wonders for them.   They really seem to be voiced for the majority of players for whom a Peavey or Fender bass amp is enough. SVTs with too many miles on the tubes, for instance. The Activators will bring a richer tone to your JAZZ; however, the bolt neck and alder/maple construction will tend to lack strong fundamentals vs. a neck-thru in the darker woods.
Be sure and get the Alembic tone network to go with them, for the best results.

[Derwin C. Moss (bassdude63)]

Here are a few more thoughts: I've used EMG's in my Fender basses for years and I've had very good results as far as live applications go. I have'nt installed Alembic pickups in any of my Fender basses, but I'm sure they'd be a nice upgrade. But first, why not try out an Alembic SF-2 Superfilter? I've thought about this myself. The unfortunate thing I've ran into when recording for purists is that many of them would rather I use a bass with passive electronics. My take on this is that they don't want a hi-fi sounding bass on their projects. Most of us have heard this before: A bass should be felt, not heard. I don't subscribe to this philosophy, but when I'm being paid by someone to be on their project, I want them to be happy and I want to be called back. I now  beleive that if I need a Jazz bass tone I might as well have a Jazz bass with stock electronics. Many years ago, I had my '75 Rick 4001 modified; Bartolini pickups, Badass bridge,and Schaller tuners. It sounds great, but it does'nt sound like a Rick anymore! I'm curious if any of the other players on this forum have encountered a request for a low-fi bass when recording. Best regards, D.M.

[Michael Delacerda (dela217)]

Derwin,  Yes!  I have definately had this problem too.  It seems that when I show up with an Alembic, I give the vibe of Stanley Clarke, or some sort of fusion player or something.  I generally get stereotyped before I even plug in!!!  Real pity.  I have to try extra hard to convert these folks.  That is what happens when I bring my 1972 Alembic out.  What ends up happening is that they end up really digging my tone.  That bass is passive, and is strung with flatwound strings.  It is not what they are expecting at all.
 
I try to give them what they want, and not what they need.  I am not out to prove anything, and am trying to get called back from the start.  If they want a bright tone, lots of harmonics, or dull and thuddy, Alembic has it.  I can practically achieve any sound with my series basses.  Unfortunately for some of us, we have to live up to the stereotype of the Alembic bassist. Mark King, Clarke, etc...  They are amazing players, but just because I play an Alembic, does not mean that I am going to play with that tone, or be out front.  Just my 2 cents...Michael

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

Friends,
 
I had the same experience. I own a Fender Jazz-bass (not modified) and the Alembic SII 5 string. The image you have entering a room with that guitar is dual: one of admiring and one of you're not playing that thing.
Most people consider my Alembic as having too many strings and defintely too many knobs. One sound engineer came to me and said:  you produce the sound, I shape the sound so stay away from your soundcontrol. (Bw?rk). Okay we Alembicians LIKE to fumble around with knobs, looking for sounds we like, but I see in this tread that you collaegues -as wel as I- are putting our talent and instrument at the service of someone or a group. It's why we are interested in that fumbling in the first place so we can better serve.
On this moment my band members (I play a modest bluesband doing small gigs in bars) have absolutely accepted me and my Alembic because of the versatility of the instrument and the absolute top sounding quality. In the old-fashioned big-band I play (average age of musicians about 62) the Alembic is not accepted just by image. I play the Jazz-bass and I even will change strings to flatwound.
The SII is a versatile instrument but: it's demanding in controlling. It takes time, I always say: the Alembic will play you for a while before you play the Alembic and in my opinion is definitely true for an SII or SI.
For the pick-ups: I have no idea. I own an PJ(precision-jazz)-Alembic activator that is not in use for the moment. A friend of mine used it on his Fender light and was amazed by the soundpower. I'm just waiting the occasion to find the right bass to buy and put the activators on it.
Stay at the low-end!
 
Paul