Thank you, everyone, for the welcome. And, I appreciate all of the advice offered.
I'm an experienced bassist; however, very new to Alembics and filter preamp systems. After playing my Essence for the last 6-months or so, I've found the preamp to be very "organic". I do agree that tone is primarily in your fingers (positioning, attack, muting, etc), and I have been able to achieve much of my desired tones utilizing the 3-way Q switch, pickup blend, and the filter knob. What I believe I could benefit from most, would be an additional bass-boost frequency switch (I don't believe I need a treble-boost).
Alembics have significant high tonal abilities. First thing to try for ‘more bass’, switch to flatwound strings, if you haven’t tried it already. They can help tame the high end zing.
I totally agree, Paul...extremely versatile preamp. While I've used flats before, I do tend to use slap/pop techniques on occasion. Even though Chromes and Dunlops tend to be rather on the bright side of flats, I don't believe they could bring out that Mark King or Stanley Clarke type of tone that rounds can provide. However, I've never used them on an Essence, so I would be willing to try it.
you might want to try addressing the issue at the amp, cutting highs and mids a touch and boosting the bass a touch. Start with cutting first and see how that goes. If you are looking to boost lows intermittently then a bass boost pedal may be the answer.
I primarily go direct into my DAW. But yes, perhaps a preamp pedal could provide a necessary boost to the low end. Still, if possible, I'd like to be able to achieve that boost with my onboard pre, without the need for additional equipment.
Kevin, there's a handful of threads here about learning about getting the most from filter electronics.
More to your immediate issue; the Essence is a mighty small electronics cavity space, as mentioned. I don't know if it's even possible to add or to fit the bass and treble boost/flat/cut switches usually seen on Europa electronics to that package. (that'd be a call for Mica)
Another option is adding a bass and treble boost/cut rotary control to your current setup. This is called "East-Meets-West" controls, and I find it quite useful especially on my Custom fretless. You still may face a challenge of fitting it into what space is available.
My main bass is outfitted with exactly what you have there, a Volume/Pan/Filter and Q-switch. If you spend some time with these you'll probably find what you're looking for is there all along. The extra eq'ing is nice, but not a total game changer. I only added it because it was a once-in-a-lifetime Custom bass.
Welcome to the Club.
Thanks for the info, Edward. And you're correct... a lot of resources available here on this forum. And really, the Essence sounds wonderful. It's just after some time now, I feel like a slight upgrade to the electronics would put me right were I wish.
I'll contact Mica, as you suggested. Agreed that there is limited control cavity space (noticed while installing the q-switch). So, just seeking advice on possibly adding a "Low Boost" switch. I am unfamiliar with the rotary switch. But, I definitely would like to explore both of those options.
Again, I appreciate all of the input from everyone!
