My delicious new Orion Guitar

[jazzyvee]

My Alembic Orion Guitar arrived yesterday from Beyers Music in Germany.
The details I got from Val are as follows:
 
Serial No:9509260USA
The guitar has a quilted maple top, maple neck , ebony fretboard mahogany
body with purpleheart pinstripe, gold tuners, bronze logo, 25.75 scale length, brass hardware, gold strap pins, plastic oval inlays,
Vol, bass, treble, 3 position pickup selector,
 completed 10/3/1995
Alembic H2 pickups
 
 I have posted some pictures here.
http://club.alembic.com/Images/393/22709.html?1134072898
 
so i don't need to post them here as well.
Jazzyvee

[jazzyvee]

I've just got my Orion back from Jaydee Custom guitars. He has inlaid my initials into the 12th fret in white mother of pearl. I went with the block inlay to give some contrast and I think It looks great.  I'm having all my alembics done but the basses will have the inlay done on an oval abalone background.  

 

  Jazzyvee

[FC Bass]

Very nice, beautiful guitar!

[thedavidkeith]

Jazzy
 
I saw your early post when you bought this one as your first alembic without ever having heard/played one before.   Now 2 years later you refer to having all your alembics done with the block initial inlay (nice idea).
 
How many do you have now, which ones, and if you have time, what do you use each one for?
 
Thanks!
 
Dave w/ the series 2 and CA special

[jazzyvee]

I now have four. SC DLX, Europa 5, Orion guitar, a strat with Alembic pickups and filter and a few weeks ago I got an Elan 4 with europa electronics off a forum member.
 
I've played the orion mostly for reggae as I have been on the road quite a lot over the past two years with a couple of reggae artistes Apache Indian & Musical  Youth. it has an incredibly sweet and razor sharp sound for reggae chops that cuts through amazingly. For that I mainly use the neck pickup and the bass and treble controls on flat. Still not managed to get a good overdriven sound apart from when using a fender twin on the overdrive channel.  
 
 As for the basses, well I haven't been gigging a lot on bass over the past three years as I've been touring. But I used the clarkee bass on quite a few RnB, jazz and Soul gigs and it's the business!!!! .  I've done few gigs with my band doing stanley clarke covers and the bass really comes into it's own on that stuff, it's home ground lol.  
 
The Europa I've used on one gig so far which was a Jazz funk gig  doing some Marcus miller tracks, victor bailey and stuff like that.  It's got a great thick powerful tone with lots of bite and clarity and can get a more modern bass tone than the SC.  
 
The Elan I have just got so its not been out on a gig   yet but depending on what the bottom end requirements are for the band I've just joined. Stereo Nation,  
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/music/stories/2002/04/stereo-nation.shtml
 
Here is a link to a session I did for him for the BBC earlier this year. I took the Clarkee with me.  
http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/leicester/content/image_galleries/stereonation_leics_gallery.shtml
 
I may take the Elan on the road if we go abroad and take the Europa for gigs in the UK. But if I need the low B then its gonna be the Europa for all as I don't want to take two alembics on the road.  
 
 
The alembicised strat I recently took on tour in Slovenia. Man that guitar sings now. Dare I say it... it's more versatile soundwise than the Orion. But thats probably because there are more pickup options and it has the filter and Q-switch which does make the difference. I am thinking of getting the neck re-profiled to the same dimensions as the orion neck but will have to save my pennies first.
 
What are you using your alembics for musically?
Jazzyvee