Author Topic: Come back Alembic! (Read 520 times)

broncofantum · « **Reply #15 on:** May 22, 2012, 01:00:31 PM »

Danno came through again. The Essence is one sweet bass and just about perfect for me. And so, my status as an Alembian citizen has been restored - I feel whole again. I realize that compared to many of you and especially Danno, I am a mere dabbler in these wonderful works of art.

My one question for Danno is, if you own that many Alembics with LEDs, do you own stock in Rayovac or Eveready? That's quite a wad of 9v batteries but you saved me enough money to by a lot of 9v's. Thanks again for everything Danno

dannobasso · « **Reply #16 on:** May 22, 2012, 04:22:40 PM »

Glad you got it safe and sound. I still have 7 axes with leds. 5 Alembics and 2 Status. The batteries last a good long while so no fear. Play it in health and inspiration. And remember we all start with just one. I've had 20 at a time and now I'm down to 10 and thats more than enough for anyone.

broncofantum · « **Reply #17 on:** June 04, 2012, 10:39:01 PM »

To put (as they say) closure to this transaction, I've held off reporting on the lil' black Essence until I had time to get the setup just right. The shipping must have affected the setup (or the altitude or temperature or all three). It wasn't really playable when it got to Denver with bad fret rattle on the B string side and the pickups about 1/8 to 5/32 too high. As usual, it took me 2 - 3 trys to get the Alembic combo of adjustments right but once I did - man! What a nice sounding bass with many useful sounds. It's already my favorite of the three Alembics that I've owned. Nice! Thanks again, Danno and all the rest of you that joined in on this post.

tbrannon · « **Reply #18 on:** June 05, 2012, 06:46:33 AM »

Good to hear you've got it dialed in! Denver gets dry enough in the winter and warm/humid enough in the summer that I imagine you'll need to make seasonal tweaks to keep things the way you like.

broncofantum · « **Reply #19 on:** June 05, 2012, 05:45:22 PM »

You are probably right but with Joey's Post instructions even I can get it right. I dunced out the first try on the Essence and tried to raise the bridge by turning the adjustment screw clockwise (probably not a good idea trying setup after a long, long week at work). The fret rattle just got worse (for good reason) but I was too tired to think of why so I gave up for the time being. The next time I got the bridge figured out but the nut was still too high on the B string side.

The thing that I've noticed about all the used Alembic basses that I've bought or seen in stores is that the pickups are always too high, leaving a gap far less than the recommended 1/4 nominal dimension. The fastest way to make your long desired Alembic bass sound just loud and harsh is to raise the pickups too close to the strings.