Buying a 1985 Series 1 without DS 5

[lembic76450]

John, 
    that is where I got one of mine...

[Harleybass]

So when you bought your cable,from bayou and you were able to use both pickups off the battery without any issues other than nuclear battery drain?

[rv_bass]

Yes, the Bayou cable has a stereo tip for your guitar and mono tip for your amp that combines the signal from both pickups. You hear sound from both pickups with their cable.

http://bayoucables.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=35&products_id=92

[lembic76450]

Yes, roger that.  I try to pay attention to my tone and I carry
spare batteries in my case.  I use the cord for hit and run situations
like rehearsals and opening sets,  it makes breadowns go a little
quicker.

[keith_h]

As others have said the cable in the link will allow you to used both pickups in a mono configuration. Butch at Bayou Cables does good work and his prices are reasonable. I have multiple signal and speaker cables he has made for me including a stereo to mono Y I use with my Brown Bass to run a stereo rig.

[rv_bass]

Here is a DS5 power supply on eBay

http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=23157.0

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Alembic-DS5-Power-Supply-For-Bass-Or-Guitar-Active-Pickup-Systems-w-Cable-/352176079834?hash=item51ff5483da:g:3~gAAOSwa75Z0C93

[s_wood]

I buy my Series 5 pin cables from Bayou.  I recommend them highly.

I often use my Series basses with batteries, usually at rehearsals where I don't feel like hauling a DS-5 around. Like others have said, you will get about 15-20 hours of life out of the 9 volts.  Not great, but certainly workable. 

I've also had my 1/4' jacks re-wired to mono so that I get both pickups when I use it that way.  If you call Alembic they will give you simple "how-to" instructions for the mod.

Welcome back!

[keith_h]

Steve's post made me go look at the FAQ for Series I/II 1/4" wiring thread. It contains the info on wiring mono or stereo. It says it is for the PF6 card. I don't know when these came into being but if the pictures and descriptions fit what you have this will show you how to convert the wiring.

http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=270.0

[Phil P]

George used LiPo 9v rechargeable batteries for quite a while successfully. They give about 20 hours on his series 2, running the LEDs as well as the electronics. He carried a spare set of fully charged ones. The advantage is it's quick to set up at a gig. He gigs a lot.

Recently he moved back to his DS5 as the 5 pin lead is better than the usual 1/4 Jack leads.

I dont have a DS5 at all. Pierre-Yves didnt have a spare one when he sold me his bass so I made myself one.
All the information needed to make one is freely available online.
This substitute runs from any USB source including an iphone charger. It has the usual stereo/mono output jacks. I use it for my series 1.


I would still recommend a proper DS5 if you can get one.

[Harleybass]

Just received the stereo/mono cable from Bayou.works great,low noise.my series one has two 9 volts.I bought the duracell quantum.anyone have thoughts on the boogie man power supply?

[Phil P]

He does a small unit that uses 2 wall warts to give the dual rail power. Crude but probably works. Expensive for what it is.

[wayne]

anyone have thoughts on the boogie man power supply?

I personally would never give "The BoogieMan" any money for anything.  He has been discussed many times here on the Club.

C-Ya............wayne

[Harleybass]

I figured I would check in,I got my 1985 Series one,bought my Bayou series one cable,all good,I've gotten about 6 hrs of rehearsal time so far out of both Duracell Quantum 9 volts.(about $7 for two batteries).I love the tone unbelievable to play,BUT,here comes the but,its very noisy at the 2 different rehearsal studios I've been in.not noisy at home on my rig,so bad sometimes between songs i flip the switch to standby.I read all about the RF issues with the series one any thoughts?Bring them on!

[keith_h]

The first thing I would try to do is perform the hum cancelling procedure here:
http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=269.0

For general info on Series I/II here is the FAQ page:
http://club.alembic.com/index.php?board=23.0