Author Topic: My "new" Alembic Essence is almost here. (Read 543 times)

sinador · « **on:** March 08, 2009, 07:32:47 PM »

Hello all, I just became a member of the Alembic Club tonight and wanted to show you all my "new" Alembic Essence that I bought on eBay. It shipped last Friday and should be here by Wednesday. This is my second Alembic (I had purchased an Alembic Epic in January) and am truly amazed at the quality and sound of these instruments. The best way I have been describing my Epic is that my sound is so much more focused then before. Anyway, I am trying to figure out what all the switches and knobs do, so any input would be greatly appreciated. Evidently this is an Essence bass with Europa electroncis. P.S. This bass also has the side-mounted red LED lights. I can't wait to check those out!!

(Message edited by mica on March 09, 2009)

artswork99 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 08, 2009, 08:06:15 PM »

Steve,
I see you've got the Alembic bug going on... number two already.
Great looking Essence!
Enjoy (when it arrives) and Play it Healthy!

The are jammed with helpful information.
Cheers,
Art

tbrannon · « **Reply #2 on:** March 08, 2009, 08:24:36 PM »

Steve,

Congratulations on a beautiful bass-

The controls should be as follows:
the three knobs are volume, pan, filter
the three switches in a row are: Treble (boost, flat, cut), Bass (boost, flat, cut) and a 2 way Q Switch.
I'm pretty sure that the switch near the tailpiece is for your LEDs.

Have fun!

2400wattman · « **Reply #3 on:** March 09, 2009, 02:08:43 AM »

Steve,
What a superb deal you got on that bass! Macc. Ebony top,ebony lam. in the neck and laminated body with Europa tone circuit is to die for! You dog you! Enjoy FULL TILT!

funkyjazzjunky · « **Reply #4 on:** March 09, 2009, 06:17:55 AM »

Fantastic bass

dadabass2001 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 09, 2009, 06:45:41 PM »

Boy oh Boy!
For your second Alembic, you really caught a winner! That has to be one of the most sweetly customized Essence models I've ever seen. Congratulations

Mike

sinador · « **Reply #6 on:** March 12, 2009, 08:48:39 PM »

Well, I received my Essence bass today and put on some new DR Fat Beams. (BTW tbrannon, I appreciated the information on the knobs and switches). I have been turning and flipping numerous combinations and I can not seem to get a good sound. Granted, I am plugged into my single 15 Trace Elliot practice amp at the house. (However, my Epic sounds 100 percent better through it). I will be able to experiment a lot more when I head to band practice on Saturday. My main rig is a Genz Benz GBE1200 and a Nemesis 8X10 cabinet.

Anyway, does anyone have any recommendations on the settings? I know it is a personnal preference, but I seem to be only able to get a dull bassy or trebly sound. Also, I noticed that the bridge pickup is set a lot higher then the neck pickup. Is this correct? When I received the bass, both pickups were loose and I had to tighten the screws back in.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Steve

sinador · « **Reply #7 on:** March 12, 2009, 08:52:47 PM »

I am going to move my questions to the help forum.

tbrannon · « **Reply #8 on:** March 12, 2009, 09:22:41 PM »

Steve,

The filter system can take a little getting used to. Here's my opinion (others will likely chime in soon).

Start with the bass and treble switches flat (middle position). Set the pan knob to the center detent, turn the filter knob all the way open and flick on the Q switch. If you're not sure which way is on, hit an open G and let it ring out- while that G is happening, quickly turn the filter knob back and forth. You'll hear a pretty distinctive 'wah-wah' sound. Flick the Q off and try it again..... hear the difference? Once you've spent a few minutes playing with you new Wah pedal

flick that Q back on and leave it there while you start experimenting with the pan.

With the Q on and the filter wide open you should get a VERY bright and distinctive Alembic tone. From there you can start playing with the pan to add a bit more beef (by favoring the neck PU) or roll the pan towards the bridge to get some more bite/cut though. At this point- are you hearing the difference between the neck and bridge pickups? Once you're comfortable hearing how that pan affects the sound you can find your own 'sweet spot' with the pan. Once you're happy there, start rolling back the filter in tiny increments and listen to how a tiny turn greatly affects how your bass sounds in that spot you've chosen with your pan. It took me at least a couple hours to really start to come to grips with my first filter equipped bass- keep experimenting and I promise you'll get to a point where you like it.

My bass is signature equipped, but I tend to play with the pan set to roughly 60/40 (favoring the bridge) and I usually play with the filter at about 2/3-3/4 open. I like to leave the Q switch off for fingerstyle.

Check the FAQ section for info on how to adjust output with the trim pots and/or advice on raising/lowering the PU's. I've never touched mine, so I can't offer any real advice.

Toby

David Houck · « **Reply #9 on:** March 13, 2009, 06:09:04 PM »

Congrats Steve, and welcome to the board! With the Maple, Purpleheart and Ebony neck lams, and with the Maccassar Ebony top on a Maple body, and with the Europa electronics, that bass should sound amazing. Wonderful bass!!!