Yet another "Alembic in a recording studio" thread

[hendixclarke]

It's Monday,
 
The birds will still sing; flowers will still bloom; children will still play; lovers will continue to love; and if you mess around with a bee, you might just get stung.
 
I am done on this thread... It was fun.
 
(Message edited by hendixclarke on June 29, 2009)

[jazzyvee]

i thought the way this thread was going we were going to have your theory about humans not being born with 1/4 input connections put to the test.... :-)
 
This was great reading and a great learning thread.
Jazzyvee

[hendixclarke]

White_Cloud:
 
Hal,
 
Of course there are Fender copies out there better than a Fender - Sadowsky and Lakland make superb Fender copies straight off the shelf that are better than Fenders - but thats missing the whole point.
 
You cant compare Fenders to Alembics.
 
 
I can't compare something I did yet own... I had yet to even understand what an Alembic was -- way back in those days.
 
Also, there were no elaborate cutting edge Fender copies in 1975-76 in Sears catalogs.
 
I had a Sears special, for goodness sake, and it was tested better than my real Fender P..
 
Comparing an Fender to an Alembic? What's an Alembic? (I was only 12 years old...).
 
The point was... I owned one of those good-old 1970's Fenders and it couldn't compete for my attention, compared to my Sears and Roebuck $78.00 special....
 
HA hAAAH  haaaaah Aaaaah Aaaah AHHaAAAAah eh!!!!
 
Forgive me for laughing so hard... I hope our new friend laugh with me, for I am not laughing at him, I am laughing at the memory I had as a kid learning a deep lesson where my folks got ripped off by going by going only by a name brand -- They meant well, I assure you... but it happened so long ago, it brought up great memories.  
 
Anyway, like I said, I was mad as heck for giving away my Pan to my cousin. I asked about the bass many years ago, and his mother put it out on the lawn on their garage sale.
 
It's cool.

[white_cloud]

John those comments can easily be applied to either side of the arguement with slight alteration
 
Bob - that is exactly as I intended! If you look at my thread it is plain to see I am not taking sides at all...merely aplying some perspective as I see it - through my eyes...as I am entitled to as a club member.
 
Graeme, you have admitted previously here at the club that you have very little experience inside a recording studio...so Im not entirely sure where your concrete opinion on this subject is formed!  
 
Having said that there is an element of truth in your statement, albeit it has not come from your direct personal experience as such.
 
Hal - all conflicts of all types are at some level based in insecurity and fear. Blasej's comments are rooted in his jealousy/fear of Alembic and you and others react in such a strong way because for some reason you have insecuritys and fear against anyone criticising your favourite brand of bass.  
 
Be confident in your Alembics and rise above such things...after all does it REALLY matter that the whole world doesnt worship Alembic? Really?
 
And on a final note you may believe that Jaco Pastorius and Jimi Hendrix and all the others may well have been sponsored by Fender to keep their mouths shut and play Fender instruments despite what they really thought of them - but I find it hard to believe that Jaco, for only one example would stick religiously to his seriously beat up old 62 Jazz when Fender  AND LOTS OF OTHER COMPANIES actually supplied him with many many shiny new basses!
 
Keep it real dudes.
 
John.

[jacko]

John. If you check my first post on this thread you'll see that I said 'Limited' which is not 'very little'. In point of fact, it may or may not be many hours more than several of our fellow club members but it's obviously not on the same scale as the likes of Jimmy Johnson or John judge, and none of the work I have done has been released, being for my own purposes or as demos for the many bands I've been in. However, the point remains that a good sound engineer should be able to EQ any type of bass regardless. I have recordings from the late 70's where I used my fender and they sound good. I have recordings from the mid 90's using the same bass - different studio and they also sound good. I have recordings from just after I bought my epic made at the same studio which sound good. I have recordings from recent sessions (i.e. in the last 3 years) which also sound good. These all sound great because we've always chosen to spend time with the engineer discussing our requirements. So, just to clear things up, Unless otherwise stated, all the comments I make on any subject on this forum will come from personal experience. And, I have no worries about anyone criticising my favourite brand of bass so long as 'their' comments come from personal experience.
And just so you all know where I stand on this, I'm only commenting on the original post, not hal's ramblings about the merits or otherwise of fenders.  
 
Keeping it as real as I can
 
Graeme.

[chrisalembic]

John, I really appreciate what you are saying!! I totally agree.
 
In a way I dont understand all this agitation about Alembic vs. Fender (or whatever other brand).. I myself really like Alembics and old Fenders.. The are both different for sure, but I really like them for what they each have to offer. A good old Fender for its simplicity, passive tone, sound etc. and the Alembic for its amazing construction, look and sophisticated sound. And I wouldnt think of either superior to the other. Just different. If you know these differences and the qualities of each, you can use it for whatever you want to hear or what is wanted. And though I am a young musician and not yet the most experienced, let me tell you I have recorded with both. And it can be done with both.  
Lets face it: great music has been recorded with both, Alembic and Fender. And its a good thing that both behave and sound differently when recorded. Diversity it is. Each one of us is a little different, aint we?

[basstard]

Chris, you have hit the nail on the head :-)

[hendixclarke]

My mother had a favorite switch she would use to woop our asses when my brother, and I got into trouble.  
 
Sometimes we would hide it, but she would search all around the house until she found it or replaced it with the same tree origin, and while she was looking for it, we would pray, she received a phone call to interrupt the anger... (sometimes it worked...)  
 
The point I am trying to make, that switch was perfect for her loving hands to hold with out a hitch. There was no fear in her mind of losing her grip while tearing our hides...  
 
Both my brother and I laugh about those days and appreciating her lessons.
 
Now back to my point... Alembic basses feels good to my hands...  
 
Now, I will add one more thing...
 
I don't believe Jimi Hendrix or Jaco Pastorius were paid to keep their mouths quiet. Never would my message imply this such a thought.  
 
Also, I don't remember reading where either men ever got paid royalties to endorse Fender or any other instrument.  
 
But like I said, there's a many businesses out there, that plugs the gazillion holes of Fenders quality.  
 
Alembic basses is my switch (Mom would be proud)...

[eligilam]

Mr.Houck, is there a way to selectively block posts based on username?

[David Houck]

Will; I've looked through the settings and I can't see a way to do it.

[bsee]

If you really need that here, Will, the club would be in poor health.  
 
Anyone who would make contentious or offensive posts often enough for anyone to want to apply a block wouldn't be doing it by accident.  That person would have to have nothing of value to add to any conversation, lest you would tolerate the occasional annoyance because there would be enough value to offset it.  They would have to have no respect for their fellow members, or they wouldn't intentionally be creating conflict here where it is not welcome.  They would have to have no respect for the efforts of our moderator, who gets a bunch of agitation and extra work whenever such a thread arises. By translation, they would have to have no respect for Alembic to risk alienating their customers and making their forums less inviting.  I can't believe we have anyone who would maintain such a pattern once they realized what they were doing.
 
If nothing else, let's try to avoid making too much additional work for our exceptional volunteer moderator.
 
-bob

[oujeebass]

To think that the Alembic forum won't have at least a few zealots is being a bit naive. Try jumping on a Ferrari forum, and stating that they stink because they require premium fuel.  See what happens. It will get stuffy real quick I would imagine.

[hendixclarke]

I joined the Alembic Club not the Bass Club.

[jbybj]

I just briefly skimmed through the last page of this thread, not having been here before, and I only have one question, people, why are you wasting your time?  I choose to ignore this guy. I'm off to some other thread.
 
Peace, JBY

[white_cloud]

Graeme, you seem to have taken my comments very personally - which I feel you should understand was not my intention at all.  
 
I have obviously completely misinterpretted your recording experience. I was trying to offer objectivity to this subject (never easy on a Hal thread!)
 
Anyway, the sky is blue, the grass is green and the sun is shining on sunny Scotland - Im off to catch some rays before the next 10 months of rain...yeeha!
 
John.