Black Custom Elan/Europa

[poor_nigel]

Jazzyvee - Good for you!  I prefer the Elan headstock to that of the Europa, too.  This bass will be a nice addition to your collection.  Can you see the knobs and switches on dimly lit stages?  Do you really look at them much while playing, anyway?  The black and brass do go so well together.  Beautiful.  Looking forward to your posts after you get it.

[clarkybass]

That's a quite gorgeous looking bass you have there jazzyvee and feel free to PM me if you don't get on with it ;-) I now have a black cliff Burton-alike Spoiler which I love to pieces but would happily trade for your incomer which is quite possibly the nicest 5 string alembic I have ever seen. That said, for your sake, I hope it turns out to be your dream bass. Enjoy!

[jazzyvee]

Thanks Clarkybass, I will bear that in mind but based on how my existing 4 string elan sounds I have a feeling this bass will sound incredible with the flexibility of signature electronics.
 
I think this is the nicest 5 string alembic I've seen so far and I think it came up for sale fairly recently too.
http://www.alembic.com/info/fc_ktwins.html
 
Jazzyvee

[poor_nigel]

I believe that is the Europa sitting in my closet 50 centimeters from me.
 
http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/74466.html?1265951628
 
(Message edited by poor_nigel on July 18, 2010)

[Enzo]

Congrats Jazzyvee. It's nice when you think of a bass spec and magically you see it for sale. Enjoy her!
Thomas that's a stunning bass, my jaw dropped to the floor!!!

[jazzyvee]

I think Markus plans to post it today so with us both being in Europe I expect it should be here before the weekend.
 
:-)
 
Jazzyvee

[jazzyvee]

Hey Markus, the bass arrived this morning. Thanks.
 
I've only had a quick look as I'm at work at the moment but  It looks good, hmm, great, hmm, fantastic..... hmm amazing...
It looks like it's just arrived from Alembic. The strings look brand new, no marks on the body or tarnishing of the metalwork. It looks incredible.  
Are you sure you even played it?
 
The neck feels different from my other europa, less glossy so I presume that is the satin neck finish. Also it feels shallower at the nut end and the action is so lovely and low.  
 
I will have a play on it this evening when I get home and report back with some initial findings.  Right now it's so tempting to pull a sickie.... and go home early to try it out.
 
Jazzyvee
 
(Message edited by jazzyvee on July 22, 2010)

[FC Bass]

Congrats!
Awesome bass, currently the most awesome Alembic on the planet (imho, subject to change soon I hope) :-)
 
Also: no need for FretFx, Markus told me the side leds are looking awesome.  
If I recall correctly, you're right about the satin neck and it has the Classic taper (your Europa has the Comfort taper)
 
Looking forward to the (first) showcase entry (and your version of Enter Sandman on YouTube of course) :-)
 
Congrats (again) and have fun with it!

[jazzyvee]

Thanks FC, I'm so pleased with it and glad that Markus really kept it in as new condition. It is completely flawless It definitely was a sharp intake of breath when I opened the case this morning and a big smile.  
I just had a quick blast with it before sitting down for dinner and it's an interesting sound. Big and Meaty and very impressive, but I think I will have to turn the gain pots down inside because it's overdriving my pre-amp.
 
Yeah the led's on the side are much nicer than my fx on's on the other Europa. I think on first impression it will take a while for me to find my own sound on this bass because it has such a big sound and also I don't do that many gigs a year these days.  It is interesting how different it sounds to my SC deluxe bass which has the same electronics package and for that reason I can't help feeling that the body wood choice must have a big impact on the tone of the bass even though alembic state that the neck is the primary source of their sound.
 
You know what would be interesting? If Alembic were able to provide sound samples of a neck only bass of standard configuration, just maple and purpleheart. I think that would be a good reference point to see how the body construction and wood choices affect the latter final tone.  I know there are loads of other variables that affect tone as is explained on a recent thread. But it would be interesting to  hear nonetheless.
 
Watch this space, but not for a future sale hahaha.
Now let me start the showcase.
 
Jazzyvee

[alembicfan]

Really glad to her that you like her. Thinking about...... You know,maybe a Longscale Maple Spoiler with the same finish would be interesting. Hmm