Hi,
Thanks for the warm welcome, and for all the sage advice. The combination of posts here will help immeasurably in figuring out the electronic setup.
I can get a great tone - of any kind, by fiddling with the knobs, but now, at least, I'll know what I'm doing.
I should have mentioned, I have a 4-string Elan made in 1989. Previously I (being used to the short scales of mandolins and guitars) I bought a short-scale bass that could have had Bogus written on the headstock logo, then I played an Elite in 2002 at a jam session on the Big Island. Best bass I'd played up to that point.
Immediately I began searching for an Alembic by gooling and bidding on eBay for weeks, but the Google hits were either out of date, or too much money. On eBay I was constantly outbid. Nearly ready to give up, one day I was lucky with a google, as a bass shop in Texas just posted the Elan for sale. Price was right-on! (Sorry, can't remember - about $1500 delivered to Hawaii).I called the nice man at the shop and told him Sold! Later he confided in me that he should have thought about it more, and put a much higher price on it. Great for me!
It was basically an under-the-bed Elan. Except for the brass darkening somewhat, it was perfect.
I moved to Thailand in 2003, and mold and mildew attacked the finish during a recent 6 week trip away from my home, So I had to have it refinished.
The guy did an excellent original-looking job for the equivalent of $200! Now the brass is shiny too. I have to re-line the case though, but I've done that myself before, and, and, with a quality black velvet, it should look nicer than original.
This might amuse you. Just after I bought it, I took it back to the jam session, and everyone was admiring it, including the Elite owner. One guy, who was also a bass player, while examining it, lifted it up to look at the body, and hoisted the head stock right into the spinning ceiling fan! What a klutz! It totally destroyed the ceiling fan, but not a mark was on the Elan. (It threw it out of tune a little). Later, when I came to Thailand, a professional Thai bass player was examining it, and lifted it up into a steel roll-up door. Klutz! This left a slight mark on the headstock. I immediately decided to buy a Fender Squier for all future jam sessions.
The Elan 4 string is a great bass! I have absolutely no plans of buying another, at all. This one completely fills my need for a bass. I've played on 5 and 6 string basses since, and 4 is best for me. The tonal range of the Alembic is nearly impossible to imagine.
In the long run the good price I got on the Elan forced me to spend some money for a decent Bass head and Cab. So, I have almost $3,000 invested with the bass an SWR 350 Pro, and a David Eden 2X10. The only thing I might do is add a 2nd bass cab with a 15 speaker, as the SWR seems to be able to over-drive the Eden speakers.
Again, thanks for answering my question. Thought I'd add a few details. Also, sorry I didn't respond earlier. I'll check back and see if any of you respond more regularly.
Thanks! Treader
