Author Topic: Not an Alembic (Read 623 times)

h82w8 · « **on:** December 02, 2005, 06:14:25 PM »

I have an Ibanez Musician 4 string '79; neck thru, ash over mahogany body, 2 single coils, active eq. The electronics always have been a bit noisy when activated and I was wondering if anyone was familiar with this type and could help.I have owned this bass since new and enjoy the easy playability and varied sounds she is capable of for lo these many years. I have kept her in very good condition and consider her to be one of the finest examples of a production instrument. Altho she's no Alembic, she is a fine bass. Any feedback would be appreciated.-Tom

bigredbass · « **Reply #1 on:** December 02, 2005, 10:37:15 PM »

I always remember these with a dark top over a maple body, the big soapbar looking brown pickups and all those knobs (vol, tone, p/u switch, three EQ knobs), the two on a side headstock shaped almost like a Guild head. Is this what you've got?

J o e y

beelee · « **Reply #2 on:** December 03, 2005, 05:42:03 AM »

I've owned 5 Ibanez Musician basses over the years ( not all at once..LOL) the second bass I ever owned was a MC924DS in the early 80's, I loved that bass.

I just sold a fretted (MC924PW ) and fretless (MC 940DS) one last year to help finance my new custom Alembic.

Ibanez really copied Alembic on that one, I call them the poor man's Alembic...lol

nice basses they were !!

Sting, Adam Clayton, Jerry Jemmott, Mike Porcaro even John Entwistle all used them at one time.

Bruce

h82w8 · « **Reply #3 on:** December 04, 2005, 01:07:13 AM »

Good call on the walnut over maple... Ibanez made that body also... maybe my ash over mahog is rare I don't care (aspiring poet) All those knobs my ass...check out Alembic electronics- I can't call the particular models but some have many more Knobs. I am not comparing my poor Alembic with The Real Thing, I'm only looking for some help with the noise that those Ivory soap pickups make. Any feedback is Welcome-Tom

bigredbass · « **Reply #4 on:** December 05, 2005, 12:21:16 PM »

Those were quite advanced instruments in their day, possibly the very first I remember in a mass-market bass. They were well made and I had one of the last models in Ibanez' Polar White, that gorgeous white pearl they offered. I do remember a few ash tops, reminiscent of their Artist guitars of that era. They were wonderful basses for their day, and perfectyl usable still today.

I unfortunately also remember they were a bit noisy. I'm convinced that they were like this as these were usually high-impedance pickups hooked up to a powered, active tone network, which sucked in any pickup noise the minute you were in a noisy environment. I have no idea how to fix this on the bass, but outboard you could try a good noise gate.

J o e y

h82w8 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 12, 2005, 09:36:03 AM »

Thanks for the replies. Maybe there is an aftermarket P/u setup that would fit and not break the bank? I'll never sell her so some non stock mods wouldn't bother...as long as I don't deteriorate the sound.

jlpicard · « **Reply #6 on:** December 13, 2005, 01:42:07 PM »

I have owned two MC924's over the years. I bought one because I could'nt afford an Alembic back in '79. Always loved 'em but had to change the single coil pickups. Bartolini makes exact replacments for the Musician pups.
Here's an interesting story; if anyone has one of the early Stanley Clarke records (we're talkin' vinyl here!)I think it was Modern Man. (It's the one with a picture of Stanley's front porch with all of his basses lined up on the steps). You will notice along with his Alembics there are two Alembic small standard like instruments lying there with Ibanez pickups and hardware? In an interview with Stan he tells of a Japanese tour where several Japanese photographers were taking multiple photos of his bass. After the tour, he arrived home and three months later, in the mail, came these two prototypes from Ibanez for his approval that later became the basis for the Musician series basses. So for me, poor starving musician at the time, It was the next best thing to owning an Alembic!
P.S. I'm seriously thinking about gutting mine an installing some Alembic electronics!

h82w8 · « **Reply #7 on:** December 20, 2005, 12:52:26 AM »

Thanx for the Bart info... that might be the answer. Also I do have Modern Man somewhere...when I run across it in the Tommy archives I'll have to look for those Ibanez prototypes?. Happy Holidays to all! -Tom

marcky · « **Reply #8 on:** December 20, 2005, 01:03:27 AM »

The picture you are refering to is the inner sleeve of the double live album 'I wanna play for you'.

Marc

jlpicard · « **Reply #9 on:** December 20, 2005, 02:23:02 PM »

Marc, could you possibly post that photo here? I don't have that album anymore but iI'm sure the other members would like to see that photo?

mrbeezroom · « **Reply #10 on:** December 20, 2005, 07:12:41 PM »

Get in touch with me. I had my Musician bass modified in the late 80's. Bartolini custom-made pickups to fit the cavities and I still have them. I went with Sadowsky pickups. I haven't used them in a few years, so I might be convinced to sell them along with the Bart preamp. I'm trying to finance a Sadowsky.

mrbeezroom · « **Reply #11 on:** December 20, 2005, 09:01:39 PM »

After reading the Stanley story I'm wondering if my pickups were the first ones made. The guy that did my mods said they were custom made. Either he was jerking me around or they were original replacements.

marcky · « **Reply #12 on:** December 21, 2005, 12:49:06 AM »

I will post a pic as soon as I can. I don't have my record collection near my computer.

Marc

glocke · « **Reply #13 on:** December 23, 2005, 03:57:16 AM »

I remember these. When I first started playing 20 some years ago I wanted one, thought they looked awesome. Asked for it for christmas and ended up getting an entry level black Ibanez bass that was a copy of a jazz bass. Still have it in pieces at home....Brings back fond memories thinking about it.

h82w8 · « **Reply #14 on:** December 23, 2005, 09:58:28 AM »

mrbeez-what do you got exactly?