Author Topic: What a surprise. (Read 298 times)

pauldo · « **on:** November 28, 2013, 05:01:00 AM »

Went to an open jam last night where we had an impromptu reunion of the C.J. Topes Band.

It was out in a small town called Richfield.
Had a great time, got done playing and the next bassist to come up on stage asks the question:
What year Alembic is that?

He didn't call it an Olympic!!! :-D

Who would have thought that the best part of the night was AFTER being on stage.

David Houck · « **Reply #1 on:** November 28, 2013, 06:13:17 AM »

slawie · « **Reply #2 on:** December 12, 2013, 11:53:13 AM »

Same thing happened to me last night. The bass player from the band after us stopped me and was raving about Alembic.
The promoter also came up and asked me What is that bass? I so love how it sounds. Are you guys available for other gigs in my circuit?
50% hit rate on recognition, 100% hit rate on good taste.
Thanks Alembic
Slawie

pauldo · « **Reply #3 on:** December 12, 2013, 12:21:57 PM »

Slawie - that's awesome!

All around the globe Alembic is being recognized as the bass that keeps giving!

slawie · « **Reply #4 on:** December 13, 2013, 04:03:49 AM »

The bass player in the band after us was playing a 60's Fender Precision using an SVT with an 810 fridge. Old school. I not saying there is anything bad or wrong with his set up in fact it was typical garden variety bass sound being produced.
I have no desire to emulate those sounds (although I could if I rolled everything off)
Just loving the Alembic sound

811952 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 13, 2013, 12:51:57 PM »

I met a new-to-the-area-from-Chicago drummer a couple of weeks ago. He asked if I was the guy who played the Alembic. He knew its name before he knew mine. :-)

John

peoplechipper · « **Reply #6 on:** December 17, 2013, 10:04:51 PM »

Slawie- put an Alembic through a SVT and you will be awed; I did that a couple years ago at a gig and it's the only head that could make me get rid of my Acoustic 370; cool tone without tweaking anything...Tony

tncaveman · « **Reply #7 on:** December 18, 2013, 04:57:39 AM »

A P-bass with the right - fresh - strings and the tone opened up sounds awesome through an SVT. My son's P-bass is a blast to play and sounds awesome. But it feels like a toy compared to my Rogue

)

Stephen

PS - we got a new system at church, and the sound guy that was setting it up said he loved the Alembic sound. Said you don't see those very often around here.

slawie · « **Reply #8 on:** December 18, 2013, 08:05:32 PM »

I played through an SVT and fridge last year at a festival that provided the backline. I think I am more of a hi-fi guy.
The SVT sounded big but did not reproduce the tones I was looking for.
I fail to see what all the fuss is about in regard to vintage fenders. I have a theory that it's like what our ears have been trained to hear. Forever and a day recording have been made with a p or jazz bass. These are familiar sounds and what is subliminally expected to be heard.
I like my tone to sound just a teeny weeny bit back from hearing string squeek.
Each to their own
Slawie

peoplechipper · « **Reply #9 on:** December 18, 2013, 11:31:53 PM »

Yeah, I find a lot of Fenders dead on the E string; I think it's the nature of a bolt neck in general unless it's bolted within an inch of it's life like a Musicman, which is still not completely even...I have a Fender that is pretty good, but find I have to compensate by hitting the E harder to even it out...Tony

briant · « **Reply #10 on:** December 24, 2013, 06:59:21 PM »

I had a guy approach me between sets at a gig about a month ago and he started the conversation with, Hi, that's an awesome Alembic! That's obviously not a standard Essence... I was shocked and amazed that not only did he know it was an Alembic but he knew the model and it wasn't a standard one. Turns out he's been the happy owner of an '82 Distillate ever since he bought it from some local music shop.

briant · « **Reply #11 on:** December 24, 2013, 07:12:56 PM »

Yeah, I find a lot of Fenders dead on the E string; I think it's the nature of a bolt neck in general unless it's bolted within an inch of it's life like a Musicman, which is still not completely even...I have a Fender that is pretty good, but find I have to compensate by hitting the E harder to even it out...Tony

Like any bolt on instrument there are good ones and not so good ones. I've owned a lot of basses over the years and I've found that different amps and different rooms punctuate the inconsistencies in the neck. I've played a few early 1960's Fender basses that people/shops wanted a boatload of money for that didn't blow my skirt up one bit. I've also played Mexi-Fenders that sounded amazing but felt terrible in my hands. As an exercise in what is possible I once took a Johnson P bass and outfitted it with a Badass II bridge, Seymour Duncan Antiquity II pickups, Hipshot ultralight tuners, and a brass nut. It sounded really damn good but it was brutal to play for 3+ hours a night. I only did one gig with that bass because it just hurt my hands to wrestle with it all night.

The only thing I am certain of is that I seem to have landed on my holy grail of tone and consistency with my Alembic basses and Mesa amplification. I should also note that my trusty Modulus Q4 has also remained a consistent and reliable tone giant for the last 20 years; it just produces a tone that I?m not necessarily looking for day to day.