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[pietzouille]

Hey all, I'm having bad things with my orion..
 
The other day i was at a small session, and a guy asked me nice, but where's ur fender jazz?? or another time... nice and shiny bass but nothing compared to a FJ
 
So i'm asking, I'm BEGGINg, what to do agains that??? just say F....K YOU
 
did anything like that happened to any of u guys???
 
or sometimes it's ooor what's that?? olympic??
 
yeah right...
 
In my opinion, fender are just shit most of the time.. and good ones are way too expensive to me.. when i ssee that a factory instrument can cost 8000 us dollar i saw a fender jazz 64 which cost that price.. it's just making me sick.. alembic.. are expensive.. but each one is a work of art...
 
anyway, any opinions?? how to deal with ignorant sound guys??
 
cheers

[lbpesq]

Pierre:
 
Kind of like showing up in a Ferrari and someone who doesn't know anything about Ferrari's looks at it and says not bad, but you could have saved up a little more money and bought a Mustang.   Here's a link to some past discussion of this issue that you may enjoy.  
 
Bill, the guitar one

[jbybj]

Just politely point out how unflattering it is for them to display their ignorance so boldly. Say it with a smile, plug in, turn up, and offer them a Q-tip.
 
JBY

[white_cloud]

Hey man, when Im faced with this type of thing I sit down, cross my legs, repeat OM over and over until I enter a meditative state and rise above the uneducated minds that confont me!  
 
As the Dalai Lama correctly states Fools that dont know Alembics dont know S**T
 
Wait a minute, was it the Dalai Lama that said that or was it Mike Tyson?? I just cant remember!

[jazzyvee]

Sometimes, you just have to leave people to their own views. There are many reasons people would say that. These range from jealousy, ignorance, the fact that alembics are not cheap and probably out of their price range... , many think they are over priced for what they are,,,, and the list goes on really.
 
For me, the point is this, i'm sure you, like me and many other alembic owners, didn't buy the bass for everyone else to bow down and worship it. Neither did we buy it because we wanted it to sound like a fender bass. It's a high quality musical instrument that serves a purpose in a way that we like.
 
I think like many you bought it so that you could enjoy it and have the sound that you want from it. You don't buy an alembic expecting it to sound like a fender bass nor vice versa.
 
Play your bass, dare to be different, enjoy it and leave them to their own minds.
 
 
Just my few pennies worth.
Jazzyvee
 
ps: I've never owned a fender bass and have only played one once or twice in myl ife. I don't dislike their sound, I just prefer a different sound hence why I got an alembic.

[white_cloud]

Fenders are basically good, reliable and basic basses..especially the jazz. I have had a few of them throughout the years. What must be remembered though is that for every handmade Alembic that leaves the mothership a thousand fenders roll of the factory production line. That says it all for me!

[richbass939]

Jazzy, like you, I have never owned a Fender and have played one only a few times.  
I can appreciate that much of the first couple of decades of rock, blues, jazz, R&B, etc. was recorded on Fenders.  I just have never really connected with them.  I'm not putting them down but there has never been an attraction to them.  I suppose it's the same way with some people and Alembic.  If there isn't an attraction then don't go for it.
Instruments are a lot like cars.  The Ford Model T got the job done.  After a while some innovative people started to improve on the basic idea.  If some people thought the newer ideas were all fluff and the Model T was still the best out there, then they bought the Fords and were happy with them.  If they criticized the better ideas then that was their opinion.
I have yet to have someone tell me they want a Fender on their gig/project.  I just show up and plug in.  Sometimes they ask what it is.  They almost never ask what it costs and I never mention it.  Most have never heard of Alembic so they don't know that they are pricy.  However, noone has ever said I don't like the sound.  Do you have something else we could use?
Rich

[dannobasso]

I agree with the jealousy,ignorance combo. I have mine because I wanted them. If I had to sacrifice a bit, then I did. Does it make sense to own 16 of them plus others, no. But thats what I chose to do. I still get slagged because folks can't really make fun of me about other things. So the bass becomes the focal point. Some of it is the speck of dust-plank in the eye thing. The sweet part is when a soundman or engineer says what an amazing sound I get and how well I perform in front of the other guys.
So, don't let it bother you, just plug in and play and let the sound educate the great unwashed.

[David Houck]

I can cook dinner for myself, but I'm not a master chef.  I have neither the skills nor tools of a master chef.  For instance I don't know anything about cutlery (there's actually an in-depth discussion of cutlery in a previous thread).  And it's ok that I don't know everything there is to know about cooking and cutlery.  It's also ok that some people don't know about Alembics.  And I'm sure you've noticed that some people develop biases and allegiances about all kinds of things; cars, sports teams.  And I'm sure you've noticed that some people desire to possess something because other people they know or admire have or value that thing.
 
Each of us grows up in very unique circumstances; the events that shape the way we perceive the world are unique for each of us.  If you meet someone who only likes Fender basses, well then that's where he is right now given all of the events in his life that preceded this moment.  And you might meet people that are closed minded, not only about basses, but about a lot of things in life.  Each of us is a human being, each of has lived a life that, up to this very moment in time, has seen its share of suffering.  Each of us is deserving of respect and compassion.
 
So, when someone tells you that your bass is nothing compared to a Fender, have compassion for him.  You don't know how it is to live his life; you don't know the experiences he has lived through.  You don't know the combination of things that lead to him having this belief about this particular aspect of the world we live in.
 
Responding to hostility with hostility tends to escalate the hostility.  Responding to hostility with warmth, respect and compassion tends to defuse a hostile situation.  When he describes his Fender, listen with interest and respect.  And there is no need to boast of the qualities of your Alembic.  Chances are you've earned his respect just by listening; and the next time he runs across an Alembic, maybe that respect will give him pause to listen; and learn.

[jazzyvee]

I like your replay Davehouk, but don't you think us alembic diehards are also closed minded to a degree about our basses?
 
I admit to being that way about basses but not so to the same degree with my guitars.  
 
I personally have loved Alembic bass sounds sound way back to hearing clarkee on one in the 70's and for me everything  I owned up until I got my first Alembic was considered temporary.
 
 Now I can't see me getting any other bass. I'd like to try one of the high end Fodera's and a Ritter's but I doubt very much I'd buy one. Life is too short to spend time getting to know another bass hahahaha.
 
Thanks for making me nod in agreement and smile with your thread.
 
On a more direct response to your thread pietzouille, I've had many compliments about the sound of my alembics, especially my Orion guitar since i had taken it on tour with me for most of 2006.  But interestingly no-one had ever realised it was alembic till I told them. They just knew it sounded great and  didn't sound like a Fender or a Gibson.
 
JAzzyvee

[briant]

Nice response, Dave. Well said.
 
I'll contribute that I find some people listen with their eyes more than their ears.

[David Houck]

Thanks guys.
 
Jazzyvee asked:  don't you think us alembic diehards are also closed minded to a degree about our basses?
 
I can't speak for others in our group; but for myself, I think it's a great question.  And I've been sitting here for a while thinking about it.
 
There are a lot of great bass players who don't play Alembics and whose tone I like.  Last night I was watching a YouTube vid of Michael Manring with Andy McKee and Don Ross (very very nice tune); and I like Manring's tone in this video.
 
My Essence completely changed my approach to playing bass and my S1 completely changed it again.  And as you said, life is too short.  And for me, part of the meaning for me at this point in my life of playing an Alembic is the association it has with being a part of this community.  I now personally know a lot of really nice people all over the world who play Alembics.  And I even know some of the people who build them; and they're some pretty nice people too.  And just as my Alembic basses have been a significant influence in my life, so also have I learned a lot from, and been influenced by, this community.
 
My bass is a wonderful musical instrument and a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.  But not all potters use the same wheel, and not all carpenters use the same hammer.  And it doesn't bother me at all that Marcus Miller plays a Fender; I still love listening to him.
 
I am constantly amazed at how beautiful my S1 sounds.  And recently I've been playing my Essence 6 a lot unplugged; wonderful tone.  I think Alembics are absolutely wonderful instruments and I have absolutely no desire to play anything else.  Again, as you said, life is too short.  But that's where I am at this point in my life given all the experiences that I've had up to the present moment.
 
Life on this planet is just so amazing.
 
(Message edited by davehouck on January 06, 2008)

[edwin]

I think engineers want you to play a Fender because they know what to do with it. After recording a couple dozen of them, they know how they sit in the mix. That, of course, leads to a lot of bass parts sounding the same. It can be a great sound, but if you are after something different, some engineers get nervous about having to step out of their comfort zone.
 
Having never really owned a Fender, I've never been able to satisfy an engineer who wanted to hear that sound, but on the other hand, I've never had an engineer who asked me that after hearing what I was playing.
 
These days, the bass engineers and other players want to hear is my Starfire, but that may change once I get my Series I back!
 
Edwin

[darkstar01]

Personally, although I haven't had an alembic in quite some time now, I don't find them terribly appropriate for the band i'm in now. The reason being, the majority of the time I'm playing my early 80s PBass, I'm beating the living crap out of it, literally. Wire brushes, the occaision Dremel tool, these are not things I would put my Alembics through, and I think most would agree.
Just an opinion.
Austin

[white_cloud]

I think its very much a case of horses for courses! There are so many fine basses out there now, and most do a very good job...but at the same time so many sound predictable and, ultimately, alike!
 
Alembics dont just have a sound all of their own...they have an aura unmatched by any other instrument!
 
For whatever reason a lot of folks just dont get that, but for us, and Im sure that I speak for us all here, there can be no other choice!
 
P.S. Michael Manring has a lovely tone for sure, but is it just me or is he spookily morphing into Geddy Lee???
 
(Message edited by white cloud on January 07, 2008)