Do Alembics scare people?

[indigo]

Man...I hope you don't have to be a good player to own an Alembic.  I just started playing bass (former alto sax, flute, clarinet guy) about a year ago. I love my new found instrument and try to soak up all of the info and knowledge possible.  
 
I was drawn to Alembic when I saw tom_z's coco bolo skylark.  Stunning!  I treat them as functional pieces of art.  And as a bonus, my wife loves it as well!
 
Praticing on my Alembic is GREAT!  A much more enjoyable experience than my Dean or Ibanez.  I can run through modes and arpeggios until my fingers fall off.  :-)
 
Some day, my Alembic may intimidate someone...but my playing won't...and I don't care.  There is a big grin on my face every time I play a note on this beauty.
 
Troy

[locutusofborg10]

I play in a 4 piece band. Lead, rhthym, drums and my epic. The rhthym guy is not the best musician but it's his band. When our lead guy takes a solo my epic fills the void and we don't sound as if there's something missing. When I used my Fender there was a defenite void when the solo kicked in. After a while the the guys begged me not to use the Fender anymore as it made the overall sound of the band lousy. Even though I don't play alot of notes and try to keep things simple the other guys consider me their 'lead bass player'. All I can say is screw the idiots who think Fender is the only good bass out there. We who own and play Alembics know what it's all about.

[oujeebass]

My surprise is how many of the younger than me guys don't know what an Alembic is. My opinion is that this can correlated to the level of soul in current music. It used to be that a typical musician would try to draw in as much information about all things musical as much as possible. During the eighties when metal was the thing,it was sad to see people skipping the knowledge thing and going toward the look. It went only down hill from there. I remember being looked down on for playing a Les Paul. That was around 1984. If it wasn't a superstrat, it wasn't cool. What does cool get you anyway?

[kmh364]

Who cares what you play, as long as you can play...remember, Frank said Shut Up and play yer guitar!, LOL!
 
Cheers,
 
Kevin

[rockbassist]

Isn't that what I said originally?  I will never judge anyone by the gear they play. We all have limits to our budgets.  Many players have been brainwashed by mass marketing. My concern is can you play and are  you easy to get along with. Nothing more, nothing less. You can always get better gear.

[the_8_string_king]

Fun thread! And fun stories! I can definitly relate! My custom 8 string Alembic -which they dubbed 8 strings of power- is, with its stunning bocate top, flame maple body, 8 strings and 31 frets has intimidated more than one guitar player, with its range being 1 note higher than a 24th fret high e. This, and the 16 controls surely intimidate any who are insecure!
 
It's funny sometimes... most people just go whoa, and/or wow, that's really awesome, or something, but it's amusing to see how some people can just get a cave-man like fear of the unknown, like the fear of confronting some great and powerful beast (which, to be fair, it is) when they see it.
 
Again, fun thread... a lot of laughs!

[jazzyvee]

i haven't found anyone intimidated by my bass ( nor my bass playing for that matter).
 
At the end of one of my last bass playing gigs in the middle of this year, another local bass player whom I have previously seen playing a Yamaha TRB 5, came over to  me as I was putting the bass into my case, lightly touched the body of  my alembic bass, put his hands together in a prayer like manner, bowed and walked off with a smile.

[the_mule]

I believe that bass players in general are more open minded than guitar players, but a surprisingly big part of the bass playing community still thinks that a 4-string Fender bass is the only way to go. Many people know of Alembic, but the general opinion unfortunately is negative: furniture/wall art, too heavy, too sterile sounding, too expensive and the owner must be an arrogant spoiled brat who looks down on other people. Reactions like that originate from frustration, jealousy and fear. So, yes, in my experience Alembics scare people. This doesn't stop me from promoting Alembic as much as I can, telling people about the important role Alembic played (and still plays) in the history of our beloved instrument and people who are seriously interested are always allowed to play my bass. That always helps to change opinions tremendously. It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it... ;-)
 
Wilfred

[gare]

Gee..anyone happen to have a fretless Jazz bass they want to unload ?  LOL

[flaxattack]

sometimes i think that when you whip open an alembic, people think or anticipate that you are a more accomplished player because of the money spent getting one.obvisouly this is not the case. but it may raise the bar in their itty bitty heads. as for me. i am not the best, but i know what i like and i like what i play. i personally hate fenders and always have and would never play one.alembics for me and i have been playing and concerting for 40 years, sound different and in my humble opinion? better  i like to think of us as enlightened not better. nothing else sounds like an alembic. we love this particular sound- plain and simple-we arent buying them to impress anyone- we cant help it if they are so darn pretty-we just like the way they speak bass

[88persuader]

Well personally I love Fender Jazz basses, I think of them as industry staples. But i play Alembics because I've played for a long time professionally and decided it was time for me to treat myself. Like buying a high end sports car rather than another Ford. The Ford will do the same job as the sports car unless you're really breaking the speed limits but when you do it with the sports car you do it with a big grin on your face. I can play my gigs just as well with a $600 Fender Jazz bass or a $300 Ibanez as I do with the Stanley Clark i paid over 10 times more for but when I strap on my SC I can't help but grin from ear to ear. (And of course the sound is superior) But does it scare people? Like I said in one of my earlier posts, Generally i don't think it does because most people I know don't even know about Alembics. But I can tell you when they find out how expensive they are they think i'm crazy. But then again, I feel an Alembic is a luxury item, not an industry staple. If you can afford it what's wrong with a little self indulgence every now and then? And if anything scares people about Alembics i think it's that the people who own them are not afraid to invest in their craft. Are we crazy to spend 3 grand and up on a bass? (or Guitar) Maybe ... but then again you'll never accuse an Alembic player of not taking their craft seriously. Anyone can spend $600 on a Mexican Fender, if you're spending 10 times that amount you really have to be serious and that kind of dedication can be frightning to people who possibly aren't as dedicated themselves.

[88persuader]

Oh One other thing i think has already been touched on. I think when you buy something that's fancy and expensive some people are going to think you're just showing off and that can definitely put people off. When I 1st got my SC I was so into it and proud of it i told everone who would listen everything about it. Well that didn't do much to endear me to these people who felt i was just boasting. And you know something ... I was and it wasn't attractive. Luckly it hasn't cost me any gigs but I've also learn that people don't want to hear about my toy. I don't think having high end equipment will frighten people but having an attitude at an audition will definitely frighten people.

[mpisanek]

I find here in Scotland that there are two types of bass players.  Those that know Alembic and those that don't.  These instrurments seem to be few and far between in these parts, and an awful lot of bass players, and good bass players at that, have never seen an Alembic instrument.  What I find is that many people comment on three things about the instruments.  Firstly they comment on the way they look.  Secondly, they comment on the craftsmanship.  Thirdly they comment on the sound.
 
I consider myself very lucky to not only have heard of Alembic, but to actually own one.  It is never my intention to stand out or be the centre of attention, so I never show off when I play, I just play.  
 
It occurs to me that other players are attracted to an Alembic.  There must be a process that takes place in their minds combinining the looks, sound, and quality of an instrument in a comparison to their own instrument.  Most people are not scared of an Alembic, but curious, inquisitive, and at the end of the conversation, usually converted to loving an Alembic!

[moonlinermusic]

Don't get me wrong, I own and love alembics, but I agree that much of a players tone comes from how they play, not what they play.

[jseitang]

totally true with current music trends... now working in a recording studio, you see young bands rocking vintage or in particular, peculiar vintage instrumnets that nobody has, like a rickenbacker 3000 bass or a epiphone coronet guitar, i have yet to see kids these days rock alembic. i do, but then again im not like everyone else. i thought about it more and more, but eventually id like to have all my basses be alembic, or alembic modified basses!!