Alembic-aware bass setup--Bay Area?

[El Thumpo]

Hey,

It's time to dial in my beloved 91 Essence, which I purchased a few months ago. It was looked over by an East Coast luthier prior to my purchase, but now I'd like to fine-tune it to my playing style and choice of strings.

Are there any San Francisco Bay Area setup sources you can recommend? Bananas at Large in San Rafael say they're backlogged six weeks. Larry Craig in San Anselmo is a legend, but he wants $125 and has a similar turnaround time, which seems steep for an instrument that doesn't need fret dressing or fingerboard finessing, just action optimization.

There's got to be someone in the area who knows their way around a double truss rod, and has the hang of Alembics. Any suggestions will be most appreciated. Thanks.

[StephenR]

A simple set-up it is not terribly difficult to do yourself and a good skill to cultivate. There is an excellent thread about this pinned in the "Must Reads" section of the club, Joey's Post On Setting Up Your Bass. As long as you make small incremental changes you can't really mess things up. One advantage to doing it yourself is that you can make a change, let the instrument sit overnight and and adjust more if needed. If you can't quite get it right yourself or simply do not feel comfortable trying you could call Mica to see if there is a time you can bring the bass in for a quick set-up and tour of the factory.

[edwardofhuncote]

Agree w/ Stephen... it's not that difficult to learn, and is a valuable skill.

Here is Joey's (aforementioned) post: http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=311.0

[gtrguy]

A good strobe tuning is wise to do. If you look around, you can find old tube powered Conn strobe tuner for $100 on up. Mine has lasted me a lifetime and helped with many instruments I have owned.

[cozmik_cowboy]

A good strobe tuning is wise to do. If you look around, you can find old tube powered Conn strobe tuner for $100 on up. Mine has lasted me a lifetime and helped with many instruments I have owned.

This.
A strobe (including Peterson's virtual strobes) will give you ± 0.1 cent accuracy; all others, from a $3 clip-on to a$400 rack-mount, will give you ± 1 cent; the latter is sort of close enough for stage tuning, but for a good set-up you need a strobe!
My current Conn ST-11 was purchased on Evil-Bay for $85 (in an Ambien haze; I had no knowledge of bidding  until I won....)


Peter

[lbpesq]

+1 on DIY with Joey's post as a guide.  The simplicity of Alembic's design is pure genius.  As for a strobe tuner, it's a must for good intonation.  The Peterson Stroboclip is the best clip-on tuner I've found - accurate to .1 cents and VERY convienent.  Another great and inexpensive option is the Peterson iStroboSoft app.  Only ten bucks and turns your phone into a .1 cent tuner.  You can use your phone's mic or, for $14 or $15, you can get a clip-on or a 1/4" plug-in adapter.  Works wonderfully and I always have an accurate tuner in my pocket. 

If you get stuck, or have questions, I'm in the East Bay and would be happy to help.

Bill, tgo

[StephenR]

+1 on the Peterson tuners. I own a StroboFlip and the StroboClip. Out of the two I prefer the StroboFlip mainly because the instrument plugs into it and you are assured of a good strong signal to the tuner plus I can keep it plugged into an AC source on stage so no worries about the battery going. I got the StroboClip to use with acoustic guitars and as a backup tuner for my electric basses. I find it a bit more finicky than the plug in model but it does a fine job, too.

[cozmik_cowboy]

Stephen, I use the Conn on acoustics by means of a Peterson cord with a clip-on clamp on one end & a 1/4" plug on the other; ~ $15 & works great (gave my son one, and his mandolin player used it as a pick-up when gigging).

Peter

[StephenR]

Peter, my StroboFlip (which I just noticed is no longer made) came with the clip on clamp. Good to know you can also use it with a Conn tuner, thanks for that info.

There is a new HD version of the StroboClip coming soon which will have a USB connection for keeping the firmware updated. It looked like the price has been lowered, too.

[edwin]

The StroboPlus HD is a great tuner, plus can be upgraded to a very useful metronome (odd times and everything). I highly recommend it, but as Bill points out, if you have a smartphone, iStroboSoft is silly cheap and really good. You can get an adapter cable so you can plug your bass straight in. I use mine all the time.

[keith_h]

I use a Korg pitchblack portable polyphonic tuner. It is +/- .1 cent and has a strobe mode. I don't remember what I paid but they were having a special so I suspect it would have been less than $50. Right now they appear to be running in the mid $60 range.

[cozmik_cowboy]

I don't know that model, Keith, so I just checked the specs on Korg's website - like everything else they make, it's ± 1 cent.

Peter

[keith_h]

Peter - The owners instructions that came with mine says +/- .1 when in strobe mode. It also says the same thing in their marketing video and other sales literature. In the other modes it is only +/- 1 cent.

http://i.korg.com/pitchblackportable

(about 1 min, 35 sec into it)

[cozmik_cowboy]

So I have to ask - if you make a device that can do ± 0.1, why give it a lower-quality setting?  Did Korg ID a market segment devoted to poorer accuracy?  I'm confused.........(not an unusual state, I must admit ).

Peter

[811952]

With limited display options, higher resolution means it will be nearly impossible to get an "in tune" readout as the string tension changes with amplitude.


John