Author Topic: Wood aging? (Read 318 times)

Manfred · « **on:** September 10, 2003, 04:51:19 AM »

This might be interesting. There are some questions on this club about differences in tone. I noticed a lot of difference between instruments from the 70's and newer instruments. A lot has been said about it and Mica told something about the woodcell structure of new and old basses and that a bass must be played to improve its tone. My guitarist told me to take the bass out of its case at home, so it can pick up all vibrations in the room, it's getting dusty as well. Not that I'm not happy with the way my bass sounds, but I think it's pretty interesting what time and vibrations can do with an instrument. Well anyway, I found something in Germany. Have a look at http://space.arcor.de/emilo/ or http://www.appliedacoustics.de/homepage/e/home.htm What do you think?

Manfred

dnburgess · « **Reply #1 on:** September 10, 2003, 06:03:53 AM »

Hard to tell whether its snake oil or for real. Maybe one of our German brothers can test it on their Alembic and report back.

dela217 · « **Reply #2 on:** September 10, 2003, 09:18:55 AM »

Snake oil? Perhaps. I have heard about this process before too. There is someone who used to work for Alembic that does this to his guitars and basses. He has made the equipment that vibrates his instruments. Hmmm..

I think the older Alembics have a different sound from the newer Alembics too. It can be for MANY reasons. The older instruments had only one truss rod. If the wood in the neck is what makes the instrument's signature sound, then wouldn't an extra truss rod affect tone? The older Alembic instruments also had a different bridge assembly. I had retrofitted one of my newer basses with an older type Stars bridge. I definatley heard and felt a difference. The older Alembic instruments also had different finishes. I would believe that an oil finish would sound different from a Polane one and from a polyester one. Also back then on the Series basses there was a different IC used on the circuit card. It was also soldered to the board rather than just plugged into a socket. There were also different type of connectors used back then on the inside of the instruments too.

Who knows, it could have been a combination of these things that made the different sounds of the instruments over the years.

Maybe we are just imagining things.

harald_rost · « **Reply #3 on:** September 10, 2003, 11:59:55 PM »

There are some reports from different musicians about this sound optimazion. You can read it at http://www.appliedacoustics.de/homepage/e/home.htm under references (but it is in German). And there was a big discussion about at a german internet forum some months ago.
The concept sound good but on the other side it's all true what Michael said. With sound optimazion you night be able to improve the sound of your instrument but an older Series 1 will never sound like a new one with this procedure.
Yeah, David, I would like to test it. May be if you take 50% of the costs ;-))
But before I would invest 770 Euro in sound optimazion I would retriofit my 76 Series 1 with LED's.

Harald

bigredbass · « **Reply #4 on:** September 12, 2003, 08:14:33 AM »

Tell you what. . .

I live near a train yard and EVERYTHING in my house vibrates pretty regularly.
So, if any of you want to send me your basses and pay me that kind of money for 'the treatment', eMail as soon as possible. I'll even take them to the airport one day to exercise those high frequencies that only GE turbofans can reach.

And just think, I'll do it for only 500 euros, and you'll save that high airfreight charge to Germany. Hell, if you're close to Tennessee, I'll even pickup and deliver.

For an extra 100 euros, I can also take them to a tobacco barn, to 'smoke' them in. This gives a pre-set Q curve for all those smoky bars for those of you that still play places your Mama warned you about. Lynchburg is about 90 miles from here, I can take them to the Jack Daniels Distillery for that charred oak smoke (price on request, half-gallons and JD stickers extra) if you'd prefer.

Hurry. Beat the Rush. I can help you now. Please send me all of your basses with CASH NOW.

And my guarantee is that I'll send your bass back to you ( as soon as the checks go through,,).

J o e y

PS I forgot to tell you that the turnaround times are synched to the Lunar cycle, while assuming a steady space weather state. Large solar anomalies will slow delivery times, as well as if I have trouble getting back from Lynchburg...

dadabass2001 · « **Reply #5 on:** September 12, 2003, 09:51:50 AM »

Stop.. please stop. You're killing me up here! (LOL)

Mike

alembic76407 · « **Reply #6 on:** September 12, 2003, 10:03:03 AM »

bigredbass ,
being how Lynchburg is in a dry county, what do you do cross the county line then pull over and get lost from there ?

David T
PS; if the money starts rolling in and you need a partner I can cover west of the Mississippi.
And I can get lost with the best of them

palembic · « **Reply #7 on:** September 12, 2003, 10:23:06 AM »

Brorther Joey, you forget we all have to hold hands and dance around the basses hitting the floor with our bare feet. Don't forget to paint the Alembic logo in white sand on the black stone in the middle.

Paul the bad one

Oh yeah: I'll take my elephant to produce sub-sonic low sounds.

bigredbass · « **Reply #8 on:** September 12, 2003, 10:55:17 AM »

7 6 4 0 7 :

Proving that all politics are, indeed, local:

By special act of the Tennessee Legislature, you now CAN buy JD products 'to go': Still, as you correctly pointed out, a dry county, but I now understand all the new rest areas and DUI roadblocks right across the county line. . . but at least you can go home with more than TShirts and commemoratives.

DrIng Lindemanns: As it turns out, Tennessee has an elephant haven for former performing and otherwise unwanted elephants in Hohenwald. As they work for peanuts, there's only a small upcharge for the subsonic 'Call of the Wild' treatment, plus mileage. I would definitely suggest checking your replacement insurance value as some of them are still mighty angry from the Three Rings, if you know what I mean. Clowns, little kids, for God's sake don't show them a banana . . .

OK. I'LL MAKE THIS TODAY's SPECIAL:

Since Hohenwald is not THAT far from Lynchburg, I'll bundle the 'Call of the Wild Subsonic' treatment WITH the 'Charred Oak Jack Daniels'
treatment FOR NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE. I think this is a hell of a deal, since I have to go their with an empty stomach. I went there with a bass right after lunch at a Thai barbecue buffet, and . . . once the ol' tuskers cut loose with those 10 hertz oinks . . . well let's just say it wasn't pretty.

BUT THIS IS A LIMITED TIME OFFER. ACT NOW BEFORE THE SUNSPOTS BEGIN !

J o e y

(let ME optimize all those wood fibers for you!)

David Houck · « **Reply #9 on:** September 12, 2003, 11:23:39 AM »

How much to actually soak the bass in a barrel of JD?

mikedm · « **Reply #10 on:** September 12, 2003, 11:43:58 AM »

Not that I do, but would you require smoking players need to sign an indemnification clause of sorts? Igniting fumes and all that unpleasantness...hmmm, how much extra to soak the bass' owner instead?

yggdrasil · « **Reply #11 on:** September 12, 2003, 12:41:06 PM »

Perhaps our Deutsch friends could compete by offering a comparable service - say a twofer where the bass is suspended over a vat of Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier during the smoking process, with the occasional descent into the vat for good measure?

Or the Belgian members could actually soak it in a Lambik vat , opening the wood to the airborne spores of the valley of the River Zenne, for that authentic Alembic tone.

:-)

Frank.