Distillate Question Edit: Spoiler Question

[edwardofhuncote]

Well, good call. Just keep checking in and hanging out here... occasionally Club Members will post a private sale of their instruments when they upgrade or trade. A few of us junkies just watch the online market for entertainment. If there's a good deal out there, one of us will usually post it in the Swap Shop.

[hieronymous]

My first Alembic was a Spoiler (Exploiter shaped) - it was a great first Alembic! My main Alembic now is a Stanley Clarke with Anniversary electronics - it began life with Signature electronics (volume, blend & two filters) but I've never liked blend controls so I had it upgraded. Anniversary electronics have separate volumes for each pickup - it resembles Series electronics conceptually but has subtle yet significant differences. If you can find an appropriate Series bass that's awesome, but you might want to consider Signature as well.

Enjoy the quest!

[wisconsindeadd]

My first Alembic was a Spoiler (Exploiter shaped) - it was a great first Alembic! My main Alembic now is a Stanley Clarke with Anniversary electronics - it began life with Signature electronics (volume, blend & two filters) but I've never liked blend controls so I had it upgraded. Anniversary electronics have separate volumes for each pickup - it resembles Series electronics conceptually but has subtle yet significant differences. If you can find an appropriate Series bass that's awesome, but you might want to consider Signature as well.

Enjoy the quest!

What about the two separate volume controls vs blend do you prefer? Having a blend knob just seems more simple/easy to me

[hieronymous]

What about the two separate volume controls vs blend do you prefer? Having a blend knob just seems more simple/easy to me

I think it's a personal decision of 2 volume vs. blend. This issue appears in various threads here. I'm just old and stubborn! Never got along with the blend control, but never encountered one until my Stanley Clarke bass either. Until I encountered Alembic I was a "all volumes up all the way" kind of player and still am with passive basses, but with my Alembics I appreciate being able to adjust both volumes separately.

Remember too, I don't think there is any Series bass with a blend control, it's pickup selector and separate volumes.

[mica]

Remember too, I don't think there is any Series bass with a blend control, it's pickup selector and separate volumes.

We've made a few, mostly for one person. But stereo pan/blend controls are a little weird!

[edwardofhuncote]

For me, figuring out how to work the Series I controls was the last piece of the puzzle. It's a mixing board. Up until that point, I always favored having a Volume/Pan/Filter setup, (and still prefer it for most live situations) but having separate Volumes and Filters is a huge advantage. You can dial in or out just enough of whatever you want on either pickup/channel. That said, it's just another level of surgical precision for shaping your sound, but you can get in that target zone either way. It's just faster and easier with the simpler circuits.

Ironically, my older Distillate was modified to have a Pan function in place of its original pickup selector switch, and works just fine.   

[hammer]

Having an almost infinite capacity to adjust adjust the sonic spectrum with a Series I and SF-2 superfilter has assured that I'm never told my bass doesn't fit well with the mix, is boomy, not distinctive enough, etc.  I'm not a fiddler but the combo of the Series bass and SF-2 has allowed me to adjust my sound to fit any venue and just about any speaker cab I use.  At my age, I wish I had 10% of the flexibility my bass and rig now give me thanks to the good folks at Alembic.