WTB: Alembic Stanley Clarke Signature Deluxe

[loudpop]

Hi,

I'm looking for a little help purchasing a Stanley Clarke Signature Deluxe. How much should I expect to pay for 2014 Signature Deluxe Cocobolo with fret lights & abalone ovals? I found one for $8000 but unsure if this is a good deal or not.

If anyone else has a signature deluxe they'd like to sell, I'm interested!

Thanks

[hammer]

Others may disagree but I have both a Standard Signature SC and a Deluxe and paid nowhere near that for them.  The Standard is a year older but has LED fret markers, the same inlays and a burl maple top.  The 2012 Deluxe is walnut. Cocobolo is nice but not at twice the price I paid. 

[jazzyvee]

you could pick up a really nice used short scale series bass for $8000.

[loudpop]

Thanks for the input!

Is $6500 a good price for a 2015 Brown Bass? Are these generally cheaper or more expensive than a signature deluxe?

Also, how do these differ sound-wise?

Thanks again

[jazzyvee]

I think you would get a wider range of tones from the brown bass because they have controls similar to those on a series I bass in the sense that they have separate volume controls for each pickup rather than the blend control which is standard on a signature bass. . So you would find you have a greater scope for tone sculpting.

Brown bass: http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=282.0
Signature Bass: http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=276.0

[Bob_Ross]

I think you would get a wider range of tones from the brown bass because they have controls similar to those on a series I bass in the sense that they have separate volume controls for each pickup rather than the blend control which is standard on a signature bass. . So you would find you have a greater scope for tone sculpting.

Thread drift: How does that work exactly? I've on a couple occasions heard that same party line, that two separate volume controls offer more timbral variations/combinations than one master volume and one pickup balance, but I can't wrap my head around why that would be the case (presuming the pickups are active, low impedance, and that all other aspects of the instrument's electronics are identical). Thanks.

[gearhed289]

Thread drift: How does that work exactly? I've on a couple occasions heard that same party line, that two separate volume controls offer more timbral variations/combinations than one master volume and one pickup balance, but I can't wrap my head around why that would be the case (presuming the pickups are active, low impedance, and that all other aspects of the instrument's electronics are identical). Thanks.

I don't get that either. I think some people are just more comfortable with two volumes and some prefer volume and pan.

[rv_bass]

Here is a link to a discussion under the Must Read page, other discussions on the topic have taken place on the forum as well for more info...

http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=309.0

[Bob_Ross]

Here is a link to a discussion under the Must Read page, other discussions on the topic have taken place on the forum as well for more info...

http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=309.0

That was an engaging read, thanks...although it still didn't really answer the question!   Lots of conjecture, a couple anecdotal "It seems this way to me" posts, one post that started to get at the heat of the matter (dfung60's from June 27, 2016, 10:11:59 AM), but nothing definitive.

I do get how the inclusion of a Master Volume Control in addition to two separate pickup Volume Controls makes those two discrete controls more useful...and I could almost agree that in that configuration there might be more timbral combinations available than simply having a single Master Volume Control plus one pickup Balance control. Almost...

But in an active circuit with low impedance pickups, why would there be any timbral difference -- not volume difference, just tone -- between, say, Neck pickup at 90% and bridge pickup at 40%, versus the Balance knob skewed N% towards the neck pickup? (Sorry, I realize this is a math question and so perhaps solving for N might answer that question...maybe?)

Thanks.

[adriaan]

On my Series, I like to max out the bridge pickup volume, and turn up the neck pickup volume to taste. If I isolate either pickup, they are significantly less loud than combined (mind you, my custom does have a master volume, but no pickup selector, and I run it mono).
As long as both volumes are in the upper 30% (or thereabouts) then the loudness doesn't vary very greatly.
With a blend pot, the loudness is pretty even across the range, so it seems like it must behave differently.