How much does hearing an Alembic distract you at a gig.

[jazzyvee]

I haven't had the pleasure of going to many gigs where I have heard an alembic being played by another bass player than myself.
But when I have,  I have found myself focussing so much to hear how the player has it set their bass, how well it fits in with the sound, and the overall impact it has on the sound of the band.  Not just the big pro players like Stanley and Jimmy J who are the only big named alembic bass players I can recall hearing live.


When I was a punter at the gigs of forum members Jacko and George,  I was aware that I missed many of the songs because I was focussing on the sound of their basses and trying to 'visualise' (I really mean 'audialise', but I don't think that is a real word :-)) all those things above and then somehow transpose that to decide how much of that sound I would be getting from my own basses in a live context.


With other non alembics I don't really have to do that as much because they are the norm and I don't have any of those mainstream basses to relate to.
Anyone else have this distraction.
I have done a lot of gigs with my basses and I think the times when I have played with an acoustic guitar based vocal band, they seemed to have a biggest impact on the overall sound and also sounded the most at home.

[hankster]

Hmm. This has never happened, except when I saw Bowie with Carlos Alomar on guitar. I was distracted by everything!

[DaveD]

I can count on one hand the number of times I've heard an Alembic at a local gig and during those times, yes...I was totally zoned in on how the players had their tone set. The last time I saw Stanley was a RTF gig at a shed and the sound man was not doing him any favors. His tone was nothing like the warm, full-bodied tone he had when I saw his solo band at a smaller venue a few years prior. Jimmy's tone was also superb at the same venue.

I agree that Alembics sound splendid in acoustic settings. I use my Elan 6 for lots of acoustic dates (along with a Hamer B12A) and I find it's the perfect setting for the tone to shine through. A few years ago I was doing jazz gigs with a guitarist and I was playing chords on the Elan while the guitarist played the top line and it was great fun. Bass chords on any Alembic sound so sweet but especially on my Elan 6.

[paulman]

Not too distracting, as I'm usually the one playing the Alembic 

[gtrguy]

I usually think that the bass should serve the song. I also have a couple 6 string bass guitars and sometimes tune them like a low or baritone guitar so I can play familiar chords (I started on guitar many years ago).

[mica]

I get to see lots of Alembic basses at concerts! Well not recently, but since I am frequently visiting artists when they are playing near us, I probably get to see more than usual.

So, I understand being distracted initially. But usually that distraction fades away and I just start enjoying the music as a whole.

[rv_bass]

I come across them now and then in this area and I don’t find them to be a distraction, but rather the additive effect of clarity of the musical foundation provides a wonderful matrix that binds it all together and enhances the experience as a whole, and then I smile

[edwardofhuncote]

I've gone to see concerts purely because I wanted to hear an Alembic being played by a world-class player.

[pauldo]

My clearest “must see/hear Alembic” moment was the Dixie Dregs last tour.
 
Then there was that time watching Shakedown Street when I was in Denver for work.  Edwin’s tone commanded the room. 

[cozmik_cowboy]

Then there was that time watching Shakedown Street when I was in Denver for work.  Edwin’s tone commanded the room. 

Indeed - though in my case it was the beer garden; he was playing his Starfire (when it had the caramel p/ups) through a couple of fEARful cabs, and wherever I went - anywhere in the beer garden, down the hall to the john, in to get another beer - it sounded amazing.  And it, as you say, commanded the room - while still sitting perfectly in the mix.

I've only encountered one Alembic in the wild in these parts; a Spoiler with a Southern rock band.  It got my attention, but I wouldn't say it distracted me.

Peter

Peter

[lbpesq]

In the context of the Grateful Dead, I was very aware of Phil’s tone when he played an Alembic.   Some of his other basses sounded almost subsonic to me - I almost felt the bass more than heard it.  With his Alembic, I could hear his notes far more present in the mix.  Not distracting at all, just more musical!   I do tend to focus in on the guitar on those rarer occasions when there is an Alembic guitar in the band.  But I tend to focus on the guitar anyway.

Bill, tgo

[pauldo]

Yes and yes.
Edwin's tone commanded with a musicality that was not overpowering in the least, in fact, it made my non-musician travelling friend comment;
' I had no idea that the bass had such an influence in music.'

It had a clarity and presence with out booming over everything else.  Such is the way of Alembic.... I mean that IS where their roots are formed .... the best tone possible to serve the music on the highest level.

I think it was a Series II?  He let me give it a little test run well before show time... and all of the knobs/ filters and what not was a bit overwhelming.     I was happy to hand it back!

[sonicus]

Sublimely amusing I, find this thread .
In regard to such sound , Alembic !
The appeal to mind , from ear to brain , evermore  sustain .
Therefore mayst I suggest,. a retraction .
A distraction , NOT !  Sonic Rapture Saved .
Revealed , thine purest Alembicus !

[jazzyvee]

Sonic rapture saved revealed,
the sound of bass sublimely freed,
With Ron & Susan's magic wands,
Alembic still controls the band.
From sixty eight to current date,
The vision distilled let's us create.
Slap pluck, pick or pop,
These basses still cream the crop.

[sonicus]

  , !

That was fun as well , thine response is swell !
 My metre is making, an attempt thus .
A reasonable  facsimile , shown .
Henceforth  of Iambic Pentameter.
In homage doth , for the truly beloved .
Both "The Bard" and Alembic , shall be saved !
A distraction , didst I create , forsooth !