Missing Mids Knob

[o1grossman]

Hi all, I recently upgraded from a Fender Jazz Deluxe V to a 1994 Alembic Epic 5.  I'm loving the "new" bass but I miss the mid-band knob that the Fender has.  Does anyone know of some modification that I could make or do you think I just need to suck it up and live without it?  Thanks.

[rv_bass]

Hi and welcome, congrats on your new-to-you Alembic!

Maybe you can modify the mids with your preamp.  An Fx-1 or F-2B could help.  Or one of the Grace Designs preamps that provide a good amount of mid control, or something similar.

Or an SF-2.

Or, maybe consider modifying your bass to the Volume-pan-filter-Q set up.

[pauldo]

Owen,
I know nothing about Fender nor an Epic’s electronics.
I know this:
Alembic’s are subtle, a very small turn of a knob, plucking hand position shifted towards bridge or away, a light stroke of the string or diggin’ in to grab a cable, etc.   These instruments are super reactive to all of that and more.  Spend sometime with it and then if it still isn’t correct… we’ll there is always GAS. 

[rv_bass]

Thumbs up to pauldo…exploring onboard control adjustments and technique first

[jazzyvee]

Please take this as constructive as it is a lesson i learnt when i first started playing alembic.  Trying to get an alembic to sound like another brand bass is missing the point. You might get close to one sound of that other bass but  there will always be some aspect of that other bass sound that you won't find. My view is if you want a fender sound use a fender.  when you use an alembic, find a sound from that bass that works because you only get an alembic sound from an alembic.
This is the closest i have heard anyone get to the Marcus Miller fender tone on an epic. Might be worth contacting him on youtube for some advice if that's the sound you are after.
https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=26376.0

[edwardofhuncote]

Welcome to the Alembic Club, Owen and Congratulations on your new-to-you Epic 5.


The others have kinda' covered the jist of it, but Alembic pickups and electronics fill a full spectrum of frequencies. Dialing-in what exactly you need, -your happy place- just takes a little bit. I'll tell you this from experience, mine changed over time once I started hearing all the sounds that were possible that I never heard from other instruments.


Here's a little technical help, straight from the FAQ section. https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=235.0


Your Epic has an asymmetrical bass and treble boost/cut function, meaning it can boost +6 dB or -15 dB of either. They probably have a center detent to indicate flat response. I have read of a couple early models that did not, but generally the center of the sweep is 0, and it's asymmetrical, so more cut available than boost, right? So using that information, try a little take-away eq-ing... dial out a bit of bass, bias your pan to the bridge pickup a bit, and boost the gain on your preamp or amp input.


Alembic at its very birth was all about experimentation. Look for that sound. It's there.


Again Welcome. Post us some pictures when you can.

[hammer]

To add to what Greg has indicated, please keep in mind that what you are hearing is a result of an interaction between your fingers, bass, preamp/amp, and speakers. While playing with your controls on your bass and adjusting technique is critical, it is probably going to be necessary to adjust your settings on your preamp/amp. As a previous commenter has indicated, many of us who have made the paradigm shift to Alembic have gone to using an F1-X or F2-B preamp to get the most out of our basses. As Jazzyvee has suggested, however, these basses are a different animal and that clear, clean almost piano like sounds I get from my Alembics are never going to exactly duplicate a Fender, Gibson, or Ric in every aspect

[hieronymous]

My question is: do you tweak the mids a lot while you're playing? If you need a couple of settings, then you could set the amp one way and have an eq pedal of some sort for the alternate sound.

I definitely agree with the views expressed above - I personally like to let each bass speak with its own voice - I hope you have fun exploring the voice of your new bass!