HELLO FROM OSAKA JAPAN!

[pauldo]

<slight interruption>
Is the accurate measurement from the edge of the nut closest to the fingerboard to the center of the 12th fret?

Paul (who spent too much time in a machine shop focused on precision measuring)

[YamatoJJ]

Jimmy, Keith: THANK YOU AGAIN.

Went back to the shop with a measure like you recommended, Jimmy! Lol

The bass measures from nut to 12th at 41 cm so about 16 in., which doubled equals 32 inches. Medium scale it is!

Keith: here are pictures with me and the strap: sorry I forgot to take a “hands free pic,” but I played for an hour with my “Scott’s Bass Lessons Strap,” and it had no dive (that strap has been a great investment: highly recommended!) whatsoever!

Loving the bass, but loving the Alembic brand and these short(er)  scale SCs more and more….still thinking, and hoping it sticks around a bit after New Year’s!

[David Houck]

Nice picture!

[YamatoJJ]

Thank you, David: sorry it’s sideways!

We’re almost at 2022, folks! Glad to meet new wonderfully generous people at the end and soon to be start of the year!

Just after going through all this, found THIS:
https://basscentral.com/basses/alembic-stanley-clarke-brown-bass-walnut-top-back-with-ebony-violet-amber-leds/

Amazing looks.

Just turned 50 6 months ago: was THIS what I should’ve gotten to commemorate??

Is this what happens in the world of possible Alembic ownership?! Lol

You guys need to take responsibility for making such gorgeous instruments! Ha ha!

Thanks and blessings to all!

[keith_h]

Well all I've got to say it appears you have a medium scale small body bass there. It is a rarity. 

It is good you had some time to play it. Since you are comfortable with the bass it sounds like a match between player and bass.

The Brown Bass you reference will sound quite a bit different than the one you have in the picture. The neck woods in a BB along with the body woods make for a more mellow tone without the high end emphasis you get with maple based necks. I have both a BB and a Series 1 with a maple/purple heart neck and they sound completely different due to the woods used in the neck and body. I can't say I like the sound of one better than the other they are just different though both sound like Alembics. I do have to say that Susan picked out a spectacular piece of walnut for the front and back on the BB.

[pauldo]

Agreed the walnut on the BB from Bass Central is gorgeous.   Troubling that they didn’t remove the bit of fuzz hanging on the G string by the nut prior to taking pictures.  😳 

[YamatoJJ]

Hello Keith and Paul: thank you both for talking about measurements with me.

Yes, a 32”: I really, really like this bass, and hadn’t felt fatigued from playing while standing for an hour at all.

I HAVE become eager to try different Alembics, though; since this is a “rare bird,” I can only imagine the differences to be found in an SCS or SCD (which I listened to on Zoom from a music shop in Tokyo on Wednesday here), the BB, and perhaps a small bodied Series, which this rare bird I was lucky to find seems to be modeled after. I tried a 30” Fender Mustang, and I wasn’t put off by the scale nor the string tension.

That GORGEOUS walnut BB made me think of just getting a brand new unplayed bass and starting from scratch in a relationship with it….ah, first world problems again

Japan’s instrument world is going to be set on its ear for a while, seeing as how this supply chain thing greatly due to  COVID is going; buying without trying is an even greater and more expensive risk, perhaps.

What I DO know is I want to get seriously playing again (no bass to speak of ATM: starting priorities over) with something that inspires me greatly, and I know Alembic is doing that for me, 100%! Maybe my obsession is with that circuitry….fantastic sounds!! Thank you all: meeting YOU has made me sold on Alembic for sure! Happy 2022 soon!

[mica]

Good to get the confirmation on the medium scale as it is very rare. Some people have no issue with the balance of a regular short scale Stanley model, others really really hate it. It all depends on how you play and what neck heavy means to you (two variables that vary a lot!).

For me the short scale *barely* balances, but I don't mind because I don't expect a 1:00 hang. It's 2:30 on me and that's totally fine.

I always thought Stanley wound up with the short scale because that's what we had to bring to the show and he happened to completely GET it from the start.

As for how someone convinced us to make a Stanley with a medium scale (who wasn't Michael D!), I'm afraid that will be lost the winds of memory.

[YamatoJJ]

HAPPY 2022 Everyone!

Mica, I thank you so much for the information: wow, this is becoming a call for having to play a few of these Alembics and seeing what’s different.

What I do know about me is that depending on the bass maker, it just seems like I was struggling to play: a certain famous brand with the same name as part of England and the model name after the digit often used for slapping is still in my memory for killing my shoulder and being a huge stretch for me.

This Alembic isn’t so much of a stretch, but I wonder what 30” would be like….all I know is this bass is a fantastic instrument that makes me even more curious about Alembic models now!

My thanks again, and best to all of you this year!

[YamatoJJ]

Welp, I was too slow on the draw….that rare bird is gone: glad I got to play it, sorry I waited too long!

Thank you all for the pointers: personally, I love the sound and feel, but would like something without gloss: showy isn’t me. I like the body of the SC, and I know long scales make me fight the bass….lots to learn about Alembic! Thank you all again and I will keep looking with your help!

Any pointers on what NOT to do? Lol

[keith_h]

As our departed friend Paul was fond of saying, "There will always be another."

[DistillaMatto]

Old topic, but good to see other foreigners enjoying Alembics over here in Japan. There was another Stanley Clarke for sale here in Japan for only 570,000 yen. I bought a distillite instead for an amount I could offord.

[jazzyvee]

@JimmyJ, relating to your comments on Stanley choosing a short scale, have you ever been the "bass player" on any of his gigs and have you ever played any of his personal basses>
I know you did the one video with him, i think it was called Night School,  when there loads of bass players on a showcase of some kind.

[JimmyJ]

Hey Jazzyvee,

Pardon the old thread hijack...  No, aside from that nutty multi-bass jam you mentioned I never got to play WITH Stanley.  Jimmy Earl (now in Jimmy Kimmel's house band) was the guy who played "rhythm bass" in Stanley's band for many years. 

As a side-note and crazy coincidence Stanley has a bow made by my dad. 

Jimmy J

[OJ Dorson]

Hey Jeff - I think you and I spent some time on the phone talking about a Smith bass I had. I'm glad you found your way to an Alembic. I miss my Smith and would like to find another, but I love my Alembics!! -- OJ