New 1983 Series 1 owner

[dslapster64]

So after purchasing and loving my 1987 SC Deluxe, I decided To grab me a Series 1 from 1983. Looks fantastic, but it appears that the only pick up slot that works is the neck pickup ( unless I am doing something wrong. Also, there’s quite a lot of noise coming from the preamp, and then it dies out. Possibly could be a battery issue, not sure. It appears there’s quite a bit of a difference between the signature and series models. Now that I have gotten used to the signature, the series is another animal 😀.Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks

[keith_h]

Are you using the 5-pin connector or the 1/4" jack? I'm not sure if in 1983 if the 1/4" was wired for mono or stereo. It still might be stereo which means you will only hear one pickup. There might also be a stereo/mono switch which is what I have on my basses that support it. One test is to swap the pickup leads on the preamp board to see if the other pickup starts working. If the other pickup starts working it would confirm stereo wiring on the 1/4" jack and that the pickup is good. If the same pickup works then it says you have a mono jack and the pickup or its wiring is likely bad. 

On a new battery I would expect it to last 10 - 20 hours in a Series 1. When the battery dies it goes from a beautiful sound to the hounds of hell howling in a flash. Do you have the power supply and 5-pin cable? If not you really should look at acquiring as using Series instruments on battery is not practical.

If you post some shots of the bass and electronics we might be able to see if it is anything obvious and provide more specific assistance.   


 

[rv_bass]

Hi, congrats on the S1!  Are you just using the 1/4” jack?  If so, the jack may be wired for stereo and if so, you will only get sound from the neck pickup using a mono cable.  Try it with the 5-pin and DS-5 power supply and see if you get sound from both pickups.  The noise may be a dying battery if you got an abrupt distortion sound and now no sound out of the 1/4” jack.  You should have no noise issues with the DS-5 if it is a battery issue.  You may have to adjust the preamp trim pots if there is slight hum using the DS-5 power supply. 

[dslapster64]

OK, now I have got it. Everything appears to be working fine. I do believe it does need new batteries tho, and so I will be getting those. I did look into the DS5 and figured out the problem. It is now working perfectly fine and now I am absolutely in love. So now I have a Stanley Clarke signature, and a Series one. They are more different sonically than I thought they would be, and I absolutely love them both. Thank you so much guys for your input. I am looking to see if I can find a sheet that has the layout and exactly what each control does. I saw a detailed one on the signature bass, but not so much on a series. Thanks again.

[rv_bass]

That’s great you got it working!  Sounds like you have two fantastic basses.  Here is the link to the FAQ page for Series instruments…enjoy!!

https://club.alembic.com/index.php?board=23.0

[keith_h]

Good to hear you have it all sorted out. Enjoy.

[dela217]

Pictures?

[dslapster64]

Hear are my two Alembic’s. &1987 SC, 1983 S1.

[edwardofhuncote]

Congratulations & Compliments. Beautiful pair. Almost matched!

[dslapster64]

Thanks so much. I'm truly in love.

[dslapster64]

So now I am a little frustrated. I took the bass to my usual tech to tighten up some loose switches, and now with a quarter inch cable/jack, the bridge pick-up does not work but the neck pick-up does. With the DS5 power supply, everything works perfectly. So he must have done something differently. Is there anything that I can do myself to make it so that both pick ups work?
thanks

[edwardofhuncote]

I think your bass is fine. The 1/4" jack is most likely wired for stereo, so if you are using a 'regular' mono instrument cable, only the neck pickup will be heard.


Your choices are; use your 5-pin and the DS-5 switched to mono, or order yourself a summed cable that converts the stereo output to a mono signal. Keep plenty of 9v batteries on-hand... Series electronics will burn through a set in about 20 hours.


I like this guy. http://bayoucables.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=7

[JimmyJ]

Hey David,

It's hard to see in your picture (those basses look like cousins!) but do I see a small switch to the left of your 5-pin connector?  If so that may be a mono/stereo switch.  Let us know if that's the case.

As described above, the 1/4" output on these basses was originally wired in stereo so you needed a specific cable to hear both pickups from that output.  It's probably a factory option now but I've modded all my Series basses to run mono out that 1/4" jack.  But then ... I rarely use that output.  Most often only for short moments with a tuner.  That's because these preamps draw quite a bit of current so batteries do not last very long.  And when they go, the sound gets real nasty real fast.

So as inconvenient as it may seem to use the DS5 and 5-pin cable, I'd recommend doing so for the most reliable BIG tone.

Glad you're enjoying playing that thing.

Jimmy J

[jazzyvee]

Hi David, i think we are connected on fb. I added my quilt maple series bass to your thread in one if the alembic groups. My series short scale bass also has a stereo jack, though mine came with s stereo to mono jack cable but i never use it. I carry my small ds5 power supply in my gig bag. Hope you are still enjoying those basses.

[keith_h]

You have a mono jack. Here are some links related to the jack wiring, includes mono, and how to make a stereo to mono cable. To run mono you will need to add two 20K summing resistors. It is somewhere in the late 80's that mono became the default wiring mode or switchable.

Jack wiring (includes link to PDF with pictures):

https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=270.0
Stereo to mono cable:

https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=275.0