Forty Five Years Of Alembic, And What I Have Learned

[cozmik_cowboy]

I am going to have to play devil's advocate I am afraid.

I love Alembics and they have a superb build quality and tone (and I do include the Epic in that evaluation) but there are many other bass guitars that also are superb. A good Fender P or J bass, a top of the line Yamaha TRB, a Rick 4001, vintage Musicman stingrays, vintage BC Rich Mockingbird and Eagles, even the lowly Peavey T40 are instruments that easily come to mind. Shun me if you want and I am not denigrating an Alembic in the least, but I am no purest.

I would compare this to various cars; all are a comprimise in some way, designed to fill a certain need at a certain price.

Had I the funds to be the collector that my heart tells me to be, then, yes - I would have '59-'65 P & J, 4001 (checker-board-binding ers, please),  500/1, Les Paul Triumph, Hagtrom 8, Starfire - but that would mean I also had money for an Alembic, and while I would have the others, when moved to embarrass myself in the nether regions of the audible spectrum, I would play the Alembic..........

Peter

[sonofa_lembic]

  Yes, the choice of frequency is done with the tone pot.  The Q switches are for db boost.  Sometimes my brain fades writing all this stuff.  Heck, I left something behind at two gigs this weekend.  Getting old not only hurts, it is embarrassing. 

[jazzyvee]

One of the things I have learnt about my time as a musician is that playing music with an instrument you absolutely love and connect with makes the whole personal experience enhanced. In my case in my teens I always wanted to be a bass player after being exposed to the bass playing of Aston Barrett. But it was in my early 20's ,whilst a guitarist, that i was introduced to the music of Return to Forever, and the alembic name in in the capable hands of Stanley Clarke. His dexterity and ability to create bass sounds and tone was totally different to anything else i'd heard. And I knew then that I wanted a bass with that range of tonal dexterity and my desire to be a bass player would happen when I owned an alembic. That happened in 2002 when i got my SC signature bass. I remember calling Mica with the serial number from the shop and her telling me it was a signature deluxe. However what I didn't realise was that it was not the same model that Stanley Plays. That set me off on a series shorty bass hunt and the distracted acquisition of a few alembics models along the way, upgrades of electronics and rigs to allow the basses to sound their best.

Thankfully i am confident that owning alembics has NOT made me a bass snob and hope that I come across as a passionate owner more than anything else. In terms of bass I hear around me on record and gigs, or bass choices others make definitely not. However when it comes to buying basses for myself, i would find it hard to take a non alembic bass on any gig or recording session. I'm not a pro so have never been asked to bring a specific bass to any gig or to join any particular band. I'm also acutely aware that the genre of music i get to gig most does not require a bass of alembic calibre to sound great, but i try to shape my tone so that it fits with the general tonality of the era when a particular track was recorded, rather than just being just heavy on the bottom end of the bass and lacking definition. That said there are times when you want that PFAT dubby sound which is where the SF-2 comes in.

In the past 10 years or so my bass strategy has been to get the alembics I really want whilst i can afford them. Retirement from my day job isn't too far away so not having to think about finding the cash to buy them at that time will be a relief. I guess depending on my gigging opportunities i may even scale down. Shock Horror.  Waffling over, time to start my day.

Keep these learned experiences coming in.

[sonofa_lembic]

I can relate.  I remember the frustration I had trying to play along with Stanley Clarke albums before I owned an Alembic.  I could play the parts and solos....(even when I set my turntable to 45 to really test myself), but I never could achieve the same tonal character.  When I bought that first 1977 Series I, it all came together, and my practicing sounded just like the tone on the record.  I had many experiences over the years like this.  One day I was hanging with Louis Johnson, and he got all excited when he saw my Alembic bass.  He proceeded to tell me where he liked to slap on the fingerboard to get the best response from the bass, and that helped me to sound more like his playing on Strawberry Letter 23.  Then there was Jimmy Johnson's playing on the New Pants album or his session work with Richard Page and Third Matinee.  Having an Alembic was critical to even starting to attempt what Flim does.  To this day, his skills completely allude me, (but I never give up trying). 
As to bass snobbery, it just isn't a factor.  When your ears tell you the sound is right, you go with it.  Just because it happens to be the sound an Alembic uniquely offers, you can not be condemned for owning one.  Nothing else does what it does, so you have no other option.  You do what you gotta do. 

[FlyingV73]

I will go ahead and say it, (and he might not like it lol) ..,  I think Trevor should be the brand ambassador for Alembic. He is such a humble and nice guy, who is a killer player! I have known him for over forty years and no one has the knowledge the chops and the passion like he does for Alembic. I was 13 when I got my first Alembic Distillate from him. His ability to bring out the tone with the way he plays the bass is unique. Hearing the Stanley records, The Brothers Johnson etc it really hit me like the first Van Halen record. Something special and unique is going on with his sound, that Alembic sound.

I agree with what he is saying about the level of craftsmanship and sonic qualities these instruments have, that are unequalled in my opinion. My mind is always blown when I see his Alembic's, and hold and play my Alembic's. I remember walking into a shop in Hollywood in the 80's, and finding a short scale Series 1 with a narrow and repaired headstock. I did not want to let it go and was worried someone would see it and want it.
 So I played it for like three hours in there, and ended up getting a great gig from a guy who walked in from next door. That instrument could have been one of Stanley's. It was $700!!  I of course was super stoked and bought it, and got that gig the same day! It started my career in LA.
I played it through Trevor's Demeter Pre-Amp which i got from him years before and he got back years later!
 Alembic has always set the bar in my mind, and there is a lot of truth to what he said. I try to take a little of Trevor's style with me in the studio with my Alembics.
  He still kills me when we are hanging out and he will put down one of those vicious runs! "I'm always like... huh..? I got to learn that!"

I liked this post cause that is who he is, and captures the ethos of the brand perfectly. 

[sonofa_lembic]

You are too kind Rob.  Remember that original commercial from Subaru all those years ago?  It could be transposed to read "You meet the nicest people playing an Alembic". 
I have to say that the Wickershams have been true family for most of my life, and they have always listened to what I had to say all these years.  The same can be said for every person who ever worked there that I was involved with (other than Mike G), and I always felt welcome and an integral part of the process. There was a lot of mutual respect going on, and that is something very special, especially when a genius like Ron, who is light years beyond my value to humanity, takes the time to ask with sincerity what I am hearing or experiencing with the instruments and electronics.   The same goes for Susan asking me to design the Element acoustic guitars. She had faith in me and has taught me to have more faith in myself.  Also when Mica calls to ask me to help Flea in his quest for a new Alembic, to document John McVie's 1973 Series I, or to help any Alembic customer in their time of need.  The twenty-one years I travelled to shows as Alembic's clinician was the best time of my life, and I will never stop feeling grateful to the Wickershams for how they took me under their wing, and gave a kid a chance to take part in the finest instrument company on the planet.  As much as I love Alembic and its people, I do want to make it clear that none of what I have written in this thread was influenced by a sense of obligation to Alembic.  It is based solely on the final product and what it does for me and my playing.  An Alembic instrument is everything I have stated, and let me be clear, if it wasn't, I would have walked away from them half a century ago, and without a doubt, my life would be significantly less rich and satisfying as a result.  Owning an Alembic goes way beyond just the joy of a great instrument.  It also welcomes you to a family that can make you feel like you matter, and which can enrich immeasurably what little time you have here on the Earth.