(x) Requesting help with information on 1985 Alembic Spoiler

[DDerek]

Hello,

I have 2 repairs needed on my 1985 Alembic Spoiker ( serial # is 85S3641 ). I was either hoping to get the bass repaired at Alembic or find out what the appropriate parts are to fix it locally. The questions I have are listed below. I’ve already posted in the troubleshooting section along with sending the question previously to Alembic 

1) What type of potentiometer is used for the volume pot? I need to get a replacement for that as it currently spins all the way around. Are they easy to get or can I purchase one from Alembic? 

2) I would like to find out what type/gauge of fret wire is supposed to be used . The previous owner had the bass regretted and it didn’t last very long apparently.

Thank you in advance for your assistance with this request .

Derek Farr
Derek_f2002@yahoo.com

[JimmyJ]

Hey Derek,

I apologize in advance for pointing this out  - but those are a couple great typos:  A "regretted" Alembic "Spoiker".  We know exactly what you meant and can see the neighboring keys on the keyboard.  Of course, now you can edit your post and make me look like a total goof. 

So as in your other thread on this subject, the consensus is that you could certainly source that volume pot and either replace it yourself or have somebody you know solder in the new one.  It should not be too difficult a job. 

Ideally you should contact Alembic and see if you can purchase one from them.  That way you'd know it was the exact right component.  That said, if you were able to take a close-up photo of the pot in question it likely has the markings on it which describe the exact part and you could search for it at Newark or Mouser or other electronics supply sources.  But try Alembic first - call and ask Mary or Mica.

I don't know what the OEM fret wire is but how bad are they?  Have you got buzzing problems and such?  Are you sure the can't be "dressed" or are they too far gone?  You'd need a good luthier or repair guy to help you answer that question.  But if they only look bad then just keep playing the bass until they really do start causing issues. 

Just my 2 cents...

Jimmy J

[DDerek]

Appreciate the response - apparently my auto correct on my phone is on overdrive and I completely missed the typos. Thanks for the suggestion on the potentiometer, sounds easy enough.

In regards to the fret wire - I took my bass to Mike Koontz , he’s the top guitar repair luthier in the Detroit area . I had fret buzz on frets 2-4 on the G string only , he made a neck adjustment but said it’s as good as he can get it without leveling the frets , and quite a few don’t really have enough fret left to make leveling worthwhile so it will be a problem in the future . The fret buzz is minimized for now, but as I plan on keeping this bass for the foreseeable future he asked me to find out if there is a specific brand / gauge used for the frets that were originally in the bass ( as opposed to what’s in there now , as it has been refretted before ).

[JimmyJ]

Yeah, auto-correct occasionally shows its humorous side. 

OK cool, so you're already talking to a pro about the frets.  I'm sorry I don't know what OEM wire Alembic uses but somebody in here will probably jump in and say.  If you decide to refret of course you could use whatever wire you choose and Koontz would probably have some suggestions. 

For me (perhaps only) this is one of these fine details which I've never even thought about.  What fret material, height, width?  I have no idea and no opinion.  The nickel-plated ghs boomers I've used since the stone-age seem to wear out before the frets do so that's all I've ever needed to know.  Ignorance is bliss.    

I'll stay tuned to see where this thread takes you and learn a thing or two.

Jimmy J

[jazzyvee]

I'm with you on that Jimmy, I had a refret done on my 89 Elan a couple of years back when i had it resprayed. I never even asked what the frets were nor do I know enough about the types to have a preference.

[DDerek]

I’m hoping that someone from Alembic can jump in to help, as the more research I do the more I get confused. My ‘79 Ibanez Musician has Medium frets according to my research , My Jaydee medium jumbo , and a few others have jumbo. My Warwick uses brass frets , but others I have are Nickle-Silver or stainless. A lot more options available than I originally thought which has me very curious what’s on my Alembic Spoiler so that I get the correct replacement .

[JimmyJ]

Derek,

Again, there is no "correct" replacement unless you're trying to "keep things original" like a restoration project - which in my opinion is a strange pursuit.  The "correct" fret wire to use is the one that YOU want.  You've already got several basses which use different fret wire so ... can you tell the difference and do you have a preference?  It's such a small part of the overall instrument (again, my opinion) that I believe it would be hard to discern the effect of using different fret wire.  I have 3 Series II fretted basses built of the same wood combinations, same dimensions, same electronics package, and they are each individually different.  They feel and play the same but they do not sound identical - at least to me.  That makes me thing there is more variation in wood than in the mechanical parts involved.

All that said, I'm sure there are folks who are very serious about using a particular fret wire.  I would not be surprised if we find out that your Spoiler originally came with "standard" wide, high, nickel silver (actually a copper alloy) fret wire.  So again I don't think there is a wrong choice here.  I understand some folks now like stainless steel frets which I'm guessing may hold up better against steel wound strings, for example.  But I wonder if that choice of metal, essentially the hardness of the frets, can ever be "heard" as part of an instrument's sound...?

I'm already learning a lot from this thread so keep it going. 

Jimmy J

[DDerek]

I appreciate all of your advice and help with this - and hope I haven’t been belaboring the topic. One of your last points really hit home with me ( my interpretation of what you said  ) what matters more is what I’d like on the bass versus what was on it originally ( odds are as the 3rd owner I was playing whatever was installed after the refret anyway). I’ll ask Mike Koontz to use medium jumbo frets as that’s what I have on the basses that i currently play the most and defer to his recommendation on material. I’m also paying a lot more attention before posting to avoid typos as well 😎.

Thanks again

Derek

[gearhed289]

Not to derail things too much, but I JUST got one of my Rics re-fretted with stainless steel frets. I use stainless round wounds (DR Hi Beams in recent years), and I destroyed my last set of new frets in less than 10 years. The SS frets are great. The bass MIGHT sound a touch brighter, hard to say. The feel is interesting. It's probably more to do with the great work this guy does (Scott Bond - Fat Cat Guitars, Elgin, IL), but there's an eveness all the way up the fingerboard that's hard to describe. They're pretty jumbo-y, and it's almost like playing on a fretless board. Like I said - hard to describe!

[mica]

I haven't had a chance to pull the file for your bass yet, but at that time we were using Dunlop 6150 jumbo fretwire unless someone ordered something custom.

The pot is a 10K audio taper (yes you can get a replacement from us). 1985 should have a 1/4" shaft, but it's possible it's the smaller 1/8" - can you see which one you have by taking the knob off?

[DDerek]

Thanks for the info. I’ll have to fiddle around with the volume and tone knobs to get them off - there’s two screws on each but the plastic in the knob is stopping them from coming out too far. In the meantime I took a picture of the pot , which I believe says “Grayhill 81073” on it

[JimmyJ]

Hey Derek,

The Grayhill component is actually the pickup selector switch and not a pot.  Is that the knob that's spinning?  If so then you may just need a new knob!  It could be a much simpler fix than any of us realized.

Any chance you could post some pics in here?  We love pics.  Start a note and click "Preview" instead of "Post".  Then click "attachments and other options".  Then "choose file" and navigate to the pic you want to attach.  You may need to resize them to comply with the "max 1000KB" file size and they won't "preview" until you hit "post".  Give it a try.  Not only would we enjoy seeing your bass but specifically the electronics cavity and the knobs that are giving you trouble.

Jimmy J

[DDerek]

Thanks Jimmy. I’ve got a few pics and yeah, I took a picture of the wrong pot last time. The correct pot appears to have black paint on it - I can make out …. 58 but the rest is difficult. I’m not sure if scraping off the black substance ( I’m guessing paint but I’m not really sure what it is , there’s isn’t any elsewhere in the cavity ). I’ll post a few pics

[DDerek]

Picture 1

[DDerek]

Picture 2