Alembic Jazz Pickups

[kmh364]

I've learned that with Alembic, with few exceptions, if you can dream it, they can make it happen!

[spose]

Hi!    
I have two Fenders equipped with Alembic Activators..the P bass in the pic had EMG's before the Activators were installed. I'd say the Jazz bass gets me way closer to my Series tone then the P bass. I feel this is about as fine as these Fenders can sound...although they are nowhere near the instrument that the Series bass is...installing the Activator systems made the Fenders useable to me.    
   
 
   
 
 
(Message edited by Spose on February 02, 2005)

[palembic]

Hi,
 
it was my plan to 'upgrade' broomstick with a Status fretless neck and Alembic electronics.
My dram would be to have 2 J's with the East meets West electronics.
Although I contacted  Mica to have a concentric volume/pan pot. Possible but to be custom-made, so not cheap.  
In that case  you would save some room: vol/pan combo + bass c/b + trebel c/b + filter + Q = makes 5 places and the JB only has 4 jack included.  
Now I think that it must be possible to make a side jack on a Fender JB. Than you have to look for a place for the mini-toggle.
I also don't know if there is enough room inside the cavity for those elctronics + a battery???
 
But anyway ...it IS a nice dream no to construct such a bass???
 
Paul the bad one
 
 
Mmmmm ... my  Frankenstein-project is Fender-pick-up related. I'll see if I can post some pictures soon.

[haddimudd]

Paul, that's a similar idea I had for my Fender. I wouldn't mind using four controls on the control plate and shifting the plug to the side, maybe even inside the strap pin (wasn't that even on the West meets East Featured Custom?).
 
On the other hand you could get away with even three controls if all of them were stacked knobs:
 
vol/pan, bass/treble and filter/Q (possibly push/pull)
 
Can't you even get the plug as a combi-plug the way as they come on some mixer inputs, where you'd have a female speakon w/XLR and standard jack input in one? This way you could probably get phantom power and balanced output if needed or just the standard phone jack.
 
I just believe the stacked controls can become uncomfortable so I probably would stay with a solution where I'd had as few stacked controls as possible, who knows.  
 
This is still a long term project for me as right now all my money goes into an epoxy job of my fretless Fender neck. Later I will address the pickups and electronics...

[kmh364]

East Meets West (as well as my Son of East Meets West) had the Switchcraft side mount jack, not throught the strap pin. I suppose Alembic could do a strap-pin job, but you'd need a cavity carved out behind it with a plate. The side-mount jobs take up a huge amount of room due to the robust commercial-grade construction of the thing.
 
There are a lot of things you can do on a Fender to customise the electronics, but you only have so much room under the pickguard/control plate. I'd be pretty skitish taking a router to any of my instruments, personally. Stacked knobs are an option, but boy are they a pain in the *ss to adjust on-the-fly when you're playing.  
 
Just my two cents.

[marcopolo]

ALTHOUGH MY CURRENT FENDER HOME BUILT DOES NOT COMPARE TO MY 77 SERIES I, IT PUTS OUT SOME EXCELLENT TONES. IT HAS GRADUATED TO TWO AXYS'
WITH EMW ELECTRONICS. THERE IS NO DENYING IT AMONGST ANY TYPE OF MUSIC. I LOOK AT IT AS A JAZZ BASS ON STEROIDS. YEP, DEFINITELY ON STEROIDS