Regarding all the pots and switches found on Alembics

[lbpesq]

In I may chime in again, I respectfully disagree with those who have stated that Alembics don't make you a better player.  I think they do in the sense that the clean, pure, strong signal of an Alembic will make bad technique more obvious.  I can definitely play a little sloppier on my Strat than on my Electrum.  The Alembic forces me to pay a little more attention to my technique which makes me play better!  I believe I've read others echo this in other posts.
 
Bill, tgo

[David Houck]

Blazer stated: I also saw footage of Jaco tearing it up and he plays a Fender Jazz bass, no elaborate electronics, no phase switches but 100% pure sound, no gimmics, just his fingers on the de-fretted board of his Fender.
 
100% pure sound??  No gimmics??  I respectfully suggest that you haven't listened to much Jaco Pastorius.  He often used huge amounts of distortion, especially on his solo; it would completely overpower the tone of the bass and result in this big metallic sound.  He used lots of reverb.  He used a tape delay.  Listen to Slang.  And he was constantly tweaking his tone.  Since his bass didn't have much in the way of tone adjustment, he was often going back to his Acoustic to adjust tone.  Watch the DVD for Shadows and Light or the jam session on the instructional video.

[kungfusheriff]

Forget who played what. This issue is down to the bone--what tool works for you, the individual player. My bass has eight knobs and I use them all, because, as 811952 said, those knobs effectively transform the timbre of the instrument, so I only need one.
I went through umpteen-milllion basses before I settled on my Series 2, and it does everything I need it to except dirty, but we have pedals for that.  
The key idea is, what allows you to speak what your heart feels that very moment? For most of us here, Alembic allows that (that's why we hang out here), never mind the number of knobs or how much the artistically-designed shapes neck-dive in real-world situations (much respect, Susan!). My cousin the guitar player loves Washburns, because they speak to him, and it's good he found something that did. For me, poring through endless variations of continuously variable Q and relative pickup volumes, plus the chronic over-engineering, allows me to express myself. I know I can get the sound I want, and the instrument won't fail.
I was just playing along with a CD I recorded 10 years ago and damn, do I wish I'd had Little Black&Tan then. My tone was great, but my inflection was lacking.

[richbass939]

I'd like to speak to the comments about players constantly adjusting pots and switches and guitarists' simplicity and purity of sound.  Have any of you seen Steve Morse in concert.  I saw the Dregs twice in a small, small venue.  I was 20 feet from him both times.  He had a customized guitar with pickups jammed solid from the bridge to the neck.  I was amazed watching him.  He was constantly hitting the pickup switch.  I'm not kidding that he would hardly play 15 notes without sticking his pinkie down to move a pot.  I understand that he is an extreme perfectionist who knows what he wants in his sound and his compositions.  
As far as a bass with two volume knobs, my main bass before I got my Epic has a volume for each of the two pickups.  I got used to using it but it's much simpler with the pan and volume.  When I would have to turn up or down it was tough to adjust them both and keep the same bridge/neck blend.    
Rich
 
(Message edited by richbass939 on January 14, 2005)

[dgcarbu]

blazer,
 
I respect your inquiry, I'm sure at one time or another, each one of us has asked the same questions, but Alembic is about unlimited creative expression and inventing different textures and nuances with the electronics installed on our instruments.  That's what makes Alembic an Alembic.  A lot of us alembicians also have other brand basses for their unique sounds, but they are limited to that unique sound.  It all boils down to personal preference.
 
Peace,
Darrell

[David Houck]

Rich; ... and he generally plays those 15 notes in less than a second  !!
 
Steve Morse is one of my favorites; I've been a fan of the Dregs since the first album came out.  And I've seen him and the Dregs many times.  Dave LaRue, the bass player for the Dregs and the Steve Morse Band, is a great player.  I just checked the website and they are in California all next week.  If you live near a show and you've never seen Steve and Dave, go!!!

[dfung60]

I realize this isn't the Steve Morse board, but just thought I'd chime in too.  I've played around with the Musicman Steve Morse guitar and it's really quite amazing all the very different types of tones that it will produce.  You've got to give Musicman some credit for being willing to build a number of models of very personally customized instruments for general consumption (the Morse guitar; their old Eddie Van Halen guitar too which was diametrically opposed as it only had a volume knob, no tone, and Eddie insisted that the volume knob say Tone on it!).  
 
Actually, I believe that Ritchie Blackmore hits the switch even more than Steve Morse does.  I saw Blackmore from up close in a club and he pretty much seems to flick it like an expression control at the end of every phrase.  Probably just habit - the interesting thing to me was that I could see very clearly as he selected different positions and I must admit that I couldn't hear the slightest change in his tone (much *less* than a regular Strat, but he was pretty heavily overdriven).
 
Can't think of many control-twiddling bassists - maybe Doug Wimbish when he's looping.
 
Technically, he's not quite the equal of Dave LaRue, but I greatly prefer the playing of Andy West, the original Dregs bassist, who played Alembic until his fairly famous switch to the very first Steinberger.  I believe he got together with Steve Morse because they went to the same high school.  Geez, it must be the water there - where I grew up we were challenged to play Doobie Bros songs (hey, Tiran Porter was occasionally another Alembic guy!) much less Cruise Control.

[David Houck]

I liked Andy West a lot too; especially that big grin!!  But personally I prefer the tone of fingers over pics, so I tend to prefer LaRue's tone.  But Andy did a lot of great stuff on those early Dregs albums.  And on the subject of effects, Andy used lots of effects and Dave's rack setup is huge.

[David Houck]

And of course while were talking about knobs on Alembic basses, there's always Phil Lesh.
 
(Message edited by davehouck on January 15, 2005)

[bassman10096]

I don't use all the adjustment my S2 electronics offer (much less the additional shaping in the SF-2 I play it through).  However (this is a big but!):  If I'm spending the kind of bucks my bass cost, I want plenty of room to grow, change my sound, look for tones and textures I don't use everyday today.  In the almost 6 months I've had my bass, I've been glad to have more latitude to work with more than once.  
Maybe a simpler set up is more efficient, a little easier to use(?) and fits every need of the particular moment, but I don't plan to buy another S2 any time soon, so I want the flexibility to make this one fit a multitude of needs.  I don't mind the complexity of the controls - it's not rocket science.  
 
Just my 2 cents.
Bill

[jazzyvee]

When I first got my SC Deluxe it is my first Aalembic and to be honest I was finding all these diferent sounds but couldn't find them the next time I picked up the bass. But perseverence pays off and now I can more or less get the sound I need quickly and very little tweaking after i get there.  
 
With my other bass Musicman Sterling I it's easy to get that crisp fender Marcus Miller type tone but not as easy to get exactly what I want. So I find I have to compromise.  
Having said that , before i got the Alembic i was satistifed with it. ... LOL
 
Now I'm spoilt for choice in sound.
Where i do find things a little difficult is getting exactly the same sound when recording. If I've been on a recording session with it and then do a gig in between I do find it quite difficult to get the same sound again. But I guess thats just about practice and familiarity.
 
Plus its funny when the engineer tells  you to turn the volume and tone on full and you try to explain to him that doesn't make any sense on an alembic. :-)
Just my 50pence worth.
Jazzyvee

[jlpicard]

Here's an interesting tidbit for everyone. I had the opportunity to speak breifly with Andy West right after his band performed at the 85' NAMM show. He was using the Steinberger at the show so I asked him point blank, why aren't you using your Alembic anymore to which he looked around and leaned toward me and said discretely, I still do! Make what you will out of that somewhat cryptic statement. Perhaps he had an endorsement deal going? Or was it just trendy and cutting edge to be seen with the Steinberger at that time? I happen to own an original Steinberger XL-2 and I'll tell you , This bass has a cool sound but compared to an Alembic?....HA!  

[bob]

I have a non-Series bass with 8 knobs and two toggles - and I wouldn't give up any of them.
 
It's a custom setup, and I'm getting close to saying more about that. One of the things I really like about it is that it gives me finer control over the tone, and makes it easier to reproduce the sound I want (or at least very close).
 
I play through an SF-2 straight to the amp (without a preamp), and most recently am using only one channel of the SF-2, because I have so much flexibility on the instrument itself. I don't really take advantage of the full range of sounds that it offers, but I love the ability to fine-tune in the area that feels good to me.
 
I'm not really ready to call myself a musician - I perform in my living room only, and there is rarely an audience. But I know that ultimately, the true sound is in the fingers, and Alembic construction allows this to come through.
 
The electronic flexibility is the icing on the cake.
-Bob

[Bradley Young]

Alright, Bob, don't hold out on us.  I'm dying to know.  All those knobs make my heart go pitter-pat.  =)
 
Brad

[bsee]

My guess is Signature electronics plus a bass and treble knob per pickup.