F-1x preamp jumper settings

[mpisanek]

I have just purchased a previously owned F-1X preamp (serial number 218712).  There was no owners manual with it.  I have checked on the web site and it appears that there are jumpers inside the unit that can be set to change the voltage that the unit will run on.  I checked inside the unit and yes there are indeed jumpers, but there are no indications as to how to set therm to run on either 220 or 240 volts.  The unit is marked 117VAC 60 HZ.  I need to set it to run on 230 VAC 50 HZ.  Is this possible?
 
Can anyone help me with this???
 
I would be most grateful to hear from you.
 
Regards,
 
MP

[palembic]

Hi Michael!
Hail the scotts.
Glad yo have you here!
It CAN be done!
I can only say:
You got mail.
And NO I don't want to meet you in a parc full of flowers under the shunshine when ther is a dog hopping around us.
But THAT is ad DEEP joke!
 
Paul the bad one

[mpisanek]

Paul:
 
Many thanks.  I hope this unit will enhance the sound of my bass.  86S3908, a custom 6 string with a series 1 body and a long scale that I bought from a man in Germany.  The sound is Awsome!!!
 
Preamp is now working great!!  Will let you know what I think.
 
Thanks again.

[bracheen]

Hello Michael,
It's hard to believe that Brother Paul sent you a message and didn't mention pictures.  Please feel free to post some of the bass and F1X.
I hope you've not been affected by the recent nasty weather.
 
Sam

[mica]

I've made a page with pictures of the various voltage settings. The appearance will be changing over time - it's one of the places I'm learning CSS - but I'll always keep the information there.

[mpisanek]

Thank you all for all of your help.
 
I know you like to see the basses so here it is!
 
The most noteable customization of this instrument is the narrow neck.  I have left a plectrum in the strings to show the width of the neck at the nut.  The scale is 35 inches.  The electronics consist of a volume knob, a knob that mixes the neck and bridge pickup, and a mid sweep knob that acts like the mid range eq knobs on a mixing desk.  The switch is like some sort of boost switch giving more emphasis on the low end.
 
The tone is amazing!  The low end sounds crystal clear, almost like a grand piano.  The high C string is pristine as well.
 
This is the first Alembic I have actually played and owned.  I am an Alembic convert!
 
Thanks for the warm welcome to this site!!  Hope to hear more from you.
 
May your kilts not rise when the cold wind blows!!!
 
Thanks again.
 
Michael.
 
 
 
 
 

[jacko]

Hi Micheal and welcome to the club.  
I also work in edinburgh although i live out in the wild west. I've had my epic 5 since 1997 and have a fretless rogue 5 on order. Maybe we'll bump into each other someday. (can't help with your original query though)
 
all the best
 
graeme

[mrfunkwool]

Nice ax, Michael.  
 
Mica, if your learning CSS..
I recommend getting a program like Topstyle.
Topstyle is free, and it makes editing
CSS much,much easier.

[palembic]

CSS ...?
Clarke Stanleys Shops?
Cesar Salad Sauce?
Cutting Sewing Sawing?
Club Salmon Sandwich???
Cut Saving Support?
Claw Sharpening Stone?
...
 

[mrfunkwool]

hmmm very close, PTBO
 
Cascading Style Sheets
They are used by web authors to make their websites have the same look and feel thru out their site.  Makes website maintenance easier.
 
yikes, this is begining to sound to muchh like work... okay, back to bass talk now.
 
So, what settings do peope like on the F-1X?
I've been setting bass-4 mid-4 treble-6.
and on my bass, dialing a little bit more for the pickup closer to the frets.
 
 

[adriaan]

Paul TBO, at last your poetic license finds its match! CSS is the mind-bending reality of the Cascading Style Sheet.

[lbpesq]

Michael:
 
 I can't really see the pick in the pic (heh heh, as Paul tbo would say), but it does look narrow for a 6 string bass.  If I didn't know better, I would think it was a guitar with very heavy gauge strings!  
 
By the way, the mid sweep knob that acts like the mid range eq knobs on a mixing desk is most likely a low pass filter, and the switch [that] is like some sort of boost switch giving more emphasis on the low end is a Q switch which gives a 9 db boost at the frequency at which the low pass filter is set. These are unique - designed and built by Alembic.  They are a completely different animal from any other instrument's controls.  They take a little bit of playing around to get the hang of, but once you do, you will find that the set up offers an amazing array of tone at your fingertips.  Enjoy your new bass, but be warned: Alembics are highly addictive.  Welcome to the club!
 
Bill, the guitar one

[David Houck]

Bill; that should be 8 db rather than 9 db for a standard two position switch.
 
Michael; Bill is right, your setup is apparently volume, pan, filter, Q switch.  The following is cut from a previous post:
 
Basically, the filter control is a low pass filter; as you roll it back it lowers the point at which it passes low frequency signals and blocks high frequency signals. To quote Mica, the range is from 350Hz-6KHz. Wherever you set the filter, only frequencies below that cutoff point are passed. The Q switch works in concert with the filter and provides an 8db boost at the cut off frequency you've set with the filter. When the switch is off you get a flat response up to the filter setting. Again to quote Mica, the Q affects mainly the attack portion of the note.
 
Mica; nice pics!
 
Jeff; for my S1, my F-1X is set at 5, 5, 5 1/2.  When I plug my six string Essence in, I drop the treble down to 5.  It's amazing how much of a difference there is between 5 and 5 1/2.

[lbpesq]

Dave:
 
Ooops!  My mistake. But what difference is one db among friends, anyway?
 
Bill, tgo

[mpisanek]

After playing with the F-1X for only one day I find that setting it around 5,5,5 seems to suit my six string best.  Above 5 on the treble the instrument gets extremely bright.
 
Are the electronics on my bass considered standard factory equipment?