Collector or Player?

[lbpesq]

Hey, ever notice how many of these threads, taking many convoluted paths, wind up at beer?
 
Bill, the guitar one.

[malthumb]

I have 5 basses.  Two Alembics and three other very nice small luthier customs.  I have gigged with all but my newest custom.  And I will gig with that when the situation calls for it.  Most gigs I take my Series II 5 string and another bass (usually my fretless).
 
The fact that I have 2 Alembics and 3 other small luthier basses is evidence of a collector gene in my DNA, but I play everything that I collect.
 
It may be true that in many of the venues I play, the crowd would not be able to freely discern whether I was playing an Alembic or a P-Bass, as long as they like the sound.  But if I switched mid-gig from my Series II to a P-Bass, I think most people WOULD notice a difference.  Most people think Wendy's hamburgers are pretty good, but if they took a bite of a Wendy's, then a bite of a Fuddrucker's, they'd recognize a significant shift in quality levels. Most people only deal with the burger that's on their plate at the time.
 
Peace,
 
James

[jlpicard]

I have 12 gigging basses including three Alembics and one or two others in various modes of modification/construction,( I like to build  my own when get a little spare time now and then), but I find that unless I'm doing a gig that someone has requested something very specific, I find that I cannot stop myself from using my Alembics ALL THE TIME! My basses all sound great sitting around the living room,but once you get used to the way the Alembics sound and respond live, you begin to realize just how superior these basses really are and that they are worth every penny that you've invested in them. For me, once I've been spoiled, there's no going back! The sound in my head is now in my hands.... What could be better?  Mike

[alemboid]

Funny,
 
If the guitar player showed up with a '59 goldtop Les Paul (worth about $60,000), the sound man would say, cool. If the drummer showed up with Ringo Starr's original Ludwig drumset, the sound man would say, cool. If the keyboard player came in with... you get the idea. Why is it that bass players are told what's cool to play, let alone prejudged by what we pull out of the case?  
 
Play your Alembic, it DOES make a difference, and louts like that sound man are losers that are doing sound because they can't play bass.
 
Alemboid

[bassplaynmatt]

Bill,
It is possible to make a living playing you just have to deal with the ebb and flow of work. There are times when one or two gigs will bring in enough to pay all the bills and put strings on both my basses (with two 6 strings that's saying something) and then there are times when I make enough to eat until the next good gigs. Of course things like steady weekly gigs and a few students help keep the balance. In fact if you read well and are willing to play many styles of music you can work and save enogh to put an Alembic into your bag of tricks. Granted my first was an Epic and my current Elan/Europe is second hand. But considering my Alembic and my Roscoe cost as much as a decent used car I'm quite proud that playing bass paid for those basses. You do have to make sacrifices to play music and have killer gear. Some players sacrifice and get a real job, others like myself sacrifce and take the gigs your given even if the sound man is an asshole  
 
I am only 25 so no kids yet to support. However, my wife is a classical clarinetist so helping pay for her Masters degree (not to mention a $6000 Bass Clarinet) counts for something. In the end we all do what we can to be happy so I guess I'm just saying that if anybody else out there is trying to do this crazy music thing for a living I solute you!
 
Later, Matt

[bob]

Bass clarinet - cool. The world needs more of them, thanks for helping her out.
 
Your devotion to music is truly admirable, wish you the best. The fact that you found someone who shares your interest is auspicious.

[lbpesq]

Matt:
   
     I wish you luck and truly hope you find your dream, whatever it may be.  You are obviously serious and determined, (or very lucky), to have acquired the funds necessary to obtain your equipment at your age.  My experience is that most rock musicians are stretched to get $500 together for a decent  mid-level Fender.  It has always amazed me how relatively cheap guitar players can be.  For example, as a clarinet and sax player from long ago (grade school and Jr. High - I gave it up when I discovered electric guitar and girls.  My misfortune, I have since come to realize that sax is the sexist instrument there is, but I digress), I suspect that the $6000 you spent was not even a lot for a good Bass Clarinet, yet most guitar players would laugh hysterically at the thought of spending that much on a guitar.  
 
    We here, of course, know that people sometimes spend a lot more for the best.  I am amazed at how many famous guitarists  continue to play their Strat/Tele/Paul/SG when they can afford any guitar there is.  The daring ones might play PRS or Parker.  I know there is a significant difference between Alembic and these other instruments.  Heck, I've been playing a '61 Strat for almost 30 years.  I have several other classic guitars.  They're all great instruments, but the first time I brought my Alembic into rehearsal, even the drummer commented on the great tone.  I guess what I'm saying is that whoever you are, professional, weedend warrior, or bedroom rockstar, if you are fortunate enough to have an instrument as fine as an Alembic, and you don't use it, you should have your head examined.
 
Bill, the tired guitar one

[4u2nv]

Do you take your wife or girlfriend to a really bad place , i think the same way of my basses, i love to play them, but sometimes you have to pass in certain gigs where your axe is in danger.
 
 Also about soundmans, ...damn!!!!, where we can find one , of  80% of the gigs i played, all the soundmens are friends of the dj's , or just people who doens't know how to handle a mixer, and never had read a book about mixing; so also that's a turn off, beacuse you take your beloved bass to the gig and this guy doesn't do justice to your sound; so i figure it out in this cases: The more we drink, the better we sound lol.
 
 More beer!!!
 

[lbpesq]

Back to beer, again!!!!
 
 
 
Bill, the guitar one.

[kayo]

Matt
 
I have struggled with the issue you have raised -  
 
I do not have accumulated wealth, and can't afford an arsenal of Alembics so that I can have the luxury of having a set of elite gig axes, as well as a set of  workingman axes on an Alembic scale.... I only have one - and it took me so long to save for (notwithstanding the negotiating with my wife that a $4K+ expenditure on a bass was not a stupid thing to do) - that I don't have a choice but to use my one and only bass for all gigs.  
 
Over time my outlook has changed - initially I would never have used my Rogue for most gigs - now I that I have had it for 5 almost 5 years, I would never settle for less.  I suppose that if I had a larger budget, and a sufficient number of instruments - there may be those that I use more sparingly (along the lines that if I had a sedan, a sports car and a station wagon, the sports car would be used the least)...
 
Having been spoiled by the robust and ouststanding craftsmanship of Alembic I could not really go back to playing $1,000 instruments... they don't have the action, the quality, the beauty nor the sound to maintain my now ultra high standard for playability.
 
If you can live with the reality of perhaps getting a few more nicks on it than you would get if it never left home..... then I would suggest that as long as you are happy playing it and are not too paranoid leaving the house with it - that you indulge yourself liberally with playing your Alembic to your heart's content.

[811952]

The Alembic goes to every gig.  Period.  Even if I don't play it because I'm playing my cheap Dean 12-string or Lakland or whatever.  If it's safe enough for me, then it's safe enough for the Alembic.  I've got a lovely wife, 2 kids, 4 cats, 1 dog, 2 goats, 1 pony and a mortgage, and I want to live to see them all another day, so I don't spend time in places where I might get stabbed or shot anymore.  I took the Alembic to those scary gigs as well.  I think folks would be more inclined to steal a Fender bass, though, because they know what it is.  And as for beer, I try to only play bars that serve something dark and heavy on tap (like Black Toad or Champagne Velvet Bock), because they tend to have the happiest clientele...  Just out of curiosity, how many of you guys have seen someone get stabbed, shot or murdered at a gig?  It gives you a whole new perspective on booking gigs...
John

[bassplaynmatt]

Wow...... I'm glad to say that I've never seen anyone killed on a gig. Although, I have wanted to kill a few people I've played with before (mostly singers for starting songs in different keys and neglecting to inform the rhythm section)  
 
Matt

[811952]

Matt,
We used to have a bar in Terre Haute called The Spinning Wheel, but which was lovingly referred to as The Stabbing Wheel.  When the local economy goes steadily down the tubes for 50-plus years, people tend to become violent, especially when plied with cheap alcohol.  I haven't played many bars in Indy, but used to play in Bloomington a bit back in the day..
John

[bassplaynmatt]

Well, as long as the Bluebird has been around here in Bloomington I'm sure someone's been stabbed and/or shot. As far as Indy is concerned I play more jazz clubs then rock clubs up there so most of my experiences have been mild to say the least. Aside from drunk yuppies at The Chatter Box things are usually pretty calm. Hey, you didn't happen to catch the most resent Indy Battle of the bands on the local Fox news channel? Me and my Alembic were playing with a local song writer named Jenn Cristy. She toured as part of John Mellencamp's band and now she's doing her stuff.  
 
Matt

[stoney]

One stabbing in a bar in 1979...a counrty bar, in fact. The victim was a patron, not a band member. My 62 jazz bass and I were out the door in a flash. Didn't own an Alembic until the late 80's. I'm a player.