My live set up

[Michael DeVincenzo (jlpicard)]

I currently have a'98 Europa and an '86 Distillate
that I run through an Eden Traveler head w/ an Alembic SF-2,(TONE MONSTER!!!)in the efx loop.These run into two Euphonic audio cabinets;
a VL-208 and a VL-110.If your like me and you don't want to sacrifice your back in the name of great tone,Try these cabinets! BIG,WARM, ACCURATE,tone that fits in the trunk of your car.Of course, this is due in no small way to the Alembic instruments and electronics ,I'm sure, but this set up is very versatile and seems to bring out the best in my basses.I often have complete strangers approach me on a gig and comment on the incredibly clear yet powerfull tone and then ask what brand of instrument I'm
playing.After I tell them, they almost always reply....are you ready?(how many of you have had this same experience?)....OLYMPIC?

[Jonathan Johnstone (stoney)]

Yep, my favorite is...Oh, yea, Olympic, I've heard of those! (jeeezzz, gimme a break)

[Kris Stewart (elwoodblue)]

hehe,
...my brother tho he's played my alembic's for hours at a time still says  Olymbic ...at least he's gettin' close.
  I even saw a memphis guitar on ebay as an Olymbic copy.
...maybe alchemy should be a required subject in elementary(pun not intended) skule.
; )
 peas,
kris

[Rob Rybak (essenceman)]

Hi, there. This is my first post, though I have been playing an Alembic for 3 1/2 years. She's only an Essence 5 with a bocate top, but she's beautiful and she's mine! Like Michael I play through a Euphonic Audio rig, but I use an EA head as well - monster sound, but able to carry a cab in each hand!!

[Michael DeVincenzo (jlpicard)]

Hey Rob, I totally agree with you. The EA head is absolutely fantastic! Very warm and  uncolored sounding. In fact,I'd like to replace my Eden head with an EA but I have this goal in mind to add a series II to my Alembic family so I must curb my tendency toward extreme  cases of GAS!!  In the mean time my SF-2 goes a long way toward helping the Eden sound just right.( No offense Eden fans,My WT-300 is a wonderfull amp. I 've used it reliably for years.The EA is just......better!)If you've never tried one, you will be amazed at the quality and quantity of tone in the  
Superfilter. With just a small tweak of a knob or two,you can quickly and radically change the character of your amp. I consider it an indispensable tool  and unlike most gear, I could never forsee the day that I would part with it!     Mike

[Rob Rybak (essenceman)]

Hi Michael, the EA head and cabs compliment my Essence sound like no other combination I've tried - I'm happy with my basic sounds. I've been contemplating buying an SF-2 for some time now. Can I take it that your comments are an endorsement of the Superfilter? Rob

[Michael DeVincenzo (jlpicard)]

Rob, Absolutely! I believe that the Superfilter is the most musicaly usefull tone shaping device I have ever come across,far better than any equalizer. I use it mainly to compensate for varying room acoustics which I'm sure you know, can wreak havoc with your sound.I play mainly with my Europa which is mono so I run the SF-2 in mono through the effects loop in my Eden.The first channel I will set as a lowpass filter and vary the frequency control from 100 hz to maybey 350-400 hz depending upon whether the room is boomy or thinning out the sound and I need more punch or definition. I try to make sure that the low end character of my sound is well defined and tight before I add in any high end color to my sound.I don't like to rely on having to boost highs or upper mids in order to cut through a mix.The Superfilter works very well for this. I use the second channel in a more traditional tone control approach to dial in a nice crisp alembic snap  for my slap tone. I set the filter type to highpass an run the frequency knob all the way up which I believe is around 6.5k(not sure, I tend to forget about the numbers silk-screened on the front panel and just let my ears guide me) The primary character of my sound comes mainly from the onboard controls of the Europa which I change often depending on the song,much to the continued annoyance of the sound man!These settings are just my preference but I must warn you ,the possiblities in this unit are endless! You can tweak on this thing for a long time. Also, check out the Preamp page on the Alembic website for more info on what makes this unit unique. Then go get one! Mike

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

First to Rob,
my friend take some advice: there is never only when you talk about an Alembic. So skip the only with an Alembic Essence. It's a tremendous responsive instrument and what you'll make out of it is up to you!
Welcome here!
To Michael: I'm goin to take the words about the SF-2 very seriously. As soon as I can spend the money I'll go for that device. Ideal for me would be together with the F1-X and a Poweramp but that's for the even farther future.  I'll combine it with my SWR SM-400. I've read on the board from someone else that he uses the SF-2 with that amp vcia the send/return effect loop on the back of that amp. Seems to work very well.
The reason why I'm so willing to get one now is that you described it as very usefull in varying tone depending on room-acoustics, We had a gig last saturday and it went really bad. It was partly me (in a bad mood I guess) but also the space was just shit (acoustic-wise) and trhe place they've set us was really bad, I was i a kind of boot together with the drummer. Our guitarplayers outside this boot. Can you imagine...bw?rk!
CU

[Rob Rybak (essenceman)]

Point taken, Paul.
But, the little green-eyed monster tends to rear its ugly head when you read about people's Series Is and IIs. Having said that, my Essence looks, sounds and plays like a dream. The range of tones is unbelievable - for anyone out there playing an Essence, I would recommend buying and installing a Q switch. It simply opens up another palette of sounds.
 
Michael: you've sold me on the SF-2. Thanks, I think!!
Rob

[Michael Paskel (Mikey) (pookeymp)]

I think I'm sold on the SF-2 as well...
Hey Mike...you're doing a great job selling this thing.
 
Hey Paul...
your SF-2, F1-X, Poweramp definitely sounds like the way to go.  That's also my plan for sometime in the future.  I'm currently using the Eden WP-100 Preamp/WT1000 Power amp setup.  Can be a very nice sounding amp...and can be a not so nice sounding one...all depends on how she's setup.  The problem is that there are so many tone controls on it, and moving 1 can drastically change your tone, and normally I don't have much time (if any at all) to play with my sound after setting up.  Usually I'm tweaking as I'm playing...so I feel something a little more straight forward like the F1-X would work better for me to get my starting tone right...and then use the SF-2 to fine tune and play with my sound.  Hopefully I have the right idea here.  Or am I just being lazy with my Eden.
 
Mikey/

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

That's why I like you Mikey: we're just two lazy guys with too much knobs to tweek ;-)
So let's step outside and buy such a metal-bass-thing with just a volume knob. Well ... hey MICA isn't that the ultimate Alembic ... a bass with just a volume knob ;-)
P

[Charles David Tichenor (alembic76407)]

That sounds good to me too !!! knob, sliders and switches drove me crazy, I didnt get a good sound most of the time, so I sold everything and got a amp with less knob, sliders and swithes, now I get a good sound most of the time. One volume knob,WOW what a concept, where do I sign up!!!
 
David T
PS: It would have a BIG knob

[Michael Paskel (Mikey) (pookeymp)]

WOW!!!  Imagine That...Just one big 'ol volume knob...I'd actually get to focus on playing the right notes...I'm liking this more and more.
 
Mikey/

[Michael DeVincenzo (jlpicard)]

Hmm, Two SF-2's sold with only one post. Maybey I should go to work for Alembic! Hey Mica, need a rep in the Salt Lake area? Actually, when I believe in a product or a company a strongly as I do Alembic, it's very hard for me to contain my enthusiasm,so I apoligise in advance if I get carried away!
 Hey Mikey! No, you're not being lazy, just logical.One of the great things about the SF-2 is that there is a great deal of tone shaping power in relatively few knobs so quick changes become easier and repeatablity is not a problem.
What we're really talking about here is the whole Alembic approach to tone shaping.We tend to percieve the overall tone of our basses( or anything really)at a frequency or set of frequencies that have the greatest amplitude.We'll call this the resonant frequency.Herein lies the beauty of a low pass filter.As you turn the frequency knob clockwise on the SF-2,(or any Alembic with a filter control)
You move that resonant freq. higher,the result being the bass sounds first middier,then brighter.So with the movement of one knob you can dial thru all the possibilities! Adding the Q switch just increases the amplitude of the resonant frequency while narrowing the the range of affected frequencies to either side.( visually it looks like a sharp peak rather than a gentle bump in the EQ curve) Now,add the second frequency
control and Q switch and you can dial in anything from the most nasaly Jaco mid to a total smiley face response curve with ultra lows and glass shattering ( and eardrum shattering) highs! Impressive control from two knobs and two switches! And I haven't even covered the fact that you can vary the overall gain of each channel of the SF-2 and change each filter from low pass to band pass or high pass.Tweaker Heaven
or pinpoint tone shaping power.It's all in how you use it. I hope that helped rather than confuse.I've omitted a few things along the way to better communicate and shorten the length of this long winded post. Mike

[mica]

Thanks for spreading the word about the SF-2. It's such a different product, it isn't obvious at first why it's so darn cool. But it's one of those things that once you have it, you wonder how you got along without it.