Author Topic: Yet One More Stupid Question (Read 341 times)

kmh364 · « **on:** November 30, 2005, 11:19:22 AM »

Is a Series I supposed to ship with the stereo/power supply umbilical cord with the DIN's on each end as std. equipment? My new Series I didn't come with one and I was told it was optional. As it's a $11-12K bass, is dependent on an included outboard power supply to function for more than a day, and the cable is not available through normal music store channels, I'm flabbergasted to think it's optional. I also understand it's over $200 to replace it. Is any of this true or is my leg being pulled?

mica · « **Reply #1 on:** November 30, 2005, 01:29:52 PM »

A new Series I and II ships with power supply, 5-pin cable, and 2 Switchcraft jumper cords so you can start playing right away.

A new 20 foot 5-pin cable is $190.

Did the power supply box contain the jumper cables and warranty card fo rthe DS5R?

kmh364 · « **Reply #2 on:** November 30, 2005, 02:36:39 PM »

Hi Mica,

The power supply box had the packing material(s), the DS-5 itself, the IEC power cable, and had the warrantee card, nothing else. The jumper cables(?) and the 5-pin cable were missing.

I've only been able to play the thing briefly via batteries and can't verify if the DS-5 is functional.

I just got it a little more than a week ago and due to the Holiday week I haven't mailed either warrantee card in yet.

dfung60 · « **Reply #3 on:** December 01, 2005, 12:27:05 AM »

Wow, bug that dealer right away.

It seems like a lot of shops pull the accessory packs out of everything and throw them in a box. When you buy the guitar and you point out that this stuff is supposed to be in there, they give you (usually the wrong) set or try to sell it to you. Grrr...

It's hard to believe that any dealer would do this on a bass like this (did you get it at Guitar Center? :-) ). But they owe it to you, and that cord ain't gonna connect up with anything else in the store anyway. And tell them that your Alembic doesn't come with an Epiphone strap!

If you had a Series II, the LEDs wouldn't have lit up in the neck unless you had the 5-pin cable. I guess they'd try to charge you extra for that as well.

kmh364 · « **Reply #4 on:** December 01, 2005, 05:47:25 AM »

The dealer is replacing the umbilical, but as for the patch cords(?) I'm on my own.

The bass was sold to G Guitars where it sat behind a glass case for a year or so. It was wholesaled to Trevor Lindsey, who is a personal friend of the Wickersham's, a former Alembic clinician, and apparently, a dealer. He put the thing on EBAY, and I made a deal with him privately. Somewhere along the way, the goodies in the PS box vanished. Not sure who's fault it is, nor do I care to assign blame. Trevor's been very cool to deal with and is attempting to make this situation right.

H*ll, while it is an unecessary inconvenience, I paid less than half of the bass's pre-'05 former MSRP for a new piece, so having to buy some cables is not a real big deal.

kmh364 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 01, 2005, 05:52:07 AM »

While we're at it, how are you supposed to wire this thing up? Do you plug the umbilical into the DS-5 and then take the signal from it to the amp, or do you also have to use the 1/4 phone plug? Does it have to be a stereo cable?

I'm soooo confused, LOL!

I feel like you gotta be an Electrical Engineer to hook one of these things up and use it! Oh, wait a minute, I AM an E.E., and I still don't know what I'm doing, LOL!

palembic · « **Reply #6 on:** December 01, 2005, 06:17:52 AM »

Guitar via umbilical --> DS5-R frontside --> switch DS5-R to mono and choose the front bass/mono out with jumper phoneplug --> amp in. When playing with PA use back of DS5-R bass/mono 1/4 out to go direct with jack/jack cord to the soundmixconsole input. In case you want to play stereo: DS5-R on stereo. Use the two front outs with junpers to the two inputs on the stereo amp. Beware: bass/treble is to understand as neck PU for bass and bridge PU for treble.
Enjoy the puzzle!

Paul TBO

kmh364 · « **Reply #7 on:** December 01, 2005, 07:00:12 AM »

Ok, I'll bite: so what in God's green earth is the 1/4 jack mucking-up the top of my bass for? Collecting dust? LOL!

palembic · « **Reply #8 on:** December 01, 2005, 07:19:12 AM »

OK ...I'll haul!
On old Series that 1/4 jack was only wired for mono = bass = fingerboard PU output. I THINK on later version it could be wired for giving output for the 2 PU tough not stereo.
Why that plug?
Toplay without the DS5-R what in fact is the AC/DC transfo too! Reason: the series PU are single coil but low impedancy. Given the fact that they are huge they drain batteries VERY fast! I think playing a gig with only the onboard 2 9v batteries gives you an autonomy of ...4 hours!
Also in early days the side-leds came from the same battery pack. That drain even quicker! I believe LED's are -for sure on non Series- on a different battery pack.
So that front jack ...I use it at home on my eeny-teeny-weeny Danelectro practising amp. On stage ALWAYS DS5 or DS5-R.
I know at least ONE brother who NEVER puts batteries in his series.

Paul TBO

811952 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 01, 2005, 07:27:17 AM »

Kevin,

I have on occasion put batteries in my Series I and plugged in stereo headphones when I was bored. I would never consider leaving them in there, though. On my old (1981) bass it's a stereo jack, and the pair of batteries is alleged to be good for up to 40 hours of plugged-in time. My LEDs only work when I'm plugged into the power supply.

If'n I were you, I'd simply buy the cable (Belden 8424 I think) and connectors (Switchcraft A5F and A5M), make the cable and build a power supply (I think the schematics are on this site somewhere, +9v and -9v to the bass) until you save enough nickels to buy the OEM unit, if you so desire. As my OEM ps was appropriated some years ago, I'm using a home-built unit that fits in a small Sony camera power supply box. For several years I had a custom stereo tube preamp with an integral power supply and jack for the Alembic. Your options are wiiiiide open, my friend..

John

(Message edited by 811952 on December 01, 2005)

dfung60 · « **Reply #10 on:** December 01, 2005, 10:09:02 AM »

kmh -

The patch cords are nothing fancy, just short versions of the normal 1/4 mono plugs.

The 1/4 jack on the bass is there in case you don't have the 5-pin cable or power supply. You'll also use it if you want to run wireless. On your bass, it's probably a mono output with both pickups summed. On old basses it's a stereo jack but the most common complaint when people go to try out a Series bass for the first time is that when you plug a regular mono cord in, you'll only hear one pickup (usually the bridge pickup). If you are using the 5-pin cable, then you don't need to plug anything in here (in fact, you probably don't want to to save battery life). If you are always using the power supply, then you don't need to have batteries in the bass.

The onboard electronics are great but not designed for low power consumption. A set of batteries will last only about 30-40 hours (and you'll be painfully aware of this if you use your instrument with a wireless transmitter).