A word on feel and sound of the new bass:
Well, I've played it for a day and a half now and have some observations to share if anyone is interested.
Basses I have played in the past include a 5-string American Deluxe Ash Fender Jazz and several Yamaha TRB series, primarily TRB5II. The neck of the Alembic was an amalgam of the two basses actually, using the front-back depth of the Yamaha neck (didn't have to change anything but it is thinner than the Fender), the nut width of the Fender Jazz bass and something approximating the Alembic classic taper (narrower bridge). I thought because of the narrow strings at the bridge that my right hand would have the most new learning to do, but my left hand would be basically comfortable.
What actually happened is that the left hand is didn't even have to adapt to anything and the right hand adapted almost instantly to the narrower strings. Biased of course, but this is by far and away the most comfortable instrument I've ever played. After the first 30 seconds I knew there would be no trouble with playing the show with it.
The action is very low which I requested. It needs a slight truss rod adjustment to eradicate some buzz on the low B from the 5th fret down, but the buzz is so slight I'm not really messing with it right now. We'll let it get used to Ohio before we decide to monkey with anything. The action is really soft - the Alembic strings have plenty of movement in them and they bend easily for vibrato and expressiveness. The top of the neck is the perfect width for me and I play it much easier than my Fender. All 24 frets are easily reachable with a comfortable grip.
The feel of the bass is hard to describe. It is completely solid and firm - like it's carved from a single piece of wood and like that wood is very dense. Dead spots on the fretboard seem basically nonexistent. There is a slight reduction of sustain in the normal spot (G-string 5th / 6th frets) but nothing like most other basses I've played. Besides, the general sustain on this bass is so much greater than anything I've played that I imagine even the 5th fretted G would probably out-sustain an open A on some basses.
The sound produced by this instrument should be registered as a weapon. The lows are unbelievably full and the highs are absolutely crystal. I play through a GK biamped set of cabs with horns, 1x18 and 2x12. The EQ is completely flat but I do add a touch of contour which very slightly hypes the lows and highs. When you open the filters all the way I imagine you could break glass with the harmonics. I have a home recording setup and will put some sounds down for you all to hear. The output level is HUGE on this thing. You must hit the -10db input pad on the GK or it will easily distort.
The control layout is a little tighter than I'm used to but I absolutely love the four-way pickup selector switch. Getting the separate volumes to the right levels for balance is a little tough because of the huge effect it has on the sound. A tiny adjustment can make a huge change to the character of the tone, so you want to get it set properly for what you're trying to do and leave it. The pickup selector switch lets you do that by having the off position.
The pickup setup is something I haven't seen before. The bridge pickup is much closer to the strings than the neck one. I suppose this is in order to get equalized volume from both when in stereo mode but don't know yet (don't have the cables to play it in stereo yet).
The side LEDs are very bright. Easily visible in all lighting conditions. I could imagine a dimmer switch feature in Alembic's future!
Overall craftsmanship is outrageous. Everything looks like it was melted together. The bridge looks like something you could use for surgery. The one complaint I have here is that there is a very slight rough spot on the side of the fingerboard above the first fret. You can't really see it unless you put it in the right light but if you slide your hand across it you can definitely feel it. It is probably not something I will seek to correct as it is so minor.
Also, the tailpiece has a brushed look that I didn't expect. I decided against the gold dip on the remaining hardware but did expect a polished brass instead of the brushed look. I don't know but it looks like it will tarnish easily. If it does I will probably have it plated if possible.
Anyway, those are my immediate thoughts. Lest there be any doubt I love my new bass!
Regards to all,
Jim
P.S. Anyone have news on Mica is everything ok there?
