Jimmy "Flim" Johnson

[bigredbass]

. . . . 'eyeballing' it with the trusty steel ruler, it looks like the skinny side of 1/2, inside shoulder of the B to the inside shoulder of the E string.  Again, mine is built on Alembic's Classic taper.  
 
Remember that when it comes to a build, there's 'custom with a little c' (standard features they already have templates for, etc.) and 'Custom with a big C' (something completely unique to your axe, as in 'Sure, we can make you a doubleneck that looks just like the Batmobile') where the latter can be much more $$$ and time than the former.
 
J o e y

[keith_h]

Rusty,
Obviously I'm not Jimmy.  
 
My last Alembic cable used Belden 1192A for the cable. Personally I like Canare and use their L-4E6S cable for my own cables. The Canare is a bit more slinky than the Belden. Both of these use braided shields. Mogami also make a quad cable but I believe it uses a spiral wrapped shield which I don't care for.  
 
As for connectors I use Neutrik gold plated 5-pin XLR's.  
 
I've had good luck buying my stuff through Markertek. Prices are decent and I've not had any problems finding what I need.  
 
Keith

[rustyg61]

Thanks J o e y! I spoke to Susan last night about string spacing on a Classic Taper & she was going to have Mica spec them out & send them to me. I think that is the neck I would be most comfortable with. It is slightly narrower than my Schecter which is 2.694 at the 24th.
 
I have also become aware of the differences in the little c & big C options. I'm waiting on pricing now for some additional options I want!

[rustyg61]

Thanks for the info Keith! I'll look into ordering the parts to build me an extra cable.

[rustyg61]

Keith, I just looked up the Canare L-4E6s cable & it is a 4 conductor cable, what do you use for the 5th pin?

[rustyg61]

Keith, I just looked up the Canare L-4E6s cable & it is a 4 conductor cable, what do you use for the 5th pin? Mica's wireing diagram shows 5 conductors - http://club.alembic.com/Images/16271/106683.html?1307664475
 
Do you use the shield for the black conductor?

[rjmsteel]

Rusty,
 
I had 5 pin cables made up for me by the fine folks at Best Tronics Manufacturing (Guitar Cable.com). I had them produce two cables to supplement my OEM cable from Alembic. They made up one eight foot and one twelve foot long cables, with one end at a right angle, of flexible materials (insulator) and have been working great for two years now. I use the short one most of the time going from my floor rack mounted DS5R or the DS5 box placed anywhere.  
Contact Jim at Guitar cable (in Tinley Park, IL) and mention that he made the cables for Rich's Series Alembic if you're interested in going that route, (they were very reasonable), he should remember. I can call him if he doesn't.
 
Best Tronics
 
Rich

[JimmyJ]

Wow, I look away for a minute and I miss all this action!
 
I have deep respect for Marcus, Victor, Mark King, Larry Graham (the guy who may have started it all) and everybody else who can really play using thumb technique.  I just never got it going myself so it's not something I can bring to the party?  All good though!
 
I'm still using Belden 8424 to make cables.  (Yes Rusty, the shield is the 5th conductor.)  For connectors I use Neutrik black w/gold contacts.  Even the basses have Neutrik jacks.  Not cheap parts but they've been very reliable and I don't often need to make new cables.  And if I make them myself there is nobody else to blame if they break.  Ha!!
 
Happy 1000th post Rusty!  You're way ahead of me.
 
String to string spacing?  I've just been looking at mine and it seems that at the bridge 7/16 is about what I've got from the edge of one string to the edge of the next.  But the funny thing is, on my live bass I've only just discovered that the spaces are not consistent.  It seems the B and E strings are a bit tight and the G and D are a bit wide.  And it's not center to center either.  I've been playing that bass since ? 1989? ? and this is news to me, which is rather embarrassing!  HA!  I sense a visit to HQ and possibly some new saddles in my future??..
 
Carry on everybody.  Good luck with the new build!
Jimmy J
 
(Message edited by jimmyj on October 23, 2013)

[rustyg61]

Thanks Rich! I found a 100 roll of the Canare L-4E6s cable Keith suggested on EBay for $54 & the connectors are $7 or $8, so I can get 4 25' cables for about $30 each if I build them myself.
 
I feel like I'm hijacking Jimmy's page here with my discussion, so if you have any other replies concerning my new Europa or cable, please post it on my Europa thread -  
 
Thanks!
Rusty

[rustyg61]

Hey Jimmy, thanks so much for the reply! It seems you & I were replying at the same time when I posted my last reply, so I hadn't read yours yet. I used to make all my own 1/4 cables & mic cables, so the 5 pin should be no problem. I do want to have at least one spare, & possibly a couple of different lengths for different size stages. Where do you get your Neutrik connectors from? I did a search for right angle 5 pins & it pulled them up but the picture shows a 3 pin connector.
 
Sorry to embarrass you with your string spacing discovery, but I'm honored to be the one who made you discover it! LOL! I'm sure Susan can fix you right up with new saddles.
 
Sorry for temorarily hijacking your thread, it wasn't my intention. I have redirected my discussion to my thread.
 
Rusty

[jzstephan]

Jimmy, now that you are aware of the spacing, you'll always play that bass with suspicion, even after 20 years of playing it like it is. Time for a trip to the mothership!

[rustyg61]

 
 
(Message edited by rustyg61 on October 23, 2013)

[bigredbass]

OK, so now back to a Jimmy question:
 
Since you've certainly had your five axes for this long, and played them in so many circumstances, do you have any insight as to why this one is a 'live' axe and that one is a 'recording' axe?
 
Lots of guys who've never done much recording (certainly includes myself) have never thought about this.  Here in The Nash I've known more than a few guys who spent lots of time in studios, and have 'recording' and 'live' axes:  A favorite axe they've played out with many times just doesn't record well, and vice versa.  And not just solid-body electrics:  I had a friend who was a terrific fiddler who had violins (incidentally, several were five-string viols, with a low C) with pickups that sounded fine plugged in, but stank up the joint 'unplugged', they were too dampened.  Conversely, he had symphony-grade violins he'd record dry thru the AKG he carried that just sang, but were entirely too fragile and alive for an electric stage.
 
What have you found over your time behind the wheel?  Does James run across this as well, he obviously KNOWS his box guitars.
 
J o e y

[JimmyJ]

H e y  J o e y,
 
Here's a pic of the 3 fret brothers so we can play spot the differences.  Ha!  From left to right; studio, live, and practice.  
 
Their characters?  
I would have to say the studio bass has the most open and natural tone of the 3.  Something really nice about the top end and just the overall sound across the whole range of the instrument.
 
The live bass has a darker sound BUT it has a stronger low B string than the studio bass, I've never known why.  There have been occasions when someone sends me a track which is all low Ds and Cs that I'll opt to record it on this bass.  I've also used it for tracking while on the road.
 
The practice bass (yes, I know that's an insane concept!) is just not quite up to the level of the other two.  A little uneven.  A little ? spongy?  I carry it as a backup on the road and there have only been a couple times when I've used it on the gig.  Otherwise I use it as my daily player to keep the fingers moving.
 
I know you're not supposed to have a favorite child (don't tell the others)  but I really do like this studio bass and tend to want to leave it home in the closet as opposed to handing it to TSA and the baggage handlers.  I'd hate to lose the live bass too but somehow he seems more tolerant of travel.  It's not quite the same as using a Stradivarius in marching band - violins and uprights are a different world all together.  
 
I believe JT has 3 main Olsen guitars which all come out on the road.  Sometimes he's out there playing it in the rain!  The guitar tech does a great job of looking after our axes on tour.
 
thanks for the gear chat,
Jimmy J

[mtjam]

Nice trio, Jimmy!