Author Topic: I found an 83 Distillate...thoughts? (Read 664 times)

bigredbass · « **Reply #15 on:** December 07, 2012, 11:01:36 PM »

IF it's as clean as it looks in the posted pics, $1400 with the flite case (hauling it around in that will get old quick, but great to have), that's a DEAL ! Get it. Now.

Maple over mahogany for me is the best 'do everything' wood recipe. The mahogany warmth accented by the maple (and the purpleheart lams) is very useable in a lot of situations. Later trade the AXY's for FatBoys. Nice and compact in short-scale, it will NOT sound like a short-scale axe.

The biggest no-brainer I've seen in a long time . . . IF you like it.

J o e y

sonicus · « **Reply #16 on:** December 07, 2012, 11:44:05 PM »

Congratulations ! You have found a great deal _____It would be prudent to purchase this bass ____

wylie_j · « **Reply #17 on:** December 08, 2012, 02:50:03 AM »

I had the same bass but lost it in L.A. end of a tour I was heart broken for months till I got another one I always wondered where it went.....the case was like this big without wheels which im sure ur gonna have a lot of fun taking through airorts.....ha ha ha!

terryc · « **Reply #18 on:** December 08, 2012, 08:32:41 AM »

Nice maple top and a bargain too.
No good for blues and R'n' B...absolute bull and I heard a similar comment last night at my mates gig.
Bass player had a Musicman..'Nice bass' I said. He replied..'The best ever' I had to comment..'Not as good as mine'...reply 'What have you got?' 'Alembic' I reply..his reply..'No way is it better than this bass..too busy!'
Hmmm....his had four controls as well..maybe he didn't know how to use them!
I guess it takes all

Bassman8416 · « **Reply #19 on:** December 08, 2012, 05:27:56 PM »

I picked the bass up today and love it. I am learning the tone controls etc....Want to put new strings on....any suggestions(string-wise) for the music mentioned above? Also how do you folks do the strap, I am having a little neck dive action. Thanks again for everything!!!!

David Houck · « **Reply #20 on:** December 08, 2012, 07:13:11 PM »

I've never owned a small body short scale, but the standard suggestion as I recall is to rest your right arm on the body.

I haven't read through it, but there's currently a discussion of short scale strings in the Misc section; and I imagine a board search would turn up a number of similar discussions as well.

hieronymous · « **Reply #21 on:** December 08, 2012, 08:41:41 PM »

Also, try a wide strap, suede or something like that. Like this?

Very psyched that you got the bass!

Regarding strings, the Stanley in my pic is strung with D'Addario Chromes (flatwounds) - although a lot of the Alembic image is of Stanley Clarke and a very bright sound, actually Phil Lesh and Jack Casady were much earlier and they used flats (Pyramid strings) - might be fun to try.

Chromes tend to be on the bright side as far as flats are concerned. TI Jazz Flats are renowned for their sound as well as their low tension. LaBellas are pretty traditional. Rotosound flats strike me as very high tension. I just put GHS flats on my Fender - it's long-scale, but they struck me as a bit lower tension than the Chromes that it came strung with.

Definitely check the thread moderator Dave linked to - short scale strings may not cut it, depending on the brand. Also, rounds may well be fine - the mighty Alembic filter may well allow you to fit in to any situation!

jazzyvee · « **Reply #22 on:** December 09, 2012, 03:30:56 AM »

I've found the arm rest on the body as the best solution and now don't even notice the neck dive. I think after a while the correction for it becomes automatic. Straps with suede on the inside I have found still neck dive but drag your shirt as well so becomes more uncomfortable. I use plain leather now.

Jazzyvee

keith_h · « **Reply #23 on:** December 09, 2012, 05:03:30 AM »

As far as the neck dive I have found that my small bodies naturally settle with the neck around 3 o'clock. To keep the neck at a more natural feeling 1-2 o'clock I have found playing the bass higher up on the body helps. I play mine a little higher on the body than what Harry shows in the picture above. This tucks the body under my arm. I also use a wide strap.

For strings I use Alembic CX3 short scale strings but those appear to be hard to find at the moment.

Keith

Bassman8416 · « **Reply #24 on:** December 09, 2012, 08:13:10 AM »

I took the bass on a gig last night. I do have a wide strap etc, rested the arm. It was just a struggle all night. I am going to continue to work on it. Its such a beautiful bass, visually and tonally. I simply does not feel comfortable when standing and playing. I got the bass hoping it would be a main gigging instrument. The jury is still out but I may not have done enough research on shortscale Alembics. I guess the other alternative may be getting a Rogue...or a longer scale Alembic.

sonicus · « **Reply #25 on:** December 09, 2012, 09:49:44 AM »

HI bassman8416 ,

I think that there might be a few Small Standard Bodies floating around with Medium Scale necks & Long scale. Are you sure your newly acquired beauty is short scale ? Measure from the string nut to the bridge saddle on the E string OR string nut to the 12th fret X2.

pauldo · « **Reply #26 on:** December 09, 2012, 09:58:56 AM »

Contact Rich; THIS will help solve your neck dive problem.

Bassman8416 · « **Reply #27 on:** December 09, 2012, 10:27:26 AM »

It measures out to be a little under 31.

keith_h · « **Reply #28 on:** December 09, 2012, 12:38:43 PM »

Craig,
A short scale would be 30.75 inches which is what you have. If you are coming from a Fender or similar bass it will take a little bit to get used to a small standard body as they have different playing positions.

With Fender style basses the bass and neck are more or less parallel (i.e. flat against) to your body. With the small body the playing position is at an angle to your body. Trying to play a small body with the same angle as you a Fender style bass will feel uncomfortable and even with the short scale the first position will feel out of reach. To repeat what I said above, playing the bass higher up on your chest will help a lot with the neck dive and getting a better playing angle.

Keith

mike1762 · « **Reply #29 on:** December 09, 2012, 02:11:09 PM »

Craig: with more playing time you will adapt to the bass, but I feel your frustration. I have a SC that has some pretty serious neck dive and a BB that is not quite as bad (the body is thicker and thus heavier). The trade-off of the challenging ergonomics for the Alembic tone is worth it for me. However, I had to get rid of my Series I Standard point because it was simply unplayable (for me). Not only did it have neck dive, but I could barely reach the first position. The Small bodies and the Standard Point styles have a very short upper horn, so the strap attachment points are fairly close together. The further up the neck the strap button is located, the better it will hang and it will tend to ?pull? the first position toward you. If you look at the hardware on most Alembics you'll see that there is a fair amount of real estate between the bridge and the butt of the bass. While that translates to better access to the higher frets, the end of the neck will be that much further out. The Balance K design remedied this ergonomic quandary nicely.