I decided awhile back that my next bass would be an all-maple essence. I've been playing an Epic for 13 years, and I wanted to get something that was different enough from the mahogany-bodied Epic that the Epic wouldn't gather dust. It's also my first neck-thru, and my first bass with an Alembic filter. I played it last night for the first time and am really digging it. It's awfully pretty, and the sound is totally different. Brighter, as you'd expect, but the filter is almost like having an envelope filter in the bass. I find that when I dial in that sweet spot I can get really cool and expressive filter tones. Then switch where I'm playing on the neck, or crank just one or another pickup, and a totally different tone. Re-set the filter for that sweet spot again, and another, totally different sound. It certainly has a much different range of sounds than the Epic, although the Epic will still see use for that real mid-range punch and perhaps the ease with which I can dial in a more 'normal' bass tone. I am taking the liberty of posting the prior owner's pics here, hope he doesn't mind. In person, in my dim living room, the finish is more subtle, less bright blossom and more groovy maple waves. Whatever that means. Anway, enough blabbering, on with the pics.
