Hiho! Owner of 2 Alembic Geetars

[edg]

Hi everyone!   Just thought I'd finally register here.
 
Mostly I just want to thank the people at Alembic for building the most awesome, kickass, most incredible guitars on the planet!
 
I got my Further about a year and a half ago new in a store.  I really liked it when I played it, but it wasn't until I got home and put it through its paces on my equipment that I went OMFG!  And my jaw just dropped.  I swear.  I was bowled over.
 
Before that I was a longtime own of a Gibson L5S (I now have 2), and I thought it couldn't get much better.  I had to add a few notches to the top end of the scale when I got the Further.
 
Several months later a won a bid on ebay for a Li'l Darling.  I believe it is one and the same as Joey's Custom Darling on the build pages here.
 
Pics of those and my other stuff at:
 
http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b364/MrSteed/Guitar%20Gear/
 
I try and tell people Alembics are the best guitars money will buy, but few seem to believe  
 
-edg-

[tom_z]

Welcome Ed. Very nice collection of gear! Glad to hear you're enjoying your Further and Darling. I see you have a G-System. How are you using it with the Further? Also, I'm particularly interested in your assessment of the reverb on the G-System (with Alembic, or other guitars). I've been considering adding a G-System to my rig but I've been getting mixed reviews.
 
In any case, it's great to have another guitar player around these parts.
 
Peace
Tom

[edg]

Hey Tom,
 
I like the G System a lot, but I'm no power user by any stretch of the imagination.  I generally just pick some of the canned settings I like and mostly just use those effects (like reverb) that sit between the preamp -> amp effects loop of my THD amp.  I'll use the Further with it pretty much just normally plugged in.
 
I like using the Further's FX loop more with my other setup which is to loop it with a BOSS GT-6 and then plug into my Torres Boogie Mite.
 
Sorry, can't really give you anything indepth about the G-System.  I haven't even done the software update yet which I think you pretty much need in order to save any settings reliably.  
 
-edg-

[lbpesq]

Ed:
 
Welcome to the club!  As Tom says, another guitar player is especially welcome - we are a distinct minority around here, but stick around and you'll find the nicest bunch of bass players one could ever imagine - some of them even have knuckles with ground clearance!  LOL  (Sorry guys, I had to take my first shot of the new year.  You all know I'm just kidding and I luv ya all).
 
Nice collection.  How do you like your Phigas?  I have a Casta - the light colored one just above Bob Weir's on Phil's website.  Mine is a very interesting guitar, but the neck is like a baseball bat - way too thick for my tastes.  How are the necks on yours?  I also have two Alembics - '76 Series I and an '83 Electrum, as well as several guitars with Alembic guts and a Custom Further in progress.  I agree with you - Alembic guitars and electronics are in a class by themselves, but most guitarists have blinders that filter out anything that doesn't look like a Gibson or a Fender.  
 
You may not realize it, but you Further isn't stock.  It has one of the nicer upgrades, IMHO, with continuous wood backplates instead of the stock brass.  Looks much nicer and saves a little weight to boot!
 
Bill, the guitar one

[edg]

Thanks!
 
I like the Phiga's a lot.  Not in the same class as the Alembics.   The Tiger is a sort of poor man's Tribute.  The quality is really good, but the electronics are rather noisy.  I need to have it looked at and eventually I'd like to just rip them out and put in all Alembic stuff  
 
The neck on the Hybrid is definitely different than on the Tiger and Zen (which I think are both the same neck).  I'm not sure if Phil changed all his necks at some point.  I liken the Tiger and Zen necks to an aircraft carrier deck -- wide and fat.  I like them, but I'm not always in the mood.
The Hybrid has a much thinner neck.
 
I got the Further at Guitar Showcase in San Jose.  They actually had two in stock.  This one had custom on the tag which I think meant the backplates, Birdseye maple and LEDs.   When I checked them out in the shop I liked them, but I really needed to think about the price over night.  I got it the next day.  Really, it wasn't until I got it home and drove it through my equipment that I realized what I had there.  My jaw literally dropped.
 
Hey, guys with BOTH Almebics and Phigas!  What're the odds of that!?   But, don't get me started on Phil, he promised to fix a defect in the Tiger (the Tiger oval plate has a crack), but he basically lied and ignored his way out of it.  I finally gave up.
 
-edg-

[lbpesq]

Ed:
 
If you live in or near San Jose, we have something else in common - I'm in Oakland.  I've never dealt directly with Phil as I bought my Phiga from a private party off of ebay.  I did email Phil with a couple of questions about it and never heard back.  I read several reviews of his work that mention his flakiness.   If you are this close, I HIGHLY recommend a field trip up to Santa Rosa.  The folks at Alembic are the best - they will treat you as if you just bought a $50,000 custom direct from the factory.  It's a blast to see how your guitar was built and there are always a few interesting instruments on the wall to play around with.
 
Bill, tgo
 
(Message edited by lbpesq on January 04, 2007)

[edg]

Cool I used to live in Oakland up in the hills.  I'm now in Burlingame.
 
Maybe I'll head up there, it's not exactly on my beaten track.  I was going to drop off my Further there for a trussrod fix on the way up to Mendicino, but I shipped it instead.
 
Hey, are you on the Harmony Central Forums too?   You now seem familiar.  I think I once exchanged some email about mini tube amps from someone who lived in Oakland.  Probably someone else though...
 
-edg-

[paulman]

Ohhhh, so you're the one who swiped the nice Phiga Tiger a few months back .  That one has the nice inlay work ont he back of the body too doesn't it? Very nice.  I also have a Phiga Bolt, and an Alembic Skylark.  
 
I too am a Further user, and also a G-System user.  Interesting to see someone's on the same track as me, welcome to the board.  Rock On!

[edg]

It might have been me    I think it was about 6 months or so that I got the Tiger from ebay direct from Phiga.   Yeah, it has a wood plate with the inlay on the back.   It's nice, but really no match for the Further.

[the_8_string_king]

Welcome to the club, Edg.  Nice pair of Alembics, there.  I especially like the Darling... that's what it is, right?
 
It certainly is interesting how ignorant people are of Alembic guitars -even more than the basses.
 
It's almost like a secret or something.

[the_8_string_king]

Oh, duh, now I see you explictly identified it as a Little Darling.  Sorry, I missed it.

[lbpesq]

Ed:
 
No, not me on the H-C forum.  I'll have to check it out, though.  I do use H-C all the time for the user reviews.  We currently live in the Oakland Hills, Montclair section.  Next time you should really make the trip up to Santa Rosa.  No shipping worries and you'll be well rewarded for the journey.
 
Bill, tgo

[edg]

Well, there's a couple of things about Alembics:
 
1) They are VERY expensive.
2) It's very rare you'll find a store with any in stock so you can try one.
 
While I was eyeing some over the net, I never pulled the trigger until I walked into a dealer that I was lucky enough to find had like 5 in stock.
 
It was actually trying one that sold me on the price being worth it.
 
Of course you can find something like a Custom LP or Strat that approaches or exceeds the Alembic price.   When you compare those to an Alembic, they aren't even in the same ballpark.  But they sell because people are more comfortable with the name brand.

[chuck]

Alembic is not a name brand
 
Chuck

[guitarbeau]

Ed, Welcome to the club.  
 
- Michael