Author Topic: 1st Alembic - Tribute - :-) (Read 704 times)

andrewknight · « **on:** November 28, 2004, 01:37:32 PM »

After many years of admiring from afar, I came across a Tribute on eBay that I had to snag. Luckily I am close to the previous owner so shipping is avoided. I am so stoked I can't stand it and really feel like this guitar will inspire me to new levels of playing. I could say a bunch more but stating the obvious state of happiness I have right now is enough. I'll talk more later as I experiment with my new treasure.

Glad to be here!

Andrew

bracheen · « **Reply #1 on:** November 28, 2004, 03:00:50 PM »

Hey Andrew welcome to the club. I must say you upper register guys are popping up all over. Congratulations on the guitar. Please post photos and don't wait for the uphoria because it won't.

Sam

andrewknight · « **Reply #2 on:** November 28, 2004, 03:31:55 PM »

Sam,

Thanks for the welcome! I think the upper register should be well represented here. I am really excited by this guitar. I've beat every sound I like from every guitar that I like other than my Taylor acoustic. This guitar just rocks and should be getting a lot of attention.

lbpesq · « **Reply #3 on:** November 28, 2004, 09:38:41 PM »

Hey Andrew:

Congratulations on your new Tribute and welcome to the club! There are a few of us six stringers lurking hereabouts and the more the merrier. By the way, I was watching your axe on e-bay - are you really joyfulgirl001? I think someone's got some 'splaining to do. I smell a good story.

Bill, the guitar one

tom_z · « **Reply #4 on:** November 28, 2004, 10:47:40 PM »

Congratulations Andrew - your Tribute looks beautiful. Welcome to the higher regions of the club. Enjoy the incredible tone and amazing versatility of your guitar.

Tom, another guitar one

andrewknight · « **Reply #5 on:** November 29, 2004, 12:32:42 AM »

Bill,Tom,
Thanks for the welcome. I brought the tribute home, plugged her in and found that I am going to spend countless hours exploring the tones of this guitar before I ever put an effect on it. I am a pretty lazy effect guy anyway and I have to tell you that when I was playing around with Brokedown Palace and the pickup combos and tone controls I hit some chords that almost made me cry because it played with the subtle strength of Jerry. I could not be happier. I looked at Joyfulgirl (my wife, Sherri) and said I'm right there (sweeping my hand to show that I was beside myself). She thought that was funny.

Anyway, I have some new and better pics for you all. The flame maple of the body is tremendous and I just really couldn't be more pleased. Have I said I'm happy? Oh yes, I must have.

The story of why Joyfulgirl bought this guitar: pretty simple really, she has a paypal account because she bids on and wins auctions on eBay from time to time. She has bought things like Patrick Roy action figures (we love the sport of hockey and she is a goalie nut and Patrick might be able to steal her from me (not really)).

Recently I finished building her an art studio as she is into lampworking (using a torch to make glass art). She is really happy with her studio, and pretty darn happy with me and she told me that although I doubted whether I was worthy of such an instrument that she felt I deserved it not only for who I am, but for how much Jerry meant to me.

Stories...yah, I like to tell 'em. Hopefully you all like to listen ;-) If not, it's easy to skip on by my posts. Here's a few pictures for your trouble:

darn...they were too big and I'm too tired to mess with making them smaller images...I promise to come back with them later...or if you really want them, simply let me know and we'll figure out a way to get in touch.

Andrew

mint_bass · « **Reply #6 on:** November 29, 2004, 03:37:54 AM »

Hello Andrew

welcome to the club indeed the more guitarists the merrier i find that the guitarist are always full of vuseful information and insight i am glad you are happy with your guitar no wonder judging by the picture.

Andrew MB

lbpesq · « **Reply #7 on:** November 29, 2004, 08:09:56 AM »

Andrew:

If I understand correctly, and my sluething is accurate, you not only bought the Tribute yesterday, but immediately drove from Sacto to San Jose to pick it up! If this is true, you are a man after my own heart. As you will discover, Alembics are an entirely different beast - the approach to the tone filters and other controls is nothing like anything else out there. As you get to know your baby, you may have questions. Please fell free to post them here. You will find that this club is inhabited with a great group of people who love and know alot about Alembics. And we all are only too happy to share.

If you post the serial number, Val or Mica from Alembic will look up the file on your instrument and post the build info - woods, electronics, build date, etc. You should also go to the registration area of this site and register your guitar. You will find that Alembic truly supports used equipment as enthusiastically as new. By the way, where is the flame maple, on the back? The top, the part showing in the picture, is cocobolo, an incredibly beautiful tone wood that is a member of the rosewood family and grows in Mexico and Central America. Hang around here and you will learn all about this stuff. Enjoy your Tribute and let me sign off by whispering SF-2 in your ear.

Bill, the guitar one

andrewknight · « **Reply #8 on:** November 29, 2004, 10:14:20 AM »

Bill,

The flame maple is the body wood between the cocobolo...the meat of the sandwich shall I say? The neck also has it.

Your sleuthing is correct. I had to wait some agonizing hours to drive down there as I waited for the seller to give me a call back.

The seller was the first owner and it came with it's wood card:
Serial 02T12813
Date completed: July 20, 2002
Top Lam: Coco Bolo
Back Lam: Coco Bolo
Accent wood: maple & vermilion
Body wood: flame maple
Neck woods: Flame Maple, cherry, purpleheart

etc...

It'll be great to talk to people about the guitar as I am getting used to it. The tone variations are huge and sometimes just shocking.

SF-2 eh? ok :-)

Thanks,
Andrew

lbpesq · « **Reply #9 on:** November 29, 2004, 10:28:17 AM »

Andrew:

The SF-2 is a rack mount superfilter that Alembic makes. It's sort of like having Series electronics in a box. The tone shaping provided by this unit is almost limitless. As you check around this site you'll find lots of raves about it.

As for the wood, the cocobolo is so outstanding that I'm surprised you even noticed the maple sandwich innards!

Anyway enjoy. I picked up my first Alembic this past summer. My custom Further is scheduled to be ready by April (I hope, I hope). You lucked out. Alembic guitars are rare as hen's teeth on e-bay. Well, I'm off to Key West for the week. Life's tough, but somebody's got to do it.

Bill, tgo

andrewknight · « **Reply #10 on:** November 29, 2004, 11:30:53 AM »

Bill,
I was looking at the rackmount gear for the past few years or so. I was looking at the F2, but it seems you think the SF-2 would be more useful for me.
Andrew
Have fun in Key West, I get to go to Dubai next week...a different kind of warm place.

andrewknight · « **Reply #11 on:** November 29, 2004, 11:35:14 AM »

Bill,
I was looking at the rackmount gear for the past few years or so. I was looking at the F2, but it seems you think the SF-2 would be more useful for me.
Andrew
Have fun in Key West, I get to go to Dubai next week...a different kind of warm place.

andrewknight · « **Reply #12 on:** November 29, 2004, 01:40:19 PM »

As promised, more pics sans decal. i posted them in the showcase.
Andrew

lbpesq · « **Reply #13 on:** November 29, 2004, 04:23:07 PM »

Andrew;

I just checked out your pix in the Showcase section. I see what you mean about the flame maple - WOW!!!

The SF-2 and the F2-B are very different animals. The F2-B is a stereo preamp based on the preamp section of the old Fender Dual Showman. You use it with a power amp. The SF-2 is more of a super EQ type of gizmo. While you can use it as a preamp, the preamp circuit is relatively basic compared to the F2-B. Most people seem to prefer using the SF-2 (you can bypass its preamp stage by plugging in through the back) in the effects loop between the preamp and the amp, if your amp has such a loop. (I play through a Boogie Mark III which has an effects loop). The SF-2 allows you to get just about any tone your can imagine, and a few you can't. But you might want to take your time and get to know your Tribute first before rushing out to add new variables to the sonic equation.

Bill, tgo

andrewknight · « **Reply #14 on:** November 30, 2004, 06:54:29 AM »

I do believe my PA has that function, but I'll have to go check it out. I am using a Mackie FR M-800 PA with a small Mackie 1202 mixer. I'm pretty new to the electric side of things and I'm far from a gear head. I have been cheating and just using a one tool does all effects toy between the guitar and the mixer. It's a Korg. My son bought himself a nice Fender amp and I find that the sound is far superior to my set up. I feel that what I'm missing is a decent preamp and that the Korg, while nice and flexible does not put out the best sound. I was going to try a good preamp in the rig first, and then see what I need for sound shaping later. Of course, now that I am playing a guitar that has such nice tone I feel I need to get stuff that takes advantage and adds to it.

The reason I purchased what I have is my acoustic right into the mixer sounds great. Nice and pure with no changes to the sound on the way through (well...minimal changes). I like that and am happy with it for the acoustic. The other reason I got this set up is that I wanted to be able to plug in the Roland drums, keyboard, bass...everything all at once.

Alas, it seems like it's time to start adding to this to support the Tribute better than I can today. There...knowing all this would you still say go for the SF-2 first? Maybe I should move this thread to the thread about rigs.

Andrew