It looks like everyone here has got a habbit of telling a bit about themselves, their Alembics, their gigs, rigs etc. So here is a little story of me:
Once upon a time (I always wanted to start a story with that), somewhere in the mid-eighties I was looking around for a new bass. I've had many, but still was looking for that special one.. In a small shop in Holland I ran into Alembic. Never heard of, and they looked very strange from all the aother basses I've had. I could not resist to try one, and at first I had to get used to that weird neck. But then that sound, that feel, that sustain. It overwhelmed me. I went home, and counted my savings and made up a plan to get as soon as possible as much money as I could to buy one of these basses. Not much later I ordered my first Alembic. A Spoiler with an original body style. It became my partner in crime, everywhere I went, she went. Just a few years later I ran into a Series 2, and I couldn't resist it. I bought it, and sat all night in my livingroom with the lights off, and the lights on the neck of my series 2 on. The series 2 is a great bass in the studio, but on stage it always was a big puzzle to me. You must know, I'm a big control freak. And the series 2 has so many controls, and sounds onboard. Instead of playing bass, I could stand on stage in a corner, playing my parts and turning and tweaking my sounds all night long. To make it short, the series 2 was just too much for me. So, I took my OBS with me again. A few years, the series 2 has been put away in his case, and every now and then I took it out and played with it. But it broke my heart, to watch a bass like that just laying around doing nothing (apart from being a spare bass in case of....) A few months ago I finally made a decision. After a very long night we sat together, watched eachother, played a little and came to the decision that it was the best for both of us that we broke up. I sold the series 2, and I must admit I had a hard time doing that. For the time being (i do need a spare bass) I've bought another bass. But I' m looking around to order me a very special Alembic in the future. And when I look at all the great stuff I've found here, I will have a hard job doing that.
Nowadays I play music for a living. After years of hard work, we finally managed to stop working and make music for a living. Our band does aprox. 140 shows each year, which isn't that bad for a small country like ours. You can find many, many pictures on my site under 'foto's'. For years I've had a small bass rig which included a Hughes & Kettner preamp, a carver poweramp and two Hartke 410 cabinets. But a few years ago, as a band we made a switch and threw all our backline out of the car and went over to In Ear Monitoring. As a bassplayer I simply can't recommend to other bassplayers, but it gives a very clean stage and a very fast set up. No more soundchecks etc. I must admit, last week I bought myself a Ashdown combo, to give just that little bit of a bass feelling that I need onstage. Now I only have to wait for that special bass, and I know who is going to make it...
