Greetings!

[Mark Avnet (mavnet)]

Howdy. Mark here, finally finding this alembic community (the site's gotten pretty cool over the last year or so, once they got the actual URL to use).  
 
I've got 2 basses that I had built for me in 1977 - small body, long scales, one fretted and one fretless... some custom electronics and some (I think) beautiful details.
 
I spent a long time that year talking with Ron and Susan W. and Rick Turner, who was still at Alembic then, talking about what I wanted the instruments to do, to sound like, to look like (Rick said that the ebony my fretless was made with was from the same log they used on Stanley Clarke's early ebony bass)... got to play (a little) with a number of the instruments they had in the shop then - one of Jack Cassidy's basses (with a strange sliding pickup, brass tubing holding it on, as I recall), the continually fretted metal fingerboard fretless, and misc. others (some strange sorts of things they'd made for The Band, I think)... What a treat.
 
I was living and playing in LA at the time, and while they were building the basses, I'd drive up to Cotati after a gig, get there around noon, and hang a little, probably was a bit of a pain in the neck, but it was just so cool there, and everyone was so nice.
 
I also needed an amp and PA for the band then, so they directed me over to Hard Trucker, to a guy named Wizard, who put a system together for me - these are the guys who built, with Alembic, the monster Dead system, and I just loved the sound.
 
I was playing bass thru a stack with 2 1x15 Gauss speakers (in those HUGE plywood sealed acoustic suspension cabinets) and a 2x12 cabinet, and another stack like that on the other side of the stage - huge, overkill, loud but amazingly smooth. They also built us out a bunch of other cabinets and wedge monitors... considering we hauled all this crap around ourselves, I'm surprised we ever survived.  
 
My bass ran thru an F2B preamp into a few BGW 500 power amps.
 
After the band split up (and yes, no one will have heard of us), I built a recording studio in Venice, CA - Mad Dog Studio, which ran quite successfully for a long time - I split in the late 80s for the east coast, and the studio carried on with my ex-partner; he's now expanded it and moved it to Burbank. I paid for a lot of equipment by selling off the bass and PA cabinets, and I'm sorry they're gone.
 
Did and still do a lot of recording with the basses, there's nothing like them in a studio.
 
I play now more for fun than for a living, and the basses are still amazing. I've got some photos up at http://www.markavnet.com/alembic_basses.htm if you want to see what they look like.
 
One day, i plan on winning the lottery bigtime and having a 6 string guitar built out along the lines of the fretless.
 
And blah blah blah.
 
So - hi!
 
Mark

[Valentino Villevieille (valvil)]

Welcome aboard Mark,
 
good to have you with us.
 
Your basses look great, and I'm fairly sure your fretted one graces the inside cover of Alembic's current catalog with a very young Mica holding it.  I always thought, when looking at it that it had to be a long scale, nice to know I was right.  
 
Valentino
 

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

Hi Mark,  
   
welcome from our side of the pond too.  
really nice basses. If you can spend the time I eally like to know how the electronics are configurated. They seem to mix up features from SI and SII's? Right?  
I hear also a lot of comments on the difficulties in playing SS bodies with a 34 neck.  You Agree? Anyway: they look great, the SS-body / LS neck has really something gracious in it!  
Paul  
   
BTW: what's the strange circle around the logo on the fretless?  
 
To Valentino,  
 
as a real Alembician I'm not curious but I like to know everything and I like to look at small details.  
So brother?  
Is there nothing you want to share with us?  
Dont we all have to gather here and give you a big hand for the promotion?  
Being moderator on the Alembic club?  
That's what I call a promotion!  
I have to tell the other Paul that he has a lot of official welcoming to do here.  
Nono ...don't be shy!  
Since when? I guess I must have overlooked it ?  
 
(Message edited by palembic on February 20, 2003)
 
After doing some research: it must have happened between the 10th and the 14th of february???
 
(Message edited by palembic on February 21, 2003)

[Valentino Villevieille (valvil)]

Well Paul,  
 
 
now i've heard ( or rather read) everything...you not curious?  lol
I confess, you caught me.  You are a veritable Sherlock Holmes, or perhaps I should say Hercule Poirot since you are belgian ( much taller than him though) .    
 
I think you are right about when it happened.  Mica kindly asked me if I'd be willing to help out some time ago and I was happy to say yes. She made me a moderator and I went over to Alembic last Monday for a bit of training.  
 
Thank you for the big hand brother, it's always a lot of fun to read your posts.  One of these days when I  come over to Europe to visit my folks I'll have to drop in on you, go drink some good Stella.
 
Valentino

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

Brother Valentino,  
 
oh-man, oh-man I'm happy you can do so.  
Let's virtually open a bottle of a good Californian wine and have a toast, Alembicians of this virtual world gather and bring along the basses in all  colourfull shapes  and sounds and play (virtually) the BIG BOM for our Valentino!  
I don't know Mica very well but as part of my job (what is unfortunately slowing down very much) it happens that I can feel people very quick. I strongly believe that this whole project (club-Alembic)  is growing so fast and brings so much work that it became really hard to do for our girl.  
I have to admit -but please don't you misunderstand me- that there is a litlle green devil with Red eyes peeping over my shoulder when I'm writing this. Man .... I'm jealous. But (aaah... it took some time for that but to come) that will pass.  
Anyway: now I understand why you were so fluently on the quote for my humble project (I will have to ask Mica when she will have time to look into that).  
And Valentino... I know you have to go to Naples to visit your folks but (...) IFF you have the time, It would be a really honour to have you at my place. Please consider it as a standing offer. BTW: you'll have to travel, Napels - Leuven would be about 2000 km.  
You like Stella?  
You came to the right place. Leuven is the Stella headquarters. But (yes I know) I'll prpose you a good Duvel. THAT's a beer (something brother Dino even admits).  
 
Anyway ... I did some good work with the little grey cells ....n'est-ce pas Hastings??? (as Poirot would say)  
 
Welcome my moderate friend  
 
Paul  
 
 
(Message edited by palembic on February 21, 2003)

[Mark Avnet (mavnet)]

Hi back.. Haven't seen the catalog, so I'm not sure about whether it's my bass there... i've had the instrument since 77, so depending on how old Mica is, it might be her...
 
I've never had any prob with the scale vs. body size... It actually balances pretty well - Rick told me that they put a pound or so of extra brass under the bridge to balance it, and judging from how heavy these things are, it's possible.  
 
And there's nothing like really really long strings for a nice fat low E...
 
The strange circle around the logo on the fretless - I think the inlay on this bass was done on a small oval, separately, then the oval (and inlay) was inlaid into the headstock. It was not visible for the longest time, but as the finish has aged and checked, is becoming more so... at some point I want to get the basses back to Alembic for their 50,000 mile checkup, and maybe that can be made invisible again. Or I could have a silver or abalone oval border inlaid in the existing finish-check oval, and pretend it's a design feature...

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

SSHHHHHHH Mark,
Mica's age is one of the best kept Alembicious secrets. With an higher degree of math you can figure it out from the Alembic-history (long version) that Susan wrote.
CU
 
Paul

[Roger Smith (rogertvr)]

Mica's age is one of the best kept Alembicious secrets - does this mean that the figure mentioned on Mica's profile is an errrr.....untruth?  I think the Alembic masses should be told!  ;-)

[Paul Ellsworth (elzie)]

Nice to have you here Mark!
 
It looks as though you are settling in nicely.
 
Paul, sorry I was a little late with the welcome, but you have to sleep some time! LOL!
 
Paul

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

THE OTHER PAUL!
How are you brother?
You read the news about Valentino?
It seems we have a boss now LOL!
 
Roger, no it's just the obvious proof that I talk too much -and react too fast- without reading things appropriately.
HOw do you think I get to this Advanced membership and being enlisted about 8 months ago huh? ;-D
Well, you know me!
Or not just yet?
 
Paul
 
BTW: I just discovered I can still react on messages via this club! HA!

[Dino Monoxelos (dean_m)]

Man oh man,
 
It just get's crazier and crazier here.  You can tell spring is right around the corner.  Paul, I'm heading over to my friendly liquor store this weekend to stock up on some Lindemans, I'll be sure to ask for the Duvel as well.  Mmmm!!!
Mark, welcome to the club!!!!  I too played the LA scene for a number of years, but now I'm back in my hometown just north of Boston  (Lowell, MA)
Valentino, congrats on your being moderator to the site.  That's nice of you to help out!!!
Oh yeah back to Paul, and anyone else that cares, I've got a new lesson up on my site if you care to check it out http://www.monotunesmusic.com.  Click on the lessons link.  Have fun!!!!
 
Peace,
dino

[Valentino Villevieille (valvil)]

Thank you Dino.
 
Paul, coming to see you would be a lot of fun indeed; I'm not familiar with Duvel, but I'd love to try it.  I was turned on to Stella by my british friends on my trips there.
 
It would be easier than you think to come see you, since I don't generally take the usual route to southern Europe.  I do not like flying to the east coast and then on to Rome ( that's where my folks live ) because both flights tend to be of the plus 5-6 hours variety.  I prefer one long flight, from San Francisco  into London or Amsterdam before a short hop on to Rome; so from those locations you're a lot closer. I ought to be able to fit in a side trip to Belgium fairly easily. I often stop in England for  a few days on the way over or on the way back.  After all, seeing my folks is nice, but it's no real vacation, therefore I always add a few extra days for myself alone when I go to Europe.  I'll try to come your way next year.
 
Paul, think of me as a facilitator & not a 'boss'...  
 
On an other subject...I think  70' small standard bodies balanced better with a long scale than todays' small standards because the bodies were thicker and heavier than the current ones. One of my strongest cravings is to own a long scale small standard.  Although I gotta start & fill another piggy bank before I can do that.  
 
Valentino

[Dave Houck (davehouck)]

Mark; I enjoyed reading your post and those are beautiful basses.  I really like the hi/band/lo pass switch with the center frequency and variable Q controls.  I have an SF-2 and have thought that such a feature would be nice to have on a bass.  Yours is the only one I've seen, so I'm guessing it's quite involved circuitry for a bass.  Thanks for the story and the pics of your basses.
 
Dave

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

Dino and Valentino  
(sounds as a vari?t? comic duo Dino & Valentino.  
LADIES & GENTLE PEOPLE ...especially for you toninght at the Red Rose Ballroom in Wichita, the funny low sounds of Dino & Valentino ...bass-magicians ... give them a big hand.... LOL - I definitely talk too much).  
 
Well Dino and Valentino,  
 
yeah: spring is in the air. Ron, Susan, Mica and friends at Alembic have prepared us a nice breed of new instruments, they will be born very soon and in the open.  
Piggy banks will be killed, banks  robbed, rich old ladies have stolen their purses, young girls are kept hostage for huge ransoms ....  
All those Alembicians getting a hard GAS - attack.  
Yippieyahee ... spring is in the air!  
 
Valantino: the info of the SS-bodies is good. I'm with you about liking the small standard with the long scale neck. It seems logoc that when having a thicker bodie it radically changes the balance.  
 
Dino, personally I'm not a huge fan of the Lindemans beers. I know they are VERY popular on the US market. Mainly because they are very sweet. On the average the US-food taste is much sweeter than EU. About 28 years ago when I was a handsome young man at home, after mowing the lane on saturdayafternoon, we sat  together and ate brown bread with spicy white cheese and Lindemans Geuze. It came in 1 liter bottles, you only could have it at the brewery (which was at 15 km from our door). It was a sour, very refreching beer. A beer that didn't change taste in 600 years.  
By combining this with fuits (cherries, berries, peaches...) they became very popular in the US. The ORIGINAL geuze from Lindemans is sour!  
Dino : i'll try to have a peep at your excercices right now.  
 
Paul  
(Definitely a Belgian: turns a bass-board in a beer-board)  
 
Dino & Valentino? Hmmmmm? ValenDino sounds good too LOL
 
Dino ... I peeped and I even loaded down.
Next step: try to read it.
Even further: try to play it once! I keep you posted.
BTW: congrats with the changes on your website. I love the bass-collection you have. The fretless Alembic is my favourite (of course).
I had a great time looking at the Dino-transfigurations in the picture -hall LOL!
 
(Message edited by palembic on February 25, 2003)

[Dino Monoxelos (dean_m)]

Valentino what do you say, a Valentino/Dino show!!!  We could do a half hour skit on our names alone.
Paul, you are absolutely right on the money about American tastes.  It seems like most foods here have some type of sugar or sweetener in their ingredients.  Even the french fries you get at McDonalds are sprinkled with a salt/sugar mix.  I only recently became aware of this when I started watching what me and my family eats.
Go slow with the odd meter exercises and if you have any questions at all, you know where you can find me.  Thank you for the kind words about the site.  I love that Orion fretless too.  That was my first custom bass that Alembic did for me.  At the time I ordered it, I was living in Los Angeles so when it was done, I was able to drive up to Alembic and pick it up.  What an experience!!!  In fact, my next custom order, I might do the same thing, fly out to pick it up.  I'm glad you liked the Dino-transfigurations too.  My daughter Sami gets a kick out of those pictures.
Well, your welcome to play the fretless when you get to Boston.  Let us know!!!
 
Dino