Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

NBD - Fernandes/Alembic - the ultimate Japcrap?


Cosmo Valdemar
 Share

Recommended Posts


Well, newish. I picked this up a couple of weeks ago on these hallowed pages courtesy of Ash but thanks to living in a small house with two kids under four I've only just manages to play it in anger today - through two amps and everything.
Well, it sounds incredible. The whole thing runs in stereo - each pickup goes to a separate amp - so I've been using my Roland Bass Cube and a little borrowed Peavey Rage guitar amp. Despite the humble amplification it's giving off a massive sound, instant Entwistle. And, as far as my ears can tell, extremely close to the real thing. Seriously! Impeccable construction too and in remarkably good condition.
Hopefully I'll manage to figure out what the controls do at some point, beyond an amusing wah effect.



[URL=http://s903.photobucket.com/user/ben_merrick/media/20141005_1201381.jpg.html][IMG]http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/ben_merrick/20141005_1201381.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s903.photobucket.com/user/ben_merrick/media/20141005_1201291.jpg.html][IMG]http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/ben_merrick/20141005_1201291.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I'm still bouncing about the place, this thing sounds amazing!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1412973811' post='2573871']
I remember trying these out on the Fernandes stand at the Frankfurt Trade Fair in the early/mid 80's & being totally blown away by them.
[/quote]

It does seem to be an astoundingly close replica. A couple of obvious differences I've noticed are a rosewood fretboard instead of ebony, and a standard brass nut instead of the adjustable Alembic nut. I'm amazed they got away with it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1413209176' post='2575826']
It does seem to be an astoundingly close replica. A couple of obvious differences I've noticed are a rosewood fretboard instead of ebony, and a standard brass nut instead of the adjustable Alembic nut. I'm amazed they got away with it!
[/quote]

They didn't for very long....

That year Fernandes had masses of really good copies of stuff, BC Rich guitars & basses, Musicman basses, pretty much everything Gibson, Fender & Rickenbacker make, as well as famous instruments like Jaco's Jazz Bass, Randy Rhoad's white Les Paul & loads of others & they were all superbly made. They even had a copy of Stanley Clarke's Bigsby equipped Alembic!

Wish I still had a copy of the catalogue.

Edited by RhysP
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1413290937' post='2576754']
That's some serious replication going on there. I'm just not sure about the point on the bottom of the body.
[/quote]

That's there for a reason - Alembic originally started out modifying and repairing instruments, and one of the most common 'injuries' they saw were snapped headstocks as a result of basses basses being balanced against a wall. The point design ensures the use of a proper stand.
But the tone! Seriously Ash, you would love it - huge, piano-like with a load of growl and sustain. I'm going to try and figure out how to make a little recording and upload it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1413300176' post='2576887']


That's there for a reason - Alembic originally started out modifying and repairing instruments, and one of the most common 'injuries' they saw were snapped headstocks as a result of basses basses being balanced against a wall. The point design ensures the use of a proper stand.
But the tone! Seriously Ash, you would love it - huge, piano-like with a load of growl and sustain. I'm going to try and figure out how to make a little recording and upload it.
[/quote]

I don't doubt it for a second. I've always wanted a series 1. I've recently been sorting out my old Blazer. Got the truss rod unstuck and treated it to a new tone pot. It's all but retired my Bob Glaub and because its old an rough round the edges I'm less precious of it. Result! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The black oblong is a coil - effectively an inactive pickup between the two low impedance pickups. It's there to eliminate hum (it works). You'll see this on most SI and SII instruments, though it can be embedde under a full-face laminate (I believe)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1413324983' post='2577272']
Bit of a noob to Alembics question here, but what's the function of the black oblong located between the two pickups? I've seen this on some of Stanley Clarke's basses as well.
[/quote]
Those are usually found on the series I and II basses. They are a hum cancelling pickup. Basically it's just a coil without a magnet. The neck and bridge pickups are single coils and this central pickup, picks up the electrical noise, hum etc. in the surrounding environment and via some internal electronics in the body of the bass, cancels them out. This enables the pickups to produce that clean single coil sound with out noise and interference. On the back of the basses there are a couple of trim pots that you use to calibrate the circuit.

Edited by jazzyvee
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='three' timestamp='1413361075' post='2577397']
The black oblong is a coil - effectively an inactive pickup between the two low impedance pickups. It's there to eliminate hum (it works). You'll see this on most SI and SII instruments, though it can be embedde under a full-face laminate (I believe)
[/quote]

Yep it can be located anywhere inside the bass. On custom builds some signature basses have them in if they are constructed as "series ready" such that they can be upgraded to series I or II in the future. Others have them in for cosmetic reasons. They do work extremely well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1413540758' post='2579252']
Absolutely great basses...but from memory of my buddy's FAB bass they did not have filter based electronics. I am a little surprised you can achieve the "wah" effect.
[/quote]

It wahs like mad! A real squelch of a sound. It's exagerrated when you move the toggle switches. I'll try and capture it when I make a recording.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1413796459' post='2581863']
Nice score, for many years I was in the market for one but ended up with the real thing. I'd love to try one at some point just to see how close they get.
[/quote]

You're welcome to come over and try it - if you bring the real thing along! Mind you, saying that, I would hate to try a real on side by side and discover mine isn't really all that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...