jazzyvee

19 hours ago, 4000 said:

This is a dilemma. I’ve had instruments built for me by some of the best luthiers out there, but they’ve never (so far at least) hit the mark. Tony Levin once said the only way he can tell you if he likes a bass is by playing it. I suspect I’m the same. Even with a specific template (woods, hardware, electronics), there are too many variables. 

This is one of the reasons I have backed out of having a custom instrument made for me. The fear is not so much that the bass wouldn't deliver the spec I want, more that I doubt if I could spec a perfect bass and finding that out after spending a fortune would be hard to stomach. That said,  I have bought high end instruments that were close enough to the kind of spec I would like if I could afford them new. So far I have been fortunate that they all sound and play great and have enough variance in sound for me to make choices when deciding what to take on a gig. 

A worthwhile price for a bass or any instrument is a personal thing, but I do suspect some manufacturers are taking advantage of the romance of the vintage and classic tag when it comes to pricing basses and guitars.

Touch wood, I have never had any of my bass own amps fail on me, though I have had a backline rig fail at soundcheck a few times but fortunately in those instances I was able to just go DI and use had monitor.
These days I mostly use a rack system and whilst that has never failed, I know that if the pre-amp fails my bass has a high enough output to drive the power amp directly. The power amp is a stereo one so hopefully one channel will still be ok if there is a fault and if the power amp fails I can still get the signal FOH from the pre-amp DI out.  So it am pretty comfortable with that. Over the last year I have been looking for a small lightweight class D bass head for a compact EUB rig so if I find one, I may take that head as a backup on gigs.

I was interested in the internal spec too as my bass is a bit longer than standard cases.

I will get measuring tonight.

The Who at Bingley Hall Stafford.

Can both channels be used simultaneously?

The reason I ask is that my basses have individual pickup outputs and it would be great to be able to use a small amp in that way.

There has been a lot of conversation about this issue on the alembic web site forum over the years and listings on Ebay etc that have been challenged and changed because they are incorrectly named models after a serial number check.  The serial number is the best guide to the model of alembic bass. If it has a U it is a Europa, if it has H it is an elan regardless of the electronics inside it. 

I have an Elan 4 bass with H in the serial number, like yours it also has the same electronics package as the Europa models.
Since there is an overlap when both models were produced and alembic being a custom shop someone could order an Elan with Europa electronics which is what my bass is classified as when I checked it with Alembic directly.

4wiw,I also have an Europa 5 string with an Elan style narrow neck and an Elan style headstock, all maple europa style body and signature electronics. This bass has the U in the serial number and this is classed as an Europa bass with Signature Electronics. 

Please don't mistake my comments for anything other than constructive. If someone is buying that bass it's best they understand what Alembic considers that bass to be since if you are listing also on ebay etc, incorrect/inaccurate listings are valid reasons for returning goods.

I genuinely wish you all the best with the sale.👍

The Serial number scheme can be checked here.
http://www.alembic.com/support/reference.html

I love Elan basses, they are such an incredible sounding bass and my favourite long scale body shape for an alembic.
If I wasn't on a self imposed bass buying ban that would be giving my bank balance something to worry about. 
My willpower is stong so, all the best with the sale. 
The Elan basses are older than the Europa basses so the H in the serial number really confirms it as an Elan bass. 

On 15/02/2021 at 10:48, Wolverinebass said:

Thanks. I actually own an Alembic Stanley Clarke Signature Standard as well as a Wal. I remember playing a brown bass many years ago and really liking it, but went for the Standard because it just felt right. Probably a mistake in hindsight. However, it's just a change in shape I'm after.

I have recently about 3 weeks ago got an upgrade for my stanley clarke signature bass so that I could have separate pickup outs and separate volumes for each pickup and filter. It came with the pickup selector switch and mono stereo output switch and jack. It works great. Have you thought of converting yours?

I'm considering a GRBass one Mini for use with my EUB and barefaced Big Baby II, does  anyone have any feedback from owning one, goo d or bad.

interesting, as i have been searching for a small compact lightweight head to use with my EUB and Barefaced BB2 cab. I too have mixed views on the TE Elf and i stumbled on the OneMini and it seems to tick the right boxes but i'd like to read a review or see a Youtube review where someone is playing it rather than talking about it. But your experience gives me confidence. i have big rigs for me bass guitars so im not looking for anything bigger. Thanks

I have been using a PJB Briefcase as a home practice combo for years probably since mid 2000’s and can highly recommend it. Works great with a 5 string too as long as you are sensible with the low end of the B string. I have gigged with it on small wine bar type gigs and rehearsal with both guitar and basses. Not sure how much they cost niw but when i got it first i think it was under £350

21 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

It's already been seen but here's my stage rig.

 

How do those cabs compare to the old powerhouse 1x15's?
 

My shorty has two sets of strap systems, schaller and dunlop. the dunlops were added by a previous owner and the end one is higher up the upper body edge which does reduce the balance and forward lean but not completely.  I guess another less cool way to stop neck dive would be to put the strap on like this. 😂

Mica from alembic has said that Stanley gets over the way the short scale bass hangs by fixing the strap directly to the bass using a big screw and washer. I haven't tried that yet though.

http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=24945.0

I will check his site.

@4000,absolutely correct. I have had one since 2002 and it does neck dive plus the top leans away from your body. I didn’t want to sell what was my dream bass at the time so i got used to it and found a way of playing it that didn’t bug me . Now i just naturally adjust it. But i havd read many threads stating neck dive as areasom to offload it. 

On 14/01/2021 at 20:30, dmccombe7 said:

Like that a lot.

Me too

I have two sets of ACG EQ02 filter modules in my beater bass and I would like to have them put into a pedal instead so that I can use it as switchable eq. 

10 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I have a wee notion for an Alembic at the mment but probably won't and will end up buying a Vintera P bass as its stuck in my head. If i do decide to buy another bass that is. 

Over the pst year, there have been a lot of used alembics for sale. More than I have seen in a long time, and most have been priced sensibly so if you are interested this is probably a good time to keep your eyes open and maybe take the leap. 🙂👍

This must be really rare as I can only recall seeing that particular EVH body style as a 4 string.  Every now and then I entertain the thought of a 6 string and this one stirred them up again but I have enough trouble with a 5 string so this is one string above my level of competency. 

All the best with the sale I hope you find a good. home for it.

i think a really good place to also check out to get the lowdown on your questions would be the alembic web site forum. www.alembic.com as that is a more focussed group, and many also use  non alembic basses too so you would find more views relating to the different alembic models in their range, both vintage and current. There are many members from that forum who participate in BC too.

I hope you find one.

As it happens 2yrs ago i did a gig with my band at a big garden party used my BTII for my bass and Dubster added to the keyboard players small pa for the rest of the band and sounded great. Afterwards my mate who is a reggae DJ was doing his thing with his cabs inside and outside the house, so i suggested using my cabs instead so we had the BTII outside and dubster inside and it sounded incredible, full, clean with lots of bottom end. i think two BTII's and a dubster would be a fantastic quality lightweight pa, Not that you'd really  need a dubster with two BTII's but can' hurt.

Have you considered a separate preamp and a class D power Amp as an option as that would give you more options with different cabs. I play reggae too and I use one with my barefaced cabs and having a Dubster II (18"sub), on one side of the power amp and a BBII 12" + tweeter on the other gives a heck of a lot of chest rattling bass and I can control what I deliver to each cab. 

I had two which broke in around a year, jack brock off and headphone socket stopped working. I decided to get something more robust.  The tascam GB10 is a good little unit as you can speed up/slow down parts to help with learning and also change key, but those things reduce the quality if you go too far but still really useable. The loop function is a godsend.

2 hours ago, Merton said:

It’ll be less hifi than either of those. It’s a great cab and for reggae would be perfect as it’ll take all the bass she can throw at it. I was hoping to buy the cab yesterday but have had to hold fire for various reasons so I’d say go for it!

Thanks i have forwarded the link.