jazzyvee

That is a great looking guitar. Rob does get some gorgeous quilted maple tops for his guitars I have to say. I'd be interested in what you think of the in-house pickups especially if you get round to doing some audio samples. jazzyvee

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1355345292' post='1897296'] I have been lucky enough to own an Alembic. They are very much an acquired taste...basses that you either love or hate to be honest. Personally I found the electrics to be absolutely first rate once mastered and the bass itself to feature breathtaking woodworking. Very heavy though so be aware that this is not the brand for those with dodgy back problems. The (big) downside is they are massively overpriced when bought new. Surprisingly enough, considering the multi laminations used in construction, there are also a good number of Alembic owners out there who have had neck stability problems (browse the Alembic club and you will find them)...although some of these may be down in some part to the aforementioned more complicated set up requirements. The neck on mine was almost perfectly straight and the action was crazy low so no complaints here. I think at the end of the day though that the "elephant in the room" regarding Alembic is this; back in the day nobody was doing what Alembic did...but times have changed. There are an absolute myriad of builders making instruments of comparable build/sound quality now - most of them at a price point MUCH lower than Alembic. I could have bought 3 Wal customs for the price of an Alembic Series1 ...and I much preferred my Wal to my Alembic. The bottom line? If you think anything (including an Alembic) is worth the asking price...then for you it is. Just my tuppenceworth. [/quote] Agreed they are an acquired taste and it is a shame that the price of them new does really cut deep into the pocket. Used instruments can also be quite pricey especially this side of the pond. But if you can get past that hurdle, they are pretty first rate instruments and have an unique sound which for me is one of the main attractions. You do have to invest time with the dual filter basses to be able to get to and from different sounds quickly. If I could "easily| afford a new series bass I would have no hesitation in buying one. But having bills to pay focusses the priorities. :-)

This Alembic Series I bass, the rig would be good too if santa can carry it. [attachment=125120:114796.jpg]

This Alembic Series I bass, the rig would be good too if santa can carry it.

[quote name='2004gdavi' timestamp='1336505354' post='1646651'] Hi Having read the comments here there is obviously much to consider and buying an Alembic is a big step. For my part I've been over 40 years without an Alembic until this year and that's 40 years too long. I now have a SCD, which I was introduced to by Loz (many thanks). Since I've had it I've gigged with it several times in a variety of different styles of music. For each of these occasions it has performed admirably. It's a delight to play and begs to be played. One day I hope to be good enough to do it the justice it deserves but until then I'll just enjoy the ride. Sure it was a lot of cash but if there's one thing I've learned is that you only live once and to seize the day. I can't say that an Alembic will be to everyone's taste but for me, in the words of Edith Piaf, 'je ne regrette rien'. [/quote] How are you getting on with your alembic?

The guitar feels great, but because of the sound of it due to pickups I haven't really bonded with it at all. I tried some old dimarzio's I had laying around from way back and they were still a bit hot in the bridge position. Earlier this year I got some Fender gold lace pickups with a dually gold in the bridge position because I had a strat with them in a few years back and they sounded great and I was familiar with that sound. However whilst they do sound much better than the original duncans they don't have the clear sparkle in the tone that a strat has. I wonder if the mahogany has something to do with that as well. It's all mahogany body and neck with a figured maple top and rosewood fretboard. I'll have to do some more reading up on pickups. Gibson Les Paul's have mahogany bodies and sound great, maybe some humbuckers in a single coil size may be an option. Any views? Jazzyvee Jazzyvee

Japan without Mick Karn.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1354885626' post='1891600'] Return to Forever [/quote] Absolutely

[quote name='bremen' timestamp='1354744306' post='1890008'] I always thought not, but I just learned that Robbie Shakespeare played on some of Catch a Fire. Yeah he did, he was a student of Aston Barrett. I don't think they did get away with it though. They stopped being The Who (for me anyway) when K. Moon died. [/quote]

[quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1354741314' post='1889969'] I wonder if Bob Marley would have been the same without Familyman. [/quote] I doubt if reggae bass generally would have developed in the way it has without Family Man.

Rob has a cool workshop down there in Wales. I'm sure you will have a good time there. I'm looking forward to the pictures. I'm still toying with the idea of selling mine but not until I find something I want to replace it with. Les Paul or maybe a PRS. Jazzyvee

Cool Oscar south, my band do that buenos Aires track also. I'll have to see if I have a video of it still.

http://www.bassonthebroadband.com/index.html

Here is my pedal board. I like the minimalist approach. :-) [attachment=122389:unnamed.jpg]

Virtually every day I spend some time practicing to keep my existing set lists under my fingers and to learn new stuff for my own self improvement. It's shocking how quickly I can lose the edge on my playing.

[attachment=121732:34670_138091109552781_5251471_n.jpg]

Rob Williams guitars is another option for custom guitar builders. He's in Wales http://www.robwilliamsguitars.co.uk/Robwilliamsguitars/Welcome.html Jazzyvee

Yep I agree with classic combination. I've heard it at many festivals. Not tried it myself though. One day maybe. Jazzyvee

is there something specific about the wood in the spoiler that makes them so heavy? I've read a few comments on the Alembic forum that describes them as very heavy. I have 5 string alembics which others have described as heavy but I doubt if any are 11lbs. Maybe I should check.

Clarky, I can only imagine how painful letting a beloved Alembic go would be. Jazzyvee

I've played them with a blues band a few years back and for that type of sound it is fine. But my playing has been more around reggae rnb,funk and jazz so a cleaner sound suits my needs better and I tend to prefer a pedal to get dirty. Jazzyvee

I find I don't get a sound I like when I've been provided with Ashdown's as a bass backline. The last time I had to use their cabs at a gig it was a 4x10 and 1x 15 but used my own mesaboogie walkabout and that was better but not great. Trace elliot's sound great when I've heard other bassists playing them but again when I used one of their new combo's provided as back line for a gig it's own sound seemed to dominate and the tonal changes I was making from my bass did not come through as readily like my mesa powerhouse cabs. But then I did try loads of bass amp cab combinations before settling for the mesa boogie rig. jazzyvee