jazzyvee

I have a number of times, i'm not famous but i play bass in a famous band so it's more likely, though these days people usually want selfies and not autographs. Usually when they ask i tell them they should get the autographs of the original band members and go off and get them. if they still want mine as well that's cool. But outside that, when i was about 18 or so, we did a gig in Kingsbury WMC near Tamworth and our agent at the time wrote some pink torpedo & bull article in the Herald newspaper that we had just got back from touring. So the venue was packed and i got to sign quite a autographs and few female lefties that night. Over the years i have puzzlingly been embarrasingly, (for me), mistaken for, Lennox Lewis (far too many times), Courtney Pine, Samuel L Jackson, the guy with dreads from the "cool runnings" film, Robert Cray. I can't see any facial similarity to any of these people apart from my hair at various times and skin colour. No facial features at all. Apart from seeing the funny side of it, i am always respectful.

Absolutely agree, it would be a good idea to get confirmation that the electronics and pickups are original. Though if the seller is not the original owner, they may not even know. But I would certainly ask for as photo of the electronics cavity and pickups as it's not unusual for the electronics on some alembics to be removed and replaced with Bartolini pickups and electronics. Getting a full set of alembic electronics is not a cheap option. Also get a picture of the neck to headstock area since that is made in a way that the headstock can be repaired in the event of a fall. Sometimes when basses have dropped, there can be hairline cracks along the line of the laminates.

what does CRO mean?

Yes.😂

Mine is really simple. Bass -> EBS Stanley Clarke Acoustic Preamp -> DI - out to PA. Not gigged with it yet but use that setup for rehearsals.

From a musicianship point of view, i don't consider myself to be at what think of as a professional level. I consider myself competent have a good reliablility and attitude to what i need to do and others and have pro level gear that i understand and sounds good and is reliable. Most of my gigs are with bands containing proper pro players with degrees and formal training and can play whatever you put in front of them and i can see why they are. I'm just pleased that they still want to do the gigs i call them for. I'm self taught by ear and In the past I have toured as a guitarist with musicians where i have been the only non-pro ( by that i don't earn a significant amount from music). Even when touring i earned far less from the gigs than my day job. But i took the tours because i love gigging and performing music and well... you can't buy those kind of opportunities. Now some of those bands were well known ( in their genre) and i was filling in as a hired hand. A short while after getting into rehearsals and gigging with one of those bands, i realised that some of the musicians were not what i would consider pro standard in their playing or attitude and that made things challenging because we couldn't raise the standard of the music. Personally I have always looked at the standard of musicianship as the main marker for being a professional and not so much the earnings. For example would Nathan East or Larry Carlton cease to be professional if they decided to stop charging for gigs? I think not. You can still be a professional standard musician even though your profession does not pay the bills. If i had to choose one, it would be to be a professional standard musician. But i'm not so i enjoy being a weekend warrior with a day job.

Hopefully, i will be able to make it this year.

Here is a clip of the first time i took the LF800 out with the Schertler Unico. The DB, keyboards and bass drum went into the schertler and LF800 fed by it's sub output. It was also my second full gig on DB. Sounded great in the outdoor undercover venue and the groove seemed to satisfy. https://youtu.be/8to9vW16jB8

I bought a Db in 2018 and really am enjoying the experience. I got a local tutor and one of his tips was ' don't try to play it like it's a bass guitar' or you can develop problems with your hands that will affect your electric bass playing. I'm still in the beginner stage but done a few gigs. Hope you continue to enjoy the db.👍🏾🎶 My DB is a fairly weighty EUB and i find it a challenge to play it standing up without feeling the weight on my left thumb and arm. Is it a good idea to use it on a stand or seated or would i be getting my muscle memory associated with that and then be stuck if i forgot my stand or stool?

This custom Series II bass that alembic made as a gift to Stanley Clarke.

0 in 0 out just like the last 3 years. Yes there are basses i would like to have bought but just enjoying the window shopping until i can afford my dream bass.

No basses in or out in 2022 and no plans for any in 2023. However as a general thing i have been looking for a used short scale alembic series II 4 string but not seen one up for sale for many years. But not in a hurry and if i find one it will be one in and one out. 🤓

Simple 0 in & 0 out.

I think Jaydees are great sounding basses and in my view great value for money. They really should be more expensive.

I have recently given it away now to a local council run music service for young people. So it will be well used and i feel good. 👍🏾🎵🎶🔉🔊

As for bass heads with a baked in sound i've only had a Mesa Walkabout head, since around 2004 and other than the noisy fan and hiss when turned up loud it is still a great amp in my view. I moved to a more hifi setup as my regular rig with alembic preamps and a class D Crown power amp. The difference is night and day but i still love the mesa. The thing for me is that i have always liked clean sounding bass. i came into bass much later in life so didn't go through any classic amps or cabs. So for me a hifi rig ticks the right boxes and works well with my barefaced cabs. My previous mesa cabs were really good but struggled with bottom end.

I had one as a backup but never needed to use it. I sold it to a bass player mate a few months back. There were the following issues that we found on it's first outing where i was depping on guitar with his band. Noisy fan, but you's never hear that on a gig. Strange noise from the DI output, we changed cables, mixer channels etc but it was always there like a high frequency whistle. In the end i resolved the noisy DI by giving him an old DI box to use instead and he is happy.

I like that suggestion and will contact them about that, but i think i will also need to talk to a uk expert to assess the guitar and the ivory content and if i can get some kind of official exemption certificate or passport type document if it is excempt, that can accompany the instrument if it is sold that will make things easier. But certainly if i could sell it i would not post it, the buyer would have to collect it and if it was going abroad they would need to accept liability for any loss due to seizure at this or the destination country.

Good point.

Thanks for that, I did contact him via his web site and he replied. He is too busy to take on such a job.

i just got to his web site and will call him today thanks.

I see your point, though i did not buy it from alembic, it was from the original owner via a commission sale. But in any case alembic export under license from the US Fish and Wildlife department so would have to declare any ivory or risk prosecution if they were going to export out of the USA. However since they didn't export it, i don't think they have any responsibility to do that for me. Also my understanding of the HMRC information that it was only when the law changed in the UK recently that it became illegal for it to be sold or or shipped out of the country, unless i can prove the ivory does not come from an elephant. Previous to that i would have needed to get a permit. I doubt that alembic would be able to tell me what ivory it is since it was reclaimed from a vintage piano. The reality is, if i can't get it replaced, it just stays with me and maybe i can pass it on to a conservatoire in a will or have it buried or cremated with me. 🙂.

Yes, I have brought the issue up on their web site. Also a few years back when I was planning to go to an alembic meet and Mica advised me to check the CITES if I was planning to travel out of the UK with it since the ivory may be an issue. There is no doubt it is ivory as it states it on the web page link I posted earlier. So it's just a matter of finding a way to remove it without damaging the neck of the guitar.