Chris2112

It is indeed a stunner!

[quote name='karlclews' timestamp='1334151481' post='1611647'] A little harsh of Pete Academy to say Alembics have 'no warmth whatsoever'. Maybe it's just a different of what constitutes 'warmth', but I'd say my Alembic is the 'warmest' sounding bass I have, and my collection includes a Jazz, a Stingray, a couple of Statuses, a Ken Smith and a Goodfellow. It's worth noting that quite apart from the filter controls, the trim screws on the filter controls, hidden away in the control cavity, really have a huge effect on the base sound of any given Alembic. When I first got mine (second hand), I found it very harsh and trebly. So I backed off the level on the bridge pickup a little and bumped it up a touch on the neck pickup and it was a completely different bass - hey presto, much 'warmer'. And then of course, adjusting the height of the pickups has a further balancing effect on the base tone of the guitar. For some reason, on every Alembic I've come across in music stores, they seem to be set up with a rather toppy sound, and a quick peek in the control cavity usually confirms that the bridge filter control trim screw is set at the max - perhaps folks like to showcase that toppy, hi-fi 'zingy-ness', but that's by no means all an Alembic can do, and you really can change the character of the default tone to a huge degree by just experimenting with those trim screws. That said, Alembics all seem to have a distinctive 'attack' - difficult to explain, but it's like a slight 'crunch' or 'quack' at the beginning of the note, and a very quick response, which you either like or you don't. You can tame it to some extent through filter adjustment and modifying your technique, but it's difficult to remove completely. So make sure you like that aspect of the sound before you commit! Here's a little vid of my Alembic Stanley Clarke Deluxe, recorded direct into audio interface - no amp, no processing, that's just the sound of the bass you're getting there. I have the treble a little higher than I normally would because I'm playing the melody here as well as the bottom line, but you should get an idea of the character of the bass and perhaps hear what I mean about that distinctive 'attack': [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9NNfDbxjP4[/media] K. [/quote] I don't like the song that much, but that sound is fantastic. Pure Stanley sound! Great playing too!

Strange to think that Rush started going downhill after Geddy decided he wanted to go back to the jazz bass in 1993...

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1334245359' post='1613194'] So this Saturday, I will plug in my Westfield Graffitti (Frankenstein'd by me) P bass. I bet that he won't notice. The warwick has a great sound. But I bet I can get the Westfield to sound convincing too. It plays brilliantly (great neck) and lets be honest, how many of us have expensive basses that, come live gigs, they might as well be £80 jobs in the crap acoustics of a hall/holiday camp. [/quote] This was always one of my main gripes when we didn't mix our own sound live. House/Venue soundmen could vary greatly in quality. Some were up for the task of getting a great sound. Some just weren't arsed. Some venues just sounded crap because of the acoustics of the room. Things got much better when we started mixing ourselves. Depends on the soundman, I suppose, as to whether or not he will notice.

[quote name='stonecoldbass' timestamp='1334259666' post='1613492'] I respect that Janek never shies away from encounters like this, in fact he seems like to make a big deal of them (if you have read any of his blogs you may have come across various 'fan mail' pieces...) and his plan to make that thread into a blog post is no different. The only thing however, is that he didn't address one single point I made in my (albeit lengthy) reply to him about his album and listening to music. He decided to use it as a jumping off point to talk about 'trimming off dead weight' and the state of the 'four walled bedroom youtube commenter'. ... [/quote] Mind you, he may have a point about these four walled bedroom commanders, but he would do well not to insult them too much as they are probably the only people buying his records, and the people who leap to defend him on the internet. These same people he mocks are sadly the ones who probably rate him the most, with their fawning idolatry ("he played at my college..."). In his rebuttal, he also states that they don't come to his shows to dance or bring girls. If you've gone to a fusion show to dance or pick up birds you've probably gone to the wrong show, especially these days when most fusion is so undanceable. He seems to want to portray himself as some sort of hip, fly jazz musician who is too cool for his fans. Quite frankly, I think he cheapens himself by insulting his fans in the way he has. So what if some music college geek wants to come and watch him play live, and doesn't want to dance? They paid the door fee, didn't they? Ultimately, it sounds to me like a case of ego surpassing talent, something which is quite unnattractive, especially when your name is regularly dropped in a crowd of far superior bassists and musicians. That said, someone above mentioned that they weren't much of a fusion fan and yet they found that Weather Report appealed. The state of fusion has long been a point of debate, but I don't think it's especially healthy now. The current crowd could do with looking at the records of the 70's and 80's, where the bands were writing songs and making music that stayed with you rather than washing over you. As I have mentioned earlier, I think the scene of the 'bass hero' is in a pretty sad state these days too, as there is no-one really making an impact like Stuart Hamm, Victor Wooten, Mark King, Michael Manring, Jaco Pastorius etc etc have in days gone by. Janek himself makes it pretty clear that he isn't really interested in making music for musicians unless you're buying drinks and dancing at his shows! Not to say that fusion is crap today, or that the day of the bass hero is gone. But everything could do with a lift, and we really need some great songs to be written in that genre.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1334146679' post='1611535'] +1 - there's a definite lack of melodies on their latter-day albums. [/quote] This is really what they need to get back to. They still make a fine rock album, don't get me wrong. But Rush are capable of so much more than just being a fantastic rock band. They're Rush! If think they need to get back to writing melodies. They need to get back to writing songs. I suspect at the moment that most of their writing is riff driven.

[quote name='Faithless' timestamp='1334069725' post='1610455'] I'm not arguing about taste, but saying that the stuff is dull, is just unbearable, IMHO. [/quote] Why is it unbearable? Because you idolise Janek and think he can do no wrong? I am sure he appreciates you crusading for him here, but please, allow for others to have their own opnions. If it's dull, it's dull. Long ago, I probably also thought that 'fusion' was a by-word for 'interesting' simply because it was music for musicians. Having looked deeper, I found that much like anything else, plenty of fusion is pap. Janek's latest album is pap. Irrespective of whether or not the album consists of composed material or jamming and improvisation over rough ideas, a lacklustre product is a lacklustre product. To me, Janek's music just sounds dull. You may prefer a different adjective. Insipid, bland, tedious, for instance. You might say it lacks soul or passion. Listen to a [i]great[/i] fusion band like Weather Report. They could compose and they could improvise and come up with the goods every time. It sounded exciting, it felt natural. Is it beyond Janek to ever make music I will find interesting? Who knows. I am,not going to flagellate myself simply because I don't like his new album. Quite frankly, the Crusaders in this thread are fighting a losing battle, simply because the concensus on this forums tends towards the sanctity of the individual's choice, rather than a mob-mentality deciding what we should all like. If I fancied some of that I'd join the EBMM forum! Their arguments have been more eloquently put by others more well qualified to defend their points of view countless times before, but as this thread quite proves, you simply cannot bludgeon someone into thinking the same way as you by going "i'm rite and ur rong' over and over again, in spite of what the Crusaders might think.

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1334004630' post='1609612'] I know I want one but wouldn't pay the premium for the name. I actually like to pick guard addition too. [/quote] Me too, I think it looks kind of cool. That said, Roger Sadowsky himself if quite embarassed by his efforts in crafting that scratchplate. He remarked about it on Talkbass, saying that if he were to take the project on for Marcus now he could switch the electrics and leave a standard looking scratchplate on the bass. At the time when he coverted Marcus' jazz bass, he wasn't so experienced in his craft and decided on extending the scratchplate to cover the extra routing he had done! On the question of the MM basses, the prices have just skyrocketed, for whatever reason. I remember when you used to be able to buy them new at Sounds Live for £679! And used ones were selling for as little as £400. That said, having played a few there and at Guitr Guitar I was never massively impressed with them. They were a fine enough jazz bass but nothing special. Maybe with some Bartolini pickups...

Personally I'd go for the Quantum but they are quite different from the Flea basses. Try a Quantum first (if you can find one) and see how it compares. Give it some thought. I'd probably want to avoid butchering the Flea bass if I could.

[quote name='kjb' timestamp='1334054862' post='1610108'] Bob Dylan was once criticised by a guy by a guy who claimed that his new songs weren't as relevant as his old ones. Dylan reportedly just said "well I'm out here writing songs, what are you doing ?" [/quote] If they don't cut the mustard, they don't cut the mustard. What worth does art have if it is just art for art's sake? Going out and writing songs seems pretty pointless to me if all you can create is dull, derivative pap. That said, many great sidemen just stick to being a sideman because they either know they don't want to pursue solo efforts or they know they don't have it in them to make anything worth listening to on their own. Not taking anything away from them as top class sidemen. Just like Bob Dylan's lacklustre offerings, I see Janek's music as similarly irrelevant. Luckily he seems to have a few internet crusaders to fight his corner so he won't feel too upset.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' timestamp='1333906798' post='1608071'] Was watching some videos this afternoon and something struck me... skinny young lad, precision bass, pick, huge 90 degree plus arm swing action on the plucking hand. Does anybody *really* play like this (I don't even see how you can) or is it purely for effect? [/quote] Sounds like some talentless hack trying to look like a rock star!

[quote name='jazzyvee' timestamp='1333971918' post='1608861'] All the ones I have use the filter circuits and really do take time to understand how they work as on the signature and series basses they operate individually on each pickup so the scope for sound sculpturing is massive and it takes a while to get confident enough to dial in tonal changes mid song quickly. But it is really worth the effort. [/quote] FWIW, I love filter circuits too. My ACG is a real joy to play around with. Everyone should at least have a go of a filter circuit to see if they like them.

I used to have an Alembic Epic fretless. Absolutely fantastic deal I got on it too, picked it up off these boards for £600. Despite being a 'low end' Alembic with a simple boost/cut preamp in it, it was still a fantastic bass. Beautifully made piece of kit, lovely tone and a fantastic player too. Sold because I never really use my fretless basses as much as my fretted ones! As for the option of dropping some big cash on an Alembic, I would advise you to think long and hard about that. I've been there before, with Alembics and other basses in the past (notably Wals). Yes, they are stunning instruments, but it is very easy to get caught up in 'bass pricing'. I sometimes take a step back frm looking at bass guitars to get a real feel for their prices. £1000 will buy you a cracking handmade bass secondhand. Consider what else you can get with £1000 though. Then think of a used Alembic, selling for say, £4000 used. It might sound like a cracking deal for a used Alembic, but when you take a step back and consider what £4000 might buy in the real world, you are given a new perspective on the matter!

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1333936085' post='1608533'] The house will be treated as a potential crime scene until the postmortem is completed if the cause of death was sudden and unexpected. How long it's going to take really depends on what the pathologist finds. [/quote] In all likelihood I would expect the crime scene to be stood down before then. Once all potential evidence has been collected it will probably be stood down, as long as there is nothing outwardly suspicious about the state of the deceased or evidence of third party involvement. An HO Post Mortem can't always be conducted on the same day the deceased is recovered. I guess it mostly depends on circumstances we (and the OP) are not privvy to. In any event, you won't be going near that gear until the scene is stood down, so you might as well not get too hung up on it.

They were never a huge seller, but they shifted more than you might think. They come up fairly regularly for sale on Talkbass and a couple a year pop up on these boards too.

I do like new gear, but mainly new basses. I very, very rarely use effects. Maybe a touch of chorus in the studio, but I don't use any when I am just playing at home. However, when I get a new bass I do feel inspired to play it, certainly.

Anyone who refers to another musician as a 'cat'. Makes you look like a total bellend. Mind you, it was more popular with try hard, jazz fusion wannabes on Talkbass than here.

[quote name='Nibody' timestamp='1333782230' post='1606307'] Easy, line them up, shoot from close range. Bullet should get all three.... [/quote] Either that, or the bullet will do at least two, depending on the calibre. The third man can be beaten to death with the weapon.

[quote name='kjb' timestamp='1333832689' post='1607245'] Question, how does a player get to the position to be playing with well respected band leaders like Mike Stern, other than on the merit of their playing ? Also what do you think Mike Stern's reason was for hiring Janek ? I always associate 'chops' to mean Speed and technique. I'm pretty certain that it takes more than chops to land a gig with Mike Stern. By the way, I'm the same age as Janek, so I certainly don't have a schoolboy crush on him, anymore than you do on the much younger and far better looking Hadrien Feraud. [/quote] I'm not particularly interested in giving life to this aspect of the debate, so I will paraphrase the thoughts I have already listed on here:[list] [*]Getting top end gigs does not automatically impress me [*]Therefore, I suspect Mike Stern probably hears something in Janek I do not [*]That said, I do not hugely rate Mike Stern in the jazz fusion world either [*]For me, Janek does a good impression of a top class bass player. Makes all the right moves, pulls all the right faces but ultimately I find his playing very dull, I find his music dull and possibly the ultimate expression of modern bass 'fuzak', to borrow a phrase from a certain someone. Souless, devoid of merit, quality, passion, fire...etc etc. [/list] You ought to have more faith in your own views rather than getting so offended by mine that you come here to crusade on Janek's behalf. Maybe next time you see him though you can tell him you stuck up for him on the internet, I'm sure he'll be very appreciative!

Good grief, this takes me back. I had no idea these guys were still going.

[quote name='JakeBrownBass' timestamp='1333757745' post='1606251'] They're girls hands.....? [/quote] I thought they looked like man hands. Obviously hewn from hours of practice.