| Author | Message | ||
| Frank Goodrick (yggdrasil)
New Username: yggdrasil Post Number: 1 Registered: 5-2002 |
I just received my first Alembic. It's a Series 1 Serial # 77-621. It joins a Warwick Thumb FL 4, a Turner Ren FL 4 & a Jack Casady Sig. I bought it from the original owner & it seems to be in very good condition (esp. for the price I paid), with just the right amount of mojo :-) Pyramid Gold flats on it & I intend to keep it that way (maybe try the TI flats as well) Plays beautifully. Anyway - a few questions - 1)Pots & Switches: between searching the Yahoo Alembic archives & fiddling, I think I have the pots/switches sorted out, but is there a definitive faq on this anywhere? Esp re. the Q-switches, their relation to the tone pots & the use of the 4 slotted potsrecessed into the back plate. 2)there is a buzz on the bridge pickup, unless I turn the tone pot right down. It's worse when the Q-switch is in the lowest position. This could be related to point 3 below (?)Can I eliminate or reduce this buzz? or is it normal noise for a bass of this vintage? 3)The original owner hooked the 1/4 in jack to work in mono off the 9V batteries (I have the power supply BTW). He said he moved a single lead to achieve this & was guided thru the process by Ron Wickersham (from the sounds of it, 20 years ago).Anybody have any experience on this "mod"? Should I change it back? Would it cause the buzz noted above? 4)The curved part of the back headstock laminate has a small lift where it meets the neck (just between the nut & the first fret. It doesn't affect playing at all. Should I leave it be or repair it? 5) I've seen Mica say that the Pyramid Golds are not the same as they were in the 60s; Pyramid says they are. Any further elaboration this ? Thanks in advance to anyone who is feels like responding... Frank in Toronto | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 245 Registered: 6-2000 |
1) There's another good thread in this section going about the Q and filter relationship that should help clear things up for you. The trimpots on the back are arranged with a gain for each pickup (the outside controls) and the hum-balance controls to be the two inside trimmers. 2) If the buzz is 60Hz, you can eliminate it with the hum-balance trimpots on the backplate (the two center ones). I'll post a hum balance procedure later in the "Owning an Alembic" section - seems the most appropriate place. If the buzz is higher frequency, it's what is to be expected on older basses. The only cure is to send it home for an upgrade where we eliminate any directional or persistant high frequency noise. 3) If you don't modify to mono, you get only 1 pickup when you plug in with a regular guitar cord. This isn't convenient if you just want to sit in with your friend's band. Making the jack mono lets you use it like any other non-Alembic guitar. If you leave the 1/4" jack stereo, you can plug headphones directly into the bass and practice without an amp. 4) You can leave it as long as the bass stays in tune. If you notice all the strings going slowly flat, you should get it repaired. The headstock is the weakest part of any bass, and we construct ours so that when they get broken, they break in a predictable and easily repaired manner. Prices for repairing range from $75-450 (it only gets to the expensive end if the bass arrives "headless). 5) I've indicated that what I've heard from some players the Pyramids aren't the same (and the fact they were originally made by Framus which is no more). The rumor I heard from the olden days is the operator the machine that made the Pyramid Golds died, and nobody could get the yield that he did. Also, the call for flatwounds declined and the product was discontinued. Perhaps it's all hooey, but that was our understanding. As with any strings, you should trust your ears and experiment with lots of different kinds, you really can hear a huge difference when you change strings on an Alembic. | ||
| Mark DuFresne (markus)
New Username: markus Post Number: 3 Registered: 5-2002 |
Hey yggdrasil, Love the handle. You've GOT to be a Jack Cassidy fan. Guess so since you have a a Jack Casady Sig also! | ||
| Frank Goodrick (yggdrasil)
New Username: yggdrasil Post Number: 2 Registered: 5-2002 |
Thanks, Mica re.2)I fiddled with the hum/balance pots & reduced the hum to near zero. I'll look forward to your post on hum-balance procedure. re.4) the bass doesn't go flat. it seems more like the actual headstock veneer is lifting from the upper neckback, rather than any sort of crack in the wood itself. Thanks for the other elaborations! Markus- Yes, Casady is the man! How about an Alembic Casady Sig.(after all, wasn't Alembic #1 made for Jack?) You'll have my order tout suite, Mica... Thanks again, Frank. | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 249 Registered: 6-2000 |
It's likely due to impact on the back of the peghead. Usually it will break along a veneer joint, just as you describe. You may find a small ding at the top of the peghead if the bass was hit hard enough. Stop reading our minds! We've had a #1 style bass in development for about 4 months now. We're working out the electronics and a carved pattern for the back that is inspired by, but not a replica, of Jack's bass. There isn't a date set for release, but you can be sure we'll post about it on the Club. Would you like your name added to the official announcement list? To make a replica of Jack's original serial number 1, it would probably cost treble what a Series II costs these days (it was over $4000 in 1972!). | ||
| Frank Goodrick (yggdrasil)
New Username: yggdrasil Post Number: 3 Registered: 5-2002 |
Ok, I'll keep my eye on the headstock. Yes, please add me to the "Casady Bass" announcement list (or whatever it may be called ... I'd like #1, please :-) Don't forget I earn meagre Canadian dollars ! merci, Frank | ||
| Frank Goodrick (yggdrasil)
New Username: yggdrasil Post Number: 4 Registered: 5-2002 |
Actually, I think any bass based on the original Casady should be called the "Yggdrasil Bass" (if you're confused, dig out a vinyl copy of Crown of Creation) | ||
| Chris G. (76ac070)
Junior Username: 76ac070 Post Number: 37 Registered: 5-2002 |
Mica - Will the pickups slide on the rails like Jack's bass did? You're too young to remember, but I ordered my bass in 1975 after Jack let me try his at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY (my band's rehearsal room was above and Tuna was setting up below on stage!). I even went so far as to order 8 of the Alembic speaker cabinets, an F2-B and bought a MC-2300!! When 76AC070 arrived in early '76, everyone laughed at me for my $2,200.00 "coffee table" bass with those "ridiculous" lighted fret position markers (with a DIMMER knob, to boot!!) and that outrageously "loud" inlay....now I'M the one LMAO!! PLEASE put me on your OA list!! Chris | ||
| Michael Delacerda (dela217)
Junior Username: dela217 Post Number: 23 Registered: 6-2002 |
A Jack bass! I love it! I am sure it will be quite far out. I hope anyway. I wouldn't mind one of these too. It may be a fight over serial number 1. Just kidding. I was not a fan of his until very recently. I caught an Airplane show her in New Orleans a year or so ago. Wow! He was not playing an Alembic, but I can just imagine what it was like. He plays with such authority and percussion, it is just amazing. He is an influence on me and I didn't even know it! His style of playing is something I have been working on for years. When I now listen to his older stuff, I have a new appreciation for it. He is definately one of those bass players you have to actually see to appreciate. | ||
| Mike Addyman Sr. (dadabass2001)
New Username: dadabass2001 Post Number: 7 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hi Dela, I haven't joined the discussion for a while (just got out of the hospital with arterial bypass surgery for my legs). Jack Casady was the first instrumentalist I noticed as a young teen in the 60s who never ceased to amaze me with his lyrical and harmonic constructions (Somebody To Love, Rejoyce, Crown of Creation, Sunrise, etc). He is truely the reason I kept playing past high school and didn't get completely depressed even by disco. I only got to see him this last winter with Jorma at Martyr's in Chicago (an acoustic Hot Tuna show). Before that, it was only through albums I got to hear this amazing stuff (Okay, I'm gushing!) I always felt part of the SF mind set was "found sounds" with the instruments and environments. Even simply devices (i.e. octave doubling a line to give it fullness) I too would love to be on the Chairman notification list. Here's a surprise: to this day I can hear some Jack, Phil & Stanley influences in my playing every time I get some autonomy for my parts. Mike |
