| Author | Message | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 1267 Registered: 2-2011 |
As I get ready to take delivery of my first painted Alembic I thought I would start a page dedicated to those of us who dared to forgo tradition & add paint to these works of art. So if you have a painted Alembic post a picture! Since my Europa isn't finished yet I will start the thread with my Photoshop rendition of what mine will look like when it's finished. I'll post another picture when it is completed. | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 4130 Registered: 6-2002 |
Here is my trio. Natural Honeyburst finish  Solid Black  Clear purple  | ||
| zomnius
New Username: zomnius Post Number: 8 Registered: 9-2013 |
and…. what is the main axe? | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 4131 Registered: 6-2002 |
Well most of my gigs are reggae these days and I've found over the past couple of years that surprisingly the black maple bodied Europa seems to have the best natural fit for that genre. So I guess that's my main bass. It has fantastic deep clear low end that is very punchy. It's a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing because the black paint does not draw attention to the bass visually on stage but the bottom end sound has so much authority and that's what is important for people to feel as well as hear in reggae. | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 2212 Registered: 9-2002 |
So for the picture-posting-challenged (ME !), how do you guys get those big pics in your posts? Every time I try it, I wind up with thumbnails ! By the time I re-size to the sub-150mb limit, I can never get mine to wind up in the posts that size. J o e y | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 1645 Registered: 11-2004 |
My contribution- the Elan I had built (Joey's bass gave me GAS). http://alembic.com/club/messages/411/58550.html?1314821275 - I asked for a 'honey' color and I think they nailed it. I think they liked it as well, because last I checked, this bass was used on the 'color option' chart for the Amber option. I still hope to one day build an Elan with Series I guts (with MV/Pan) in Tangerine orange. I've always loved that color. | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 1646 Registered: 11-2004 |
Oops- forgot to post the picture. More pics can be seen at the link above.  | ||
| adriaan
Moderator Username: adriaan Post Number: 3126 Registered: 6-2002 |
Joey, don't resize but work with the compression rate of the jpeg. You can usually compress a lot before losing too much picture quality. I gather a lot of programs have a "save for the web" option that's like a shortcut to the same settings. | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 4134 Registered: 6-2002 |
For sizing on my mac I use the Preview app as it has a slider in the export facility that you just pull to the left till it is a bit under 150k then export it. | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 1268 Registered: 2-2011 |
J o e y, I use this program to resize mine - http://www.fotosizer.com/ It is a free program & when it resizes even though the file size is less than 150kb, the pictures come out huge on the post as you can see by my 1st picture here. It has several preset size options so depending on the original size of the picture, you pick a resize that comes out closest to 150kb. You can resize multiple pictures at once too which is handy if you have several to post. | ||
| dead_head
Junior Username: dead_head Post Number: 19 Registered: 5-2014 |
Rusty, I'm having the same problem as Joey. My pics are around 2MB or slightly less, and my Windows Vista O.S. doesn't seem to do anything, even with Windows Paint feature. Will this program reduce 2MB pics to just under 150KB, then resize them back to large pics to post here? | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 1269 Registered: 2-2011 |
Rob, the program works with any size pictures. Some of mine were over 4MB & it sized them down to under 150kb & they still post as large pictures. You may have to play with the output size until you get a reduced size under 150kb, but it only takes a second to resize them. I usually start with an output size of 1200X800 & depending on the result I will go larger or smaller on the output size to get it as close to 150kb as possible. | ||
| flpete1uw
Advanced Member Username: flpete1uw Post Number: 327 Registered: 11-2011 |
When I had Vista I would take a large file 2Meg and "save as" to my desktop, then in JPEG bring down the file size to <150k than save it. This way the original is still in tact and I would have a file Alembic board ready. JPEG seams to work better in this application, Paint files always seam to stay large bit wise and when your done the size LXW was always small. Go figure. | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 11419 Registered: 5-2002 |
As Adriaan suggested, you want to change the quality of the picture not just the physical size. I don't think the Paint program that comes with Windows will do that; but plenty of other picture editing programs do. I use IrfanView; it's free, light weight, easy, and fast. When you go to Save As, and choose jpg, you then get the option to reduce the quality of the picture. This will significantly reduce the KB size without making any changes to the height and width. And usually the reduction in quality required to get down to 150kb is not too noticeable. I've added an add-on to IrfanView that lets me automatically reduce the quality for a file size of 150kb when I save the file. I will add however that it can be helpful to reduce the width of the picture so that the text of any other comment posted to the thread doesn't run past the width of the browser windows the other members are using to read the messages. If people are having to scroll back and forth to read your comment, then your comment isn't going to be read by as many people. So, ideally, first reduce the picture size to a reasonable width; then reduce the quality to finally get to the 150kb limit. | ||
| tncaveman
Advanced Member Username: tncaveman Post Number: 235 Registered: 2-2011 |
Cranberry per Mica - it's purple / pink / red, depending on the light Stephen | ||
| tncaveman
Advanced Member Username: tncaveman Post Number: 236 Registered: 2-2011 |
Lost image? These are actually not painted, but rather are dyed with a clear coat. (except for the black one)  | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 4140 Registered: 6-2002 |
Alembic generally do not dye the wood. In rare cases this has been specifically asked for. The black one follows the standard route of sealer, clear undercoat then the black paint so I could in practice have the black removed and end up with a natural body colour. | ||
| briant
Senior Member Username: briant Post Number: 680 Registered: 12-2004 |
The Darkness. | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 2214 Registered: 9-2002 |
I rarely get them to pose together:  J o e y | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 2215 Registered: 9-2002 |
I forgot the particulars: The BigRedbass is a Series-shaped (with an Omega !) in long-scale (QUITE the reach to first position) with the deluxe laminates and mahogany wings with quilt tops. I really liked it with the AXY-4's it came with, but I love it with the FatBoy 4's I retrofitted (thanks to Mica and Bob Novy). Very light, just a little under nine pounds (enough to where I once wondered if it was a hollowed-out Series body, but it's not), and just a little neck heavy, like all long scales in this shape. Also Steinberger-esqe in that so much of the neck is clear of the body, ridiculously easy to play around or north of the 12th fret. I've always toyed with replacing the rotary selector with a fader, but I really like the OFF position, so . . . It's a '92 and ridiculously stable in action. Bought it as a consignment here in Nashville. My first. The green Elan Five was my take on the endless succession of Sadowsky-style hot-rodded Fenders. All white wood, Ash wings, maple with cherry stringers, and Susan suggested the 'revealed edge' from the pinstripe in the topside rollover on the boy, as well as Sig electronics. I reversed the P-pickup as per Lee Sklar and Yamaha, and spec'd all the old-school Alembic cues like the bird tailpiece and the witch-hat knobs. It has the best low C's and D's of any five I ever heard, they just grind the low harmonics, amazing. Noticeably heavier than its brother, but rides better on the strap. This was a custom I had made, and could not have gotten it right without Susan and Will Gunn. Took a long time to get the balance in the trim pots just right, the P is a LOT (a LOT) louder than the J, but I'm there now. They're both currently running D'Ad XL's, 50-135's (I like bigger G's and D's), but may be test driving the GHS Gary Willis set next. J o e y | ||
| zomnius
New Username: zomnius Post Number: 9 Registered: 9-2013 |
www Nice, but i thought the deepest sounds would come from the series europa? According to mu experience with series 1. | ||
| zomnius
New Username: zomnius Post Number: 10 Registered: 9-2013 |
www Nice, but i thought the deepest sounds would come from the series europa? According to mu experience with series 1. | ||
| mike1762
Senior Member Username: mike1762 Post Number: 1040 Registered: 1-2008 |
My Green Bass   | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 1274 Registered: 2-2011 |
Thanks for all the posts guys! These are all gorgeous! Keep 'em coming! | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 4141 Registered: 6-2002 |
HI Joey, I was thinking of changing the gauge on my black maple Europa (shown above) for heavier ones as I use that bass primarily for reggae these days and having more mass in the string should give me an even more authoritative tone. So did you have to open up the saddles and the nut slots to fit this larger gauge string? | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 4142 Registered: 6-2002 |
HI Joey, I was thinking of changing the gauge on my black maple Europa (shown above) for heavier ones as I use that bass primarily for reggae these days and having more mass in the string should give me an even more authoritative tone. So did you have to open up the saddles and the nut slots to fit this larger gauge string? | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 2217 Registered: 9-2002 |
Jazzy, in particular, it's a D'Addario EXL160-5 set (nickel roundwounds) in gauges 50, 70, 85, 105, and 135. I have found no evidence of binding or jumping in the nut or saddles as I tune, it seems to tune normally, so I'd have to say no. In the old days in the music store, I had access to the GHS Boomer singles and used to build a four-string set of 50, 70, 85, and 105, so I suppose this is back to that train of thought, I just prefer bigger G's and D's. GHS has recently added an online store where you can buy any and all their various strings in singles, so I could really 'Frankenstein' sets now . . . . J o e y | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 2218 Registered: 9-2002 |
Zomnius, I've never owned a Series instrument (nor a Europa), but I have had more than a few five-strings. In this case, it's (for me) just one of those happy occasions when this bass' woods and electronics are just right (for me) in the way it just sounds those last several notes at the nut on the B-string. The red one is close, but I've just never heard those first several harmonics out of any other bass I ever played. Play a C or D, and you hear the first several harmonics as a fast, repeating cycle in the bottom of the note. You'll know it if you've heard this; if not, it's really hard to put into print. I certainly wouldn't assign this as an 'Elan-only' or 'P/J Activator-only' phenomenon, it's just present in this axe. I once played one of Will Gunn's fives that was the cocobolo-bodied, ebony/maple neckthru, the 'ultimate' recipe that Alembic recommends, and this was there in a different way, like the greatest grand piano you ever heard. That I could see as being present in any of their basses built to that recipe. But my green bass is 'just one of those basses' that just happened to hit the way it does. J o e y | ||
| paulk
New Username: paulk Post Number: 4 Registered: 2-2011 |
My purple Persuader   | ||
| briant
Senior Member Username: briant Post Number: 681 Registered: 12-2004 |
That purple Persuader is hotness. |
