| Author | Message | ||
| willie
Advanced Member Username: willie Post Number: 266 Registered: 11-2003 |
My Girlfriend ran into an old friend who plays drums. She told him about me playing Bass. He asked what kind of Bass I played and she told him that I Play Alembic Basses. He said "Oh, are they like a cheap knock off of a Fender". She told him, "Uh, No!" Do you believe that? I know Alembic's are rare and not everyone knows about them but some people are really clueless! | ||
| keith_h
Senior Member Username: keith_h Post Number: 2216 Registered: 2-2005 |
He's a drummer. Need I say more? Keith | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4136 Registered: 5-2009 |
In the rare posibility that the fellow who made that comment dd it with a straight face and knew what Alembic is all about and was just looking for a reaction from your girl friend , chances are that he might just be a good poker player ! | ||
| 5a_quilt_top
Senior Member Username: 5a_quilt_top Post Number: 506 Registered: 6-2012 |
Drummers...they hit things, don't they - ? ;-) As bad as that was, check this out: A few years ago, prior to playing my first Alembic, I asked a friend of mine who plays bass and has at least 75 instruments (many vintage) in his collection if he'd ever played or owned an Alembic. His response: "Yeah, nothing to write home about, they're a lot like Fenders." | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4137 Registered: 5-2009 |
He obviously really has no experience with Alembic instruments or he is of dire necessity of both an optical exam and a visit to a hearing specialist to get a confirmation of the high frequency cut off of his hearing and evaluation of his actual hearing loss .  | ||
| 5a_quilt_top
Senior Member Username: 5a_quilt_top Post Number: 508 Registered: 6-2012 |
Excellent - ! After having the pleasure of seeing, playing and now owning Alembic instruments - methinks BOTH are in order for him! If I ever have the opportunity, I'd like him to play one of mine and A/B it to one of his vintage pieces. | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 6052 Registered: 7-2004 |
Probably thought you said "Olympic". And, if one knows nothing about a particular brand of bass, but doesn't want to admit the ignorance, one can easily just say: "like a Fender" and be right most of the time. Bill, tgo (Message edited by lbpesq on May 06, 2015) | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 984 Registered: 12-2003 |
Maybe you West Coast folks have had a different experience...I don't know. Seems most guitarists I've spoken with (and quite a few dealers as well) have never heard of Alembic. I think our perspective around here may be a bit skewed. | ||
| hifiguy
Senior Member Username: hifiguy Post Number: 446 Registered: 10-2006 |
I think Bill hit the bull's eye here. Drummers....... | ||
| oujeebass
Intermediate Member Username: oujeebass Post Number: 200 Registered: 10-2002 |
Fender did invent the form factor, so he may be generalizing. | ||
| willie
Advanced Member Username: willie Post Number: 267 Registered: 11-2003 |
I know that the club members are obviously more knowledgeable and aware of Alembic Instruments than the general public. I have had many soundmen and audience members and other musicians ask me "What kind of Bass is that"? It just cracked me up when my girlfriend told me about the drummers comment. But think about how many companies are copying what Alembic does with active electronics and multi laminate through body necks. I guess we can't hold it against people for not knowing about Alembic's. But I hate when a sound man or studio guy does everything he can to get "That Fender Sound".! Uh, if I wanted that I would be playing one. I have them. But I prefer my Alembic's Thank You | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 2011 Registered: 5-2002 |
I can't tell you how many times I've done recordings and the engineer thinks my playing isn't cutting it. I play exactly the same part with a Fender and they tell me I nailed it. Sigh. Some sound people just can't handle anything but a Fender. The good ones, though, love the Alembic sound. They know that there's more than one bass tone. A couple of weeks ago it was gratifying to hear one sound engineer (who has done a ton of pretty big tours, including Jason Bonham's recent tour) tell another how to get a good bass tone from me. Verbatim: "You bring up the DI channel, you bring up the mic channel. Done." | ||
| 5a_quilt_top
Senior Member Username: 5a_quilt_top Post Number: 511 Registered: 6-2012 |
Without exception, every time I used my 5-string Europa "Royale" during rehearsal with the project I recently left, someone in the rehearsal studio commented on how good the bass sounded. These compliments were given additional credibility due to the fact that I used a wide variety of amps and speakers in different studios during my tenure with this project. So - the Alembic bass and my fingers were the consistent elements. | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4142 Registered: 5-2009 |
I recently played a bass track on a recently released album for a local song writer. I was not pleased when I heard the final version with the top end on my bass track cut and my Alembic sound equalized to replicate a Fender P bass tone. At some point I will post a link to that track on this site in a more appropriate thread . | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 4491 Registered: 6-2002 |
I was gonna comment earlier but thought I'd see how the thread develops. I do think we are guilty of assuming Alembic is a well known name amongst musicians. But over here in the UK really it's a bit like a secret club. Those of us who are in it know what it's about and enjoy that exclusivity. Most other musicians I've met, bass players included, have never heard of the name and the odd few that have, in the main have never seen one in the flesh never mind played it. Before I had mine in 2002 I'd never seen another one live on stage apart from Stanley Clarke's. I didn't even know they made guitars till I joined the forum. When I'm asked about what bass I play I do everything I can to avoid the brand name coming out of my mouth first because it feels a bit like bragging. As I said usually musicians have never heard of the brand so I have to run through the usual names of well known players which sometimes helps. Any negativity I hear is usually in regard to the cost. For live situations generally the sound guys have been good and come over to look at the bass during soundcheck or after the gig. No idea what they do out front though. :-) In fact after two large venue gigs I played last year the engineer came up to me after the gig and told me my series II was by a long margin the best sounding bass they'd ever had at their venue. (No comment on my playing though) I do like to inform any interested musicians about alembic and I don't get offended if they don't know them or even like the sound. But I don't bother with ignorant people. For my main band Musical Youth, the engineer is great. A former bass player and is a perfectionist when it comes to his work and he understands what my bass is about and tries to keep as much as possible the sound I give him from my rig. | ||
| 5a_quilt_top
Senior Member Username: 5a_quilt_top Post Number: 512 Registered: 6-2012 |
Wolf - AHA - so it turns out that my friend WAS correct: "...nothing to write home about, they're a lot like Fenders." ...with a little help from some creative mixing & EQ... | ||
| gtrguy
Senior Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 871 Registered: 9-2004 |
I am recording some country tunes right now and the P Bass is what works best. It all depends on how the bass supports the tune and the singer. A lot of the time the song can sound better overall when part of it might sound 'worse'! | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4143 Registered: 5-2009 |
Specifically on the tune that I mentioned there was discussion with the song writer that my full frequency high fidelity target tone would be intended to have the aspects of " The Alembic Sound " That is what I supplied with an Alembic Bass with my interpretation of bass chops and styling from " American Beauty "and "Workingman's Dead " ( Grateful Dead ) The song writer mentioned he like what I played and the sound of my Alembic Bass . I heard the original playback on the day of the recording. What happened at mix down and mastering subtracted the sonic integrity and sound of our prior discussions . In my opinion someone in the post production phase failed to deliver the intended result discussed at the time of laying down the track.__ Just shameful ! No ears in my opinion. I have a 1971 ASH BODY/ MAPLE NECK Fender P-Bass that I played for over a decade in a country band with two to three and more gigs a week . It can't touch any Alembic that I have played. | ||
| mario_farufyno
Senior Member Username: mario_farufyno Post Number: 1097 Registered: 9-2008 |
Once I was getting trouble getting my tone at a soundcheck. The sound guy was dissatisfied because it was sounding too bright and hot. As always, someone suggested that it would be better if I switched to an Fender (it was the drummer, who has a horrible cheap fender clone and thinks it is THE best thing in world...). I went to the console and asked to see how he was set and it was on the digital desk's bass preset... (doesn't need to say what I thought about his engineering skills then). He never thought about hear my bass first, simply picked the EQ curve from preset list. I've just begged him to flat out the chanel first and, suddenly, all major issues were solved! I've asked for some minor adjustment (attenuating some dB on mids - at 350Hz - to control some excessive room's mud at that venue, and a little lift at 120Hz to keep its "body") and it was done. He asked me how do I knew that discarding the preset would work better and I replied that I've wouldn't, just wanted to hear the original bass tone first. He never though that could give up presets (!!!!) and said that I've changed his life... I said that he changed mine: from that time on I never assumed again that they know their job just because they are seated in front of the console. | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 2017 Registered: 5-2002 |
Last night at the Fox in Boulder, I worked with an engineer I've worked with for decades. Always does a great job, especially with the bass. I brought a cab with a K140 and a Beesneez FET47 tribute mic. During setup and sound check he told me to put the mic where I wanted (for in ears and recording) because he wasn't going to use it. Well, at the end of the night, he told me he checked it out and ended up using 95% mic, which has never done before on a bass rig! He said the DI sounded good, but the real tone and character came out through the mic much more clearly. This guy knows his job real well, but he still listens and takes advantage of new opportunities. Definitely no presets for him. As an audio engineer, I've got tons of plugins that come with vast libraries of presets. With a few exceptions (such as Exponential Audio's Excalibur. The developer was a designer for Lexicon at the end of their glory days, and his ideas of spatial effects are well worth checking out), they are completely useless and can do far more damage than good. Even when recording the same people playing the same gear using the same mics and pres doesn't mean that using the previous settings will be the best option the next time around. | ||
| samsamaha
Junior Username: samsamaha Post Number: 33 Registered: 4-2015 |
Well, lets put it like this.... asside from the collectible stuff from the 60's and such, I own what might be some of the most "Expensive" Fender bass gear you can get your hands on... I've got a Master Built Jazz Bass that I had custom made to my specs, with ebony fretboard, Sadowsky pre-amp, Joe Barden pickups, bla bla bla... all told I've got just south of $6000 into this bass... and it's still about half the price of my "Mid range" Alembic... so I'm quite sure this "Friend" is dead wrong, and you can let them read my post if they don't believe you! Alembic makes about as many basses in a month as fender makes in a few days... Master built's are more rare, but still probably outnumber Alembic production. Don't know how to post pics, but here's that Fender... [IMG]http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL146/1913657/24364104/411225472.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL146/1913657/24364104/411225471.jpg[/IMG] (Message edited by samsamaha on May 09, 2015) | ||
| zomnius
Member Username: zomnius Post Number: 62 Registered: 9-2013 |
Until you blow the drummer away with your Alembic. I can match any bass easily with an alembic & its filters. | ||
| growlypants
Intermediate Member Username: growlypants Post Number: 133 Registered: 3-2011 |
"I've never even HEARD of a Lembic bass..." said the world class drummer. | ||
| smuprof
Advanced Member Username: smuprof Post Number: 246 Registered: 12-2003 |
A few years ago we were doing a show and recording and video, so the band leader brought in an expert above the sound guys to make sure everything was perfect. He spent a lot of time tweaking things, but when he got to me and asked me to play, he listened for about 30 seconds, said "Nothing wrong with that," and moved on to the next musician. An Alembic can sound like lots of other basses, but nothing else sounds like an Alembic. | ||
| gtrguy
Senior Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 879 Registered: 9-2004 |
Vintage Stingray, as per the Brothers Johnson | ||
| tncaveman
Advanced Member Username: tncaveman Post Number: 292 Registered: 2-2011 |
John. All I can say is "heck yeah"! Soundman is cool with DAT! Stephen | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 2381 Registered: 9-2002 |
Digital can be very seductive, even in sound reinforcement and recording, where you THINK these guys must surely be smarter than your average musician. I had a friend here in Nashville that did lots of live and session fiddle. On the loud, honky-tonk gigs, he had your basic cereal-box BarcusBerry (read indestructible) fiddle, foam-stuffed, but with very good pickup and amp. The fiddle equivalent of a taking a Takamine instead of your D45 to a club gig. He did a lot of 'B-Team' sessions, 'customs', around town, where he would travel light: A symphony grade violin and an AKG ribbon mic. He'd record utterly dry in a good live booth, done. Some demos he played on went downtown, and a particular executive was VERY taken by his tone, and dispatched a flunkie to find out how he was getting that sound. Called Jim, told him to meet him in a few days at one of those sessions, and he could see for himself. You see, they were convinced and wanted to know what plug-in, etc., he was using. He gets there while he's tracking, and asks the guys at the console what are they using. They tell him they're rolling off just a wee bit of high end for the bow noise and adding a little reverb, the 'rest of it, that's all him'. He was so dumbfounded that after the pass was finished, he literally tracked the cable thru the wall and behind the console, as he was utterly convinced they were pulling his leg, that it HAS to be going through SOMETHING. Nope. Joey | ||
| hankster
Senior Member Username: hankster Post Number: 413 Registered: 6-2004 |
Every session I did on an electric bass before I got my alembic meant a bunch of tweaking by the engineer trying to get some sound they had in their head - whether on my les paul, my stingray or my old favourite in the early days, a Ripper i borrowed. Every session since i went to the alembic - Thirty seconds, tops. "sounds good". |
