| Author | Message | ||
| michele
New Username: michele Post Number: 1 Registered: 4-2016 |
I've just received my first Alembic, a 5 strings Essence. After owning a lot of nice basses I've pulled the trigger on it not being sure of what to expect. I wanted something "different", the price was good and I went for it. Wow... is this thing considered an entry level? My head is spinning figuring out what a custom could be... I'm really surprised and excited to say the least. Will post some details and pics very soon... It's just one number apart a stolen one reported here ... you could imagine how my heart skip a beat just before unveiling the last serial number digit! | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 4987 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hi Michele, welcome to the world of Alembic basses. Entry level is only applicable when you are comparing within the alembic range of instruments. However the build quality is exactly the same on all of their models regardless of price. You will be hard pushed to find another bass that comes close to what you get with an alembic. Check the quote generator to scare yourself with some custom options. :-) http://www.alembic.com/cgi-bin/quote/quote?model=Essence | ||
| slawie
Senior Member Username: slawie Post Number: 866 Registered: 8-2002 |
"I just received my first Alembic" It is very difficult to stop at just one ;) Welcome to the club. Play it healthy. I really have a fondness for the Essence body with 5 strings. The people in this forum will guide you through any question you may come across. The Alembic Club is resource rich. | ||
| dtothec
Intermediate Member Username: dtothec Post Number: 122 Registered: 3-2015 |
The addiction has started! Congratulations and welcome to the club! | ||
| michele
New Username: michele Post Number: 2 Registered: 4-2016 |
Thanks guys! In my 20+ years of bass playing I've owned some very nice instruments. I'm not rich plus I am a die hard one-axe kind of guy. That means sold one-buy another... I've done that for years. I have been very fortunate as I've experienced among the others a couple of vintage Fenders, two Sadowskys, two Smiths, a Carl Thompson and more recently two Fodera. So you bet I'm not naive when it comes to nice handmade boutique instruments.. but.. man.. what's this thing? I LOVE IT. It's soooooo different from everything I've ever played, I'm not even sure I can properly describe it with my poor english. The first and biggest change is this totally new to me filter thing. That's genius! With just the pickup pan and the filter knob this thing is capable of many great and USABLE tones! Here are some pics. For some reason I'm not able to post pictures here. If someone can, he's welcome to do it. Those are pictures from the previous owner: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipM8-9aDcuYJaH7WmdN_Kz2rS6vVLqANRogk-UAJv7LQBOVljq83PH9jZ8nT83BRbA?key=dVNpdGI3VDktYzZ5YklXS191dFlhX2N3M3RrRXRR | ||
| gregduboc
Senior Member Username: gregduboc Post Number: 578 Registered: 11-2008 |
Michele, that's a beautiful bass you just got your hands on. Congratulations! Greg | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4880 Registered: 5-2009 |
Michele , Congratulations on your new bass and welcome to our little corner of the internet web. Wolf | ||
| michele
New Username: michele Post Number: 5 Registered: 4-2016 |
Thanks everybody for the warm welcome! I'm not sure about what wood the top is, I'm between walnut and indian rosewood... While I'm waiting for the serial number to be decoded, anybody guess? | ||
| the_mule
Senior Member Username: the_mule Post Number: 799 Registered: 1-2004 |
Pretty sure it's walnut. Very nice Essence, enjoy! Wilfred | ||
| germansal
Member Username: germansal Post Number: 86 Registered: 8-2004 |
Oh man I can't believe to find this bass here I 've called the guy last Monday and told me that the bass was sold..........no hard feelings....Enjoy!!!!!!!!because it was a really good price!!!! | ||
| fc_spoiler
Senior Member Username: fc_spoiler Post Number: 1894 Registered: 5-2006 |
Here are the pics, very nice bass! Congrats and welome here :-)       Looks like Walnut indeed. | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4882 Registered: 5-2009 |
Very nice . Eccellente! | ||
| poor_nigel
Senior Member Username: poor_nigel Post Number: 429 Registered: 11-2009 |
Welcome! Nice wide-neck, five-string bass there! I don't consider your bass entry level at all. I bet it sounds great. This club is the best place on the planet for all things Alembic, and not a friendlier forum/club around. It has some of the most proficient players, fixers, and dreamers one would want to exchange ideas with. Stay a while. | ||
| michele
New Username: michele Post Number: 6 Registered: 4-2016 |
@fc spoiler: Thanks for posting pics! Speaking of the neck, maybe it could be considered wide related to other Alembics but it's a very comfortable neck! I guess it's the Comfort Alembic profile... the spacing at bridge is 17mm which makes it the narrowest and most comfortable I've ever had. The stiffness and straightness of this neck is UNBELIEVABLE. Let me explain... I'm a setup fanatic, totally. I setup my own instruments and I'm very picky about it. Well, I give you some numbers... The Foderas I previously owned were the instruments that took the best setup in terms of neck straightness, low action and ease of playing. Well, that was before Alembic :-D That's what I do: Capo at first fret, press the B string at 24th frets. This makes the string a straightedge. Measure the gap between bottom of the string and top of 8th fret: this is your neck relief and here for an extremely low action (a la Victor Wooten) Fodera suggest 0.010". That way you could obtain (if that's what you want) a string action of 1 mm (measured at 12th fret) and around 1.5 mm (measured at 24th fret). That's to say that a gap of 0.010" measured this way translate to a pretty straight neck with minimal relief. Under that value the Fodera was string buzz fest. Now, wonder what neck relief value I found on the Essence? I had to double check because I didn't believe my eyes ... 0.002". And I didn't even had to work on it myself ... it came in this way! Not buzz anywhere on the neck and a FANTASTIC feeling on the left hand. (Message edited by michele on April 14, 2016) (Message edited by michele on April 14, 2016) | ||
| edwardofhuncote
Senior Member Username: edwardofhuncote Post Number: 941 Registered: 6-2014 |
Very nice bass, Michele. Congratulations & Compliments, and welcome to the Board. | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 1717 Registered: 11-2004 |
Michele, Beautiful bass- welcome to the Alembic family. It's a bit of a revelation to set these basses up after learning on other instruments. So many tiny details (bridge radiused to match the fretboard), adjustable nut, etc- all of the details make the setup so much more precise and adjustable. It sounds like you're a setup pro,but Joey has a post in the FAQ section about setting up Alembic basses that is one of the most informative and concise explanations of how to get your action where you want it on an Alembic. You can read it here: http://alembic.com/club/messages/16271/16318.html?1107545766 | ||
| 5a_quilt_top
Member Username: 5a_quilt_top Post Number: 84 Registered: 6-2012 |
Nice! Looks like a walnut top and mahogany back to me. It's been my experience that Alembics are very easy to adjust to suit specific player preferences. And, now that you've discovered this little corner of the galaxy, your only real "problem" will be curbing your desire for "just one more"... | ||
| michele
New Username: michele Post Number: 7 Registered: 4-2016 |
Thanks, already read Joey's great setup post. Alembic was unknown land to me till yesterday and, being the bass fanatic I am, I'm trying to educate myself on this amazing community as fast as I can :-) That said... bass is missing two side dots and since it has a blank fingerboard ... I need them (one of the missing is at 12th fret which is particularly annoying). Will Alembic provide me a couple dots? | ||
| gtrguy
Senior Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 1047 Registered: 9-2004 |
I used to have an Epic 5 string that I really liked, but since I am such a visual player I sold it cause it had no fretboard markers. It was just too hard to see on a dark stage. | ||
| fc_spoiler
Senior Member Username: fc_spoiler Post Number: 1896 Registered: 5-2006 |
Are you sure they're missing and not just covered with dirt? Never seen dots missing on an Alembic, I guess they go in pretty deep. | ||
| michele
New Username: michele Post Number: 8 Registered: 4-2016 |
Pretty sure they're missing, I see/feel the tiny little hole. Plus aren't they supposed to be aluminum made? Mine are brass/bronze colored... | ||
| ed_zeppelin
Advanced Member Username: ed_zeppelin Post Number: 328 Registered: 2-2010 |
Oh great. Now you tell me.  | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 2574 Registered: 9-2002 |
Congrats on your Essence Five, Michele. You will find that ALEMBICs are 'Set-Up Workshops'. The adjustable nut frees you from filing or filling conventional nut slots as needed. The bridge is one-piece, matched to the fingerboard radius, so you skip a lot of argy-bargy vs. a conventional bass bridge. The double truss rods give you more control than normal. Couple this with a five-piece neck topped with 1/4" slab ebony on a vintage 1999 guitar (yours), the action just isn't going to move much; and if it did, you have many more tools to tweak it than normally seen. I essentially shoot for a dead-straight neck, and let in a little more relief until it no longer buzzes through the pickups. It may squeak a little unplugged, but once you're at that point, you've got all it's going to give you. I'm really convinced that somewhere out there, there are some fretted ALEMBICs that would play just fine with a dead-straight, zero-relief set-up. Which is actually impossible, but I wouldn't rule it out. You've come to ALEMBIC at the right time, having owned a formidable selection of other great basses, and there's lots of good ones out there. ALEMBICs are not for everyone, not everyone gets it, or hears it. You have to remember, they invented this game. A lot of their features existed in some fashion in other brands, but no one ever put them together like this, before or since. These things are like Bosendorfers or Selmer Paris horns or D'Angelicos: There is no substitute. There's lots of great axes out there, but they're all just everything else. But for someone that can appreciate the construction and the tone, nothing else comes close. In a world of 3-band EQ's on basses (who thought that was a good idea?), you've seen so quickly that your hands, a pan pot, and a filter stack can do an awful, awful lot. Who knew? And you'll find they're built and supported by the best people in the world. ALEMBIC is a very small family business, yet all of us here are all recipients of the Wickershams' good will and encouragement. Hard to get on the phone sometimes or via EMail, but any of us can tell you about buying a used Alembic to start with and being treated like we just placed an order for 12. Just the best. So have a ball, and welcome to the Club! Joey | ||
| michele
New Username: michele Post Number: 9 Registered: 4-2016 |
Joey, I totally feel your words! On a side note: among all these good things that Alembic brought to me there is one that certainly is worth mentioning. When I consider/buy/wait for a new bass I went through all the youtube videos searching for demos, artists etc.. Alembic was no exception and while running through all the Alembic related videos I stumbled upon a player that I've never heard of before. He's name is Jimmy Johnson. Good Lord, how refreshing is in a world full of flashing slappety-poppety-tappety speedy nonsense to hear someone with such a taste, someone capable of really putting his soul behind every single note, in every little nuance of his playing! Check out this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tKQgz4AI3M Gives me goosebumps everytime I hear it. | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 3747 Registered: 10-2002 |
Michele - It may surprise you to learn that Jimmy is a frequent contributor on our forum and has his own thread here . Many of us have also been lucky enough to meet up with him before one of his gigs and found he's one of the nicest, most down to earth 'superstars' of our instrument one could hope to find. Plus, Congrats on an incredible instrument and welcome to the club. Graeme | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 8840 Registered: 6-2000 |
Bronze might be the original material - we used that for many years. I've don't remember seeing one fall out, but there's always a first time for everything. I can send you a small piece of the rod you can glue in, trim then sand smooth. Email me your mailing address and I'll send it off. | ||
| jimmyj
Senior Member Username: jimmyj Post Number: 645 Registered: 8-2008 |
Hey Michele! Welcome to the club and thanks for the very kind words there. You too Graeme, you're embarrassing me. The Alembic bass has been my choice since 1975... (yes, I'm ancient). I had been playing a few years by then and had owned maybe 4 or 5 other basses before discovering the Series I. And that was that. Apparently this big open sound was what I heard in my head because I've been playing them ever since. As Joey said, and you know from your own experience, there are other great builders out there but Alembics have a unique combination of things. They may not be what everybody wants - and some guys own different axes for different occasions - but I have played these basses in widely varying musical situations and have always found them able to do just what I wanted. Hope you continue to enjoy your new axe. Best wishes Jimmy J | ||
| michele
New Username: michele Post Number: 10 Registered: 4-2016 |
@mica: many thanks! I'm about to purchase some polish and a trussrod wrench in the shop so the dots stuff could be included. @jimmy: Sir, thanks for your words and for your music! |
