| Author | Message | ||
| essencetimestwo
Intermediate Member Username: essencetimestwo Post Number: 135 Registered: 8-2003 |
Someone on TB is considering gutting an Alembic. Help me try and stop him! http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4811065&posted=1#post4811065 | ||
| bassjigga
Advanced Member Username: bassjigga Post Number: 259 Registered: 8-2005 |
People do some strange things. Most people buy alembics to get away from the bartolini sound. | ||
| artswork99
Intermediate Member Username: artswork99 Post Number: 172 Registered: 7-2007 |
I guess the TB user put it like it is... "Thanks for the opinions. But what I need is someone who has the knowledge regarding fingerboard radius." This certainly doesn't mean I agree with the changing/gutting of an Alembic. In fact I agree that it is a sin... but I have to admit that they're his basses to do what he wants with them... Or are they all really Mica's as I heard her once jokingly post? That was a joke wasn't it?  (Message edited by artswork99 on October 19, 2007) | ||
| jseitang
Advanced Member Username: jseitang Post Number: 217 Registered: 6-2002 |
its like saying " hey i have a mercedes benz but i like to change the engine to a nissan maxima." weird. | ||
| hifiguy
Intermediate Member Username: hifiguy Post Number: 116 Registered: 10-2006 |
That klown has a Series 2 and he can't find the sound he wants? Though he's not considering gutting the S2, get this: "sometimes I need something deeper and smoother that Alembic can't deliver." "Deeper??" "Smoother?" Than an Alembic? Render unto me a freaking break...... | ||
| bassjigga
Advanced Member Username: bassjigga Post Number: 260 Registered: 8-2005 |
I think this line was my favorite. Someone's response to him. "Oh yeah, most manufacturers put pretty conservative pickups in axe's when there made. Replacement pups give you the royal tone you desire." | ||
| hieronymous
Advanced Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 220 Registered: 1-2005 |
He was here for a while too but the Alembic fundamentalism was too much for him - can't say I blame him either. It's not something I would do personally, but give the guy a break! It's not like he's carving up a vintage Series I or that he's ignorant of the Alembic sound, he just wants to try something different. If it were me I would try and do it so that it wasn't non-reversible, but he doesn't appear to care at this point, and I wonder how much the negative reaction when he posted here affected him. | ||
| u14steelgtr
Member Username: u14steelgtr Post Number: 59 Registered: 7-2003 |
Fingerboard radius of 12" versus 16" should not make a substantial difference with regard to the pickups. Changing string types would make more difference than the issue of having the the optimized fingerboard radius. I suggest that he just swap in the Bartolini pickups and if he is not happy he can swap the OEM pickups back in to his Bass. The words "Smoother" and "Deeper" have different meanings to different people in this context. My Alembic has never been my GO-TO instrument. In fact among my electrics it is the instrument I play the least. If it were a Series; I am sure that this would be a different story entirely. We need to decide whether we are going to restore or to customize. Regards -- Eugene | ||
| artswork99
Intermediate Member Username: artswork99 Post Number: 173 Registered: 7-2007 |
Harry has kindly brought to our attention that this was thoroughly discussed in April 2007, (thank you Harry). With all of the facts available that Robert shared at the "Bartolinis on Alembics?" thread I totally agree to leave Robert to his own design ("give him a break"). Who are we to tell him not to do this (again). Especially when he's asking for the same help at another forum that he requested here. | ||
| artswork99
Intermediate Member Username: artswork99 Post Number: 174 Registered: 7-2007 |
Go Eugene! The first answer to Roberts concerns and questions that I have seen. I hope that he swings by to see your post. | ||
| alembic_doctor
Advanced Member Username: alembic_doctor Post Number: 349 Registered: 8-2002 |
I'm still reeling from the after market p/u remark. What a maroon. | ||
| lidon2001
Advanced Member Username: lidon2001 Post Number: 347 Registered: 4-2005 |
I guess this guy's a goof too...  Play what you want, the key point is in the playing. | ||
| jseitang
Advanced Member Username: jseitang Post Number: 218 Registered: 6-2002 |
nuff said!!!!! | ||
| oujeebass
Intermediate Member Username: oujeebass Post Number: 105 Registered: 10-2002 |
Trying something new or different or experimentation with this that or the other is very Alembic. | ||
| glocke
Advanced Member Username: glocke Post Number: 258 Registered: 9-2002 |
I dunno....I bought my alembics because I wanted the alembic tone(s). Seems kind of a shame to gut a series II to install a generic pickup set. | ||
| hieronymous
Advanced Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 221 Registered: 1-2005 |
Umm... He's NOT doing it to a Series II, he's doing it to a Persuader. | ||
| glocke
Advanced Member Username: glocke Post Number: 259 Registered: 9-2002 |
oh...my bad... | ||
| terryc
Advanced Member Username: terryc Post Number: 305 Registered: 11-2004 |
The man an absolute idiot..'smoother & deeper' what on earth is he listening to, maybe he should go for an audiometry test to see if he has noise induced hearing loss because as I work in the occupational health profession it does make a difference. And that comment on 'royal tone'..does he mean the way royalty speak. I thought all low Z pick ups were based on Ron's design or am I missing something..sorry I don't give anyone a break when I see statements like that. Why doesn't he get bass & treble pre amps to install?? | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 1650 Registered: 6-2002 |
One person's "pure" is another person's "deep", another person's "scooped", another person's "warm", another person's "funky", another person's "dirty", another person's "gritty", and so inevitably another person's "distorted". | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 1651 Registered: 6-2002 |
And vice versa. | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 1652 Registered: 6-2002 |
Plus the original poster states that he is a session player, has been using a Series bass for years, as well as other Alembics, and now needs something that produces the Bartolini sound, but with the feel of an Alembic. The last bit is why his only option is to replace the electronics on an Alembic. His actual question remains somewhat unanswered - Barts are supposed to be designed for a 16" radius, Alembics for 12", and does that produce a problem. (No problem, as suggested by Eugene a few posts up from this one.) (Message edited by adriaan on October 22, 2007) | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 2667 Registered: 7-2004 |
Tom: Jerry did use Dimarzios rather than Alembic pickups. Bill, tgo | ||
| lidon2001
Advanced Member Username: lidon2001 Post Number: 348 Registered: 4-2005 |
Yes, Bill, that's the point I'm trying to make. A bit of sarcasm in my comments. While it is debatable that Alembic electronics are superior, I'm sure they are not right for every situation, and people should be encouraged to experiment. Alembic makes their electronics modular and easy to remove for that reason. I have some SD humbuckers ready to go for Pele, I just am slow to get the pickup rings made, and I am playing more bass. I suggest fellow member Dr. Levine trys this himself, and see if that will not get him closer to the sound he wants out of his Alembics. It might take a year or two for me to do the same to Pele and give a report. (Message edited by lidon2001 on October 22, 2007) | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Advanced Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 217 Registered: 10-2006 |
Yeah, Jerry swapped his stock p/ups out for DiMarzios - he also said once in an interview that he had to switch a lot, because they wore out; said he'd kill a set of Strat p/ups in about a month, IIRC. Ah, the wonders of lysergically enhanced perception! Peter | ||
| glocke
Advanced Member Username: glocke Post Number: 260 Registered: 9-2002 |
"said he'd kill a set of Strat p/ups in about a month, IIRC. " geez...how much playing, and under what conditions does it take to wear out pickups in that time frame... | ||
| terryc
Advanced Member Username: terryc Post Number: 306 Registered: 11-2004 |
destroy a set of p/ups in a month..I think this 'show biz' bull, unless you are sticking screw drivers in them and purposely destroying them but not in a normal gig situation..that is interview fodder. get real...even the cheapest p/ups last longer than a month Oh yes my Honda CBR1000RR is quicker than a motogp bike... | ||
| hydrargyrum
Advanced Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 296 Registered: 3-2004 |
I agree that normal use seems highly unlikely to ever damage a pickup, but I wonder what effect storing a guitar in an area with a strong magnetic field could produce (say close to a speaker magnet). I have certainly had television screens go wonky when my amp was within a couple of feet from them. I am pretty cautious about not leaving my guitars near anything that would generate a field, but I am probably just being needlessly paranoid. | ||
| 81distillate
New Username: 81distillate Post Number: 3 Registered: 1-2008 |
Im a little late to this conversation, but I think that he should probably use an outboard preamp, rather than changing his alembic. Once its changed, he probably will wish he had THAT sound. However, I agree that without experimentation, we wouldnt have arrived in the 70's with the Alembic tone that most players on here know and love. The ideal that "Alembic" tone is universally the best tone is merely an opinion. The search for greatness within one's self and his/her instrument is a goal we should all subscribe to without reservation. | ||
| georgie_boy
Advanced Member Username: georgie_boy Post Number: 312 Registered: 8-2005 |
He's in need of Psychiatric help the poor chap. Let's think ourselves lucky that we do not suffer from the aforementioned affliction | ||
| u14steelgtr
Member Username: u14steelgtr Post Number: 61 Registered: 7-2003 |
Back in October I sent Robert an off-List reply. I have not gotten the impression that Robert is foolish or uninformed. Quite the contrary in fact. He has been playing numerous basses including some Series models for a long time. He is looking for a different sound but does not want to give up the instruments which he finds the most comfortable. Some people are satisfied with 1 gun, 1 car, or one bass. Other people want to experiment and try new things. I drive different instruments on different days and at different times. The one piece of advice that I have offered to people (for as long as I can recall) that are thinking about getting another instrument is this: play every instrument that you have a chance to play from the best known to one of a kind obscure instruments. The more points of reference you have the more you will know about what you like and do not like. Robert knows enough about what he likes and the sound he wants to know that a different set up pickups will get him closer to the sound he seeks but that the playing characteristics of an instrument he already owns will be most comfortable to him. -E | ||
| pinbacking
Member Username: pinbacking Post Number: 51 Registered: 1-2005 |
Ya, by reading the thread I actually kinda felt bad for the guy. Even though I think he is making an egregious error in switching the electronics, it must have been infuriatingly frustrating to try to get help from the people who know best just to be snubbed off. Opinion is one thing, upbraiding somebody is another. I'm with everyone else (I bought an Epic from GC that had been gutted out and I was so upset, I sold it the next day) so I know what a ridiculous thing it is to switch stuff out, but somebody could have at least helped him in the right direction... (Message edited by pinbacking on February 08, 2008) | ||
| bigbadbill
Senior Member Username: bigbadbill Post Number: 423 Registered: 10-2003 |
Have to say, as great as my Alembic is, my go-to instruments are still my Rics. Do they have a better sound? All I can say is they work better in my band; in fact no matter what basses I play/buy I always come back to them for most things. It all depends on how you play and what you're playing against. I have no problem with finding a comfortable instrument and adapting it to suit your sonic style. | ||
| hendixclarke
Advanced Member Username: hendixclarke Post Number: 206 Registered: 6-2007 |
Alembic, pickups replaced? This guy is on drugs. He has to be... No one in their right mind would do something like this. If there was ever a an "Alembic Commandments" this would be the first law. "Thou shall not replace inferior parts upon the body of an original Alembic..." | ||
| hieronymous
Advanced Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 254 Registered: 1-2005 |
And it's exactly this kind of fundamentalism that drove the guy away. |
