In praise of Alembic Activators

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Author Message hieronymous Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 640 Registered: 1-2005 Posted on Monday, September 14, 2009 - 10:51 pm:    In August I was able to do some brief recording at Oxbow Studios in Massachusetts. Normally we try and record twice, but due to schedules and time constraints, we could only record bass and drums one night. As usual it was 95% improvised, or "spontaneous composition" (a term/concept I borrowed from the German group Can), by my drummer Greg DeGuglielmo and myself. I recorded a few tracks with my "Telembic" - here's my favorite: ostronato (alpha-omega mix) It's the P-Bass Activators through an Alembic F-2B preamp, a dbx 162 compressor, then into ProTools. Until this song I had been playing with my fingers, but switched to a heavy pick. I had the filter pretty open, and as soon as we started playing, I realized that it sounded kind of too "trebly" with the pick. I remember turning down the filter as I was playing, and thinking that I had ruined the track! But I kept playing. In hindsight, I think it sounds great! The different filter settings totally change the mood. To illustrate, here is the isolated bass track for the middle section (which is the first that I mixed): ostronato bass Here it is with everything else on top: ostronato extract Obviously Greg's drumming has a lot to do with the different moods, but I think the variety of tones that the Activators make possible had a huge impact too. I guess I should point out too that the Rhodes electric piano is also going through the same signal chain, with a Budda Phat Bass distortion as well. Most of the keyboard parts were improvised and overdubbed afterwards - the section in the "extract" took several overdubs to get right, so not as "spontaneous" as the rest. Thanks for listening! mario_farufyno Advanced Member Username: mario_farufyno Post Number: 284 Registered: 9-2008 Posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 5:27 am:    Great tune! pace Senior Member Username: pace Post Number: 426 Registered: 4-2004 Posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 1:31 pm:    Harry, If you're ever out this way again, shoot me an e-mail. I'm a straight shot down I-395 from Oxbow. jet_powers Senior Member Username: jet_powers Post Number: 472 Registered: 2-2003 Posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 1:57 pm:    Is that the Oxbow in Wayland, MA? My ex-wife is from Wayland. Nice town. Some of its people, well, one of them, not so much! JP hieronymous Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 641 Registered: 1-2005 Posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 2:07 pm:    It used to be in Wayland but moved to Marlborough - new & improved! davehouck Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 8733 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 5:36 pm:    Harry; my memory is failing. I do seem to recall you mentioning that you were moving, but I can't recall any details. And here I was thinking this must be a really special studio to make it worth traveling all the way from California. Boy am I behind! hieronymous Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 642 Registered: 1-2005 Posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 6:44 pm:    Nope, your memory is fine Dave - I still live and work in California, Oxbow Studios moved to Marlborough, Mass. But it is definitely a special place for me - I grew up in Massachusetts so it's like going home, but I also get to play and record my own music with the best drummer I have played with (Greg DeGuglielmo if you don't want to click the link). davehouck Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 8736 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 7:41 pm:    Ah, ok; I just get confused from time to time. hieronymous Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 643 Registered: 1-2005 Posted on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 - 12:19 pm:    No problem - I would love to move back to Massachusetts, but then I remember shoveling snow... I thought I would sneak in a picture: I'm not holding an Alembic-related bass (and not sure what I'm looking at - probably listening to a playback), but the F-2B is prominently displayed on the left! This thread could just as easily be titled, "in praise of the F-2B" because I love recording with it! In fact, I own two - one @ Oxbow and one @ home. Here's another track, no Telembic this time, but both the distorted Ric and distorted Rhodes are going through the F-2B: willowmass jazzyvee Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 1676 Registered: 6-2002 Posted on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 - 5:28 pm:    I have alembic activators in one of my strats. They have an amazing sound. Jazzyvee hieronymous Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 655 Registered: 1-2005 Posted on Wednesday, November 04, 2009 - 10:28 pm:    Here's a kind of silly piece - it's called "Guess Who?!!!" as in "guess who's on drums?" Obviously not my usual drummer - it's me! I can only play a couple of beats and not all that well, but it was fun to play along with myself later with my Telembic. Somewhat on topic here's me on the drums at one of the NoCal Alembic Gatherings: mario_farufyno Advanced Member Username: mario_farufyno Post Number: 351 Registered: 9-2008 Posted on Thursday, November 05, 2009 - 4:00 pm:    I like all your songs... hieronymous Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 656 Registered: 1-2005 Posted on Friday, November 06, 2009 - 9:10 am:    Thanks Mario! I'm hoping to upload some Alembicized-Fender finger funk soon! hieronymous Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 659 Registered: 1-2005 Posted on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - 9:48 am:    Here's the funk I promised: allyn And a slow groove as well: slunk And here's a picture I forgot I took recently - not the best picture I've taken, but needed to get a pic into this thread!