| Author | Message | ||
| Michael DeVincenzo (jlpicard)
New Username: jlpicard Post Number: 8 Registered: 7-2002 |
I currently have a'98 Europa and an '86 Distillate that I run through an Eden Traveler head w/ an Alembic SF-2,(TONE MONSTER!!!)in the efx loop.These run into two Euphonic audio cabinets; a VL-208 and a VL-110.If your like me and you don't want to sacrifice your back in the name of great tone,Try these cabinets! BIG,WARM, ACCURATE,tone that fits in the trunk of your car.Of course, this is due in no small way to the Alembic instruments and electronics ,I'm sure, but this set up is very versatile and seems to bring out the best in my basses.I often have complete strangers approach me on a gig and comment on the incredibly clear yet powerfull tone and then ask what brand of instrument I'm playing.After I tell them, they almost always reply....are you ready?(how many of you have had this same experience?)....OLYMPIC? | ||
| Jonathan Johnstone (stoney)
Junior Username: stoney Post Number: 27 Registered: 7-2002 |
Yep, my favorite is..."Oh, yea, "Olympic," I've heard of those!" (jeeezzz, gimme a break) | ||
| Kris Stewart (elwoodblue)
New Username: elwoodblue Post Number: 3 Registered: 6-2002 |
hehe, ...my brother tho he's played my alembic's for hours at a time still says " Olymbic" ...at least he's gettin' close. I even saw a memphis guitar on ebay as an "Olymbic" copy. ...maybe alchemy should be a required subject in elementary(pun not intended) skule. ; ) peas, kris | ||
| Rob Rybak (essenceman)
New Username: essenceman Post Number: 1 Registered: 10-2002 |
Hi, there. This is my first post, though I have been playing an Alembic for 3 1/2 years. She's only an Essence 5 with a bocate top, but she's beautiful and she's mine! Like Michael I play through a Euphonic Audio rig, but I use an EA head as well - monster sound, but able to carry a cab in each hand!!  | ||
| Michael DeVincenzo (jlpicard)
Junior Username: jlpicard Post Number: 17 Registered: 7-2002 |
Hey Rob, I totally agree with you. The EA head is absolutely fantastic! Very warm and uncolored sounding. In fact,I'd like to replace my Eden head with an EA but I have this goal in mind to add a series II to my Alembic family so I must curb my tendency toward extreme cases of GAS!! ;) In the mean time my SF-2 goes a long way toward helping the Eden sound just right.( No offense Eden fans,My WT-300 is a wonderfull amp. I 've used it reliably for years.The EA is just......better!)If you've never tried one, you will be amazed at the quality and quantity of tone in the Superfilter. With just a small tweak of a knob or two,you can quickly and radically change the character of your amp. I consider it an indispensable tool and unlike most gear, I could never forsee the day that I would part with it! Mike | ||
| Rob Rybak (essenceman)
New Username: essenceman Post Number: 2 Registered: 10-2002 |
Hi Michael, the EA head and cabs compliment my Essence sound like no other combination I've tried - I'm happy with my basic sounds. I've been contemplating buying an SF-2 for some time now. Can I take it that your comments are an endorsement of the Superfilter? Rob | ||
| Michael DeVincenzo (jlpicard)
Junior Username: jlpicard Post Number: 20 Registered: 7-2002 |
Rob, Absolutely! I believe that the Superfilter is the most musicaly usefull tone shaping device I have ever come across,far better than any equalizer. I use it mainly to compensate for varying room acoustics which I'm sure you know, can wreak havoc with your sound.I play mainly with my Europa which is mono so I run the SF-2 in mono through the effects loop in my Eden.The first channel I will set as a lowpass filter and vary the frequency control from 100 hz to maybey 350-400 hz depending upon whether the room is boomy or thinning out the sound and I need more punch or definition. I try to make sure that the low end character of my sound is well defined and tight before I add in any high end color to my sound.I don't like to rely on having to boost highs or upper mids in order to cut through a mix.The Superfilter works very well for this. I use the second channel in a more traditional tone control approach to dial in a nice crisp "alembic" snap for my slap tone. I set the filter type to highpass an run the frequency knob all the way up which I believe is around 6.5k(not sure, I tend to forget about the numbers silk-screened on the front panel and just let my ears guide me) The primary character of my sound comes mainly from the onboard controls of the Europa which I change often depending on the song,much to the continued annoyance of the sound man!These settings are just my preference but I must warn you ,the possiblities in this unit are endless! You can tweak on this thing for a long time. Also, check out the Preamp page on the Alembic website for more info on what makes this unit unique. Then go get one! Mike | ||
| Paul Lindemans (palembic)
Member Username: palembic Post Number: 83 Registered: 9-2002 |
First to Rob, my friend take some advice: there is never "only" when you talk about an Alembic. So skip the "only" with an Alembic Essence. It's a tremendous responsive instrument and what you'll make out of it is up to you! Welcome here! To Michael: I'm goin to take the words about the SF-2 very seriously. As soon as I can spend the money I'll go for that device. Ideal for me would be together with the F1-X and a Poweramp but that's for the even farther future. I'll combine it with my SWR SM-400. I've read on the board from someone else that he uses the SF-2 with that amp vcia the "send/return" effect loop on the back of that amp. Seems to work very well. The reason why I'm so willing to get one now is that you described it as very usefull in varying tone depending on room-acoustics, We had a gig last saturday and it went really bad. It was partly me (in a bad mood I guess) but also the space was just shit (acoustic-wise) and trhe place they've set us was really bad, I was i a kind of "boot" together with the drummer. Our guitarplayers outside this boot. Can you imagine...bwèrk! CU | ||
| Rob Rybak (essenceman)
New Username: essenceman Post Number: 3 Registered: 10-2002 |
Point taken, Paul. But, the little green-eyed monster tends to rear its ugly head when you read about people's Series Is and IIs. Having said that, my Essence looks, sounds and plays like a dream. The range of tones is unbelievable - for anyone out there playing an Essence, I would recommend buying and installing a Q switch. It simply opens up another palette of sounds. Michael: you've sold me on the SF-2. Thanks, I think!! Rob | ||
| Michael Paskel (Mikey) (pookeymp)
Junior Username: pookeymp Post Number: 46 Registered: 7-2002 |
I think I'm sold on the SF-2 as well... Hey Mike...you're doing a great job selling this thing. Hey Paul... your SF-2, F1-X, Poweramp definitely sounds like the way to go. That's also my plan for sometime in the future. I'm currently using the Eden WP-100 Preamp/WT1000 Power amp setup. Can be a very nice sounding amp...and can be a not so nice sounding one...all depends on how she's setup. The problem is that there are so many tone controls on it, and moving 1 can drastically change your tone, and normally I don't have much time (if any at all) to play with my sound after setting up. Usually I'm tweaking as I'm playing...so I feel something a little more straight forward like the F1-X would work better for me to get my starting tone right...and then use the SF-2 to fine tune and play with my sound. Hopefully I have the right idea here. Or am I just being lazy with my Eden. Mikey/ | ||
| Paul Lindemans (palembic)
Member Username: palembic Post Number: 85 Registered: 9-2002 |
That's why I like you Mikey: we're just two lazy guys with too much knobs to tweek ;-) So let's step outside and buy such a metal-bass-thing with just a volume knob. Well ... hey MICA isn't that the ultimate Alembic ... a bass with just a volume knob ;-) P | ||
| Charles "David" Tichenor (alembic76407)
Member Username: alembic76407 Post Number: 79 Registered: 5-2002 |
That sounds good to me too !!! knob, sliders and switches drove me crazy, I didnt get a good sound most of the time, so I sold everything and got a amp with less knob, sliders and swithes, now I get a good sound most of the time. One volume knob,WOW what a concept, where do I sign up!!! David T PS: It would have a BIG knob | ||
| Michael Paskel (Mikey) (pookeymp)
Junior Username: pookeymp Post Number: 47 Registered: 7-2002 |
WOW!!! Imagine That...Just one big 'ol volume knob...I'd actually get to focus on playing the right notes...I'm liking this more and more. Mikey/ | ||
| Michael DeVincenzo (jlpicard)
Junior Username: jlpicard Post Number: 22 Registered: 7-2002 |
Hmm, Two SF-2's sold with only one post. Maybey I should go to work for Alembic! Hey Mica, need a rep in the Salt Lake area? Actually, when I believe in a product or a company a strongly as I do Alembic, it's very hard for me to contain my enthusiasm,so I apoligise in advance if I get carried away! Hey Mikey! No, you're not being lazy, just logical.One of the great things about the SF-2 is that there is a great deal of tone shaping power in relatively few knobs so quick changes become easier and repeatablity is not a problem. What we're really talking about here is the whole Alembic approach to tone shaping.We tend to percieve the overall tone of our basses( or anything really)at a frequency or set of frequencies that have the greatest amplitude.We'll call this the resonant frequency.Herein lies the beauty of a low pass filter.As you turn the frequency knob clockwise on the SF-2,(or any Alembic with a filter control) You move that resonant freq. higher,the result being the bass sounds first middier,then brighter.So with the movement of one knob you can dial thru all the possibilities! Adding the Q switch just increases the amplitude of the resonant frequency while narrowing the the range of affected frequencies to either side.( visually it looks like a sharp peak rather than a gentle bump in the EQ curve) Now,add the second frequency control and Q switch and you can dial in anything from the most nasaly Jaco mid to a total "smiley face" response curve with ultra lows and glass shattering ( and eardrum shattering) highs! Impressive control from two knobs and two switches! And I haven't even covered the fact that you can vary the overall gain of each channel of the SF-2 and change each filter from low pass to band pass or high pass.Tweaker Heaven or pinpoint tone shaping power.It's all in how you use it. I hope that helped rather than confuse.I've omitted a few things along the way to better communicate and shorten the length of this long winded post. Mike | ||
| Mica Wickersham (mica)
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 366 Registered: 6-2000 |
Thanks for spreading the word about the SF-2. It's such a different product, it isn't obvious at first why it's so darn cool. But it's one of those things that once you have it, you wonder how you got along without it. | ||
| Paul Lindemans (palembic)
Member Username: palembic Post Number: 86 Registered: 9-2002 |
Hey friends, I'm in a bad mood today. I just discovered that my friend Edwin at the Bass-connection (The Netherlands) has a SECOND HAND SF-2 for sale and I'M NOT ABLE TO BUY IT (I'm broke). AAAUGH! Well ... I guess I have to wait a litlle longer. Michael: thanks for the explaining but a big part of it I cannot follow very well. It's one of the problems I have with these devices it so difficult to explain in situations as this board. I also read (better: TRY to read) the product-profile of the SF-2 at the Alembic site. Whew ...that english is out af my leage! Michael: we should come together and sit down and start doing things with that thing (so I have to start saving money to come to the US too, it will take me definitely 10 years!!) About the "one knob": well friends, Because I'm still able to dream I'll post my "dream" on the appropriate box of this site very soon. I nicknamed the project " The Humble Bass" and I think some Alembicians are gonna love it. CU soon brothers and sisters! Paul PS: about that "sister" thing ...is Mica the only woman around here? Agreed ...she MAKES Alembics, but what about female Alembic PLAYERS. Or is Alembic a "male" thing? Alembic = male-chauvinistic-pig!! ;-) | ||
| Michael DeVincenzo (jlpicard)
Junior Username: jlpicard Post Number: 24 Registered: 7-2002 |
Sorry Paul, I did not mean to confuse.In rereading my post I realised that I was jumping back and forth between the filters on a bass and the SF-2 which are a bit more complex. If there is anything I can do to clarify, I will be happy to help in any way that I can. Mica, Did I get it right or is there an easier way to explain the SF-2? Mike | ||
| Rob Rybak (essenceman)
New Username: essenceman Post Number: 4 Registered: 10-2002 |
Hi Mike, Some of us think in pictures - me being one who does. Music is obviously aural, but sometimes we can put a shape or a colour to sounds (don't ask me how, but it works!) I have been told that I have a dark brown voice and I know exactly what that person means. Would it help, in your explanation of what the SF-2 can do to sound, to look at it from a visual perspective as well as aural, or am I just talking out of my low frequency backside!!! Cheers, Rob | ||
| Michael DeVincenzo (jlpicard)
Junior Username: jlpicard Post Number: 25 Registered: 7-2002 |
Rob,I think what you're describing is a rather common occurance among musicians. I often hear music or tone and see a flash of color. On the other hand,I know of more than a few artists who like to paint to music. It must have something to do with the way our brains are hard-wired. Stimulus of one type may cause neurons to fire off which in turn stimulates another part of the right brain etc.etc. That's my theory anyway. Mike | ||
| Rob Rybak (essenceman)
New Username: essenceman Post Number: 5 Registered: 10-2002 |
Mike, you're a kindred spirit - that's what I like to hear. Rob | ||
| Charles "David" Tichenor (alembic76407)
Member Username: alembic76407 Post Number: 80 Registered: 5-2002 |
hey Mikey how's this, Series1 with one big volume knob}  | ||
| Michael Paskel (Mikey) (pookeymp)
Junior Username: pookeymp Post Number: 48 Registered: 7-2002 |
Nice!!!...now that's what I'm talking about. I might even be able to get by without the manual with this one. Mikey/ | ||
| Charles "David" Tichenor (alembic76407)
Member Username: alembic76407 Post Number: 81 Registered: 5-2002 |
Mikey, Its amazing what you can do in photoshop its hard to see, but I even left one Q switch just for good taste !!! | ||
| Michael Paskel (Mikey) (pookeymp)
Junior Username: pookeymp Post Number: 49 Registered: 7-2002 |
Hey Charles, Do you think it will take the folks at Alembic a little longer than it took you to translate this into a actual working instrument? Mikey/ |
